iVegan at i12 Katong Singapore serves up a wide range of vegan dishes that are healthy and very palatable.
Not sure if it's the same for you guys but I find myself less keen on meat as I grow older, partly because of health reasons (I have high cholesterol due to genetics) and partly because of a change in taste, where I don't find meat as tasty compared to when I was young. But when out dining, it's not easy finding eateries in Singapore that serve really good vegetarian or vegan food.
I guess I'm also a bit picky when it comes to vegetarian or vegan food. Firstly, I don't like fake meat like those mock fish or meat you see served at some vegetarian food stalls. Secondly, I'm wary of "impossible meat", while they are not real meat, I don't feel they are a healthy non-meat option as they are highly processed. Thirdly, if I want to eat vegetarian or vegan food, I rather go for the heathier, natural stuff but they would have to be tasty to begin with.
So, iVegan turned out to be a delightful find. Located at i12 Katong, the cafe gives off a very relaxed, minimalist vibe.
A browse through their menu shows a good range of Asian, western and local dishes, which include salad, soup and mains like sandwich, burgers, noodles, pasta, fried rice, Chinese stir-fry, and even sushi. More importantly, these are all natural, plant-based wholefood with no MSG and refined sugar added, and they only use olive oil and pansalt, a low sodium salt.
Sounds healthy to me but having been used to eateries that serve "less healthy options", you might be wondering can such healthy food be as tasty? Well, I'm happy to report that everyone in our family enjoyed our dinner at iVegan, even the meat-lovers. Here are the highlights of our meal and review:
Portobello argula salad (S$12.90)
This is oven roasted portobello mushroom spread with house-made chimichurri sauce and served with arugula, cherry tomato, black olive and pine nuts with balsamic dressing. The portobello mushroom was soft and tender, and very well paired with the nutty flavour of rocket leaves, and refreshing chimichurri sauce and balsamic dressing.
Beetroot hummus with pita bread ($9.90)
There is a sweet and earthy note to the beetroot hummus with a nutty flavour from the sunflower & pumpkin seeds, crushed pistachio nuts. The serving of hummus is generous. We piled on the delicious hummus on the pita and there were still a lot left!
Small mushroom soup with white truffle oil ($4.90)
My elder girl loves the mushroom soup, which is made from fresh mushrooms and milk (either almond, cashew or oat) - it tastes all natural and not overly creamy or heavy.
Small Waldorf salad ($4.90), avocado almond milk smoothie ($6.90), iced apple ($6.90), pictured with mushroom soup and beetroot hummus (as above)
The Waldorf salad is another refreshing starter with its crunchy apples and walnuts. For the avocado almond milk smoothie, you can opt to add syrup to it as there not much sweetness in the avocado and milk. We ask for the syrup but kept it to 'less sweet', and this is pretty yummy. But an avocado smoothie can be quite filling, so it was a good thing I shared this with my hubs. The girls had the ice apple drink with no added sugar, making it a light and refreshing drink.
Portobello maki ($6.90 for 4 pieces)
This pretty maki consist of portobello, cucumber, carrot, red cabbage, nori, tomato salsa, balsamic and chumichuri sauce, and it's absolutely delicious. The combination of tender portobello, salad crunch, sourness and tang from the sauces is perfect and makes this maki unlike any maki I had eaten.
Roasted potatoes ($1.90)
Big E really liked this roasted potatoes, just that that portion is a rather small. If you have more people in your group, you might like to order more.
Guacamole maki ($4 pieces for $6.90)
This is another beautifully-presented maki with cucumber, nori, white sesame seeds, avocado, tortilla chip, tomato salsa and balsamic dressing. I really like how well the creamy avocado goes with the white sesame and rice.
Creamy pasta ($12.90)
This is spaghetti with mushroom, black pepper and vegan milk, another main everyone enjoyed for its creamy sauce and mushroom goodness!
Pineapple fried rice ($9.90)
This fragrant wok fried rice is perfect with the pineapple bits and cranberries. The edamame, sweet corn, carrots and cashew nuts provided a nice crunch to every bite.
Braised lion mane mushrooms ($13.90)
This Chinese stir-fry with lion mane mushroom, sweet peas, carrot, young corn, broccoli, onion and house-made curry sauce is Little E's favourite! This is the first time the girls tried lion mane mushroom and it has a meaty texture and mildly savoury taste. The curry sauce, which is only slightly spicy, makes this stir-fry dish really unique.
Overall, we are duly impressed by the food at iVegan, not only are they scrumptious, their plating was lovely, such that you could tell much care and effort are put into the dishes. Even hubs, who usually likes his meal with meat, is full of praise for our meal. We'll definitely be visiting iVegan again!
We visited iVegan at 112 E Coast Rd, Unit 02-20, i12 Katong, Singapore 428802. It has another outlet located at 301 Upper Thomson Road, Unit 01-109 Thomson Plaza, Singapore 574408.
Disclaimer: This review is part of a media invite by iVegan. As always, all opinions are ours.
©Vivian Teo. All content and photos are copyrighted to Vivian Teo unless otherwise specified.
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