A naïve vegetarian |
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At the onset, I must admit or announce that I am not penning this piece on fine vegetarianism and healthy makan because it is the start of a new year and resolutions on weighty issues must be kept. Eating fashionably and then, starving in compensation, just because the commercial message of the festive season (buy, buy, eat, eat and then loose weight), are for followers. I rather we eat because the food is good and the experience it brings, makes our time here on this planet more meaningful. You eat turkey because you like it, not because it is Christmas. Same theory for Champagne and new year celebrations. So, in that vein, I sort of qualified why I am a new believer of vegetarian chow. Mention that term, and many will think up temple style fried beehoon with light curry sans garlic and onions with itsy bits of cabbage and mushrooms, or, sad salads with loud dressings. Even a fine kosong roti prata made with all plain dough dipped in dhal curry will not do. You see, most of the time, it is “fine” because they use sinfully glorious ghee, or clarified butter, to fry it, otherwise it just won’t cut it.
Once, on a whim some two years back, I pulled up street-side along the famously red Geylang district for, a vegetarian meal at The Whole Earth restaurant (now relocated to Peck Seah St). It was a contradiction of an experience- eating vegetables in an area known for the flesh trade. But the chow there did not fail me. They had splendid renditions of vegetarian Nonya and Thai styled dishes done with mushrooms and soy products. I remember vividly their “ayam buah keluak”- it was made with a rich rempah and the flavour of the black nut ran wild and mighty in the pot, untainted with meat flavours and essence - nice, especially over rice. Then, the folks behind the eatery opened yet another such eatery in East Coast Road, except they went “modern Asian” in concept. They called it Naïve and it is as vegetarian as it comes, except that this time, they did not put the “v” word on the signboard. “The vegetarian word, because of the local experience, has a negative connotation. It is associated with religion and diets” offers Ms Wood Hui Mean, who manages the outlet and is a vegetarian of about two years now. She often gets unsuspecting guest dropping by, ordering and enjoying the “rendang”, only to realize later, “you mean this is vegetarian? Wah, nice.”
Which was similar to my reaction when I first bit into it, except I knew it was as green as they come. The difference was the meat composition, they use only mushroom based “meats” and although it has that pleasant soft crunch, it also had that fibrous feel. They served this Penang Rendang ($9.90) with steamed buns. You won’t taste the light rempah absorbed in the “meat” but it sat very well as a sauce with it. They are known for their monkey head mushrooms and they do so in various styles. I attempted the Cheeky Monkey ($12.90) - fried chunks tossed in crispy cereal with curry leaves and chilli. The texture was right, the crispiness was fun and the spiciness was light, but it just lacked that one factor, a distinct flavour, perhaps in the form of a sauce reduction which could be introduced by tossing the fried mushrooms in it before rolling it in the cereal bits and the chilli.
The Autumn Tofu ($9.90) was the people pleaser and I can see why. The tofu block came very soft and was doused in a “minced meat” sauce made with soy sauce stewed mushrooms bits. It was hard to tell the difference. I paired all the dishes with a bowl of their rather pricey bowl of steamed lemongrass rice ($2.90) but it did not disappoint. It came smelling like chicken rice and had light fragrant hints of lemongrass and it was fluffy and grainy without being too soft. I wonder what they would use as “bones” if they offer bak kut teh.
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