Did you know that 7% of Singaporeans were vegetarian in 2020? More and more people are also getting interested in vegetarianism each day due to a renewed interest in health.
It doesn’t hurt that there are so many places here that serve delicious vegetarian food too. It certainly makes eschewing protein less of a hardship to the taste buds.
Whether you’re a full-on vegetarian regime or just dipping your toes into this lifestyle, we’ll help. Here, we have a list of our choices for the title of the best vegetarian restaurant in Singapore.
1. Whole Earth
Let’s start off by pointing this out: they’ve been a Michelin Bib Gourmand restaurant for 5 years straight. Even if they hadn’t been focused on plant-based cuisine, that would still be quite a feat!
Anyway, Whole Earth made this list for several reasons. First, the menu is inventive yet comforting, full of Peranakan and Thai dishes rendered in plant-based ingredients.
Second, everything’s fresh – and we do mean everything. The aroma and snap of each ingredient pretty much hits you in the face each time you dine here, which is as good a testament as any to the quality of their produce.
Check out signature dishes like their Penang Rendang, which is shiitake mushroom marinated in Peranakan herbs and spices. There’s also the amazing Olive Rice and the Sambal King, which has eggplant, long bean, petai bean, and lady’s finger.
2. Shahi Maharani North Indian Restaurant
This one’s probably not too surprising. Some of the absolute best vegetarian food in the world is Indian simply because of the cuisine’s emphasis on spice and seasoning.
In fact, even a relatively drab and tasteless leaf could turn into a piece of ambrosia in a good Indian chef’s hands.
At Shahi Maharani, you have a lot of ambrosia. This isn’t technically strict vegetarian food (which means you can bring your meat-eating friends here with you), but North Indian cuisine has a lot of vegetarian dishes that you can get here.
They also cater specifically to vegetarians with modifications to their usual menus. For example, if you tell them you want the vegetarian version of their weekday lunch buffet, they’ll replace the non-vegetarian dishes with vegetarian ones and even add another course.
If you go here, be sure to try the chutneys (all very fresh!) and Paneer Makhni (cottage cheese).
3. LingZhi Vegetarian
If you like your vegetarian food Chinese, this is the place to go. They’ve been doing plant-based meals for quite some time and have actually amassed a following thanks to their consistency.
The produce they use is predictably top-shelf. To illustrate, they usually have several dishes using truffles on the menu (which we strongly urge you to try, by the way). Examples are the Truffle Brown Rice and the Truffle Mushroom Soups.
Of course, with ingredients like truffle, you can reasonably expect ordering from the a la carte menu to get a little pricey here. If you’re on a tight budget, we advise going for the buffet instead – which actually is one of their big draws.
They do a fairly priced and very satisfying vegetarian dimsum buffet that even meat-lovers will likely enjoy. Whether you try that or the a la carte items, though, try to savour the wok hei: it’s honestly pretty good.
4. Loving Hut
Loving Hut is actually a vegan restaurant, but there’s no reason vegetarians can’t enjoy its food. Don’t be fooled by the name, by the way: the place is anything but a hut and is very clean and contemporary in design.
As for the food, it’s contemporary too. Try this on for size as an example: Vegan Peking Duck Wrap made with tenderly roasted seitan slices, crispy skin, and a savoury black sauce.
You can also get Vegan Roast, Handmade Bean Curd Rolls, Fried Bean Curd Skin, and more. It’s worth noting that they also use non-GMO produce for their dishes, by the way, so you really do get the sense of clean eating when dining here.
Overall, this is a great bistro to visit if you want to try serious vegan food. Be sure to sample their versions of Singaporean staples like char kway teow and laksa, which are stunningly delicious (even the meat-eaters among us thought so!).
