When I was flying back from Siem Reap, Cambodia in March I read an article in JetStar’s inflight magazine about vegetarian hawker food in Singapore. My go-to at the hawker is mixed rice because you just point to the dishes you want, grab a pair of chopsticks, and enjoy. Eating at a vegetarian hawker, however, would open up a whole world of culinary flavors that I have been unable to try here!
Lucky for me, I have kind and adventurous friends who have actively responded to my pledge to make every day count as I wrap up my time here in the Little Red Dot (sob!).
With that JetStar article as a guide, Josh and I headed out to the Aljunied MRT, where we were promised delicious bowls of laksa at the oldest vegetarian eatery in Singapore. One restaurant near where I lived in Malaysia served delicious vegetarian laksa and I miss it. I also miss my bowl of hot, spicy curry mee at 10am for morning break at school!
Mmmm food. My palate has expanded in the most delightful ways.
We knew we were getting close to our destination when we passed multiple shops that smelled of incense and sold Buddhist artifacts and books. Kwan Inn Vegetarian Food turned out to be a hawker stand serving mixed rice, made-to-order dishes, and several soups.
For our first course, Josh and I each ordered a bowl of laksa in a fantastic, fragrant coconut broth. I picked out a few items from the mixed rice counter for us to share – spicy fake fish (this used to be school lunch sometimes at school in Malaysia), tofu and green beans (a classic), and two kinds of mushrooms. We have the best mushrooms in Asia. Lime juice was our beverage of choice.
Of course, with so many opportunities to experience real Peranakan food, we had to get more! Josh ordered peanut fritters (normally prawn fritters) and spinach noodles (yes, actually green). These were served with two types of tofu, mushrooms, and sprouts. Normally the meat is char siew, which is pork, and the noodles are plain egg noodles. We tucked in before I could get a picture, but I promise it was all delicious!
Thank you to Josh for a really fun meal and thank you to JetStar for its inspiration!
By Rebecca Michelle 