Rong Xiang Vegetarian Stall @ Geylang East

One of the days after swimming at geylang east swimming complex, I decided to try my luck at this nearby foodcentre and I was happy to find 2 stalls.

Decided to eat at the Tze Char stall. They do serve the normal mixed vegetables rice as well, but most customers order their tze char which i reckon must be not bad.

Salted Fish Fried Rice ($3)

I've been craving for this fried rice for a long time as my coll loves it. Other than Yuan Yuan, i personally like this salted fish fried rice as there are many ingredients within. (Note: The drumstick is additional) Ingredients comprise of vegetables, tofu and lots of mock salted fish. After being a vegetarian for so many years, I've long forgotten the real taste of salted fish, but I like how this salted fish taste, which wasnt too salty either.

There are many other tze char dishes which i would love to try, and prices start from $2.50, which I think is reasonable.

I like it that they do have english on the menu listed.

Location: Blk 117 Aljunid Ave 2 Stall # 01-16

Opening Hrs: Till 3PM, daily

Ci Hang Vegetarian @ Aljunid (慈航中西素食)

This is another cafe located near the Aljunid MRT. Ci Hang has been around for as long as I can remember. It should be more than a decade to date. They were famous for the western cuisine when they first started as many places did not have western meals then. Ci Hang has since successfully transformed into a very organic-friendly outlet selling organic set meals that attracted many people. It is always fully packed during dinner.

*Picture taken from Crystal's blog*

There were many people on a Tuesday night. Everything is self-service from the counter. Ci Hang also sells quite a variety of organic products and vegetarian dried foods.

Chicken Chop $8

I was not in the organic mode as love the chicken chop best! It is a big serving. There are 3 chicken meat dipped in a nice batter and deep fried, and served with a homemade gravy. The sides include tomato beans and french fries. You may also request to change french fries to mash potato. As everything is fried, you can't exactly consider this as healthy. To me, its just a craving that happens once in a blue moon! heehee. Zi Zai Zhai vegetarian also has this, but the price is slightly cheaper.

Assam Fish Rice $5

Clare's favourite dish. She can eat this almost every week! I must say that this is definitely a healthier version than Zi Zai. Zi Zai's assam curry is more oily that the one at Ci Hang. This assam fish is not spicy and is sour enough to make you ask for more! The ingredients comprise of Mock Fish, Tomato, Brinjals and Lady Fingers. Dipping the Popodum into the gravy is seeedapp too!

Spagetti $6

This version is healthy as the sauce is made of tomato base with cabbage, mock meats and mushrooms.

Mash Potato $2

Ci Hang serves the best Mash potato to date as we can eat up the entire scoop of potatoes with the gravy without feeling guilty at all!

All in all, ci hang is one of the places you can go to in the evenings for dinner if you are in the east. Price wise is rather mid-range. I have no idea if any diary products are used or not. Definitely egg-less.

Location: 72 Lorong 25-A Geylang, right in front of Aljunid MRT.

Tel: 9001 7639

Opening Hours: 11am - 9pm, CLOSED on Fridays (*Inclusive of 1st and 15th day of lunar month)

Yes Natural F&B (悦意坊)

I've long heard about this cafe but didn't had the time to try until a couple of weeks back.. Introduced some nice food to Maboo & Zenzen. It was a normal weekday but the cafe was surprising packed and we had to wait a while! Given the shop space (almost twice the size of Ci Hang), I think business is good for this cafe.

Hand Roll Salad (手卷沙拉) $4.50

It was highly recommended by Chen TZ, she say its a must eat if you visit here. hehe. Much to my surprise, this dish is indeed very special. Wrapped in the fresh popiah skin (Not the frozen type), the filling is FULL of fresh lettuce, carrots and alfafal leaves. Really a healthy and cheap roll to start your day!

Stone Pot Rice (石锅饭) $6.50

Not exactly the bibimbap i adore from New Pature, but this stone pot rice has its own uniqueness. Ingredients comprise of a generous serving of vegetables, mushrooms and pumpkin, topped with mock floss and crunchy radish. The taste is superb and I am still salivating while writing this. It is quite surprising that not much of the mock items are used, but the taste can be very original where the pumpkins and radish brings out the sweetness of the rice. A little pricy though, but it comes with a free soup.

Vege Cake (什锦烧) $7.50

The first look of the picture made me drool right away as I thought this is the vegetarian version of Okonomiyaki! Okonomiyaki is a pan-fried batter cake where many refer to as the japanese pizza or pancake. and i still missed the Okonomiyaki that Evon specially made for me.. it was simply fantastic! Saldly, this vege cake version is not what I had hoped for, but the taste was Unique still. The bottom of the cake is spagetti noodle, topped with layers of veg on top and lastly pan fried with a top flour cheese layer. Taste is good with the mayo sauce.

Baked cheese spagetti $8.00

Again its spagetti, as we did not foresee the vege cake to have any noodle in it! It is unusal to eat baked spagetti as normally we will have baked penne or macaroni. Sauce is tomato based, not much of a special, but the cheese is good.

On the whole, the food is at an affordable range, and the service is good. What I liked about this cafe is the menus are recycable where orders can be erased. At least this helps the environment. This cafe also sells organic set lunches. Do support if you are in the aljunid area!

Location: No. 57, Geylang Lorong 27, Singapore 388184 *The 2nd Stretch of Shop House when you step out of Aljunid MRT
Tel: 67411580

Opening Hours : 11:30am to 9pm Closed on Wednesday

Rice House (粥大王)

This is one of the better cafes I would recommend for soups.

Salted Duck Soup with Rice (素咸菜鸭汤）$3.00

Everytime loonie tart has craving for soups, she would think of the salted duck soup from Rice House. The soup is delicious and the "duck" used is made from mushroom stem, making it unique. Most soups sold elsewhere usually use mock meats and there is no unique selling point as compared to Rice House. Nonetheless, the duck soup has a lot of ingredients in this small pot which makes it worth the money.

Meat Congee (素肉e粥) $3.00

The chinese name of the cafe suggests "congee king", meaning it must be one of the signature dishes which cannot be missed. True to its name, the congee is cooked till its soft and melts in your mouth. The meat used also tastes similar to the real version. I personally feel that the ingredients provided is not as much as it ought to be, as $3 does seems a little expensive for such a big bowl of congee, with litte ingredients. Other than this little flaw, this bowl of meat congee is still worth your support!

Side dishes recommendation: Lobster Roll (龙虾卷), Salted Chicken Chunks (盐酥鸡) @ $3.00/plate

Lobster Roll $3.00

At 60cents per piece, I personally find it worth the price, as this is the first time we are eating this "lobster roll". Tastes like real meat. If you are someone who is not so into mock meats, you may skip this dish. Nonetheless, there isnt anywhere else selling this dish at the moment. Do try it if you have the chance. GREAT!

Location: Blk 129 #01-102 Geylang East Ave 2, Singapore 380129
Tel: 67473739 (near Fu Hai Can Si temple)

Nearest MRT: Aljunid