For more about TLC, view this other post.

I visited The Living Cafe today for late lunch with a friend! It was after a grueling 7km+ hike (okay it was a walk but hike sounds more adventurous) from Harbourfront to home [Marang Trail - Mount Faber Park - Henderson Waves - Hilltop Walk - Forest Walk - Alexandra Arch - HortPark - Kent Ridge Park - Home]. It was supposed to be less than 6km but we got lost at the start... despite me having walked this trail countless of times with my mum. My legs are so heavy and tired.

Okay, back to the food! The menu was similar to the last time I came here, though that was quite a while back and I expected some change. It's kinda limited and only this page had the mains and the sides; the next page had drinks. The desserts are ordered from the counter.

Also, the doors and window were left open, and the aircon wasn't switched on. IT WAS HOT.

Oh yes, and their name has changed to The Living Cafe & Deli. Ooh.

I like glass. 

They didn't put mint in the water like they did previously!

I like wood too.

The main focus of this photo isn't the lady, oops. 

I ordered the Vegan Quinoa Burger ($15). IT WAS GOOD. And so photogenic too. Previously, it was put on a long white plate but this wooden board looks so much prettier! Plus, they cut the base of a paperbag to hold the sweet potato wedges, and the used the top to line the wooden board - so creative! Hahaha I love it when food looks good. :)

The quinoa patty was more like quinoa and veggies held together loosely and formed into a patty shape. But nonetheless, it was yummy and flavourful!

Between the buns (which were just right - not too fluffy and not too tough), there were microgreens, the patty (not really visible here), tomato, balsamic reduction, romaine lettuce and cashew mayo.

The burger came with a side of coleslaw and sweet potato wedges. The coleslaw was refreshing and not creamy. The wedges were nicely seasoned with cracked black pepper and a spice that I'm unable to identify (looks like cumin but rounder :x )

It's more soft than crispy, and I feel that a tiny bit less oil could've been used. And I'm kinda biased towards Japanese sweet potatoes, because these were sweet but not that sweet. But I like that they kept the skin on them! 

In all, I felt that this was really worth the price - delicious, filling, healthy* and photogenic. ;)

*Depending on individual definitions of healthy.

Then (after letting our food digest for a while) we went to attack the desserts! Haha.

They sell wraps. Pricey.

I've probably mentioned this before, but did you know that you can buy a large, perfectly ripe papaya at $1 each (when Giant has a promo - and it's not even reduced-to-clear!)? So my thoughts whenever I see expensive food is like "You can buy 10 papayas (10 meals) with this." I believe $1 is also the average price for a banana mono-meal. ...Doesn't always deter me though hahaha.

2.5 papayas.

We got three raw desserts - Strawberry Mocha Slice, German Chocolate Cake and Blueberry Cheesecake.

This German Chocolate Cake ($8.50) was really rich, dense, chocolate-y and coconut-y. Great for chocolate lovers but even if you are one, it's probably impossible to finish one by yourself! It something that you'd get sick of after eating a bit. Haha :x

It also contains honey (which strict vegans don't consume), and I only noticed after eating. So, I think non-vegan ingredients could be displayed more prominently, or at least in bold in the ingredient list.

What's interesting though, is that I believe that the icing/cream/sauce(?) on top is made of zucchini!! I've used zucchini to ice/fill a cake before, because my fridge was void of my most-commonly-used icing ingredient - silken tofu. And it didn't turn out that great. Hehe. But this was good! You'd never have guessed that it's zucchini.

Unless I'm wrong and it really isn't zucchini hahaha.

Strawberry Mocha Slice ($5.00). I liked the creamy, smooth strawberry layer and the crunchy, fig-y crust, but the chocolate was too much after the German Chocolate Cake. 

If all of the denser cakes were this size that'll be good!

This Blueberry Cheesecake ($8.50) was lighter and fluffier than the previous two cakes, due to the use of psyllium husk. It reminded me of blueberry jam! We liked this one the most, because it wasn't dense, heavy and chocolate-y. :x

Overall, I feel that despite the small-ish menu, the food and the ambiance is good! There's also no service charge and no GST. Being a non-veg establishment (they serve meat), it's probably a more suitable place than fully vegan restaurants when you're eating with veggie-hating people lols. Plus I think that this is the best place for raw vegan cakes in Singapore! :)

The Living Cafe 779 Bukit Timah Rd, 269758 How to get there: Alight at Farrer Road MRT (CC20) and take bus 174 Phone: 6762 8029
Monday: 11:00 am – 7:00 pm
Tuesday-Friday: 11:00 am – 10:00 pm Saturday: 9:00 am – 10:00 pm
Sunday: 9:00 am – 7:00 pm

I went for a class chalet on 5th and 6th March, and as before, I packed my food along! I kinda prepped similar things to what I brought previously, but this is more high carb low fat*.

Dinner: brown rice with mixed veg and nutritional yeast, plus raw veggies

Supper: banana oat cake (2 vanilla and 1 carob)

Snacks: box of medjool dates and two apples

Breakfast: oat 'cookies' (rolled oats, banana, goji berries, pepitas, black sesame, cinnamon) with grapes and carrot sticks

*But I ended up consuming quite a lot of fat (and sodium) because I had aglio olio for lunch before the chalet and lunch after the chalet with my classmates! Haha. I couldn't be sure that the pasta itself didn't have egg (though I just Google-d and found that only freshly made pasta has eggs, and dry pasta is eggless) plus of course the pasta was cooked in the same pan as the meat dishes. But it's a compromise on my side like it was a compromise on my classmates' side, since they kinda put me first when considering where to eat. Aww <3

This was what I brought to the previous class chalet (6 months ago). 

Dinner: hasselback baked sweet potato, rainbow quinoa, french beans, raw mushrooms & cherry tomatoes

Supper: banana oat cake with a layer of unsalted peanut butter

Snacks: two apples and mixed nuts (to share)

Breakfast: oat 'cookies' (banana, oats, medjool dates, pepitas, cacao nibs, black sesame, cinnamon, nutmeg) with grapes and carrot sticks

It was about 1.6kg of food! Haha. I managed to prep these BEFORE an exam (because we were going to the chalet right after) and I'm quite amazed at myself LOL.

Dinner was quite filling. I cooked 1/2 cup rice (measured before cooking) on the stovetop and just added in nutritional yeast, spices and frozen mixed veggies! I also had a cup of sugar cane juice with dinner because I was THIRSTY.

I ended up not consuming the apples but I ate about half the box of dates and shared the rest. Good thing I brought dates, because we cycled for over 60km :x  (Everyone's legs were dying.)

My pee was like at a colour that I've probably never seen before omg. Because the chalet (Goldkist) was lousy and didn't have a water kettle. And it was so run down, so many bugs and had an ancient tv. The previously chalet (Chevron) was so much better, with sofa and big flat screen tv and aircon in the living room and good toilets. But of course there was lots more to do at East Coast!! :)

Banana-oat cakes. Pulse 1/2 cup rolled oats into flour in a food processor. Add in 1 medium pureed banana, 3/4 tsp baking powder, and 1/2 tsp vanilla essence (if desired). Bake for about 15 mins at 150 deg C. I added 1/2 tbsp raw carob to 1/3 of the batter too!

It's the holidays now WHEEEE! I will try my best to blog at least twice a week! I hope to be able to finish what I plan to do - instead of bumming around at home and watching dramas. And I can't wait for my upcoming Taiwan trip with my friends! :D 

*money saving mode on*

*healthy eating mode on*

*exercise-y mode not-quite on* (yet)

On the 22nd February (last Saturday), I was invited for the Grand Opening of Loving Hut's Joo Chiat outlet! ^^ (Thanks Ting Ting for the invite!)

Loving Hut is the largest international chain of vegan restaurants. There are over 200 stores worldwide! It was my first time at Loving Hut though. About 5 years back, there was a Loving Hut at Bukit Merah, but the restaurant didn't look very nice (both food and ambience-wise), nor was it popular. But WOW. So much has changed with this new outlet!

I super love the decor!!! Especially the 'Vegan & Love'!

There's like this somewhat rustic and homely feel to it all.

There were cheerful yellow balloons tied to each chair! ^^

A very cute mural of happy animals. I was too lazy to stand up and push the balloons away... haha maybe next time!

We were served non-alcoholic sparkling vegan wine. It didn't really taste like wine, but it was nice!

As we waited for the programmes to start, we were served appetisers like these Tempeh Pops! They were really really good!! Like takoyaki, but better. ;) However, the strangest part is, that it didn't taste like tempeh at all! Perhaps that's why it tasted good - not that I have anything against tempeh (but it's quite an acquired taste).

And these are canapés! Or bruschetta. I can't tell; I'm not really good with food names.

Then there was this short performance by the chefs! Hahaha :D

There was also a welcome address by the director of Loving Hut and a Ribbon Cutting Ceremony!

We had music played by a harpist, and it was wonderful! It made the whole place seem so high-class lols. There were also lovely vocal performances. ^^

AND NOW FOR WHAT YOU'VE BEEN WAITING FOR...

ON TO THE FOOD!

This satay was so amazingly good! The sauce was so wonderfully thick and fragrant too! Mock meat usually isn't a favourite of mine... but I think satay is my weakness. :x

A Soba Salad Bar! I believe this is the Bali Bliss Soba Salad in the menu. ^^ The white shreds at the top left is jicama, if you were wondering!

There were two desserts available, this Peach & Banana Crumble, and the following Sago Gula Melaka! This was SO AMAZING OMG. More about it later!

This agar-agar pudding dessert was so-so, definitely out-shined by the crumble! Gula melaka is brown sugar, by the way.

The young people were asked to get their food first, followed by the younger, and the youngest LOL. So that's why the desserts are in front - we went around taking photos as we waited for the queue to shorten! Haha I think we were quite funny (and perhaps also a disturbance oops) since 4 of us were taking turns to have a shot at each food item.

The main spread!

This lasagne was delicious! I think it's my first time having a vegan one, too. This was not cloyingly heavy, leaves you wanting more, and is probably as guilt-free as any (real) lasagne can get! (By real, I'm not comparing it with zucchini lasagnes XD )

I love that they managed to stuff so many veggies in lols ^^

Nyonya Rendang Crepe. This didn't really leave an impression so I can't quite remember what it tasted like. I do remember though, that I felt the crepe was a little too rubbery and the filling-to-crepe ratio could be more!

This is Kerubu. It's traditionally a Malaysian dish that's often served as an accompaniment to dishes and it's a spicy, sweet and sour salad. It tasted not bad, but it would've been better if there wasn't so many onions!! 

I didn't get a closer shot of the Fruit Achar at the back, but you'll see it later. In my opinion, it was probably the most unexpected dish there! I've previously only had & heard of the spicy veggie achars, but this was sweet and chewy and like at my first bite I was thinking "What's this amazing this I'm eating?!" It has dried apricots, figs and cranberries! It would be so good on toast!! 

Cream of Mushroom Soup! It was surprisingly very creamy. 

A bit too creamy for my taste though hehe.

There was also Organic Brown Rice, which was cooked well. 

Spicy Eggplant. I've recently realised how yummy and versatile eggplant can be when its cooked till soft, and this was perfect! A tad spicy when eaten on it's own, but that what the rice's for!

Tofu Scramble. It looks more like eggs than any of mine has ever looked, but I felt that it was a little dry and visually unappealing. Some green garnish would be good, since we eat with our eyes first! ;)

My first plate! Clockwise, it's satay (with peanut sauce, cucumber, pineapple and rice cake), lasagne, nyonya rendang crepe, spicy eggplant, fruit achar, organic brown rice and tofu scramble.

The bag at the top right is the door gift - a bag of coffee! Just what I need to stay awake while studying during this exam period.. Haha. And Loving Hut's slogan is lovely: "Be Vegan, Make Peace".

This shot is for the sole purpose of showing you the wonderful-ness of the lasagne.

The 'we' and 'us' mentioned earlier refers to those I sat with: Chen Xi (@peabrainner), Yi Shuai (@morethanveggies) and Jing Zhi (@sg_vegan_triathlete), all of whom I've met at previous vegan potlucks. :) And of course we all had to take photos of our food before eating. They all had their professional front-sharp-back-blur cameras while I'm stuck with my iPhone. LOL

Next plate! Here you see the soba salad, kerabu, bruschetta, lasagne, spicy eggplant and mushroom soup. I regret not getting more of the satay and fruit achar!! But I was saving space for dessert hehe.

Having been vegetarian for a year and vegan for another, I'm already past the discovery "I can't believe this is vegan?!" stage. But at the first bite of this peach and banana crumble, that was my first thought! I loved the flaky crust, the smooth custard, the sweet, melty fruits and the caramelized sugar on top. It was not-too-sweet too! We were appalled to find that this was NOT ON THE MENU!!! :O It totally should be! LOL

I'll surely be going back with my friends and family. Especially with these great promos whee! ^^ It's definitely a place where even meat-lovers can enjoy the food!!

♡♡♡

Loving Hut Joo Chiat 

Address: 229 Joo Chiat Road #01-01
Tel: 6348 6318
Sun - Thur: 11.00 - 21.30
Fri - Sat: 11.00 - 22.00
Mon - Fri close: 15.00 - 17.30