More and more folks are vegans these days, and I have to build up a list of good vegetarian restaurants to go to so that I would not go hungry when I am among my vegan friends.
Cultivate Cafe is a gorgeous colonial library-themed vegan restaurant with charming period interiors in Tanjong Pagar. The cuisine is a plant-based, GMO-free, gluten-free vegan.
Crispy Fried Kale Leaves with Salted Chilli Spice
Organically farmed young kale freshly baked and dried with maldon & chili infused salt.
The first appetiser that came was a crispy kale chip with a liberal sprinkling of salt and paprika. I asked how did they keep the kale so crispy, they said it was air dried and not deep fried. Wow, that’s a snack that I can snack on whole day.
Classic Hummus with Za’atar & Orange oil
The word hummus means chickpea in Arabic based on historical information that originated in Ancient Egypt in the 13th Century. The combination of roasted garlic & spice provides a nutty flavour.
I got into hummus when I was working for an Israeli company and had to go to Tel Aviv very often. Those were a very memorable period of my life, on how many hours people wasted on arguing where to get the best hummus. Then I tasted the best one ever in Jaffe. Nothing else ever came close ever since.
Smoked Onion and Asparagus Risotto with Grated Lemon Rind
Risotto is defined as a Northern Italian dish stirred in a rich vegetable broth. Historically rice was introduced to Sicily and Spain in the 14th Century by the Arabs. The Mediterranean climate with high humidity is conducive to growing short – and medium – grained rice. The asparagus adds a rich flavour to the dish.
Vegan risottos are always the safest bets in a vegetarian restaurant. Because even in a regular Italian restaurant, these would taste beautiful – cheesy, creamy, savoury, umami. The asparagus was not anything special, but the lemon rind with caramelised onions held up the risotto perfectly. And to make it looked more expensive, the risotto was topped up with frisée lettuce, which was totally unnecessary and did not bring harmony to the risotto.
Pad Thai Rice Noodles with Baked Tofu Beansprouts, Mangetout, Chillies, Lime & Roasted Peanuts
This popular dish was invented in Thailand in the early 1930s during the rice shortage during the war. The tangy lime – sweet palm sugar – savoury tamarind – sour sauce is synonymous to Thai flavours.
My guest ordered a pad Thai, which looked like a really dried out spaghetti.
Energising Hot Sandwich
Pickled Japanese cucumber, sundried tomato, basil & rocket pesto, spanish onion with artisan vegan garlic herb cheese crafted from cashew milk served with crispy kale chips on flat bread.
The sandwich did not look very appealing, my guest did not finish it. And what’s that frisée lettuce doing on the bread?
We also had Citrusy Cooler (improves Heart Health & Vision) that was basically a slow-extracted fruit and vegetable juice of beetroot, apple, carrot, lemon, ginger and turmeric at $20 a pop! So just stick to the food and water.
Afterthoughts
For all of you who have been following my blog would know that I am not a fan of vegetarian food. I would need my KFC right after the meal, as if I had not eaten. Surprisingly this time, I was quite satisfied by the lunch.
The ingredients are clearly of top quality and the taste was excellent. Yet, it was missing something beyond the ordinary, except for the atmosphere. The target market sector is higher end so expect a hefty bill.
Cultivate Cafe
Maxwell Reserve, Autograph Collection, 2 Cook St, Singapore 078857
Tel : +65 8866 0159
Visited Jul 2023
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