GEORGE TOWN, May 22 — Spaghetti and ramen noodles. Jawa mee and otak-otak. Spicy and bursting with flavours, these dishes are often served with meat or seafood while its vegetarian alternatives are often thought to be lacking in flavours or be bland. So be prepared for a pleasant surprise when you try out either of these two vegetarian restaurants that emphasise on natural ingredients.
Opened more than five years ago, these two vegetarian restaurants offer healthy wholesome meals that are different from the conventional Chinese vegetarian restaurants that often use artificial flavourings and highly processed soy made to resemble meat and fish. Instead, these two restaurants offer a full menu of noodles and rice dishes that do not contain MSG, artificial flavourings, artificial colouring, preservatives or highly processed fake vegetarian meat. Both restaurants proudly boast of using only all-natural ingredients, brown rice in place of white rice and homemade sauces made from vegetables and fruits.
Over at Seed Natural Food Cafe, Tan Kok Leong and Khoo Chai Hong started the restaurant about eight years ago, first at Nagore Road before moving to its current premises in Abu Siti Lane. Tan, as the main chef, used to be a photographer but his passion for cooking became the basis for the menu they planned out for the restaurant.
His signature dish is his Jawa mee — noodles in a thick, rich gravy served with bean curd, potatoes and vegetarian fritters. The conventional Jawa mee is served with prawn fritters and eggs but Tan’s version may not have the prawns or eggs but it wins with its flavours as the gravy is sweet and sour from the pumpkin, sweet potatoes and tomatoes used to make it. Adding a squeeze of half a lime into the gravy gives the whole dish a tangy taste that makes it a perfect combination of sweet, sour and savoury flavours all at once.
He also specialises in nasi ulam and assam laksa, available only on Saturdays. Usually most vegetarian assam laksa is full of MSG to give it flavour. Tan uses seaweed and spices to replicate the pungent fishy flavours and it comes really close to the conventional assam laksa made with fish. So, if you are vegetarian and craving for a taste of Penang assam laksa, Tan’s version is as close to the conventional ones as it can get.
Another dish to try out is the stone pot rice. This restaurant uses the healthier embryo rice (partially milled rice that retains its embryo bud) instead of plain white rice and it is topped with seven different types of vegetables and seaweed strips. It is served with a sweet chilli sauce on the side. Once you mix everything with the sauce, the whole concoction is one hot flavourful pot of greens and rice goodness that is healthy and delicious at the same time.
“Most of our produce are taken from local organic farms and we only use fresh produce for all our ingredients,” Tan said.
Most of the recipes on his menu took him many experiments to come up with the final ones that are both delicious and healthy. Even for his pasta dishes, he tries to come up with different types of spaghetti and the best-seller is his spicy asparagus pasta. This dish is served with a spicy tomato-based sauce and the fresh green asparagus gives it a refreshing crunch to complement the spiciness of the sauce.
Finally, for dessert, their gandum is given a healthier makeover as it uses rolled oats instead of wheat grains and it is sweetened by palm sugar. For drinks, there is a variety of fresh juices but the best-seller is the Vitamin King — an interesting refreshing concoction made from pineapple and sweet potato leaves.
Seed Natural Food Cafe
12A, Abu Siti Lane
10400 Penang
Tel: 04-2297903
Business hours: 11am – 3pm, 5.30pm – 9pm
Next is The Leaf Healthy House. This restaurant is also located in George Town, just within the heritage zone and busy Little India. Lee Siew Ching wanted to open a healthy vegetarian restaurant that offers healthy versions of vegetarian food that is as natural as possible.
That’s how she finally opened the restaurant five years ago and developed some unique recipes together with her chefs. Like Seed, they also offer pasta dishes of different flavours from mushroom spaghetti to pumpkin spaghetti. Their signature pasta dish is called The Leaf Spaghetti which is essentially pesto and pine nut sauce tossed with spaghetti. It is fragrant with the sharp green flavours of the fresh basil leaves balanced by the nutty flavours of the pine nuts.
“We use only coconut oil and olive oil in all our recipes and we use all local ingredients to ensure everything we serve is fresh and healthy,” she said.
The Leaf’s menu contains a variety of ramen noodles, rice sets, vermicelli sets and even lighter meals such as salads, soups and snacks. All the sauces and soups that go with each dish are made from fresh, natural ingredients. Their drinks are fresh fruit juices and several types of tea while dessert is the simple, homemade fruit konjac (konnyaku) jelly.
One of the chef’s recommendations for a light snack is the Vietnamese hand roll which is a riot of colourful vegetables with brown rice vermicelli wrapped in soft thin rice skin. It is served with a unique mint sauce that is slightly tangy from the use of lime juice with a hint of sweetness from honey.
They also have nasi ulam — rice mixed with seven types of thinly sliced local herbs and spices. If you find that too earthy, you can opt for the ever popular Kam Heong eryngii set that includes eryngii mushrooms cooked in a sweet, sour and slightly spicy sauce served with rice, fresh salad and soup.
Traditionally, Nyonya otak-otak is made from fish. The Leaf replicates the rich, spicy dish using soybean skin and almost the same mix of spices and herbs is used. This results into a vegetarian otak-otak that is spicy, smooth and fragrant from the spices.
They also have homemade dumplings, stuffed with vegetables and mushrooms, paired with ramen and a tummy warming clear vegetable soup. This is the ultimate comfort meal for those craving for something home cooked with simple, fresh, easy on the taste buds and yet bursting with flavours from the fresh vegetables and nourishing soup.
The Leaf Healthy House
5, Penang Street, 10200 George Town
Tel: 012-4988491
Business : 11.30am – 3pm, 5.30pm – 9pm
Closed on Sundays
