Divine Vegetarian Family Restaurant (添欣素食园) @ Hougang, Singapore

Every month without fail, there will be two days that staunch semi- staunch (since staunch Buddhists are supposed to go on a non-meat diet at all times) Buddhists in Singapore have no meat in their meals; one is the 1st day of the lunar month and the second being the 15th day of the lunar month.

Today, it is the 15th of the lunar month (which means there will be a full moon!) and I was coerced to have a vegetarian breakfast with my family. For a person like me who adores meat and has not had vegetarian food for a long time, it’s a FML situation!!!

Okay, not really… since I don’t really mind any food, so long it is tasty by my standard. Yes, my standard, not yours!!! :P

Going on, my elder sister brought me to this popular restaurant located in Hougang, by the name of Divine Vegetarian Family Restaurant. By divine, i deduce that either the food is damn good or I am going to the heavenly realm AFTER eating the food.

Famous for its full vegetarian menu and the wide variety of vegetarian food selection, you can select from the mixed vegetables rice stall and the tze-char stall which whips up hor-fun, fishball noodles, kway chap, mee goreng, tom yam soup and even a freaky nice & crispy roti prata!!

Here’s what we had.

Mine

This is what I chose; a self-selected bee hoon with vegetarian char siew, vegetarian sweet and sour pork and a vegetables-based spring roll!!

Although the char siew was good, nothing beats the one my mom cooked!! Okay, maybe the char siew made in one of the Buddhist temples located in Sembawang can beat my mom’s version.

The spring roll was filled with the fragrance of mushrooms and turnips. And the ‘skin’ was fried just right; crispy and not oily.

My Sister

She ordered fishball noodles!

One amazing thing about this dish was the generous serving of vegetarian pork lard!! It’s amazing how alike they were! The taste was not too bad but I will prefer the real thing anytime!

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Location

Block 356, Hougang Avenue 7, #01-803.

Additional Information

Be prepared for crowds if you visit this restaurant during the 1st and 15th of the lunar month!!

Contrary to its name, the correct setting is coffee shop, not restaurant. Hence, don’t expect air-conditioning and cushy, leather seats!!!

Nothing is perfect in his imperfect world, judging from my mom's selection of stir-fried pumpkins, lady fingers which were really "ugh".

Be Your Own Judge.