Entree Kibbles: Herbivore - Japanese Vegetarian Restaurant @ Fortune Centre [Bugis, Singapore] #vegetarian

Monday, February 21, 2022

Herbivore - Japanese Vegetarian Restaurant @ Fortune Centre [Bugis, Singapore] #vegetarian

I am not a huge fan of vegetarian food, mainly because of their pricing which can sometimes be more expensive than meat, although I do crave for the occasional bee hoon with mock char siew and crispy vegetarian goose meat.

But vegetarian cuisine has improved in variety, quality and taste over the years and one of my favorite vegetarian restaurants would be Elemen. Today, let me share another interesting vegetarian restaurant; Herbivore, and it serves Japanese food.

Photo of the interior when we, the last group of customers, were leaving! I think Herbivore used to be named Zen Japanese restaurant which I think is more representative of its Japanese roots compared to herbivore which sounds more like a fusion restaurant.

Refillable iced water was chargeable at S$0.50 per person. Ordering was via the tablet and for those who are always stuck in a dilemma on what to have; they do have a good selection of bentos.

Unagi Maki - first to be served, it looked absolutely legit from afar! Take a closer look and you would notice that the unagi meat was in fact tofu that was grilled until its edges were crisp.

I put one into my mouth and chewed; OMG, it tasted exactly like a real piece of unagi maki,! How did they even replicate the signature unagi flavor?! Interestingly, the tofu-ness was obvious when you eat the 'unagi' separately but not when you munch it down together with the rice, the cucumber and the avocado.

Teriyaki Chicken Don - when I was a teenager, teriyaki chicken don was a comfort food when it comes to Japanese cuisine but I am not sure when it is in vegetarian form. There was that teriayki tinge but the 'meat' tasted like mock meat.

Tonkatsu Bento - I am extremely picky with tonkatsu and would only eat at Saboten. This vegetarian option had the desirable crispiness of a good piece of tonkatsu but the similarity stopped when I got to the meat. It's funny that non-vegetarian judges vegetarian food by how close it tastes to the real thing.

Have never enjoyed Vietnamese spring rolls.

They appeared extremely healthy though.

Chawanmushi Maki - amongst all the bentos, I thought this looked the most appetizing on the digital menu and the inclusion of Japanese steamed egg custard also helped to quicken my decision making process!

Least favorite had to be the salad. Anyway, the chawanmushi was a letdown; texture was rough and the 'egg' was actually steamed tofu, with minimal resemblance in taste to egg.

Maki was legit nice, thanks to the crunchy pickles wrapped within whereas the crispy gyozas tasted pretty good after you dip them into the accompanying sauce! Without the sauce, it would have been another disappointment.

The classic Japanese teapot soup was known for its natural sweetness and even without the seafood and sometimes, chicken; this was satisfying as a mushroom flavored soup that had ingredients almost filled to the top!

Again another mock meat that would not likely overpass the unagi maki; or so I assumed until I tore off the first section. *wide eyed* the ham-like bacon would have passed off as real ham and it's not just your normal slice of rolled up ham; it was ham I actually like.

Dessert, part of the bento, was yuzu jelly. The sourness and sweetness was just the right combination to conclude this 100% vegetarian meal.

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There were hits and misses but this would be a fantastic place, aside from Elemen, for my parents who would faithfully follow a vegetarian diet on the first and fifteenth day of every lunar month.

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