The husband and I came by Ensogo Singapore’s office @ CT Hub a while back as we had to pick up an iPad bluetooth keyboard that we ordered on deal.com.sg. We were planning to have lunch at Taiwan Railway Bento but it was no longer in operation – what a shame because we did like their concept and the food.
Almost half of the eateries at CT Hub were closed on a Saturday as they catered to mostly the working crowd in the industrial area but we were delighted to find other new eats like De Burg (formerly at 119 Bukit Merah Lane 1), The Diner by The Travelling COW and this vegetarian bistro.
I have a penchant for vegetarian fare and I will not hesitate to consider it as a meal option whenever I’m near a vegetarian restaurant so we settled for this. This casual dining eatery used to be named Yuan Wei Quan (缘味全) before it was rebranded to Yuan Vegetarian Bistro last year. It served up a pretty impressive menu of local/Chinese/Western fare of which all were vegetarian of course.
I ordered the fish beehoon soup that came with plenty of fried mock fish, mock fishcake, silken tofu, bok choy and thick beehoon noodles in a clear, non-oily, light broth. To the husband who preferred heavier flavours, this was probably like ‘sick man’s food’ because there was a lack of seasoning or salt. I didn’t mind it being plain as there were freshly sliced red chillies and light soy sauce to the rescue, lol. I just enjoyed the detoxifying effect the hot and seemingly healthier soup meal had on me. I thought the mock fish (made from soy) were delicious – though fried till crisp, they didn’t ooze any oil at all and tasted really fresh. The thick beehoon noodles were also cooked to perfection. If I was a ‘sick man’, I could easily devour this that had varying textures rather than the boring congee.
The husband had the Nonya curry rice that was served in a twin bowl. And I must say looks could be so deceiving at times. The presentation of the dish was somewhat unexciting – almost like having mixed rice from a hawker stall – an oil-floating-on-top curry chicken dish with some overly cooked, almost shrivelling long green beans and white rice. I took a mouthful of the curry gravy and was immediately blown away by its aroma, balance and taste. The gravy was thick, almost creamy and packed full of flavour – it was the hero of the dish – that I felt even if it was just a bowl of plain gravy without ingredients, I would happily slurp that up.
Prices here were generally affordable with most dishes being priced around the S$5-8 region with no GST and service charge. You just have to order and pay at the counter and food will be delivered to your table. Cutleries and condiments are placed near the entrance so you can self-service.
Yuan Vegetarian Bistro
2 Kallang Ave
#01-07/14, CT Hub
Singapore 339407
Tel: 9687 8535
Facebook page
Opening hours:
11.00am to 9.30pm (Mon-Sat)
Closed on Sundays