You may have had your annual vegetarian meal on Vesak Day, but why stop there? After all, the benefits of a vegetarian diet include weight loss and longevity. UrbanWire has scouted out 4 vegetarian eateries.

Types Of Vegetarians

There are 8 types of vegetarianism: lacto-ovo, lacto, ovo, fruitarianism, veganism, raw veganism, su-vegetarism and marcobiotic diets.

Real Food is suitable for lacto-ovo vegetarians. Lacto-ovo vegetarians don’t eat any sort of meat, seafood included, but is willing consume diary and egg products. They are the most common type of vegetarians.

Real Food A Real Gem

By Amanda Foo

Real Food is a great café at The Central that makes you wonder why we need so much meat anyway.

Real Food is a cosy little shop in the basement of The Central that is not only suitable for vegetarians, but close to 90% of the food served is organic and patronising it is about as ethical a food choice as you can make.

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UrbanWire sampled 3 recommended dishes and we’re glad to say that we didn’t notice the lack of meat at all, mock or otherwise. It turns out that Real Food isn’t like the traditional vegetarian reataurant because they claim to use only natural and unprocessed foods.

We started off with a light Dumpling Soup ($6.80). While some may complain that it’s a touch too bland, consider that this soup was flavoured without the traditional chicken or pig bones, and you’ll start to appreciate how fantastic the soup is.

Soup

Dumplings are stuffed with over 10 ingredients – including carrots, tofu, mushroom and French beans. The mushroom flavour stands out the most and the earthy taste makes for a wonderful partner to the firm skin of the dumpling. This is a comforting dish from start to end and you don’t have to fear for your waistline either.

For those who prefer something more filling, there is the Organic Tomato Sauce Pasta with Grilled Aubergines, Capsicum and Zucchini ($10.80), suitable for vegans.

Pasta

The pasta is al dente, with just the right amount of bite. The tomato sauce is tart and a great counter to the sweetness of the capiscum although the aubergine might be too chewy for some. The only issue about this dish is that, with its giant pieces of vegetables, it feels like a sum of parts than a complete dish.

Finally, there was the Organic Strawberry and Banana Pancakes ($7.80). an item that’s available the whole day, which made UrbanWire fall in love with Real Food just a bit more. The pancake batter is made on the spot, which means a short wait, but good things are always worth waiting for. Everything in that dish is organic and it’s also wheat and gluten free.

Pancakes

The pancake not only has caramelised strawberries and bananas as a topping, but they’re also worked into the pancake, making sure that no one can accuse Real Food of being stingy.

For those of us with a sweet tooth though, it could do with more honey. However, when everything is piled onto your fork, it’s divine and just the dish that you really want to end your meal with even though it’s a breakfast item (but really, who cares).

Real Food also retails the same ingredients that they use in their kitchen, so for those who always have trouble with finding organic ingredients, this is one more shop for you.

RealFoodInterior

Address: 6 Eu Tong Sen Street, #B1-52 The Central
Telephone No.: 6224 4492
Opening Hours: 9am – 8.30pm
Rating: ★★★★✩

All photos taken by Jasmine Chong from Klix Photography.

Health Benefits of A Vegetarian Diet

  • Longevity – Vegetarians generally outlive their meat-eating counterparts by to 6 years.
  • Protects your heart – Vegetarian diets tend to be lower in cholesterol because meat increases a person’s cholesterol and saturated fat levels.
  • Prevents cancer – Women who eat meat everyday are 4 times more likely to get breast cancer than those that don’t and studies have shown that a vegetable-based diet helps to prevent prostate, colon and skin cancers.
  • Lower Body Mass Index – A lack of protein and fat in a vegetarian diet means that a vegetarian is lighter. Another reason is that they also tend to adopt healthier lifestyle choices.
  • Control Of Diabetes – Even though this disease currently has cure, a vegetarian diet can help with controlling your condition because legumes, vegetables, fruits and whole grains can lower your blood sugar.

Other Vegetarian Eateries