Fishball noodles and pork porridge are comfort foods for many. For us, ice cream is a go-to and an essential, especially with such merciless weather all-year-round.

Some may say that what sets good ice cream apart from subpar ones is the use of quality milk and cream, but we beg to differ.

Kind Kones is a new ice cream parlour in Orchard that serves vegan ice cream—yes, that means that no milk nor cream is being incorporated in its making and less guilt while consuming your ice cream! The best part? It doesn’t compromise the taste nor the quality of their desserts.

Originating from Malaysia, the brand’s philosophy is to use 100% all-natural, unprocessed ingredients without the use of any refined sugar, preservatives nor additives on top of keeping dairy products and eggs out of the production.

Kind Kones specialises in churning out creative flavours of vegan ice cream. Patrons can choose to pair their desserts with cones (+S$0.6/1), brownies (S$11.50), cookies (+S$1 each) or make it a banana split (S$10.50).

The cafe also serves a selective range of vegan cakes and light bites on top of the aforementioned treats—a healthier alternative to calorie-loaded cakes you’d get elsewhere.

Digging in to the Black Forest ice cream (S$6.90) with Wholemeal Cone (S$0.60), we were pleasantly surprised to find that the ice cream came with a superbly creamy texture—one we reckon was difficult to achieve without the use of dairy products.

Made using coconut milk, cashew milk, almond milk, vanilla, brownie chunks and cherry compote, the Black Forest ice cream got us hooked from our first mouthful. The sweet ice cream base went excellently with the tangy notes from the bright purple cherry compote and the brownie chunks gave the ice cream an added chewy texture.

Next up, we got ourselves an Ice Cream Sandwich (S$8). We paired an oatmeal almond crisp cookie and a dark chocolate chip cookie with Blue Planet, an ice cream flavour derived from coconut milk, cashew milk, butterfly peak flower, vanilla and matcha cake.

The ice cream came with a gorgeous blue hue and had a strong earthy flavour.

Similar to the Black Forest ice cream, the Blue Planet came with chunks of matcha cake to give it an elevated texture. We thought that it was a smart move to have chunks of matcha cake inside the ice cream as it made the large scoop of ice cream less cloying.

Kind Kones is certainly a good spot to head to if you’re looking for a place to unwind and treat yourself to an ice-cold, sweet dessert without having to worry excessively about the consumption of unhealthy refined sugar and preservatives.

Kind Kones
583 Orchard Road
Forum The Shopping Mall #B1-27
Singapore 238884
Daily: 10am – 10pm
Nearest Station: Orchard

OUE Downtown Gallery is one of our favourite hangout spots in the heart of town—there are endless dining options—such as The Autobus, Lunar Coffee Brewers and Omotesando Koffee—that leaves us spoilt for choice when we are feeling peckish.

Adding onto the long list of dining options is a relatively new vegan dining concept that has popped up in the mall—HRVST. Pronounced as ‘harvest’, this is one stylish cafe that will catch the fancy of all health and gym junkies.

The kitchen is helmed by a pair of partner chefs, Addis Tan and Dylan who have 20 years of experience working for established F&B names such as Tippling Club, Esquina and Cheek by Jowl.

Located just beside Kilter Avenue (a boutique gym), HRVST aims to redefine your expectations of vegan food—using only the freshest ingredients they can source and turning them into aesthetically pleasing dishes that do not compromise on taste at all.

While HRVST mainly gets their produce from reliable suppliers, they also make use of the edible garden outside the cafe for some of their dishes. Take a walk around the open rooftop garden where you can temporarily escape from the hustle of the city.

A favourite among their diners, the Sourdough with Orange-Glazed Grilled Tofu (S$16++) is a great brunch or lunch option that is appetising and wholesome.

Tuck into the dish and let your taste buds discover the layers of flavours and textures that come from the sourdough, nut spread, soft tofu, broccoli and cauliflower florets that are doused in kelp stock and pickled zucchini ribbons.

For those who are attempting vegan food for the first time, their BKT Barley Risotto (S$16++) will impress you it does replicate the original dish well—in terms of the oily texture (thanks to the garlic and coriander oil) and taste.

We were pleasantly surprised that all the spices of what you would expect from a regular bak kut teh were there sans the meat, of course. Instead, what diners can expect from this dish is diced fried daikon, pink radish, braised nuts and thin dough crisp that will remind you of you tiao.

We had the Matcha Ice Cream (S$8++) which was complemented with a touch of blood orange puree, poached plums and pistachio bits. To be completely frank, we still prefer our normal creamy matcha ice cream but the cafe’s vegan rendition wasn’t too lacklustre either as the ice cream was rich with matcha flavours.

On top of those that we have tried, HRVST’s straightforward menu also includes other dishes such as Pumpkin Fettucine (S$16++), Hay Salt Baked Celeriac (S$18++) and desserts including Caramelised Pineapple Ring (S$8++) and Blackforest Cake (S$8++).

HRVST
6A Shenton Way
#05-01, OUE Downtown Gallery
Singapore 068815
Mon to Fri: 11.30am – 2.30pm, 5.30pm to 11pm
Sat: 10am – 3pm
Sun: Closed
Nearest Station: Tanjong Pagar

If you are thinking of having a meat-free food meal that is not only healthy but affordable, you might want to add GreenDot to your list of restaurants. The co-founder’s family has been in the meat-free food business for decades, and being a supplier themselves, they are ever proud of their high quality and stay true to keeping their prices competitive.

With the motto “Eat Green, Feel Good”, the people behind GreenDot are strong believers of eating green to stay healthy. In order to cater to their customer’s nutritional needs, they have teamed up with a group of nutritionists to serve food that contains only the most beneficial ingredients, and there is no added MSG.

This humble restaurant currently has three outlets (Westgate, Paya Lebar Square and Bedok Mall) in Singapore and it plans to open a few more outlets so that everyone can enjoy affordable meat-free meals.

The best thing about GreenDot is most dishes on the menu are priced under S$10 – you can have a well-balanced meal without burning a hole in your pocket.

GreenDot distinguishes themselves in serving home-cooked fares prepared down to the very last detail – much like how our moms do. Step into the restaurant, and you will be greeted by a welcoming interior and a group of passionate employees who will enhance your experience; good food that reminds of you dining at home, that is what we really love about GreenDot.

For the working crowd, their customised bento lunch sets allow you to grab a quick lunch at a pocket-friendly price of S$7.90. Customize your lunch, and pick only your favourites. You get to choose from 5 different types of rice choices – Beauty Rice, Emperor Rice, Five Treasure Rice, Fragrance Rice or even Sesame Rice.

Mix and match is the fun part here – opt for one main and two greens from their bento counter. Our favourite was definitely the Cereal Konnyaku, a high fibre and low-fat dish. The Konnyaku is coated with cereal, then tossed with bird’s eye chilli and curry leaves till golden brown. The taste barred close resemblance to that of Cereal Prawns, a hawker dish no stranger to any Singaporean.

Some other crowd pleasers include their Lion Mane Mushroom Rendang Bowl (S$9.50), Tom Yam Noodles (S$6.50) and Laksa Noodles (S$5.90). Now, trust us when we say the Lion Mane Mushroom Rendang Bowl can be really addictive. It comes with Lion Mane mushrooms and assorted mushrooms with signature rendang sauce atop sesame rice. Definitely not your usual vegetarian food, and it is one so flavourful that we really did not miss our meat at all.

Every ingredient used for the dishes at GreenDot is handpicked by their owners and is free of MSG. They believe in the philosophy of crafting their broth from scratch; mom will approve.

For burger fans, you will be surprised, but GreenDot serves a series of meat-free burgers that are so tantalizing, they are bound to whet your appetites. Their Lion Mane Mushroom Burger Set (S$11.80) comes with a patty fused with mashed Lion Mane mushrooms and soy. It is then smothered with feisty black pepper sauce, cheese, Green Coral lettuce and tomatoes for a complete experience. Complete with fries and salad served on the side, of course.

To be most honest, we were not expecting ourselves to love this meat-free burger. How exciting can a mushroom patty be, right? But you know what they say about “do not judge a book by its cover”? We finally grasped the meaning of this saying. Now, make a trip down to GreenDot and try the burger for yourself; you will sing praises of it too.

Need your steamboat fix? Sure, this mini hotpot set at S$29.90 will do the trick. It is ridiculously affordable, because the set comes with a whole pot of green goodness and mushrooms that last a lifetime, together with free refills of soup, two bowls of brown rice and free refill of tea. A mini hot pot set for four is also available at S$49.90, with extra ingredients in the basket, four bowls of rice, and a mushroom platter.

The mini hotpot set comes with 3 variations of soup of your choice – Herb, Laksa and Tom Yam. And we say go straight for the herb broth. It is incredible beyond words. Prepared with ten different kinds of fresh herbs that boost blood circulation, reduce cholesterol and to expel heat from the body, this broth got us so hooked. There were many items on our table for lunch, and subconsciously, all of us kept reaching for more soup from the hotpot. We had thought we would drink this for good complexion, but heck, we will drink it because it tastes so damn hearty!

Of course, apart from your greens and mushrooms, the platter also comes with Konnyaku prawns, crispy beancurd skin (tau kee) and Green Corals.

We are carnivores and we are proud of it. But for this table of gorgeous greens and real food, we are more than happy to eat clean and eat green at GreenDot – which has rocketed to become our favourite vegetarian restaurant in Singapore. GreenDot is the best testament that having a healthy and meat-free meal need not be expensive.

P.S. We heard it is really popular with the executives and families in the area!

GreenDot
Paya Lebar Square
60 Paya Lebar Road, #02-15/16/17
Singapore 409051
Tel: +65 6702 2221
Daily: 11am – 10pm
Nearest MRT: Paya Lebar

This post is brought to you by GreenDot.