During our time in Singapore we learned a lot about the history of the country, including how it became to be such a hub of transport, shipping, and why so many people migrated there from so many different countries. Because of its coastal location and proximity to India, China and Malaysia, Singapore is very diverse with a population made up of people of Chinese, Malaysian and Indian descent. As a result, this is an excellent city for food, with so many different cuisines on offer; Singaporean cuisine itself is rooted in the flavours of all of these different cultures. It is an increasingly accessible place for all diets, with plenty of choice when it comes to plant-based food, if you do your research (check out our Top Places to Eat Vegan in Singapore blog - coming soon - for more ideas!)
What is laksa, and why is it one of Singapore's national dishes?
Singapore's coastline brings one more important element to its cuisine too: seafood. One of its national dishes, and maybe Singapore's most famous fishy export, is laksa soup - something that you wouldn't expect to try as a vegan. This noodle-based dish includes a spicy coconut based curry broth and a variety of seafood toppings. It is really popular in the country, and is regularly eaten for breakfast, lunch, and dinner!
During our time in Singapore we learned that not only is the country a great place for vegans, but it is an incredible place for vegan seafood. We were blown away many times by the realistic textures and flavours of the plant-based fish, crab, prawns and squid that we found there - sometimes it was so accurate that it made us both a little uneasy (neither of us were ever big seafood fans!) So we were keen to try a vegan laksa in Singapore, curious about how this beloved dish would taste when it was made plant-based. Read on, and check out our video below, to see where we found it and how it tasted!
Where did we find vegan laksa in Singapore?
We headed over to Greendot in Singapore, where vegan laksa (with their own plant-based seafood) is a popular featured item on their menu. Greendot is a popular vegetarian restaurant chain with lots of vegan options, which are clearly marked on their menus. We really liked this restaurant, which felt friendly and less fancy than some of the other places we tried - perfect for a casual lunch, and an exciting place to try this dish! We were really impressed by the speed of the service too - you can order from the menu or choose pre-prepared items from the counter which looked excellent too.
What did we think of the laksa, really?
Our first impressions of the laksa were really good: the presentation was excellent, it was piping hot and it smelled so fragrant and spicy. You could really make out all of the different components, from the noodles in the broth, to the mushrooms, broccoli, plant-based seafood and sambal carefully placed on top. It made our mouths water to look at, let alone taste (though we had to wait a little while for this super hot dish to cool down!)
Now let's get down to the flavours. We found the curry soup to be really tasty, albeit a little spicy for us Westerners - it certainly warmed us up! The traditionally thin soup was packed with noodles that were nicely soft and made this dish really hearty; we didn't actually need the side dish that we had ordered! The laksa also really threw us into the deep end when it came to eating noodle soup with chopsticks - Mike is more adept with them so coped absolutely fine, but I made SUCH a mess with mine, sauce everywhere!
The vegetables added extra texture and flavour to the dish, as well as extra nutrients of course - we thought they tasted great in the dish. Then it came to the plant-based seafood. As I said before, neither of us were big fans of seafood in the past - in fact, before I went vegan I disliked seafood so much that I never really ventured past fish fingers if I could help it. So the vegan seafood here was pretty hard to review, because it was so realistic. What made it an excellent product (the texture and flavours were so accurate) was what made us not so keen. They have done such a job in recreating the rubbery texture of fish balls and the tenderness of prawns, that we were a little uncomfortable eating them. If you loved seafood though, or perhaps you never even tried it, you would likely be delighted by the really believable fish substitutes in this laksa. For us though, we'll still with plant-based chicken laksa in the future!
You can see us try the laksa in real time in the video below (check out Mike trying to contend with the spiciness!)
How much did it cost - and was it worth it?
Now our aversion to seafood really shouldn't take away from how incredible this plant-based laksa was. As a vegan alternative to the national dish it was absolutely worth trying if you are in Singapore - we'd love to know what you think of it! Price-wise, this laksa is quite accessible at S$8.50 per portion (approx. £5.25, €5.95 or $6.39). The traditional non-vegan variant would be much cheaper at a street stall or Hawker Centre but with the work that goes into the flavours and presentation of the dish, as well as that impressive plant-based seafood, we thought this was a reasonable price.
Greendot have thirteen restaurants in Singapore. The branch we visited was located at 60 Paya Lebar Rd, #02-15 Paya Lebar Square, Singapore 409051 and is open from 11am to 9pm every day.
Have you had any great (or not so great!) vegan laksa in Singapore? Or elsewhere in the world! Where did you go and what would you recommend? Let us know in the comments below.
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