Unlike Joshua Weissman, I did not use fresh pasta but used store-bought bucatini instead. Pasta, like many cooking supplies during the lockdown, was in short supply. Thankfully, I was able to find some quality bucatini on Amazon Prime. Making this dish could not be simpler: pasta (cooked al dente), pepper, parmesan, and pecorino cheese. The recipe started with cooking the pasta in heavily salted water, followed by cooking pepper in olive oil. Finally, add some pasta water, the pasta, and finally the cheese. The pasta water helps to emulsify and make the dish super creamy. The last step before serving is to plate and top off with more cheese and black pepper. It is best served with a nice bottle of champagne.

Joshua Weissman’s Cacio e Pepe is an incredibly tasty dish that makes for a quick, satisfying, and impressive meal.

I first found out about this restaurant by chance when Chef Marcello randomly followed me on Instagram sometime in late 2019. I saw that he often posted about his restaurant’s various pizzas and cocktails, but only got around to trying his pizza for the first time during Circuit breaker.

One of my favourite things about Pizza Addiction is the price to quality ratio. Each pizza is no more than S$25, and there is a decent variety of vegetarian items. On the day we ordered, my family and I got the classic Margherita pizza, the pesto pizza, and the vegetarian pizza. They also have a couple of other vegetarian options in the form of a four cheese pizza and a limited-edition pizza Pomodoro (a mixed medley of cherry tomatoes). In addition to pizza, the place also delivers pasta, dessert, various cocktails, and wines.

Each of our pizzas had a nice, thin crust that supported the toppings well. I found the toppings fresh and flavorful too. However, there is one small downside. While Pizza Addiction offers islandwide delivery in Singapore, this can take over 40-minutes which can lead to the pizza being cold upon arrival. I hope to try these pizzas at their restaurant location in person once lockdown ends. I would highly recommend Pizza Addiction.

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My family and I decided to try this out as a mini-treat to celebrate my graduation from Zoom University. We each got different burgers. My brother got the “Happy Days” (Impossible patty with cheese, onion rings, and smoky BBQ sauce) and my mum decided to get the “One Night In Bangkok” (an impossible burger with aromatic Thai spicy flavours). Feeling extra, I decided to get a double “Black-Tie”: two impossible patties, rocket leaves, and truffle aioli. All three burgers came with a side of fries but sadly no sauce. Thankfully being at home, we were able to raid our pantry for our choice of sauce and pair the burgers with some sparkling wine we had at home.

The Goodburger makes some great plant-based burgers and uses the impossible patties well. Despite the extra time needed for delivery, the burgers arrived hot and fresh. The restaurant, in a brilliant move, took the time to plate the burgers properly and included some “Impossible” flags so patrons could Instagram with ease. I do hope one day to try this place in person where I can get the burger piping hot and fresh off the grill.

Nearly three years later, after improving my cooking skills, I was finally able to muster up the courage to attempt this delightfully unhealthy treat. I used a recipe from justataste.com as their method was explicitly designed for a 12-inch cast-iron skillet. One thing that immediately struck out in this recipe was the hilarious amount of butter, sugar and chocolate chips that went into this dish.

Exhibit A: Giant cookie in a cast iron skillet

Thanks to the help of my mum's kitchen aid, making the cookie dough for this recipe was incredibly easy, and soon I constructed the cookie pie. After about 30-35 minutes in the oven, the cookie pie came out looking just as I imagined. It was sticky and gooey in the middle with a beautiful crunchy base. It paired well with the freshly bought vanilla bean ice cream I acquired from the store.

The final product, plated and ready to eat

I would highly recommend this recipe for a celebratory occasion. The amount of butter, sugar and chocolate is hilariously sinful and not something recommended as a daily meal.

Afternoon tea on the verandah

At the time of ordering the scones, much to the chagrin of ABGs everywhere, bubble tea stores in Singapore did not fall into the category of essential businesses. 1880 saved the day here with a unique take in the form of an alcoholic bubble tea where the pearls were almost like vodka-soaked gummies.

The bubble tea paired well with the scones as the light, and refreshing cocktail contrasted nicely with the richness of the scones and cream.

On the whole, 1880 put together a wonderful afternoon tea treat.

My family and I got the chance to try out the newly refurbished Tiffin Room around the Christmas of 2019. The newly refurbished restaurant sported some new décor along with a brand new food and cocktail menu to boot.

The Tiffin Room’s new look felt much brighter and more spacious than before, while making creative use of vintage stacked tiffin containers.
We decided to have cocktails to start things off. We noticed a Jaisalmer gin from India on the menu and decided to try that with tonic. The gin was refreshing and made for a great precursor to the food.

The Tiffin Room is known for its North Indian inspired cuisine with wide varieties of vegetarian and non-vegetarian items. One item that caught my eye was the ‘Mera Dabbba’, an option to create your own tiffin box. This was a great way to sample multiple dishes from the menu as you’re able to select two items, which are presented in a traditional tiffin carrier, together with a dal and a naan basket.
We ordered a tulsi paneer kebab and pap dip chaat as starters, and a ‘Mera Dabba’ with a yoghurt kebab, a paneer butter masala, and baingan bhartha (an eggplant dish) as a main course

The meal did not disappoint. The food and drinks were rich, flavorful, and balanced, the staff were friendly and informative, and the ambience was enjoyable. While a little on the pricey side, the Tiffin Room made for a worthwhile occasional treat, and I look forward to the next time I am able dine here.

Forno Bistro is a Northern Italian style restaurant that recently went through a significant renovation to expand its bar space. Forno also did a revamp of their menu to include more seasonal items, changing it up every three to four months, depending on the season. Forno tries to source local ingredients where possible, either from the local farmer’s market, or DZ Group’s farm.

When my brother visited me back in November, Forno’s menu was focusing on Fall specialties, which, in the United States, means pumpkin everything.

My brother, my friends, and I tried several dishes, starting with vegetable croquette served with a spicy sauce. Next, we split a calzone, which I washed down with a pumpkin spiced old fashioned. I ordered a penne alla vodka for my main course, which was delicious and creamy. The meal ended with a flour-less chocolate cake, compliments of the manager whom I interviewed for my class.

While Forno Bistro likes to pride itself on making you feel more like a guest than like a customer, I did not get such a vibe. Thankfully the food did make up for it. The highlights of the meal were the calzone and the cocktails. The new mixologist did a fantastic job with the seasonal ingredients, and nothing beats a freshly baked calzone from a wood-fired oven. The restaurant, overall, is excellent, and they are incredibly accommodating to all dietary restrictions. If you’re ever in Saratoga Springs, Upstate New York, hopefully during the summer and after COVID-19, a visit to Forno Bistro is a must.

This Starbucks Reserve is a vast industrial-looking space combining a coffee roaster, Starbucks outlet, and an in-house Italian style bakery. The bakery is where my brother and I decided to have a spot of breakfast. I decided to get myself a baked egg dish that was essentially a shakshuka but with fewer of the traditional spices. My brother ordered something similar; however, his eggs came in a white sauce instead of a tomato-based sauce. The breakfast dishes came served in little cast iron skillets, with a side of sourdough slices. Since we were at a Starbucks and we were jetlagged, we obviously paired the breakfast with a comically large nitro cold brew.

Overall, the food and drink were better than an average Starbucks, but not groundbreaking. That said, the Reserve outlet offered much more variety in terms of food and beverage choices, and a much more delightful ambience than a

Serious Pie has a wood-fired oven that blasts the pizza at 316 Degrees Celcius (600 Degrees Fahrenheit). Between the four of us, we ordered three different pizzas. The first pizza was a roasted seasonal mushroom pizza with truffle cheese. The next was a buffalo mozzarella pizza, and the last was a white pizza with pecorino and fresh tomato. We paired these with different beers and ciders from regional breweries.

Beer and pizza is a combo that never fails, especially a wood-fired pizza with a fresh local draft brew. After a long day of travelling from Singapore with a needlessly annoying stopover in San Francisco, this meal was a very welcome end to the day. The pizza had a fantastic crust with that all-important charred taste from the wood-fired oven, and the toppings were flavourful. Plus, nothing beats washing it all down with a nice cold brew (no not the coffee).

I would definitely recommend a stop at Serious Pie on a visit to Seattle.

Pasta Casalinga is at the upper level arcade within the market and took a little effort to find. Once we found it though, we were greeted by an intimate café with just a handful of seats and a frequently rotating menu of just four or five dishes With just a few dishes to focus on, the chefs go all out on quality – thinkhomemade fresh pasta and high-quality ingredients. My brother and I were in for a treat.

The first dish that we ordered was the rigatoni with with a San Marzano tomato sauce, topped with a generous serving of fresh mozzarella and extra virgin olive oil.

The pasta was perfectly al denote and flavors were on point. The second dish that we ordered was a fusilli with onion pesto, farmhouse cheese, and spicy peppers.

This was washed down with a generous glass of rose.

Real men drink rose

While both dishes were cooked perfectly, I preferred the rigatoni, although that might be due to my weakness for the fresh mozzarella in the middle.

With a simple menu focusing on locally sourced ingredients and high-quality, simple dishes, Pasta Casalinga is a must visit the next time you are in Seattle

Between us, we decided to try tofu satay, which came with a small green salad and a fresh cut chilli vinegarette. The firm, crispy tofu came coated in a hearty peanut sauce, which complemented the green salad, particularly the dressing, as the warmth of a satay sauce made for a nice contrast with the crisp, refreshing zing of the chilli vinaigrette.

For my main course, I enjoyed some roti prata with a Thai vegetable yellow curry. It was the fusion that I did not know existed but was glad it did. The prata was light, fluffy, and not too oily, and it paired nicely with the creamy yellow curry. My only complaint was that the portions were on the smaller size.

To go with my meal, I ordered a healthy vegan mixed berry smoothie made from oat milk, fresh strawberry, and chia seeds.

Overall, this restaurant was a pleasant surprise and a real highlight in the Bangkok vegetarian scene. One thing I wish VEGANERIE Concept did more of was offer more plant-based takes on traditional Thai fare. I’ll try to visit an outlet in future, and hopefully, they’ll have a chance to rotate their menu to give me a chance to try out some new stuff.

The restaurant was located just out of the city centre of Bangkok near one of the city’s metro lines. Both the interior and exterior were awash with bright purple colours which gave the restaurant a lively feel. The restaurant also featured a vegetarian menu which made ordering food much more comfortable.

To start with, we tried a classic: Papaya Salad. The salad was light, refreshing and incredibly spicy.

Afterwards, I decided to try a vegetarian Pad Thai. The noodles were filling and flavourful and served with traditional toppings such as tofu and beans sprouts.

All in all, it made for a refreshing and filling lunch. Despite the name, I would recommend Nalin Kitchen. There’s friendly staff, delicious food, and reasonable prices.

One of the stalls at Eatthai specialised in Thai Vegetarian cuisine and included a vegetarian take on one of my favourite dishes: Khao Soi from Northern Thailand. Khao Soi is a yellow curry noodle dish topped with a glorious pile of deep-fried noodles. This rendition of Khao Soi was a testament to unhealthy but delicious vegetarian cuisine.

Aside from the Khao Soi, my brother and I shared a small plate of deep-fried bean curd skin with a light chilli sauce, along with a big pitcher of a refreshing lemongrass drink. The beverage offered some respite from the sweltering weather outside that we would have to brave once more after leaving the air-conditioned oasis of the mall.

We ended our meal with a treat in the form of a lovely coconut rice pudding topped off with a comical scoop of coconut ice cream.

These dishes certainly hit the spot, especially after not having eaten since morning. However one of the main concerns with this place is there is not a lot in terms of vegetarian food – aside from the one vegetarian stall, the other stalls only seemed to have food that was fish or meat-based. Despite the limited selection, however, Eatthai is worth a visit if you are ever in Bangkok.

We started with some Vietnamese spring rolls with tofu, pickled carrot and lemongrass, served with a sweet chilli sauce that complemented the flavours quite nicely. I ordered one of the many craft beers available in this city to complete the meal. My main course was a vegetarian Banh Mi, topped with pickled veggies and a spring onion omelette instead of the traditional meat filling. My Banh Mi came with a beautiful spicy chilli sauce accompaniment. My friend and I were too full to experience dessert.

On the whole, the great food, reasonable price, and the restaurant’s proximity to the Independence Palace, war museum, and the famous post office make it an ideal tour stop. My only complaint is that there was no vegetarian pho for me to sample

  Where ever your travels take you, I hope there’s fantastic food along the way.

The meal started with an amuse-bouche consisting of a puff pastry with pomegranate and pickled vegetable, drizzled with a chutney.

Up next was a mixed vegetable kebab served with a light and semi-sweet mango chutney.

The kebab was surprisingly light and very tasty. Next was a platter of tandoori mushrooms, and paneer served with a myriad of chutneys. The starters had impeccable taste and presentation and did a great job of building up to the main event. Our main course included naval, yellow dal, palak paneer, and a Mirchi Kasala (stuffed chilli in a lentil sauce). Since it was a birthday celebration, the staff also got us a lovely cake for dessert.

The food was fully deserving of a Michelin star, and the staff were friendly and attentive (they took some photos of us and printed them onto a postcard to give us as a souvenir). However, our experience was sadly marred by the staff becoming pushy once we’d finished our meal. The staff were pushing us quite hard to leave them a TripAdvisor review, even going so far as to text my brother after dinner, asking if he’d leave a review. In the end, they did get their review but only on this site.  

Arguably the biggest highlight of this trip was the ability to experience the diversity of food within the US. A friend of mine took us to a fun place in Nashville called Pinewood Social. Read on for the review. Pinewood Social is in downtown Nashville, near the Tennessee Titans’ stadium, and featured in one of Anthony Bourdain’s show on Nashville. Naturally, I was excited. Pinewood Social is a combination bar, restaurant, and bowling alley.

While there were not many vegetarian options, I was able to get myself a bucatini in a creamy sundried tomato sauce. My favourite part of the meal was my Tennessee bourbon old fashioned, though. Overall, the dinner was flavorful and made for the perfect fuel for what turned out to be an incredibly competitive game of bowling.

The bowling game was close, but in the end, I managed to prevail, mostly thanks to sheer dumb luck. I do hope to visit this place once more in future, and hopefully sample more menu items.

to Los Angeles back at the end of the summer of 2017. I was visiting a friend of mine, Erin, a few days before returning to Skidmore College in Upstate New York, where I was studying at the time. Erin, like me, is vegetarian and recommended this great plant-based restaurant called Gracias Madre right in the heart of Downtown Los Angeles. The restaurant was a charming place with a mix of open-air and indoor seating. We arrived in time to enjoy the $7 happy hour, along with a fair bit of 100% plant-based food.

The Happy Hour Menu

We started with the housemade nachos served with black beans, guacamole, pico de gallo, cashew nacho cheese, vegan chorizo, salsa verde and cilantro.

House Nachos

We then split the crispy potato chorizo taco served with a delightful salsa Roja cashew crema, pickled cabbage and crispy onions along with the barbeque jackfruit carnitas tacos also served with cashew crema, pickled cabbage and crispy onions.

I decided to pair my food with one of their house cocktails called The Purista. The cocktail was made with tequila, agave, lime, orange bitters, and garnished with a sweet citrus salt rim.

The food’s straightforward presentation and, flavour combinations were sublime. While I am not a big fan of nut cheese, the cashew cream was surprisingly smooth and creamy. I was a big fan of the jackfruit carnitas tacos. The texture and flavour combinations were terrific.

For the price point and the quality of the food, this place is a no brainer. Besides, the convenient location and the cocktail helped significantly on the warm summer day. I would like to preface that this was only a review of their happy hour. I hope to come back someday and give the rest of their menu a try.

Fresh off a six week trip to South America, my brother and I embarked on a cross-country trip from California to New York. Our first port of call on was San Francisco, this was my second time in the city, and I was very excited. At the time the city was packed as it had just played host to Superbowl 50. Nevertheless, this did not stop me and my brother some new vegetarian food.

One of the first places we visited was the famous Boudin bakery right on Fisherman's wharf. This bakery is known for its sourdough bread and more notably their sourdough bread bowls. Since it was “winter” and my brother and I had a long day ahead, I proposed we get a bread bowl each which was served with a rich cheesy tomato soup. The bread bowl is akin to all great inventions. The bowl had the distinct sourdough taste which paired well with the tomato soup.

The crispy exterior allied with the soft airy interior held the soup well and I did not feel any danger of soup spilling everywhere. The soup was rich and hearty and was perfect for the “winter” the two of us were experiencing. This type of meal I would not recommend in warmer climates.The solo bread bowls turned out to be an excellent decision on my part. They kept us happy and content for a significant portion of the day. On the whole, this bakery is a San Fran institution and is a must-visit for any visit. Be warned, its proximity to Ghiradelhi can be tempting.