Secret Recipe

On Friday, my colleagues and I went for lunch at Secret Recipe (at Anchorage). This restaurant has exactly two (2) vegetarian dishes on the menu - a vegetarian spaghetti, and some Japanese noodle dish. HOWEVER when I tried to order, the waiter could only tell me, sorry, the vegetarian dishes are not available!
What absurdity!

I asked what I could eat then, since we came in because there are some vegetarian options. Trying to be helpful, he suggested the prawn arrabiata spaghetti, without the prawns. Normally I would have just nodded and said ok, but that day, I just thought I'd ask, how much it would cost me to have the prawn arrabiata without the prawns.

To my disbelief, he said, we'll charge the same... the same as what? the same as the prawn arrabiata even without the prawns! Erm, the vegetarian spaghetti cost about $2 less than the prawn arriabiata, and I'm going to get charged for the prawns, when I don't want the prawns?

Finally I asked for his manager, who came out to explain, very politely, that they don't have vegetarian dishes because the factory did not send the material. Well, I don't really need to know that, nor do I care - I just want to know that I won't be getting charged for prawns that aren't going to be there! Eventually, he agreed to make a vegetarian spaghetti, but not before repeated warnings that the dish won't be the same as described in the menu!!

Min Jiang Restaurant

Last Friday, we attended a small dinner function at Min Jiang Restaurant in Goodwood Park Hotel, at 22 Scotts Road. Like many Chinese restaurants, they offer the regular full-course dinners, while serving the vegetarian meal as individual portions.

The restaurant's interior design was very interesting - there was a main corridor, with wooden floor & walls, a mirror on one end, wooden sliding doors leading to private rooms. The room we were in had just 4 tables, and a private "attached bathroom"! The food was pretty decent.

Just for interest's sake, in May 2006, Goodwood Park Hotel opened its second Min Jiang restaurant at One-North, no. 5 Rochester Park.

Annalakshmi Restaurant

Annalakshmi is an Indian vegetarian restaurant with a noble concept:

Eat what you like, Pay as you wish
We belive in you and trust you

The main restaurant and the arts center is located in Chinatown Point. The basement location is cool - we descended on the escalator, and were deposited right at the door of the restaurant!

Here, lunch is buffet-style, and dinner is a la carte. The food is excellent. Staff are volunteers, and are quite friendly. Reservations are recommended.

Annalakshmi also runs another branch at Amoy Street, as well as two Dosa Deli corners, one in the Biopolis food court, and the other at Lau Pa Sat. They also have a presence in Kuala Lumpur, Penang, Coimbatore, Perth and Chennai.

Website: http://www.annalakshmi.com.sg/