leaf garden cafe
SeeFoon Wants More No-MSG Restaurants
Maybe it’s the Covid pandemic but I find myself leaning towards eating less meat and meat products and instead enjoying vegetarian food. Hitherto, I generally avoid vegetarian restaurants here as they tend to use a lot of MSG which gives me an immediate and intermediate reaction. My initial reaction is to feel very thirsty followed by tiredness which makes me want to go to sleep. Then by the next morning my ankles and calves would swell up like elephant trunks.
Today, new vegetarian restaurants are popping up like mushrooms and most promise no MSG. Hallelujah!
One such new restaurant is Leaf Garden Cafe in Ipoh Garden South, a bright, cheerfully decorated restaurant abiding strictly to the SOPs.
Host Christine Lam is out front, taking orders and making suggestions while husband Ho Swee Lim is the Chef and creative menu designer in the kitchen. Together they have created a lovely vegetarian haven, a respite from the carnivorous world outside.
The menu is quite extensive and the portions generous. Just any selection from the appetizer section is enough to satisfy young palates or adults for that matter, particularly the Cheesy Bites, thin crust pastry oozing with cheese and a choice of marinara, white or pesto sauce. Scrumptious and satisfying. RM11.90 for the first two and RM12.90 for the pesto which is homemade.
For drinks, we first had the Signature Leaf Garden Fruit Tea. The tea is steeped with 11 types of fruits (passionfruit, dragonfruit, lemon, blueberry, watermelon, green apple, pineapple, mango, orange, strawberry and kiwi) and the longer it is steeped, the more the fruit taste is infused. Plus you get to eat all the fruits. Wellness in a glass! RM15.90.
The was followed by Fizzy Ribena with Ice Cream at RM10.90 and my favourite, the Avocado Milkshake, made using a type of barista milk and sweetened with homemade syrup used sparingly. RM15.90.
For mains, we focused on their Korean-style dishes starting with their Kimchi Pancake where I could actually taste the homemade Kimchi, mildly tangy at RM17.90. This was followed by their Cabbage Kimchi Soup made with fresh button mushrooms, enoki mushrooms, Korean potato starch noodles, tofu, and tteokbokki, the Korean dried rice sticks. Simmered for two hours, tart and umami, the Kimchi imbuing its goodness and mushroom granules enhancing flavour, this is a complete meal in a bowl. Served with rice at RM19.90.
The Mouth-watering Szechuan style King Oyster Mushroom with its characteristic springy bite was scrumptious, requiring no meat enhancement, the spicy sauce providing all the excitement it needed. RM10.90.
We were a large group that day at lunch and the dishes kept coming.
The Spaghetti with Pesto Sauce and Pine Nuts topped and baked with mozzarella cheese was yummy at RM23.90, while the Spaghetti with Portobello Mushrooms in Sesame Sauce was a tad on the sweet side for my taste but the pasta was nice and al dente. RM18.90.
The piece de resistance came last in the shape of the OmniMeat burger. Sandwiched between a charcoal bun, this vegetarian burger tastes like chicken. Together with the homemade burger sauce, sesame sauce and signature black pepper sauce and topped with a cheese slice, it was a delectable meal in itself. Move over Big Mac, I’d rather eat this any time! RM24.90.
*Leaf Garden Cafe is Muslim friendly, Vegan and MSG-free
Address:
11, Jalan S. A. Lingam, Taman Ipoh Selatan, 31400 Ipoh, Perak
Business hours:
10.30am-3pm, 5-9pm, Closed on Tuesdays
Breakfast is available from 8-10.30am on the 1st and 15th days of the Chinese calendar
Takeaways available
Delivery available within 10km of their shop for orders amounting to RM30 and more
For inquiries:
05-517 4356