Whole Earth

You know you are in a rather authentic vegetarian restaurant when the table next to you is a whole group of monks. On a weekday lunch, it was quite full with mainly an office crowd. Parking can be quite challenging at Tanjong but there are a number of public car parks in that area. The restaurant itself is pleasant enough and the wait staff were polite and quite responsive. They actually offered you the snacks (preserved vegetables and fried seaweed/tofu skin) before plopping it on the table ($2/plate). The main focus is of course the food. Started off with the Imperial Beauty Soup which was well brewed and very sweet, with the sweetness coming from the papayas and red dates. Although the mock abalone and sharksfin was rather extraneous. The fried olive brown rice was a standout, if only just a tad oily. The olive masked the organic taste of brown rice and actually gives it a rather distinctive flavour. The teriyaki monkeyhead mushroom was a conundrum. The vegetables that came with it was fresh and well stir-fried, however, they chose to serve the monkeyhead in small chunks and deep fried, rather than the whole bullous head. The result is that the meaty-taste of a delicious monkeyhead is lost within the crunch and overpowered by the teriyaki. Although when dipped in the sambal (which must be asked for) does bring out more taste. The sambal too does wonders for the olive rice. The cabbage roll with spinach sauce was alright. Nothing too wondrous, but similarly, the ingredients were fresh and the spinach sauce does give it that additional rather irony taste. Dessert was the golden pumpkin with black glutinous rice and coconut milk which was a decent end that was not too sweet or cloying. The portions here are rather big, and each order is good for 3 - 4 persons. However, the downside of this place is the price which ended being a bit on the pricey side, especially if you go in with the idea that it's just vegetables. But, for a decent, authentic vegetarian restaurant that serves tasty and good food, the price is only slightly pricey.

Update (19 Feb 2014): Now they are charging 30 cents for water. This is going against my personal belief. 

Verdict: Will come back when I really feel like going vegetarian or if I have got vegetarian guests to entertain; charging for water is a turn-off.