COCONUTS CRITIC’S TABLE—Before I start I should make it absolutely clear that I have nothing against vegetarianism or vegetarian dishes in general. The thought of plump porcini mushrooms frying in some butter, a pan of roasted vegetables drizzled in balsamic vinegar, a stuffed pepper, even a lightly salted bowl of edamame beans all have my mouth watering in anticipation.
It was therefore with an open mind that I approached Sufood, a relatively new vegetarian restaurant tucked away on a second floor corner of Raffles City Shopping Centre. They already have a proven track record over in Taiwan, where the chain is run by that country’s largest F&B operator the Wowprime Group. Judging by the decent crowds on my last visit it’s already garnering some success on these shores.
The focus is a six-course set menu of Italian-inspired vegetarian cuisine for the reasonable price of $29.80++ with a number of choices at each course. The photos in the menu look pretty appealing and there are some interesting options, even if there does seem a rather heavy dependence on the humble mushroom.
There’s even a rather fun blurb likening different coloured vegetables to different adjectives. White vegetables and fruits like onions, garlic and cauliflower are apparently “comfy,” while red ingredients such as tomatoes and red peppers are “lively.” Even so, their tagline “feel the goodness within,” sounds suspiciously like some kind of mantra and doesn’t exactly suggest a fun time for all.
The setting certainly doesn’t help give us a warm glow inside, either. I appreciate that restaurants now exist in malls, yet few can have chosen to embrace the sterility of their surroundings with such gusto as Sufood. Upon entering my group was met with a harried and wired up cashier stood behind a softly glowing reception desk that made us think we’d accidentally wandered into a beauty clinic or were just about to drop our kids off for their extra math tutorial.
Stepping through the curved archway you are then greeted by a sterile space that with its shiny curving white walls, numerous mirrors and slight chill continues that antiseptic first impression. The only description I can could come up with is something akin to dining in a spaceship in a 1960s sci-fi movie (not in a good way), though I have to admit that the seasonal Christmas decorations did also conjure up images of a visit to Santa’s grotto.
Despite the clinical nature of the place, and the army of headset-wearing staff, the initial service was disappointing, taking a good while to get hold of the menu. We should have enjoyed the lull while we could, though, because once we had finally ordered, things began to happen fast.
First out was a tray of amuse bouche to prepare us for the meal ahead. The three small offerings looked intriguing enough and in a loftier venue may even have elicited a slight ooh of appreciation for their minimal presentation. Unfortunately, that’s as good as they got. Our attempts to enquire what they were, were met with a directive on which order to eat them but little in the way of description.
We ate them and we’re still not sure. There was definitely some very, very sweet blueberry jam on the chilled white cubes (apparently it’s yuca root) in the first dish, the tight bundle of green stuff (water snowflakes) was simply OK and the orange thing in a cube of jelly may well have been a cherry tomato but the weirdly sweet yet antiseptic tang meant I’m not going to bet any money on it.
There were also some oddly-spongy rosemary-infused bread sticks accompanied by a cloyingly sweet mustard dip that left a medicinal aftertaste for good measure. It was all washed down with palate cleansing tumbler of the Sufood signature cider, which had little in the way of tartness and tasted more like airplane apple juice.
Thus chastened, it was onto the salads which did fare a little better. The croutons in the classic garden salad had a crunch to them, the leaves were pleasantly crisp and the sesame sauce was less saccharine. Alas, the button and shiitake mushrooms in the mushroom salad had a bland limpness to them and were decidedly frigid.
It was therefore with relief to find a little more earthiness and warmth in the cabbage and sweet potato stew, though it offered little more than that. On the other hand, the pumpkin soup, served with a pea pod floating on its surface, was clearly made by someone who has seen what a good pumpkin soup looks like just not by someone who had ever tasted one.
The joy of eating fresh fruit and vegetables is experiencing the wonderful natural flavours they possess yet it was as if the austere surroundings had somehow leached all the flavour from the dishes. The kitchen also seemed to have come to the conclusion that anyone who doesn’t eat meat should clearly be shielded from the harmful dangers of salt, pepper or even a little spice.
That was readily apparent in the main dish, a vegetable pita pocket, on paper a mix of mushroom, pepper and broccoli baked in a zesty Arrabbiata jalapeño sauce, served with toasted pita bread. Some zest would have been very welcome at this stage of the meal but instead all we got was an overly sweet and gooey mush that would be ideal for someone who had problems chewing.
The rolled up plastic glove that came with it to protect our dainty hands was a joy, though for all the wrong reasons, and just reinforced our impression that we were actually eating hospital food designed for old people and small children.
In the interests of balance we should say that our other main, a spaghetti pesto (with mushrooms of course) was better, though it too suffered from a lack of seasoning and pasta that had never even dreamt of being cooked al dente.
The ice cream did offer some sweet relief and we must tip our hat to the chocolate fudge sauce, which had the rather miraculous ability to set into a hard coating once poured. Our tip: spread thinly if you want to actually get to the ice cream. As for the osmanthus flower jelly, well we’ve only got ourselves to blame for ordering that, even it was pleasantly refreshing.
Sufood certainly offers something very different, a rather unique experience in fact, though not necessarily for the right reasons. It sets itself up as a restaurant that clearly believes food is a step on the path to a more aesthetic, healthier life and it pursues that aim with an unyielding commitment. We have no problem with that in principle, but here the principle is made a truly joyless thing by the poor execution.
There are definitely more fun ways to enjoy vegetarian food than this.
Sufood is at #02-19 Raffles City Shopping Ctr., 252 North Bridge Rd., 6333-5338. Open daily for lunch 11:30am — 4:30pm and dinner 5:30 — 10pm.
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