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We booked a lunch date with Enso Kitchen on Sunday. The place wasn’t very hard to find but probably a poster or some more prominent signage at the entrance would be better. It would not only create publicity but might bring in more bookings? (They only do pre-orders.) The restaurant is a typical Japanese one. It isn’t Enso Kitchen’s but they use it on Sundays to serve Shojin Ryori lunches and dinners.
Right, let’s talk about food. And before we start, my Japanese friend taught me to say… Itadakimasu! (I gratefully receive!) First, we were served with a refreshing cup of hot green tea. Next is a small appetiser tofu made from ground sesame, soy beans and mineral water. On top of it was a small pinch of wasabi and radish mixed together. The tofu was placed on soya sauce on the small plate. Sorry, but it looked too tempting that we forgot to snap a picture of it before tucking in. Oh, and it’s supposedly good for digestion. And the chef actually ground the sesame and soy personally. (The chef recommended taking some sips of miso to warm the stomach before tucking in.)
Following is a full course ‘platter’ with…
1. Sweet sushi rice with seaweed, carrots, beancurd, sweet beans
2. Gingkos, lotus roots, carrots, lily bulbs, water chestnuts and burdock
3. Radish with sour plum sauce
4. Miso soup with winter melon cubes and white sesame
5. Salty fried beancurd filled with tofu and bits of water chestnuts, decorated with a slice of carrot and two stalks of green vegetables. (It’s very delicious.)
6. Turnip cut halfway with red string, which is used with chopsticks to slice it into quarters
7. Cold dessert with lychees, red dates and rock sugar.
And it cost S$45 for each person with 10% GST and service charge. So, the lunch cost us $99. 
The chef of Enso Kitchen told us he changes menu every month. Next change will be on the 8th of March. He creates three different sets for each season. Yes, Shojin Ryori by Enso Kitchen, which is really vegan fare, serves seasonal vegetables (flown in from Japan), which are believed to be more nutritious in the corresponding season. Which means there are 12 different sets of Shojin Ryori for each year! What we featured here is probably the second winter set meal. It’s light yet filling. It’s definitely different from any Chinese vegetarian food out there. I feel healthy just by looking at it!
And after a hearty meal… Gochisosama (deshita)! (Thank you for the meal!) 
Info on how to book: http://www.ensokitchen.com/event.htm
WOW! so nice. BTW, how do I email this article with lovely pictures from here to friends ha?
Hi, you can email the link itself : http://moonpointer.com/new/2009/02/gastronomy-shojin-ryori
Hello Weiya, thank you for your recommendation. I booked a Sunday lunch for my husband and myself as his birthday is coming soon. I have heard of Shojin Ryori and did a quick search about it in Japan, and found this useful website:
http://www.vegietokyo.com/info4vegie/articles/article4-shojin.html
If you are a vegetarian and are going to Tokyo, you can look for these vegetarian-friendly restaurants.
Hey Chewy, do come back and tell us what you think of it
Hi, the winter menu looks great too. Just went to try their April spring menu. Shojin Ryori really makes you feel very healthy eating it. You must try the chef’s warabi mochi. It’s spectacular~
WOW! If only I have $$$
In fact, the veg*n cuisine are getting very palatable, but many many non-vegetarians still think so badly of veg*n food …
Other religions like Seventh-Day Adventist are also great advocate of Veg*n for Healthy Eating … They are doing so well … BTW their Veggie Burger was SUPER! LOVE it!
But I feel that in Buddhism, advocating of Veg*nism deteriorated, I don’t know and maybe I am wrong.
I don’t mean all Buddhists should go Veg*n but encourage Buddhist to enjoy compassionate food (lifestyle) more often or be a semi-vegetarian (not just for 2 days of the month) … some will go veg for 2 days per month, but after 1st & 15th, they will eat back what not consume earlier !!!!!
Can’t Buddhist encourage each other (Buddhist) to be semi-veg*n or veg*n (if they can) … more often … ?
Oh yeah, maybe one of the reason that Buddhist can’t accept Veg*n, could be they don’t think this is a healthy diet! Especially sometime back in Taiwan, a person who went veg*n died because of this diet – the reason was B12 was missing in the diet…
But we never heard veg*n monk died because of Veg*n diet now or in the past few hundreds years … is there any?
Although it is Buddhism that indirectly influences me to be a Veg*n, but I don’t remember there is good information on how to eat a healthy veg*n diet … maybe there is something ‘missing’ here
Maybe now, we can point to some veg websites for such info, but those who read Chinese can’t understand! And those older generations don’t read English …
Hi Jolynn, maybe you can blog about the meal – especially if u snapped pix
Hi Crystal, this year, for Vesak, I’ll be working with Vegetarian Society again to setup an educational exhibition in Kong Meng San at the courtyard in front of Hall of Great Compassion. Similar to last year, there will be a bilingual section on Buddhist perspective of vegetarianism. You can see it at http://www.moonpointer.com/vege
I’m taking vegan brown rice and soy milk fortified with B12. There are also vege B12 capsules available out there. A few friends recommend Usana’s Essentials.
Can u recommend Where to get the soy milk fortified with B12?
Is it important to take B12 capsules or B12 fortified drinks? Is it difficult to obtain this vitamin from vegetables/fruits for a vegetarian? I am trying to go full-time vegetarian but have poor health in the recent 1-2 years. My doctor prescribed me with B complex capsules and i used to get B12 jabs. I tried my best to cut down on unhealthy options. However, still… people around me commented that even though i am so health consious, i am still so prone to fall sick so frequently.Hence, they are not convinced that going vegetarian is a wise option. How do i go about to become a convincing, healthy vegetarian?
You can get (brown) Rice Dream and Soy Dream (dairy-free) milk at Cold Storage
Both have B12. Vegans should look out for B12 – as the lack of which can affect the nerves. Only a little is needed though. Vegetarians who eat dairy/eggs should have enough B12. What kind of sickness are you prone to?
Hi penpal, if you were a long-time meat eater and are only just switch to vegetarian diet, you might experience a ‘toxin-cleansing’ period, whereby your body will try to expel out as much toxin (mucus, phlegm or even diarrhea) as possible. There no fixed period as to how long the body takes to do that, I guess it all depends on how much “trash’’ one’s body had inside. But one thing for sure, whenever one gets better from the sickness, one will tend feel much better and lighter… well, that’s provided one don’t feed the body with trash again. Nonetheless, that doesn’t mean one need not have to see doctor when one falls sick (unless you know non-doctor means to cure yourself). Do consult the doctor when sick but make sure one eats healthily and rest well too.
That is great :), just for 1 day or 2, how about the other 364 days in a year? Can anything be done?
The animals can’t speak and this is good information and benefits others too …
I am not saying this is who and who problems/faults or who and who should take care! I just voicing out what I felt about certain things … maybe something already been done in the pipeline …
1st misconception
Afraid that advocating for Veg*nism will ‘scare away’ potential Buddhists … The thing here is that beside Buddhism, there are many other religions that advocate Vegetarianism and is doing not bad … it is just that general public is not aware of …
Why other religions are not afraid of ‘chasing away’ people?
Why are they so successful?
(Out of Buddhism, the masses should know that Veg*ism should not associated with ONLY Buddhism! )
2nd misconception
When advocating Vegetarianism in Buddhism, they might have the feeling of ‘forcing’ Buddhist to become one. There might be a need to clarify this, it is just presenting the truth and also to speak up for animals without voice, the final decision is still on other.
I do hope that more can go veg*n, if not go Semi-Veg*n but I respect other’s choice …
3rd misconception
Vegetarianism diet is not healthy, I guess firstly what the masses need is a simple guideline on how to eat HEALTY VEGTARNIAM diet? (Bilingual)
The reason is very simple, people might be able to see the points or maybe out of courtesy agreed to the benefits of Veg*nism, but technically they don’t know how to do it or want to do it.
Lately, we can find a little bit of such info in media by Dietitians or Sin Seh but still many other don’t know …
Some Buddhist Parents can go Veg*n themselves, but when come to their kids, they don’t ‘allow’ and not even a semi-veg*n … What does this indicated?
4th misconception
Veg*n diet is bland and boring. Yes, it might be true in the past for traditional veg*n food, but now it is very different but not much awareness on this portion to debunk the myths.
The mindset of human!
I am just speculating! This is something complex, maybe those who act in this way not even aware of it. For e.g, I maybe able to understand the reason of going Vegetarianism in Buddhism, but deep inside me (I might not ‘want to’), so I just go veg*n lor and indirectly let it fails, then I have a very good excuse for myself, I had tried but my body does not allow … and never try again …
Of course, they are many many sincere ones who did try but maybe without proper information or not eating a healthy veg*n diet that lead to failure and be discouraged! This is so sad, because they might think they don’t have enough good karma but in reality this is not? What a waste.
What types of support are there for these issues?
We see lots of energies are channel making mock stuff to help people converting to a Veg*n diet! But not much energy is channel to help other eat right or to see the beauty or fall in love with plant based diet …in building a compassionate heart and lifestyle …
Hmm…. who can help? :straight:
Be it bringing awareness of vegetarianism or spreading of Dharma, I don’t know, I find that there is a Big Gap in-between …I hope I am wrong …
Let’s take promoting vegetarianism … I can stand there talking and talking about everything about vegetarianism… but do others need to feel the same, do they need to buy my ideas or be in the same flow as me?
Out of courtesy, if they see my ‘hardwork’, they might be kind, or just lip services agreed with my ideas but deep inside are a different story …
Me on one side, other on the other end – in between a BIG gap, both ends move parallel and therefore will not meet and nothing much is achieved.
Is there a need to close the gap? Depend on what is the real purpose. Is there anything wrong? Maybe not.
Spreading Dharma
Was at one of the Dharma talks few years back. We had a monk on stage talking about something on ‘needs and wants’ I think, gave an example “look at me, I don’t need so many clothes …’
Down on the floor, someone in front of me immediately turned and talked to the other person, then ‘The shopping mall will have to be closed down lor! (no business)â€
Anything wrong here? Both were not wrong in their saying! But both can’t see each other points yet! Both go back happily but had anything changed? I don’t know.
If that person dares to put forward that remark, maybe the monk would be able to address it and make sure the correct message get through.
There is a GAP, how to close it? Is the person wrong for not putting the question across? Or must the monk lower down to understand what is happening on the below?
Is the answer – 知己知彼, 百战百胜? I don’t know …
hi, atomant & zweiya,
i frequently get sore throat/flu/fever every other month especially last year, am anemic and also have some bout of gastric problems.
shian, u taking usana’s essentials? is it good?
Re: ‘That is great :), just for 1 day or 2, how about the other 364 days in a year? Can anything be done. The animals can’t speak and this is good information and benefits others too…’
Reply: For the other days, on my part, I’m a regular advocate of veganism in the classes and talks I give :-]
Re: ‘Why other religions are not afraid of ‘chasing away’ people? Why are they so successful?’
Reply: I think Buddhists are quite successful too – in spreading veg*sm.
Re: ‘I guess firstly what the masses need is a simple guideline on how to eat HEALTY VEGTARNIAM diet? (Bilingual)’
Reply: I work with VSS to during Vesak to make bilingual nutrition flyers available to about 30,000 visitors (though not all will take them). The feedback for the exhibition in the temple has always been good.
Re: ‘here is a GAP, how to close it? Is the person wrong for not putting the question across?’
Reply: We can help close it by answering if we can. If not, refer the person to someone who can. The key is always education via communication via as many means as needed, Maybe you can get the person’s email to reply to later?
Re: ‘shian, u taking usana’s essentials? is it good?’
Reply: I only started recently – and irregularly! But 2 vege friends take it and say it improved their health. ^_^
Shian, we can see that you are regular advocate of veganism, that why I dare to put comments on your blog. Guess, this world really need more people like you …
In fact, the ‘GAP’ I am talking about, isn’t a particular person … you know … it is general … and it can’t be solved by emailing … sometime email to some organizations landed up in the trash bin or even blocked …
Hi penpal
I am not a doctor or expert in this area, maybe others can help out.
It looks like you might be missing Zinc in your diet (I don’t know what you eat for veg diet), maybe you can look into this area.
Zinc plays an extremely important role in maintaining a healthy immune system. If you are deficient in this mineral, you are much more likely to catch a cold and keep it for longer. And fall sick easily. Stress is another thingy that can lead to a drop in infection-fighting white blood cells and increase the risk of getting sick.
Zinc come shellfish, meat, eggs, cheeses, wholegrain products, nut etc You can find out what veg*n food that contain zinc
Sesame? Pumpkin seed?
(I got the above info from – The Doctors Book of Food Remedies)
IRON seems not enough too! The body does not absorb iron quite as easily as from non-meat sources, but you can enhance absorption by combining them with Vit C rich food like orange juice and dark green vegetables. But you have gastric problems, so acidic stuff like Vit C from citrus fruits might be some problem … am I right?
Forget about Tea/Coffee after each meal, it hinders Iron absorption.
IRON sources: nori seaweed, lentils, eggs, kidney beans, watercress, kale, dried apricots, figs, prunes, pulse, kelp, parsley, amaranth, beetroot, dried lily flower, red dates …. Etc
Read this quick guide on A vegetarian’s Guide to Eating Right by HPB
http://www.hpb.gov.sg/foodforhealth/article.aspx?id=424
Maybe, when I get the time I scan some of the newspaper articles on Veg diet and put in my blog …
In other part of the world, questions like how to eat a healthy veg*n diet, am I lacking iron or protein, I am just a teenager, is going vegetarian ok for my body etc are very commonly asked. But it does not seem like the case in Singapore … but penpal asked
hi, do your 2 vege friends have health probs to begin with, since the supplement improves their health?
I share most of crystalbymail’s concerns, especially the part about human mindset and nature.
I can also understand the part about the ‘invisible’ gap in advocating vegetarianism and spreading dharma.
A better way, would perhaps be to show those who you interact with on a daily or constant basis, how one can start and maintain a healthy vegetarian lifestyle. When your colleagues or friends start to get interested, you can patiently explain what it is about and address individual concerns.
Word of mouth is definitely more effective than flyers (people can reject taking them) and websites (the content may not be detailed or interesting enough to some), in my personal opinion. There is trust involved in such personal testimonies. Of course, this is not to say flyers and websites should not be used. We just need to understand who our target audience is and what are the kinds of people that are approaching us. If we address both their common and unique concerns patiently and skilfully, they will feel more like trying it out on their own. The key is to be willing to allocate time to guide such friends, colleague and family members on a long-term basis, and also taking care not to come across as being imposing, impatient or indifferent.
Personally, I think vegetarianism can be promoted without emphasising too much on animals’ welfare and religious ideals or concepts. Let’s advocate it mainly from the point of ‘vegetarian can be both pleasurable to eat, convenient and affordable to cook on your own or purchase from food vendors, and leads to better and more long-term health benefits compared to a lifestyle which relies on heavy meat consumption’.
hi esse,
Shi’an asked me to share my experience on taking usana essentials. i have been a vegetarian and regular blood donor for 12 years. i don’t have any illness. just that i felt less energetic as years went by. when i was 18 years old serving my national service, i could do 18 chin ups. when i was 33 years old, i could only do 10 chin ups despite training hard for it. i thought i needed more protein to build muscle. when i ate more tofu and bean, i had pain at the heel because of higher purine from protein. the first month i took essential, i felt no difference at all. after 3 months taking essentials, i was gradually able to improve my chin ups. at the current age of 34, i can do 25 chin ups, which surpass the max i did when i was 18. reflecting on this experience, i realised my personal degeneration and other degenerative disease such as cancer, stroke, arthritis so widely common these days are largely due to lack of minerals. the lack of minerals applied to both vegetarians and non vegetarians.
“In 1948 you could buy spinach that had 158 milligrams of iron per hundred grams. But by 1965, the maximum iron they could find had dropped to 27 milligrams. In 1973, it was averaging 2.2 milligrams. That’s down from a hundred and fifty. That means today you’d have to eat 75 bowls of spinach to get the same amount of iron that one bowl might have given you back in ’48. ”
http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=335945
in the past, many people can die without illness 善终. now there are hardly any. on one hand, we have higher levels of free radicals from pesticides, air pollution. on the other hand, we have lower levels of antioxidants from fruits and vegetables to neutralise the free radicals. that’s why there is need to supplement to bridge the gap between what we are getting from food and what we need. this applies to vegetarians and non vegetarians. non vegetarians are even more nutrient deficient than vegetarians.
Hi penpal and all,
I used to have very frequent sore throat/ flu/ fever too. And I had quite bad gastric problems.
When I first switched to a vegetarian diet, I still had quite frequent fevers and colds, I was quite baffled initially, but after a while I realized that it was just my body doing detoxification. Like what zweiya said, during the initial stages of diet change, we’ll experience many cleansing reactions.
Now I seldom get colds like I used to. I’ve not had sore throats for a long time too. And when I do get colds, I don’t go to the doctor’s now like I used to. Sickness is the external manifestation of our internal built up toxins, my body is trying to heal itself by ridding itself of the tons of toxins, and when the toxins are coming out, naturally I’ll experience discomfort. By taking more medication I’m only suppressing the symptoms, I would be doing it a great dis-service. In Chinese we say that 是è¯ä¸‰åˆ†æ¯’, all medicine is poison to a certain extent. This saying referred to traditional medicine, so one can imagine how toxic modern medicine typically is. I do a juice fast when I’m sick, that is, I only drink fresh juices (no canned or bottled juice). When we’re sick we usually don’t have much appetite, that’s our intelligent body telling us to stop feeding it so that it can divert its energy to healing itself. By consuming food, our body is forced to use its energy to digest the food, that means we’re depriving our body of the chance to detox. And, I simply rest. I used to still go to school/ work even if I was sick, that was very foolish, when the body is sick, all it wants is rest. Be kind to it. That is, just sleep lots, and drink lots of fresh juices or just plain water. Juices are good coz at such times they give the body the minerals it needs without burdening the digestive system, they are absorbed in minutes.
I wouldn’t say my gastric problems are totally gone, but it’s been a long time since I had a gastric pain attack, which could be really so painful. Now it’s just occasional feeling of bloatedness, but no pain. I used to be unable to skip any meal, because my gastric attack would come, and I had to eat REALLY a lot for breakfast. Now slowly I don’t feel that I need so much food anymore. Just a glass of juice and some fruit would last me for the whole morning till lunch at one plus, after constant talking as a teacher. (Talking consumes a lot of energy!
)
After a long fast last December, now I hardly get headaches too. Headaches used to be weekly affairs for me, and they were often severe, and could last for days.
And my periods which had never been regular have become much more regular now. No more period pains either.
The most important thing is to stick to a healthy diet, go for whole grains (organic, coz you’ll be taking in lots of pesticides if you take non-organic whole grains) and salads, try to give junk food a miss, I hardly touch the usual snacks that people eat, many vegetarians stuff lots of junk food like crackers, chips and sweets, it’s like as long as it’s vegetarian it’s ok to eat them. I don’t take soft drinks either. I avoid deep fried stuff and mock stuff too. I think that as vegetarians, it’s a responsibility to eat healthily and wisely. If vegetarians fall sick, people make a big hoo haa of it and say that vegetarianism is bad.
I didn’t intend it to write such a long comment, sorry
Another note about going to the doctor’s and fasting though. If you’ve not done much research about these and not confident about fasting, please do go to the doctor’s and don’t attempt fasting. I’m not a doctor nor am I trying to play a doctor’s role. I just hope that my personal experience is of benefit to others. You can try to eat less and have occasional meals that consist of only salads or fruit. Go slowly. Do fasting only after learning more about holistic methods and gaining enough confidence. Because fasting would speed up the detox process, when you’ve not enough confidence, you won’t go far coz you’d start doubting this method the minute all the symptoms surface, you might end up doing yourself more harm. Not taking medication also means that your symptoms might stay longer, as detox can be a really long and difficult process.
Oh I’ve just got to add another one. Running used to be so tough for me, I had the longest legs in class but was the slowest, and I always felt kind of like I was going to drop dead anytime. But after my diet change, now I can run and talk at the same time, it’s no longer such a tough chore. Though I still am very slow since I don’t train up. Vegetarians have more energy.
All the best!
Thank you Jilexin, JooHeng & Yega,
for your inspiring & detailed sharing!
Amituofo
A good guide to fasting/detox could be to attend the detox prgramme by Kg Senang – http://www.kg-senang.org.sg/ where they will impart knowledge on healthy eating, etc.
Thank you so much, crystalbymail & Yega for your advice.
I will read up more on my part and trial and error on what suits me.
I’m not sure about consulting a GP about a vegetarian diet though. I have come across some doctors who are not very encouraging when i told them i do not take meat.
May all vegetarians and those who are aspiring to become vegetarian to be healthy (and look healthy) and in turn, inspire others around us to consider adopting a vegetarian lifestyle….a kinder alternative to ourselves, other beings and our planet.
I’m afraid the vast majority of doctors are still against vegetarianism. Kampung Senang is a good start if you want to try detox as suggested by ilovevege, I did my first juice fast with them. James and Joyce, the founders, are always ready to share tips and give advice, they have classes on healthy cooking/ eating/ living too. I’ve some books that I can lend you too if you’re interested.
How could pay $50 for a meal? That’s just sad. Someone is ripping you off x 20!!!
Haha.. could be because most of the ingredients are air-flown from Japan and it’s more than a meal, it’s an art.
Apologies for the misinformation. I’m giving up Usana Essentials as it turns out to be non-vegan. The vitamin D3 involves lanolin from sheep wool in the processing. Here’s what can happen to sheep: http://moonpointer.com/new/2010/03/whats-wrong-with-fur-leather-and-wool & http://www.veganviews.org.uk/vv77/vv77wool.html Amituofo
Quote from Louche: How could pay $50 for a meal? That’s just sad. Someone is ripping you off x 20!!!
Found this answer to this:-
Firstly, It is not ripping you off – if you know about the price and no one being force to eat.
Secondly, REFLECTION is the key. The meal should be partaken with the below Reflection:
-Reflect on the effort that brings us this food
-Reflect on our imperfections as we receive the meal
-Reflect on mindfulness to be free from anger, attachment and ignorance
-Reflect on taking this food as medicine to sustain good health
-Reflect on the fulfillment of our practice as we accept offerings”
It can means different thing to different people and it can go very much deeper.
Firstly, – appreciation and secondly – imperfections. From this, I derived – we have taken so much from nature (unknowingly). Are we “ripping off” nature or some other sources too, unknowingly?
This can be very subjective – paying for the Food, for the Zen Food Philosophy, for the Experience and for that moment that spur you to reflect and discover more and much more …
Yes, it was quite a priceless meal for me… in many ways! Amituofo