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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. :bandit:
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 : https://moonpointer.com/new/2009/02/gastronomy-shojin-ryori
😉
Hello, 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 $$$ :p 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 … :p
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?