Holistic Practice

Saturday, November 26, 2011

The Organic Gems of Singapore (6)

Besides the 5 Organic Gems in Singapore,
there are also quite a few budding organic eateries
which are offeirng quality organic food:

Four Seasons Organic Market/Cafe
City Square Mall (Farrer Park MRT),
#03-46/47
Tel: 65096683
Url:  http://www.facebook.com/organicmarket

Try their flavourful Curry, 
Portobello Mushroom Burger (with vegan cheese), Corriander Beehoon!

Real Food
The Central (Clarke Quay MRT),
#B1-52 
Tel:  62244492
Url: http://www.realfoodgrocer.com

Recommend their Mushroom Noodle, Salad, Brownie with vegan ice-cream!


Kokee
Bukit Timah Market and Food Centre
#02-188

Some nice suggestions are their wholesome Leicha, Rojak, Coral Jelly!

Organic eateries don't come by easy,
given the lack of organic education in general,
and the high overhead cost to operate a business in Singapore.

There is a need to give them
a bit more support,
a tad more understanding,
a little more nurturing,
so that they may sustain and carry on with their selfless missions
to do the people good,
to do the environment good :)

Take action and pay them a visit today! :D

With metta,
Kee Yew
pureland2012-at-gmail.com



{Learning Holistic Wellness for Wisdom and Compassion}

Thursday, November 24, 2011

The Organic Gems of Singapore (5)

Gem 5:
NutriHub
46, Temple Street,
Singapore 058591.
Tel: 67382746
Url: http://nutrihub.blogspot.com/

Nutrihub has been around in Singapore for the past 4 years or so.
It started at Cuppage Plaza, Orchard Road, and later,
due to rental hike, moved to the current location at Chinatown.

The founder and chef of Nutrihub, Vinitha Ang
set up this healthy cafe for the good of the public,
mainly due to her health care background.

Vinitha was a nurse with master degree
and worked in several hospitals,
before she switched into health food business.
In many of her past interviews, she revealed that
she saw too many people suffering from
cancers, stroke and other cardiovascular diseases;
and hence the motivation to promote organic living.

Given her background, she emphasizes highly on
nutrition and the healthy way of food preparation
i.e. with zero mokc meat, zero MSG,
minimal oil and salt, just like many other healthy organic outlets.

Some very nice delicacies at Nutrihub are:

Vegan Otak-otak, Asian Raw Pizza, Raw Nutmilks,
Avocado mousse and Minty Kailan-Pineapple Juice

Many regular customers at Nutrihub
appreciate greatly the high energy food with pure taste there,
as they gradually found their health improved
after consistently eating at Nutrihub.

Vinitha derives satisfaction mainly from
her customers' health improvement,
and this is probably why she continues to operate this cafe
despite monetary loss all 4 years.

Gratitude is hence important for these unsung organic heros
like Nutrhub.

Coming up: some other budding organic newbies which are also doing tremendous good deeds and ought to be acknowledged too.



Well wishes,
Kee Yew
pureland2012-at-gmail.com


{Learning Holistic Wellness for Wisdom and Compassion}

Wednesday, November 23, 2011

The Organic Gems of Singapore (4)

Gem 4:
Eco-Harmony Kitchen (Kampung Senang)
Block 106, #01-205,
Aljunied Crescent,
Singapore 380106.
Tel: 67498509
Url: http://www.eco-harmony.net/

Eco-Harmony Kitchen is part of the social enterprise wing of
The Kampung Senang Charitable and Education Foundation.

It's based in The Holistic Lifestyle Centre at Aljunied,
which is one of the five branches of Kampung Senang.

Here, they do not only use 90% organic vegetables
(small portion of which are grown in their mini organic garden in Tampines branch),
they also absolutely avoid mock meat and processed veg foods.

Eco-Harmony culinary philosophy is naturally influenced
by Dr Lai Chiu-nan's healthy teachings,
as the founder of Kampung Senang, Joyce Lye
was the first person who invited Dr Lai to Singapore in early 90s
and subsequently founded Lapis Lazuli Light in Singapore.

Anyone who ever dined at Eco-Harmony Kitchen,
will noticed that their brown rice set meals are always "stuffed"
with many colourful vegetables.
This is another organic veg outlet
which is always concerned they don't put enough ingredients!
Because of that, their foods are always flavourful (despite very light seasoning)
invigorating and nourishing.

Another impressive point about Kampung Senang's Eco-Harmony Kitchen
is that they offer their daily meals the "Annalakshmi"-style
i.e. you pay as you feel how much the meal is worth
-- This is one very clear manifestation of compassion
to get the general public eat more organic health food.

As Joyce always mentioned,
organic food should be afforable by everybody.
This is how she materialises her words.

This organic food outlet,
like the other organic gems of Singapore,
is no ordinary business.
If one were to pay the slightest attention,
it's not hard to feel the overflowing good will behind,
leading the organic health movement in Singapore.

Some highly recommended foods at Eco-Harmony Kitchen:
daily brown rice set, brown rice milk, Lei Cha, bamboo rice, Rejuvenate Concoction brown rice dumpling and most impressively their yearly Xmas buffet!


With gratitude,
Kee Yew
pureland2012-at-gmail.com



{Learning Holistic Wellness for Wisdom and Compassion}

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

The Organic Gems of Singapore (3)

Gem 3:
Livin'Greens
325 Beach Road, Singapore 199559.
Tel:  6396 5523
Url: http://www.livingreens.com.sg/


Livin'Greens is another amazing organic eatery!

Barbara Chin, who is also the gourmet chef,
along with her husband, Tiger,
has been running this cosy vegan cafe for about 6 years,
offering a large variety of mouth watering vegetarian cuisines.

Despite the myriad of delicous dishes
Barbara is capable of generating to attract health food goers,
this family business actually
gained popularity in the early years
for Barbara's magical bakery skills
-- fyi, she is famous for baking gluten-free, millet-based vegan cakes
and creative wholemeal breads/buns.

Living'Greens is also one of a few healthy vegan outlets out there,
which persists on zero mock meat usage.
This is considered admirable,
because it translates to skill-demanding food preparation,
to strike a good balance among cost, taste, healthfulness as well as effort.

Some of the dazzling veg gourmet at Living'Greens are:
Vegan Lasagna, Shepherd's Pie, Pumpkin Salad, 
Veg Jiaozi, Veg XiaoLongBao, Black Sesame Pudding, Laksa etc..


Barbara who is a dynamic, friendly and kind-hearted women,
emphasizes on educating the public to go veg,
not only for the sake of personal health
but also for the health Mother Earth.

One can see how she puts up a lot of
educational posters on environmental conservation on the walls
and sells a lot of environmental friendly products at her retails racks.

Livin'Greens certainly deserves to be praised,
for the sincere effort they have put in to
serve heathy, environmental and artistic veg food
to the fellow Singporeans.


Next: a vegan organic outlet that is run by a social entreprise which has a big heart for the young, the old, the sick and the disabled.




Well regards,
Kee Yew
pureland2012-at-gmail.com


{Learning Holistic Wellness for Wisdom and Compassion}

Monday, November 21, 2011

The Organic Gems of Singapore (2)

Gem 2:
New Green Pasture
190 Middle Road #04-22,
Fortune Centre, Singapore 188979.
Tel: 6336 8755



The New Green Pasture is another amazing organic eatery
even the 'hardcore meaters' can't resist the creative and tantalising dishes here!

Founded and operated by Sophia Teh, the chef and owner,
a fashion-designer-turn-vegatarian-gourmet-chef,
The New Green Pasture has been
serving her customers dedicatedly for almost a decade.

Few people know that
Sophia also learnt about healthy organic cooking
by the Dr Lai Chiu-nan's way
when Lapiz Lazuli Light first set up
on the 4th floor of Fortune Centre in mid 90s.

Inspired by Dr Lai to help improve the well being of general public
Sophia gave up her lucrative fashion design career in Orchard
and started up her organic food service.

Throughout the years, Sophia who is also a staunch buddhist
sees herself doing this organic business
as a form of volunteering (just like Mdm Wong of Ci Yan perceives).

One uniqueness about Sophia's food is
the 'overwhelming' nutriton (as she never fail to put more ingredients)
and appealing colourful food presentation!
Some of the must try unique dishes at NGP are:
Penang Laksa, Salad Soba, Yong-Tau-Foo, Salad Sushi, Bibimbap set, Pumpkin Chestnut Rice set.

Like Ci Yan, this is the eating place
where one doesn't have to worry about
the quality of ingredients used -- given Sophia's personal integrity
and the nutrition -- due to her healthy cooking education background.


To come: an organic eatery that is equally creative, nutrious and health conscious, serving the organic community at the other corner of Bugis area, for more than half a decade, tiredlessly.


Gratefully,
Kee Yew
pureland2012-at-gmail.com


{Learning Holistic Wellness for Wisdom and Compassion}

The Organic Gems of Singapore (1)

Very often, organic newbies or friends from overseas
would ask me this question:
"Which organic eateriesare good?"

Usually I would recommend them
a handful organic outlets which I frequent
-- not so much because of the taste, also not because they are cheap,
but more of the healthfulness of their foods and
the sincerity of the eateries' chefs/owners to serve.

I have to admit along these years,
I have become less and less picky about the taste of food,
but I have also become more and more concerned about
the quality of ingredients used and manner the foods are prepared.

Hence in this blog series to come,
I will make known several organic eateries
that, I personally feel, should be
the models of organic community in Singapore.

There will be a lot of good organic eateries that I do not mention,
may be due to my lack of communication with them,
may be due to my personal prejudice,
may be due to short period of time they have emerged,
but that doesn't mean they are not worth mentioning.
As often I emphasize, as long as it's veg and organic,
we should give them support regardlessly =)

Here are the 5 Organic Gems of Singapore:

Gem 1:
Ci Yan Organic Vegetarian Cafe
8, Smith Street, (Chinatown), S058922
Tel: 62259026


Ci Yan has been around for at least 12 years.
It's one of the most established healthy organic veg outlets
in the past decade.

Many people who have tried the food at Ci Yan
probably won't deny
the good taste, healthfulness and reasonable pricing of the food there.
Some highly recommended dishes are:
- Brown rice set meal, Hakka Leicha, Nasi Lemak, Rojak and Lotus Leaf Rice.

But those are not the most important thing.
What impresses myself and many customers of Ci Yan,
is their sincerity to serve.

According to Madam Wong, who is the chef and owner,
the reason why she operates Ci Yan is to repay Buddha
for granting her a new lease of life,
helping her to pull through her fatal 4th stage leukemia
some 15-20years ago.

Many a time, she shared with people,
how going organic and cooking vegetarian food the healthy way
(that she learnt from Lapizs Lazuli and Dr Lai Chiu-Nan)
help people bring back good health.

Ci Yan's readiness and sincerity to serve
could be seen from their attitude in operating the eatery.
Unless Mdm Wong goes for retreat or short breakaway,
the outlet is opened every single day 12nn-10pm
rain or shine.

Many a time, when customers (including myself)
came in late (say at 10pm)
and she was already closing or all foods had been sold,
Mdm Wong wouldn't mind the hassle "reactiving the kitchen"
to cook something up just for the starving customer.

Mdm Wong also mentioned before that
she wants to make healthy organic veg food affodable to general public.
Therefore no matter how high the cost of organic ingredients are,
she would keep it at a low S$5.
--That's the vow she made to Buddha after recovering from cancer.


Considering the healthfulness, taste, sincerity to serve and price affordability,
Ci Yan is well-deserved as one of the Organic Gems in the region.

Next, another organic eatery which is almost as well established as Ci Yan, 
also influenced by Dr Lai's teachings, operated by yet another wonderful woman...


Well regards,
Kee Yew
pureland2012-at-gmail.com


{Learning Holistic Wellness for Wisdom and Compassion}

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

Holistic Wellness Events Update (2)

Dear friends,

It has been a while since the last event update.
November - Dec 2011 is another exciting period.
As you will see below,
this year end LHW schedule is still packed
with a lot of learning opportunities
from Detox to Basic Nutrition workshops to simple cooking demo,
and quite some fun including
the very first Vegetarian Gourmet Tour @ KL!

Understand many will be travelling away,
so, would like to block your calendar now =D




************************************

5 Nov 2011:

o Organic Living Workshop (English)
9.15am - 5.45pm
Imagination Room, Level 5, Central Library, 100, Victoria Street.
Tel:  91175756
Email: info@TheVegSchool.net
(This is the second module of The Veg School systematic vegetarian course, covering a wide range of topics, from identifying organic products, understanding organic farming principles, to GMO issues, nutritional crises due to chemical farming and organic myths debunking. There will be hands-on segment learning how to cook yummy food at home!)


7 Nov 2011:

o Detox and Health (English)
8.30am -5.0pm
Awareness Place Wellbeing Centre, #03-39 Bras Basah Complex, S180231.

Tel/Fax: 6336 5067
Email: sem@kmspks.org
(This is an extra Detox Workshop that I didn't plan for 2011. My ex-students were benefited a lot from the session and specially requested this extra session so that she may bring her friends in to reap some benefits! An opportunity to learn the core principles of detoxification and understand how heal naturally, the proper way. Step-by-step guide to do DIY Detox at home provided end of the workshop.)


12 Nov 2011:

o Easy Raw Food Demo
7.00pm-8.30pm
Nutrihub, 46, Temple Street (near Chiantown MRT Exit A)
Tel: 91175756
Email: kee_yew@TheVegSchool.net
(a simple raw food demo of 4 nutritious recipes using super blender Vitamix. An opportunity to learn how to improve life quality via quick and nutritious raw food prep!) 


13,20,27 Nov, 4 Dec 2011:

o The Basics of Health Diet (Mandarin)
3.00pm - 5.00pm
Awareness Place Wellbeing Centre, #03-39 Bras Basah Complex, S180231.

Tel/Fax: 6336 5067
Email: sem@kmspks.org
(This is the last series of Vegetarian Wellness Course Level1 module to be conducted at Awareness Place. This module will be improved and taught at the National Library on 28 April 2012, under The Veg School system.)


27 Nov 2011:
o Organic Living meetup @ Nature's Harvest Cafe
#02-08, FuLuShou Complex, Bugis
12.00-2.00pm
Details: http://www.meetup.com/Organic-Living/events/39447262/
(a monthly effort to visit organic outlet to boost the business of organic outlets so that they could sustain more easily.)


3 Dec 2011:

o The Veg School 1 Day Local Organic Tour
Venues to visit: Quan Fa Eco-farm @ Lim Chu Kang, Yes Natural @ Clementi, Four Seasons @ City Square, Livin'Greens @ Beach Road
8.45am - 6.00pm
Tel: 91175756
Email: info@TheVegSchool.net
(This is a collaborative effort with CieloSereno.net to bring organic education to the public via lively tours, putting organic theories in practice!)


8-9 Dec 2011:

o 2D3N Vegetarian Gourmet Tour @ KL
2 full days of Vegetarian Makan sessions, trying out all the delicacies in KL/Klang Valley
Enquiries: 91175756 kee_yew@yahoo.com
Itinerary: http://thevegschool.net/tours/KL-Gourmet%20Tour.pdf
(This is a premiere tour that I am inventing to bring more excitement to the veg community in Singapore. Limited to 8-10pax only. Apply leaves now! :D)


10 Dec 2011:

o Diet For A Hectic Lifestyle (English)
Venue: Tampines Library Auditorium (SGD8 per entry)
11.30am - 12.30pm

To register, please email: kee_yew@yahoo.com
(This seminar will be illustrating the consequences of 'hasty' eating;  and most importantly providing practical solutions for adopting a healthy nourshing diet in our hectic lifestyle. The seminar will also introduce foodstuff which are packed with easily digestible nutrientsand sharing of some yummy and simple recipes!)


12 Dec 2011:

o Iridology Workshop (English)
Venue: Green Room Cafe
2pm-5pm
Details: http://thevegschool.net/workshops/Iridology.pdf
(This is an enriching hands-on workshop for beginners who would like to pick some basic skills to analyse one's health via a non-intrusive method ie through the recognition of patterns of iris. Vegetarian Nutritionist and Iridologist Ms Ketki Vinayachandra will be leading the workshop.)



11, 18 Dec 2011:

o Simple Vegetarian Cooking (Mandarin)
3.00pm - 5.00pm

Awareness Place Wellbeing Centre, #03-39 Bras Basah Complex, S180231.
Tel/Fax: 6336 5067
Email: sem@kmspks.org
(This is a popular cooking session that I have been doing at Awareness Place for years. Simple, nutritious and yummy cooking. Just right for beginners and hectic people!)


** I am planning to re-visit Borneo Highlands Resort 4-7 Jan 2012 (leisure) and 22-25 Apr 2012 (with Organic Detox course). Email kee_yew@yahoo.com to pre-register now!**

************************************



With metta,
Kee Yew
pureland2012-at-gmail.com

p/s: should you need any extra info about any of the above events, please do not hesitate to email me @ pureland2012-at-gmail.com or call 91175756.


p/p/s: should you like future email notification of new blog posts/updates, you may want to subscribe to Learning Holistic Wellness.


{Learning Holistic Wellness for Wisdom and Compassion}