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Vegan Singapore Guide

How vegan friendly is Singapore?

You’re spoilt for choice when it comes to vegan dining options in Singapore.

There is a huge range of choice - from wholesome burgers, fast and satisfying street food, healthy raw vegan restaurants to the ripest most mouth watering tropical fruits ever. There are plenty of Vegan Resources to guide you through the wide choices.

Vegan Eating Out in Singapore

Singapore is a heaven for vegetarian and vegan eateries, with a large number of vegetarian restaurants and stalls scattered throughout the country. Many serve mainly Chinese vegetarian dishes, with no alliums and pungent vegetables used in their cooking, due to a need to cater for those who are more religious. Even though wireless payment is slowly getting popular amongst hawker food stalls, some restaurants and most food stalls still accept cash only, hence it will be good carry some cash when you are planning to visit these eateries.

As the main religion practised in the Singaporean Chinese community is Buddhism, most Chinese restaurants try to cater to this lifestyle. Common labels to indicate a vegetarian stall include Su 素 and Zhai 斋.

On the street

Hawker centres are the backbone of Singapore’s food scene. These are large covered food courts which are down-to-earth, bustling places with the smell of burning incense.

Shopping

1) WET MARKETS (PASARS) – AFFORDABLE

I get my bulk of ingredients here. Not only the produce are fresher and sometimes cheaper than supermarkets, you can also support local businesses directly. Markets are stock full of local and imported veggies, tropical fruits, fresh tofu, local condiments, spice packs, dried foods and tempeh so fresh that it’s still warmly fermenting on the shelves. And in a lucky neighbourhood, you get a well-stocked vegetarian grocery stall full of vegan goodies.

2) REGULAR SUPERMARKETS (NTUC, GIANT, SENG SIONG)

The second biggest bulk of my food comes from mainstream supermarkets. They have a great selection of fresh, dried and processed foods like miso, kimchi, non-dairy milks, canned beans, organic tofu, breads, edamame and granola bars that are not available in wet markets.

The health section is a gem – quality beans, nut milks, cider vinegar, organic grains and flaxseeds at cheaper prices than dedicated health stores. If you want cheaper, buy from iHerb or Mustafa!

Accidentally vegan breads: according to ingredients listed on NTUC’s online shop, my experience and confirmations from fellow vegans:

NTUC:

Sunshine Multi Grain
Sunshine Smart – Carb
Sunshine Enriched Walnut Bread
Sunshine Potato Wholemeal buns(not listed on website, confirmed from fellow vegan)
Sunshine Softmeal Bread
Sunshine Wholemeal Cream bread rolls (Chocolate, strawberry, raspberry, cookies & cream flavours)
Sunshine Extra Fine Sprouted WHITE Bread (not the wholemeal one)
Fairprice Wholemeal
Gardenia Wholemeal Hamburger Buns
Gardenia Foccacia (not listed on the website, from my experience)
Top One Enriched White Bread
Top One Enriched Wholemeal Bread
Five Loaves brand has a good variety of vegan bread items (like cinnamon rolls), available at some NTUC finest.

3) TRADITIONAL CHINESE DRIED GOODS AND MEDICINE (TCM)

They aren’t just about Chinese medicine and herbs! You will find :

Cashews, peanuts, walnuts and similar nut snacks
Various dried fungi like shiitake, wild mushrooms, kelp, seaweed etc.
Dried flowers – rose, chrysanthemum, lavender etc.
Beans – Dried red bean, kidney beans, green beans etc
Grains & Seeds – Barley, millet, oats, lotus seeds, sesame etc
Superfoods – Chinese dates, gojiberries etc.

Hock Hua, Eu Yan Sang are the most well-known chains. Smaller shops are also found in most neighbourhoods.

4) INDIAN PROVISION SHOPS

Legumes, lentils and spices heaven! There’s one in almost every neighbourhood. My fav biryani and curry spice packs are from here. Many dry indian snacks are vegan – can’t resist a $2 pack of muruku!

Vegetarian products from India are always labeled with this green circle in a square. Simply look out for dairy.

5) MUSTAFA

You’ll be surprised at the amount of vegan foods sold at this supermarket on steroids. The maze-like layout, poor organisation, crazy weekend crowds and unhelpful staff can drive one insane. But with prices that are too good to be true and selections unmatched by any other store, braving the madness is worth it.

Vegan groceries there:

Singapore’s biggest selection of dates all year round.
Huge range of Bob’s Red Mill’s products!
Cheapest vegan cheese. Sheese brand, variety of cream cheese spread, slices and melt-able cheddars – not often in stock so stock up while you’re there.
Nuttlex and Natura vegan butters, Soylife vegan yogurt.
Non-dairy milks like almond, macadamia, soy, oat milks of various flavours.
Instant soy, oat and nut milk powders and cereals.
Black salt! And many other condiments.
Fry’s faux meats, Linda McCartneys and various Chinese mock meats.
For seitan, only Chinese canned seitans are available in SG. Otherwise, making from a pack of Bob’s Red Mill’s gluten flour is your best choice.
Various sizes and types of TVPs (textured soy proteins).
Nut butters (some with prices that will make iHerb cry) – pistachio, tahini, raw, roasted, blended with cacao, hazelnut chocolate blends, etc.
Various canned beans (read: aquafaba), veggies and fruits. They don’t have canned green jackfruit but have fresh ones at the fridge section in veggies & fruit area. Tekka Market nearby also sells fresh green jackfruits.
All sorts of nuts and dried fruits.
Various flours, grains, organic beans, lentils, quinoa, chia seeds.
Wraps – wheat, spelt, oat, rice and gluten-free.
Baking section has nutritional yeast, rice/date/maple syrups, cacao nibs, coconut flakes, real vanilla extracts and beans.
Interesting Italian dried pasta selection (note: black pasta = squid ink)
Huge variety of oils. Avocado, walnut, coconut, herb-infused, etc.
Many dark chocolates bars that are vegan.
Mind-blowing amount of snacks – chips, seaweeds, local sweets, nuts, nut bars, granola bars, murukus.. I even saw raw kale chips once!
Spices – dried, powdered, mixed, in shakers, in grinders, etc.

Shopping there can be overwhelming, so ask a seasoned fellow vegan to guide you there – their staff are the most unhelpful service personnel you can meet. Mustafa sometimes can run out of stock for certain items for months so best to get when you see – you never know when it runs out!

6) IHERB – VARIED PRICE RANGE

Vegan heaven – protein powders, marshmallows, fruit-flavoured B12, nut butters, cosmetics, shampoos, EVERYTHING! Free shipping to Singapore for orders above USD85! My go-to for items sold too expensive or unavailable here. Here’s a list of links to good stuff I’ve tried and tested: