Green Dot 2015
60 Paya Lebar Road
#02-15 Paya Lebar Square
23 Serangoon Central
#02-K2 NEX
Multiple Outlets Across Singapore
https://www.greendot.sg/
Eat Green Yet Feel Good
(Ratings: On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 = Worst and 10 = Best)
Overall: 8
Ambience & Setting: 8
Food & Beverage: 8
Service: 6
Value for Money: 7
Spent about SGD $15 per person.
.....
The idea behind Green Dot was first conceived in August 2011, when the founders set up a stall in Temasek Polytechnic's Design School. Green Dot was launched to change the perception that pure vegetarian food was tasteless and boring, and with their Asian fusion vegetarian menu, the founders of Green Dot wanted to encourage more people to go meat free. Their tasty yet healthy food, served in a quick, casual setting, has since propelled them to mainstream success, and in 2014, they started branching out commercially by opening outlets in shopping malls.
Ambience at Green Dot is clean, bright, and welcoming. The spacious, open concept restaurant is styled as a casual eatery, with a mix of modern wooden furniture for both small and large groups. A salad bar and order counter frames the open kitchen where you can see chefs at work, while a separate area has frozen / fresh groceries for sale, and a juice and beverage counter. The brightly lit interior has colour themes of green and white, very calming and clean looking.
Service at Green Dot is very good. Staff stand at the entrance and welcome guests as they pass, seating diners quickly, then showing them how to use the e-menu. Ordering and payment is self-service, though staff do serve orders to your table. They are also pretty knowledgable on the various menu items, and can describe what's in each dish. I also note that they're very efficient, clearing away empty / dirty tables quickly, and orders are also usually served within 5 minutes. However, not all staff can converse in English.
Food at Green Dot is meat free, pure Asian fusion vegetarian. Ingredients are fresh, cooked simply to allow the natural taste to shine, and each dish is just delightfully fresh and exciting to behold. Taste is pretty good, the food is delicious, and you'll almost forget there is no meat here! Portions are nicely sized for 1 person, and prices are affordable and wallet friendly, budget about SGD $15 per person for a meal here with drinks, and about SGD $9 for just the meal only.
.....
Bright, clean, welcoming, and calming atmosphere, with both traditional paper menus and modern tablet e-menus. Choose from either the pre-set menu items such as noodles, rice, or burgers, or create your own rice bento set meal!
 |
| Green Dot Exterior |
 |
| Green Dot Interior |
 |
| Green Dot Seating |
 |
| Green Dot Menu Bento |
 |
| Green Dot Menu Entree |
Loved the fresh Passion Dragon Fruit Green Tea (SGD $5.50) with fresh passion fruit and fresh dragon fruit, in a fragrant, floral green tea. Served chilled without ice, the beverage is smooth and thick, not overly sweet, and completely refreshing. Excellent!
 |
| Passion Dragon Fruit Green Tea |
The large bowl of Herbal Noodles (SGD $7.90) is utterly delighful and yummy! The rich, deep, and savoury soup / broth, which tastes similar to herbal Bak Kut Teh (Black), contains up to 10 Chinese herbs including angelica, licorice, and wolfberry. Ingredients include a generous amount of noodles, konnyaku balls, soya chunks (resembling beef), tau pok / tofu puffs, radish, lettuce, and carrots. Filling, satisfiying, and delicious! Highly recommended!
 |
| Herbal Noodles 01 |
 |
| Herbal Noodles 02 |
The Bento Meal (SGD $7.90 / $8.90) features 1 bowl of rice (choose from 5 varieties), 1 main mock meat, 2 vegetable side dishes, and a bowl of soup. Portions are just right for 1 person, and is filling and nutritious. The range of food selection for the bento set meals is small though, it's possible to eat all the bento items within 4 visits.
 |
| Bento Meal Emperor Black Rice & Cereal Konnyaku |
 |
| Bento Meal Fragrance White Rice & Sweet Sour Soya Nuggets |
 |
| Bento Meal Beauty Brown Rice & Lion Mane Mushroom Rendang |
A simple yet comforting Chicken Vegetables Soup, with chunks of mock chicken meat, carrots, winter melon, and herbs. Thin and clear soup / broth, but carries good chicken flavour. Best consumed when hot, as it doesn't taste as good when it cools.
 |
| Chicken Vegetables Soup |
There are 5 varieties of rice to choose from here. The Emperor Black Rice has a deep, nutty flavour, and is packed with nutrients. The Fragrance White Rice is the standard, fluffy, straight forward staple, amusing to hear the serving staff say the boss gave it such as fancy name. The Beauty Brown Rice has a mild, wheat of the fields flavour, quite hearty.
 |
| Emperor Black Rice |
 |
| Fragrance White Rice |
 |
| Beauty Brown Rice |
The Cereal Konnyaku is designed to resemble the Chinese Zi Char dish of Cereal Prawns, and it bears a similar shape. Made from Konnyaku or Elephant Yam Cake, the texture is slightly soft, with a nice chew, and the cereal / oat bits, and spices (such as curry leaves) lend good flavour. Decent, passable as an average Cereal Prawns!
 |
| Cereal Konnyaku |
The Sweet Sour Soya Nuggets is designed to resemble the Chinese Zi Char dish of Sweet & Sour Pork. While it's much smaller in shape, the texture doesn't really meet up. However, it's still a pretty good dish, with a nice chew to the soya nuggets, and the sweet & sour sauce is properly balanced, with some sweetness, slight sourness / tangy taste. The sticky, thick sweet & sour sauce holds well, pairs well with any rice, and is tasty!
 |
| Sweet Sour Soya Nuggets |
The Lion Mane Mushroom Rendang is utterly delicious! The firm, chewy lion mane mushroom chunks resemble the Malay dishes of Chicken Curry or Mutton Rendang, with a similar texture. The rendang curry is thick and savoury, with a wet gravy texture, and full flavour from the rempah spices and curry leaves. Incredibly addictive, each bite gives you the burst of flavour from the spices, then the mellowness of the mushrooms, the meaty chew for texture, and the slight heat of the curry. Highly recommended!
 |
| Lion Mane Mushroom Rendang |
Loved that they've treated the Spicy Eggplant with respect, the eggplant has a great texture, not too limp, and not too firm. Nicely soft, not oily, with some heat from the sambal, this fresh tasting dish is among the best renditions I've had. Highly recommended!
 |
| Spicy Eggplant |
Loved the fresh crunch of the Stir-Fried String Beans & Straw Mushrooms, with a clean, yummy taste, and flavour from the silky smooth straw mushrooms. The bright green and brown hues are visually appealing, and I love that the vegetables are juicy, not limp and overcooked. Excellent!
 |
| Stir-Fried String Beans & Straw Mushrooms |
The Stir Fried Baby Kai-Lan was my least favourite item here, because the kai-lan / chinese kale / chinese broccoli was overcooked. Lost a lot of the crunch in texture, becoming rather soft, and somewhat bitter in taste. Terrible.
 |
| Stir Fried Baby Kai-Lan |
The Stir Fried Pumpkin & Wolfberries has a mild flavour, and the soft pumpkin chunks yield easily when bit. The wolfberries lend a slight sweetness, as well as a floral aroma that makes this stand out. Good!
 |
| Stir Fried Pumpkin & Wolfberries |
The Stir Fried Broccoli & Black Fungus has chunks of broccoli that is fresh and firm, great texture. The black fungus is soft, and lends a depth of flavour; woody and earthy in taste. Good!
 |
| Stir Fried Broccoli & Black Fungus |
Despite the Laksa Noodles (SGD $5.90) having very similar ingredients to the other noodle dishes sold here, I'm surprised the laksa broth is fragrant, and tastes very similar to the regular, non-vegetarian version! Rich and aromatic, with creamy smooth texture and a savoury spicy flavour, this was very good!
 |
| Laksa Noodles 01 |
 |
| Laksa Noodles 02 |
Love the generous portion of Osmanthus Jelly, with its floral essence and taste. Studded with wolfberries at the base, which lends a slight sweetness. Very pleasing to the palate, sweet yet refreshing, you can easily finish this, and still want more! Very good!
 |
| Osmanthus Jelly |
Visuals don't do the Chilled Peach Oolong Tea justice. This cold, refreshing beverage has a nice sweetness, yet doesn't leave you thirsty after drinking. Made with fresh peach juice and oolong tea, the combination of floral, earthy, and fruity tastes is so good!
 |
| Chilled Peach Oolong Tea |
.....
CONVERSATION