Revolutionized instead of Veganized ...

Revolutionized instead of just Veganized might be the key in the future Vegetarian Food Scene, this is just my personal feeling.

6 years back, I requested a vegetarian stall to blanch wanton mee and pair it with laksa broth and I paid for the extra cost. Well, the outcome was not great at all. Today, I just have a feeling maybe Ramen is a better option compare to Wanton Mee. Why must Wonton pair with clear soup, why not have some Gigantic (not too big) Rainbow Wanton in Laksa Broth (not too much), sprinkled with finely chopped laksa leaves or garnish with lovely mint leaves. Maybe, I should experiment with it in the near future.

Veganising the popular street food – Wanton Mee, has gone a little haywire and the combination of ingredients used does not seem to pair well or beautifully. By giving it a deeper thought, in fact, Wanton Mee can be evolved into a much better dish in various ways.

Due to fierce competition among non-vegetarian eateries, many new concepts have been created to have share in the market (non-veg food). Like Apa Rojak had added a new twist to the Rojak - Shake Shake Royak where the fruit and veggies are put in a cup, with the sauce and cover up to shake it. Then you can shake shake and eat as you jalan jalan (vegetarian version available too, great news to those allergic to seafood!). Looking around, there are so many new stuffs. Currently, non-vegetarian eateries are offering deep-fried wanton and blanched wonton in the same dish. There is even – Wonton Story – Spore first wonton-concept eatery. This Taiwan-themed non-veg eatery serving up an interesting variety of wonton fillings.

For veg*n wonton mee, I don’t think that vegetarians are happy with just so-so vegetarian version. Would this satisfy the craving of this street food? I guess most would rather go without it. So, what can make veg*n wonton mee special and yummy? There are many areas to look into …

The quality of the wanton noodle is one of the key to delicious Wanton Mee, whether it will remain QQ even ordered as a ‘take out’ item.

Besides that, the wonton could be the thing to work on! We have pork wanton, prawn wanton why not call it Tofu Wanton instead of Vegetarian Wanton? Big lovely Rainbow Wanton by having different colour chopped veggies with tofu as filling. Cooked and pair with delectable broth – Simple combination in a New way presentation. A bowl of Wonton in Soup with lettuce or allow the customers to compose their very own special wonton dish with the choices of choosing for various soup bases, to crater to different tastes and variations. And this is what some non-veg eateries are doing. Or a plate of Crispy Wonton with special accompanying dipping sauce!

And it can also be a set meal with dry wanton mee with special aroma homemade sauce, sprinkle generously with vegetarian “lard” cubes (using fresh mushroom) … Veggies – Chye Sim or Shanghai Green may be more suitable and does not have to be too much to spoil the presentation – less is more (Zen Art). Fiber intake can be obtained from other dishes or other ways in a meal, after all we are not eating veggies dish but noodle! If Chicken Rice can become a Popular Item on a Top Restaurant Menu, just wonder how acceptable Wanton Mee is … again it may just stay as popular street food, that’s …

To go further, ingredients used in making the Tofu Wanton, can even be used to make mini Crispy Tofu Balls or other items …Or even a bowl of piping hot "noodle" that consists of just Wonton Skin (suitable for the young kids and the aged too). I remember my late mother brought some dried Wonton skin sheets from Malaysia few decades back, where she just used it to replace noodle. A bowl of silky smooth sheets swimming in a nice broth with veggies. That remind me of my ex-boss's son who love wonton skin but not the wonton filling, so the mother had to ate the filling in the poached wonton and the son just ate the skin. Well, weird, maybe only few customers eat in this way...

So wonton and wonton noodle is just a 'item' that used here for me to rant about - The Universe of Vegetarian Cuisine is so vast and yet undiscovered...