Hearty Vegan Fare at Consummation of Life Vegetarian Restaurant, Farlim

Long gone were the days when vegetarian food seems to be perceived as boring and strictly for penitentiary or fasting purpose as most of the food would be plain and purely based on vegetable ingredients. Vegetarian food were always associated with religious purposes, and when one is observing a fasting/abstinence period by avoiding meat which are generally perceived as luxurious or celebratory items.
Those were the days, as today vegetarian food is no longer shunned with the wide varieties available, as a result of the revolution of creativity injected into making vegetarian food more appealing to everyone. In fact, one does not need to be a vegetarian (or a vegan) to enjoy vegetarian food, because today, it has become one of the interesting cuisines around and is so enticing that it has definitely drawn its own fan base with its growing popularity.
The fame of vegetarian food has led to the emergence of many vegetarian food outlets, stalls and restaurants everywhere, and there is just a long list to name in the island of Penang alone, which is simply a vegetarian haven with the number of restaurants and stalls they have here.
It is not surprising that the island is famed for the 9-day vegetarian festive period which takes place in the Lunar 9th month annually, in observance of the Nine Emperor Gods' Festival.

Consummation of Life Vegetarian Restaurant, located in Farlim, on the ground level of the local neighborhood flats, is one of the hidden gems of a vegetarian restaurant probably only known to the local Penangites residing in the area.


It is not surprising though, with the many vegetarian restaurants available, this would, to many, add to the list of the vegetarian restaurants on the island.
However, for the vegetarian cuisine enthusiasts, this adds to another choice on the list for one to explore as one goes restaurant hopping.

A family run business, the place serves made-to-order home-cooked style meals from their humble kitchen and their menu boasts of the many interesting types of dishes which could leave one spoilt for choices.
One would not be bored with the varieties here; as even the simplest of dishes is given a unique twist with their own twist in the sauce or the use of ingredients in the cooking style.

They serve home cooked herbal drinks too, which to me, are better options compared to the canned drinks. Herbal drinks are traditional remedies to expel heat and toxins from the body and are favored as one of the common mild methods to ensure a healthy body system practiced until today.

Sugarcane drink (MYR1.60)



Now, the reason we would need a good cooling cup of herbal drink is due to the following hot and spicy Tomyam Ramen soup



Generous amounts of the ingredients; lemongrass, chili paste, lime and kaffir lime leaves are the main players behind the rich and aromatic flavor of the tom yam soup. It can be quite addictive and is enough to make one sweat with the piping hot soup (both in temperature and taste).

The bouncy texture of the hand-pulled noodles; or ramen is just another of its attraction complemented with the lavish varieties of ingredients of large cubes of tomatoes, bean curd sheets, cabbages, mock fish balls, and mock prawns, they are just part of the equation to make this one great bowl of vegetarian tom yam soup.


Vegetarian Sweet and Sour Spare Ribs (MYR12)
Made of wheat gluten and mushroom stems then wrapped around the sugarcane sticks, served with sweet and sour tomato sauce on banana leaf and topped with cubes of cucumbers, tomatoes and bell peppers, this is made to almost resemble the real mccoy.


Deep fried fish served with special sauce (MYR12) is again, wheat gluten paste topped seaweed and made to shape like a fish.
The sauce was indeed an appetizing start; spicy with a tinge of sourish sweet taste which reminded me of the typical Nyonya sauce with a aromatic scent.




Most of the dishes here are prepared with careful attention to the details, and it is amazing that vegetarian dishes are these days evolved to resemble the actual meat and seafood that it is hard to tell sometimes, that they are meant for vegans.
While there are those who are against these mock meats which are termed as sinful and has sparked controversy among the vegetarians that these are swaying away from the notion of observing pure vegetarian diets, these are still favored by many; non-vegetarians and even long term vegetarians themselves.

It is not purely based on the desire to sin; and perhaps in a positive way, the introduction of such mock imitations are meant to encourage more to enjoy vegetarian food and helping those who are converting to vegetarian with a smooth transition process.
For long term vegetarians or purely religious vegetarians, that would probably be another story.
After all, vegetarian food can be fun and colorful too, with a little creativity in it once in a while to produce a fresh concept to appeal to all ages and groups, right?
*Just my two cents of thought*

A Vegan Affair

If you are a vegetarian and you happen to be in Malaysia, you are in for a treat. Choices are varied and the flavors are just bursting from the creativity from the local vendors serving these good food in restaurants, stalls or anywhere that you see a vegetarian shop. The colors and the uniqueness from the creative dishes are such popping eye candies that lure even the regular meat lovers to consider being a convert once in a while.
While it depends on the location in which you are in at the time (there may be challenges in availability of vegetarian outlets in certain states), generally it is still a relatively vegetarian-friendly country.
Perhaps it is fair to say that Penang; the little island with a big tourism reputation on the western coast of the Peninsular hosts a number of vegetarian restaurants and eateries.

Due to the population of the Chinese folks here, the vegetarian cuisine here is heavily influenced by the exotic style of cooking mixed with the local flavors from the island favorites. Indian vegetarian can be found here too, if you are looking for the Indian style of vegetarian.
However, you should try out the Chinese vegetarian which just tempts you with the various innovations in their dishes while attempting to substitute the usual meat or non vegan fare with their unique choices of mock options created using simple plant-based ingredients such as mushrooms, seaweed and perhaps a little wheat or gluten occasionally.

Vegetarian choices can be so alluring in their imitation of the usual meaty fare that you might even forget you are actually on a vegan meal.

Take for instance, this tempting bowl of vegetarian Tomyam noodles served with mock shrimps, fish balls, and fish fillets all made with probably flour or a little gluten.





Fragrant flavors from the natural aromatic lemongrass, tamarind and the usual spices just makes this such an irresistible mouthful; sending shouts of excitement from the spicy hot soup.
Perfect during the cold weather (it tends to be rainy on some days here)

Braised fried fish fillets with special black pepper and mushroom sauce

The fish fillets were made of the dried soy sheets and wrapped with the seaweed; and appears to be slightly covered by the generously sliced mushrooms.

What do you make of these?
Sweet and sour braised mock pork ribs


The use of wheat flour/gluten lends these a chewy and crunchy texture; in emulating the actual tastes from the real ribs?

This was from one of the Chinese vegetarian specialized restaurant I visited last year, and there are many more such restaurants on the island which I look forward to visiting, for I am a fan and a vegan wannabe myself :-)

How are the vegan choices in your country/place?
Do they have dishes like these, or they are unique in their own ways?
I would love to explore vegan choices in other countries too~