Prepare to be awestruck...
Nestled not too far away from Serangoon MRT Station along Yio Chu Kang Road lies AWE Bistro, a 100% plant-based immersive experiential concept by OsomeFood. Here, you’ll be greeted (albeit a little puzzlingly) by rows of plants lit in pink, as well as cages of chickens that might have you second-guessing if you’ve come to the right place, but fret not, because the chickens (which I’ll get to eventually) are a sign that you are absolutely at where you intended to be!
More than just a dining experience
As I stepped into the premises, I had a sensing that AWE Bistro feels somewhat of a hybrid between a bistro and a mini gallery or museum or sorts. This is because apart from serving plant-based meals, the space is also dedicated to educating diners about their own processes regarding growing crops and ingredients, which includes the purpose of the chickens outside, with which their faeces are used as fertiliser as part of AWE’s aquaponic system for their plants. Other highly informative aspects include eating health-consciously via plant-based meals as well as the strict regulations and measures that are taken to ensure that what ends up on your plate is truly clean without the need for additives and artificialities; instead just natural vitamins and nutrients to ensure your body gets the maximum benefit of what you consume. Hence, eating “good food” here doesn’t just mean eating what tastes delicious, but also what actually is, quite literally, good for your health. As a result, this is what differentiates AWE Bistro from the average plant-based dining establishment.
Apart from dining in, AWE also sells ready-to-eat plant-based meals that are gluten-free and high in protein. These come in the form of subscription meal plans that are especially ideal for those of you who are looking to eat clean and healthy at the convenience of home, while reducing your occasional meat intake and carbon footprint. If you’re curious for a taste before subscribing, some of these meals can actually be sampled via AWE Bistro’s dine-in menu. You can learn more about their subscription meal plans via their website.
How would you like your eggs done?
Before I get into the food here, one of the proud highlights of AWE is that they are the proud parents of the world’s first plant-based hard boiled egg, namely the CollagenEgg! It is made with a variety of nutritious ingredients, including cold pressed carrots (juice rich in carotenoids to protect skin from UV damage), wakame and kombu (rich in keratin to improve rigidity of skin and exfoliation of dead skin cells), nutritional yeast (great source of vitamins, and minerals for hair, skin and nail health) and so much more! The hard boiled CollagenEgg is served with a selection of their menu dishes, some of which I ordered to try – more on that in a bit…
The dining experience
Surrounded by rows of brightly lit shelves around the corners, the quaint dining space takes centre stage with a reasonable amount of space that doesn’t make it feel small. The bright lights do not get in the way of the dining experience, but rather add a nice neon ambience to the space.
Surrounded by rows of brightly lit shelves around the corners, the quaint dining space takes centre stage with a reasonable amount of space that doesn’t make it feel small. The bright lights do not get in the way of the dining experience, but rather add a nice neon ambience to the space. The menu is certainly inviting with a mix of asian and western dishes, from braised meat rice to pastas and burgers, spiced up with the intrigue that comes from bearing in mind that everything you’re about to eat is fully plant-based.
I had dinner here with one other friend, and we ordered a couple of dishes to share. To start, we had the Wild Mushroom Bisque and Beef Stew ($9.50). While the plant-based minced beef felt a bit like a forgotten afterthought, the wild mushroom soup was actually quite tasty with its thick and creamy consistency and moreish truffle oil-infused flavour.
Our second starter was the Summer Black Truffle CollagenEgg Mayonnaise Flatbread ($15) which was one of my personal highlights of my meal here! Essentially a cracker-like flatbread topped with plant-based egg mayo (presumably made with the CollagenEgg), this was delicious, with the egg mayo tasting and feeling rather uncanny to the actual thing! My only issue with this is that the portion was NOT enough coz it was waaaaay too good of a snack.
For mains, I was really hyped up for the Lu Rou Fan with Tea Herb CollagenEgg and Basmati Rice ($11). The plant-based minced meat tasted and felt really convincing, with just enough sauce to flavour the dish. This was the first dish I had with the hard boiled CollagenEgg, and upon taking a bite, I remarked it as being the sole product to have me eat and enjoy hard boiled eggs (even if this isn’t actually it, heh), as I personally detest the real stuff primarily due to the sandy texture of hard boiled egg yolks. Despite this ‘yolk’s’ grainy and clumpy appearance, that is not the case here. It does not actually feel like I’m having a real egg as the texture of the whites resembles more of fishcake with a firm and slightly bouncy texture, but it’s still quite novel and pleasant to experience, especially if for the first time!
Also had the flourless Cold Protein Pasta with CollagenEgg and Tsuyu Sauce ($15). The noodles visually and texturally felt more like udon than pasta due to their thickness and slight chewiness, and was especially so when eaten with the plant-based Tsuyu sauce which made for a good, not too salty base. It’s clearly quite a Japanese-type dish, which confused me for a bit initially. I would have appreciated more than just eggs to go with this so as to make the dish feel more proportionate, but overall still quite enjoyable nonetheless.
The last main dish ordered was the Supernutri Fishcake Burger with Plant-based Cheese and BBQ Sauce ($16) because I was really curious to know what plant-based fishcake and cheese would be like. The patty threw me off a little as it really resembled the texture of our local fishcake, more than what you’d expect of a burger patty, with its flavour mainly coming from the sauce it’s covered in. As for the ‘cheese’…frankly I forgot that it was present in the burger and as a result did not manage to form any impression of it. Served with eggless burger buns, tomatoes and onions, alongside a mesclun lettuce salad, it’s a pretty decent burger; I probably preferred the other mains better, but this was definitely intriguing to say the least!
Other than mains, there’s also dessert like Cheng Teng ($5.50) and plant-based Chocolate Banana Ice Cream ($5) which I had—tastes more or less as you’d expect with traces of mashed bananas—as well as Cold Pressed Juices ($8.80) which are made au natural, such as the sour and refreshing green apple juice I had.
In conclusion
Overall, my experience at AWE Bistro was a very pleasant and insightful, eye opening one. Dinner was a series of curious dishes that, while a little small in portion, were satisfying enough leave me feeling a little more convinced with the potential of plant-based cuisine. I love the diversity of their menu, and the whole experiential aspect of the space. If anything, I’d honestly be keen to return to try other dishes here in future!
*Thank you to the folks at AWE Bistro for having me to try your food and for the tour of the place!
Before you go...
AWE Bistro
Address: 112 Yio Chu Kang Road, Singapore 545580
Opening Hours: 11am to 8pm (Wednesdays to Saturdays),
Mondays & Tuesdays – Open for events only,
Closed on Sundays and Public Holidays
Contact: 6748 3953
Reservations: Yes
Takeaway: Yes
Delivery: Yes (Foodpanda, Grabfood)