Lotus Vegetarian Restaurant

Level 3, Quality Hotel
201 Balestier Road
Tel: 6254 0090
Opening Hours: 11.30am to 3pm (lunch) & 6pm to 10pm (dinner)
Website: http://www.qualityhotel.com.sg/index.html#top

Indulge in a lavish banquet that features an attractive spread of dishes, mostly handmade, for its buffet lunches and dinners. Savour the flavours of the wide range of Taiwanese vegetarian cuisine, which amazingly, remains creative and unique despite its variety. Make a pit stop at their “Dian Xin” Corner and revel in a sumptuous spread of “Dianxin” in Hong Kong, Taiwanese and Japanese styles. Don’t miss their weekend “eat-all-you-can” buffet lunches and dinners comprising of over 100 delicious varieties of cooked food. For those who prefer the homely aroma of wholesome soups, they would appreciate the painstakingly prepared stewed herbal soups. A bonus is that food is prepared avoiding deep frying methods, perfect for the health-conscious.

There is also an ice-cream station to which you can help yourself to unlimited servings. Free-flow beverages are also self-service. Available are a variety of soda, hot coffee, tea, and Chinese tea.

For a non-vegetarian like me, I truly enjoyed the cuisine that they served here. It's so tasty you wouldn't believe it's vegetarian. Personally, I really love their dianxin. A die-die must try would be their soup in puff pastry. Be fast... once the bowls of soup leave the kitchen, they disappear in a blink of an eye. Oh, you should also try their Japanese handroll. Yummy!

Urban Pooch Cafe

530 Balestier Road #01-07, Monville Mansion
Tel: 6252 5046
Opening Hours: 11am to 10pm daily, closed on Mondays
Website: http://www.urbanpooch.com.sg/U_Pooch_Menu.html

Situated at a secluded corner of Balestier Road, is an airy local doggie paradise that any puppy worth its whiskers would love to visit. Featuring a playroom, gourmet fare, a small canine art collection and friendly humans dying to make a fuss of you, what more could a pooch ask for?

Conceived after repeated refused entries into restaurants, owner Raye Tan decided that enough was enough. Together with friends, they promptly set up an establishment that would welcome dog owners. Including a separate doggie menu that had been assiduously concocted after much research and consultations with local vets, owners can even order up some special treats like the hugely popular Blueberry cake ($2.50) for their doggie companions, much to standing ovations of approving yelps and growls.

The human fare is pretty decent too, with the lusciously fresh and crunchy signature Urban Pooch salad ($6.50) and the bountiful selection of their Sampling Plate ($6.50).For a more filling meal, diners would be well-advised to tuck into the Teriyaki Chicken Steak on Rice ($10.80) and the BBQ Pork Chops ($12.80), wholesome meals with equally wonderful flavors.

Other animals are definitely welcome here, but as owner of this doggy dominated café, Raye Tan describes the other non-canine customers as “…cat comes in cage, cat stays in cage, cat leaves in cage…” Highly deserving of a big paws up, Urban Pooch is a must-visit for any diner, dog-lover or pooch alike.

Note: This review was extracted from somewhere (I lost the link before I could copy it down).