Celebrity Life

Whether you're vegan, vegetarian, flexitarian, or just plain curious, there's not dearth of animal-free "meats" to try.

The post Plant-based meats: 6 meat substitutes to try in Singapore appeared first on The Peak Magazine.

Whether you're vegan, vegetarian, flexitarian, or just plain curious, there's not dearth of animal-free "meats" to try.

For more stories like this, visit www.thepeakmagazine.com.sg.

Sustainability has become a particularly popular and talked-about topic in recent years.

Prominent names in the fashion, beauty and F&B industries have jumped on the green bandwagon with everything from vegan leather to biodegradable packaging and plant-based foods. Hospitality group Ovolo Hotels is taking this a step further by pledging to go vegetarian in all restaurants, bars and in-room dining services across its properties, for an entire year.

This initiative is titled “Year of the Veg” and kicked off on October 1 in conjunction with World Vegetarian Day. According to Ovolo Hotels — which operates establishments in Hong Kong and Australia — it was “inspired to act on climate change and environmental conservation.” Its new vegetarian menus will showcase meat-free, plant-based dishes incorporated with locally and ethically-sourced produce.

[caption id="attachment_211247" align="alignnone" width="8688"] Corn kichdi at Veda. (Image: Ovolo Hotels)[/caption]

This isn’t the first time that Ovolo Hotels is offering fully green repertoires in its restaurants. Its Veda eatery at Ovolo Central became Hong Kong’s first vegetarian hotel restaurant when it opened early last year, and serves up healthy but tasty concoctions such as aloo gobi (baked cauliflower) and corn kichdi (spiced mushroom curry and sweet corn porridge). Over in Sydney, Alibi Bar & Kitchen at Ovolo Woolloomooloo specialises in vegan cuisine the likes of kimchi dumplings and pan-fried marinated tempeh.

Next in line to go plant-based are all-day dining spot Komune at Hong Kong’s Ovolo Southside, Monster Kitchen & Bar at Ovolo Nishi in Canberra, Za Za Ta at Ovolo The Valley in Brisbane, and Mr Percy at Ovolo 1888 at Sydney’s Darling Harbour. Room service menus in all Ovolo hotels will also be completely vegetarian.

[caption id="attachment_211245" align="aligncenter" width="672"] Spiced purple cauliflower at Komune. (Image: Ovolo Hotels)[/caption]

Ovolo Hotels has been ramping up its sustainability efforts over the past year by phasing out single-use plastic bathroom amenities, and switching out plastic straws with environmentally-friendly alternatives.

“Dining out – enjoying quality food and wine with good company – is one of life’s greatest pleasures. We want to be conscious about what we’re consuming and practice sustainability as much as we can because we believe this can have an enormous impact on the environment and humanity at large. To that end, we’re evolving our food offerings so that our guests can continue enjoying great dining experiences in a more sustainable manner,” said Girish Jhunjhnuwala, Ovolo Group’s founder and CEO. More details here.

This story first appeared on Prestige Singapore

(All images: Ovolo Hotels)

The post Ovolo Hotels is Going Vegetarian Across its Hong Kong and Australia Properties for a Whole Year appeared first on Prestige Online - Hong Kong.

Vegan eggs are all set to join the ever-growing ranks of plant-based foods.

With World Egg Day taking place on October 13, an Indian start-up is making headlines with a food innovation that may shock some purist fans of traditional omelettes. It has created a vegan egg, made exclusively from vegetable proteins. And to top it all off, this 'egg' is...liquid.

The egg is one of the most commonly consumed foods in the world. Internationally, 145 eggs are consumed per capita per year, according to the FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations).

[caption id="attachment_211049" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Several innovators are looking to create vegan eggs. (Image: Guido Kirchner/ DPA/ AFP)[/caption]

With changes in eating habits and the growing success of the flexitarian diet, this staple food has not escaped notice from researchers and innovators looking to produce an alternative without animal protein. The worldwide success of meatless patties designed to imitate beef, made famous by American start-ups Impossible Foods and Beyond Meat, has inevitably created interest in making versions of other foods without animal proteins. In India in particular, a young company has made a vegan egg its flagship product.

Evo Foods has developed a recipe based on vegetable protein to make an egg without animal protein. The start-up recognises that the texture of its innovation is softer than that of an ordinary egg. And a major difference: The 'egg' is totally liquid. The process involves the extraction of proteins from legumes, which are then fermented before being injected with texture agents. The 'egg' can be kept in the refrigerator for six months.

[caption id="attachment_211051" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] An omelette made with Evo Foods' vegan eggs. (Image: Evo Foods)[/caption]

The vegan eggs, which have already gathered American investment, are to be launched in the United States in April 2021.

Is it just another food innovation? Not necessarily. In France, where vegans represent only 0.5 percent of the population according to estimates by the firm Xerfi, there are also efforts underway to create eggs without any involvement of a chicken. Two female biology students have made 50 or so attempts to create an 'egg' from ingredients of vegetable and mineral origin. Code name for their project: The Merveilloeufs.

(Main image: Erol Ahmed/ Unsplash; Featured image: Joseph Gonzalez)

The post Vegan Eggs Will Soon Be a Reality appeared first on Prestige Online - Hong Kong.

By now, your bosses and colleagues have probably seen more of your abode than you would've ever expected to show them.

With many of us working from home these days, meetings held over video conferencing apps the likes of Zoom and Microsoft Teams have become the new normal. Inevitably, this means letting colleagues into our residences — albeit virtually — and having them catch glimpses of it via our backdrop. Depending on where your workspace is located, this view could range from a boring blank wall to windows or cluttered bookshelves.

Your makeshift office may not be the most glamorous, but there are several easy interior design tricks that you can employ to quickly jazz up the background of your Zoom calls.

Textiles and cushions

If your workstation of choice is the couch or bed, all it takes is a few snazzy throw pillows wrapped in eye-catching fabrics and prints to provide visual interest in the space behind you. Consider dressing your cushions in the Armani/Casa Exclusive Textiles by Rubelli collection, which is inspired by modern art — specifically works by Henri Matisse, Vasilij Kandinskij and Paul Klee.

It showcases striking colour blocks embellished with embroideries, ikat details and intertwined motifs. These are available in various patterns and shades ranging from pastel to neutral hues. More details here.

Houseplants and greenery

Adding houseplants to your home office will help the space look less spartan and bland. Smaller plants like cacti, succulents and spider plants can be displayed on shelves or tables, while larger ones such as philodendrons, snake plants and ZZ plant (Zanzibar Gem) can be placed on the floor to break the monotony of blank walls.

Online plant retailer Flora Houses offers a wide variety of houseplants that will thrive indoors and are generally low-maintenance. Its range includes Japanese fir, fiddle leaf fig and Bird of Paradise. The store provides free doorstep delivery with a minimum spend.

Artworks and paintings

Perhaps houseplants may seem like too much of a commitment, or you simply don't have green fingers. This is where paintings and art pieces make an easier alternative. You can simply hang a couple of them on the wall that constantly forms your video call backdrop.

An Andy Warhol or Basquiat will certainly impress your co-workers, but your art doesn't necessarily have to be expensive or by big name artists. Consider procuring artworks instead from indie galleries such as Odd One Out, which boasts an array of creations by local and international printmakers and illustrators. We can't take our eyes off the above acrylic painting by Micke Lindebergh, which is titled 'Small Yellow Flower Pot' and features colourful blooms accented by quirky squiggles and bright hues.

Statement ornaments and furniture

Inject a dose of quirk into your meeting setup by peppering your background with assorted decorative items and statement furniture pieces. These can be anything from figurines to colourful tiles and dramatic room dividers.

Our go-to is Lala Curio, which is a whimsical wonderland of objets d'art such as brass monkey sculptures, cloisonné birds, and, one of our favourites — an adorable trio of cranes adorned with rock crystal feathers and perched on crystal balls.

Wallpaper

Why settle for one specially curated work area, when you can turn your whole room into an Instagram-worthy space? Wallpaper is a bold and easy solution — if every wall in your room is clad in beautiful prints, you can essentially park yourself in any corner and still have an envy-inducing Zoom backdrop.

Designer wallpaper has seen a resurgence in recent years, and we're obsessed with Christian Lacroix's exquisite Oiseau Fleur vinyl wallpaper, which depicts vibrant botanical and bird motifs against a silk effect embossed base. It comes in two colourways of pink and grey.

(Main image: Brina Blum/ Unsplash; Featured image: Christian Lacroix)

The post Vegan Tuna is the Latest Addition to the World of Plant-Based Dining appeared first on Prestige Online - Hong Kong.

There's something about seeing the sheer drive and passion in someone’s eyes that can really bring you into submission. This is exactly what happened when I met plant-based pioneer Peggy Chan, the chef-founder of Grassroots Pantry which recently transformed into Nectar. Meeting her didn’t quite convert me into a vegetarian, but it certainly compelled me to reconsider my meaty lunch options. So read on to find out more about her mission, if meat really is that bad for your health, and what her new restaurant is all about.

Tell us about Nectar, your new restaurant.

Some people may call it fine dining, but we want to call it ‘elevated experiential dining’. It’s an extension of Grassroots [Pantry] and a reflection of how much we have grown in our craft of cooking plant-based and nutrient-dense foods.

We want to use this opportunity to connect with our diners too. Slow down and deliver a real experience, as well as educate. So that’s why we’re switching to a tasting menu with interactive elements and eye-opening ingredients. It’s linking the health benefits of ingredients that don’t get used that much, or ones that are more biodiverse, and showcasing them through our menu.

[gallery size="full" ids="157366,157368"]

Why do you think a plant-based diet is important?

The number one reason is for environmental purposes. The meat industry, together with dairy, contributes to almost 15% of carbon emissions in the world -- that’s more than any other transportation combined. So we need to be mindful and accountable for our decisions. Secondly for health reasons, it’s already well-known that any form of highly processed foods are the number one causes for heart disease, diabetes, cancer, or what we call ‘first-world illnesses’. Hence we really have to, or should at least consider, consuming less meat.

Also, we aren’t just a plant-based restaurant, we’re using techniques from raw food methods such as soaking, sprouting, activating. We’re using TCM [traditional Chinese medicine] to make tonic broths with healing properties such as our Bak Kut Teh, served with a wonton and summer truffles. We will also incorporate Ayurvedic cuisine elements to heal different body types.

So eating meat is bad for health?

We’re not saying meat is bad. How meat is produced now, has made it unhealthy. The growth hormones and antibiotics, how animals suffer before they’re slaughtered, how meat is stored in unhygienic situations, this is all public information. It’s not about a piecemeal solution to eat less meat, it’s more about why we should eliminate the consumption of processed foods, additives, preservatives and chemicals. And if we do eat meat, then we want the most sustainable and without all that crap in it.

[caption id="attachment_157370" align="alignnone" width="1280"] Chef-founder Peggy Chan has transformed Grassroots Pantry into Nectar[/caption]

What else will be on your produce-driven and locally-sourced menu?

We’re using local eggplants in a dish called Shimeji mushroom bisque, with eggplant en papillote [or baked in a paper pouch or parcel]. The eggplants came from Zen Organic [a certified organic farm in Fanling in the New Territories]. Another is a cheese course. Over the years we’ve learnt more about culturing and fermentation, so we created a line of homemade ‘cheeses’ made with nuts, seeds, beans or tofu. There’s a ricotta-style, slightly firmer goat's cheese texture, a hard cheese that we age for 7 days and then dehydrate for 2–3 weeks to get the texture and saltiness. It’s not just about the origins of the cheese, it’s about the alternative ingredients that are dairy free and propose a way to consume cheese without losing that ‘cheesy’ experience.

Do you have any favourite ingredients to use in your cooking?

I love using mushrooms. We source directly from Yunnan [where there are over 800 types of edible mushrooms] . Everything from chanterelles, to matsutakes, to trumpet and termite mushrooms. I love using termite mushrooms! There’s so much variety and each one has different volumes of water content which dictate the cooking process and therefore flavours. It’s as if you're cooking meat.

Any other superfoods or trends that we should take note of?

I’m always on the search for new ingredients that are rarely used or known. I mean, over 90% of what the world consumes is derived from four main crops: palm oil, corn, wheat and soy, with the fifth being rice. But there are over 30,000 species of plants in the world. Still, the world continues to capitalise on those crops to the detriment of biodiversity, the ecosystem and our planet.

That’s why we try to source lesser-known or rarely used ingredients as much as possible. For example, we use teff [a fine grain]. We were one of the first people in Hong Kong to bring it over and use it in multiple ways -- in our pizza bases, brownies, breads, porridge and replaced whole wheat or wheat.

The trend now is alternative meats. We don’t use it ourselves, as it’s a different stream of food. Kudos to them as their goal is to disrupt the meat industry. But vegans have to understand that eating more alternative meats doesn’t necessary mean you are eating healthier. And it also doesn’t make the planet healthier either -- because of packaging and logistics etc. So we need to look at everything in a much bigger picture.

[gallery size="full" ids="157364,157365"]

What sparked this plant-based mission of yours?

I stopped eating red meat in 2000, before I turned 16. I was on a school trip to Foshan and when we were on the school bus driving past these farms, I remember looking at the cows, and they looked right back at me. Then it dawned on me. Why do we eat animals? I decided overnight that I would cut out red meat. After a couple more years, I cut out poultry, and then I cut out fish and seafood. But I didn’t do it cold turkey, I did it within a 6–7 year period.

What keeps you going?

I feel like it’s my duty. What drives me is this duty to create change. I get emotional about it [her eyes water]. I want to show people the positive side to all of this. I prefer to be a solutionist. We face negative things everyday, but over and above all of that, I want to move us towards the solutions.

I hear that you’ve converted people into vegetarians -- is that true?

I didn’t do it on purpose! My stepfather and my mom were the first people but I didn’t tell them to eat less meat. It just happened naturally. I was just eating it at home and they were curious. They would ask “what is this quinoa?” and soon they realised that their own solution was to not eat meat. One of our chefs has become vegetarian too. I guess like attracts like. We’re not preachers, we’re not like “do this!” That would just backlash. Cutting out meat helped her with her eczema and it was the answer for her. No one can tell you, you have to experience it yourself.

[caption id="attachment_157369" align="alignnone" width="1238"] Peggy Chan leads Hong Kong's green-eating and plant-based movement[/caption]

Have you felt the benefits yourself?

I haven’t been to a doctor -- touch wood! -- for check ups or any form of illness for 16 years. If it’s a minor flu, I can quickly fix it with some turmeric and lemon; if it’s a cough, I can fix it with some honey and ginger, or blanched almonds to help stop the cough. There are certain things I can fix using food to heal.

The spotlight is also on the staggering amount of plastic waste the world produces. How will Nectar be tackling this?

Even when it comes to sourcing, our suppliers sometimes use plastics or styrofoam. So that’s where we begin to tackle it. We tell them we don’t need the plastic, so that’s the first step -- refuse. The next is to reduce what we use. Then we go into recycling -- we partner with Hong Kong Recycles who is extremely helpful and transparent with where they bring the recyclables, as well as how much we recycle each month. The goal is to reduce that every month.

What about your other initiatives Pollen Lab and The Collective’s Table? Can you tell us more?

Pollen Lab will be our hub for everything about holistic nutrition, environmental sustainability, plant-based and raw foods. It will help accelerate the changes that we know can happen through education. We will bring people together to do this, so they can take it away and as a result, create change.

The Collective Table table is an initiative we started about three years ago. The idea is to engage chefs to start thinking about ways to reduce meat and dairy in the kitchen and create tasting menus together that are completely plant-based. One of the first challenges we did was with Chef Richard Ekkebus [from Amber], as well as Chef Margarita Forés [voted Asia’s 50 Best Female Chef in 2016]. It’s really exciting to collaborate as not only are we igniting the conversation, we are exchanging skills and possibilities.

The post Chef Peggy Chan, Hong Kong’s Plant-Based Pioneer, on Her New Restaurant Nectar and Healthy Eating appeared first on Prestige Online - Hong Kong.

Last weekend we headed to Cafe Caju, a plant based, vegan cafe in Vitacura, Santiago . We went for afternoon tea (or ‘onces’ as I’m…

The post Vegan afternoon tea time in Santiago appeared first on The Expater.

Last weekend we headed to Cafe Caju, a plant based, vegan cafe in Vitacura, Santiago . We went for afternoon tea (or ‘onces’ as I’m…

The post Vegan afternoon tea time in Santiago appeared first on The Expater.

Are you doing Veganuary? You know, going vegan for January? I’m about 90% vegan. Like most people, my diet and lifestyle choices aren’t so easy…

The post Veganuary, veganism and feeling great: Interview with Jodi Monelle, CEO LIVEKINDLY appeared first on The Expater.

Are you doing Veganuary? You know, going vegan for January? I’m about 90% vegan. Like most people, my diet and lifestyle choices aren’t so easy…

The post Veganuary, veganism and feeling great: Interview with Jodi Monelle, CEO LIVEKINDLY appeared first on The Expater.

A few weeks ago I tried a make your own organic cosmetics class here in Santiago de Chile. Qulla is an organic, plant based, natural…

The post How to make your own organic cosmetics: A masterclass with Qulla appeared first on The Expater.

A few weeks ago I tried a make your own organic cosmetics class here in Santiago de Chile. Qulla is an organic, plant based, natural…

The post How to make your own organic cosmetics: A masterclass with Qulla appeared first on The Expater.