Biogarten: Good choice for HCMC vegetarians

These days, if you are a veggie living in the biggest city in Viet Nam, you are in luck as there is no shortage of vegetarian restaurants around, thanks to the increasing number of people who like to eat more healthy food. For The Nomad Quynh, Biogarten is one of the favourites.

I have a confession to make: I’m not really a vegetarian, I just love good food. And good food is simply the reason why I find myself coming back to Biogarten several times, besides the fact that I do like to eat a meat-free meal once in a while. To all meat lovers out there, in case you haven’t known, veg dishes can be very delicious too!

Situated on the one-way part of Nam Ky Khoi Nghia Street, District 3 at number 155A – not exactly right in the city centre but not so far either, Biogarten is not hard to find as it occupies the whole spacious building. As a matter of fact, the restaurant is spread over the second and third floors of the building only, as the first floor is reserved to be a healthy food store that sells mainly bio-organic produce imported from Germany and other European countries.

My first time here was at peak hour on a Sunday noon. The restaurant was almost fully packed, with a good mix of both foreign and local clientele. What impressed me right at first sight was the ample sunlight and greens inside the place. They wouldn’t have a problem in accommodating big groups, however a reservation beforehand would be necessary in that case.

A smiley waitress ushered us to the only available table left and gave us the menu, which offers a wide range of choices for both Asian and Western style veg dishes. There are photos accompanying each which show how the dish looks like and thus make it easy for customers to order, but on the other hand everything looked so good that I also found myself struggle to decide.

For starter, I went first with the Lentil Roulade, which was a mixture of braised lentils, sweet basil, mozzarella, mixed nut salsa and cream tomato sauce (VND135,000). The dish arrived artfully presented and full of interesting flavours. I thoroughly enjoyed the combination of all these ingredients, especially with a touch of the rich cream sauce which complimented the whole taste very well. This was a good starter which I highly recommend.

The Braised Lentil tower salad (VND115,000) – a new protein-rich creation from the chef – is another interesting option for starter which my friend ordered. Here the lentils are slowly cooked with apple, celery, parsley and other herbs. I would say compared to the Lentil Roulade mentioned above, this one is probably not as easy to eat as the taste of the ingredients might be a bit too strong. Be as healthy as it seems, I’m not sure I will order this one again next time.

Our first main course that arrived was Couscous Pilaf, slowly cooked with broccoli, cauliflower, mushroom and smoked eggplant relish (VND110,000). Couscous – the ingredient which originated from North Africa, eggplant and mushroom are all my favourites, and here Biogarten’s version didn’t disappoint me. The dish was very nicely seasoned, and its fresh taste was so satisfying that I did not feel any meat was missing at all. This is another choice I would definitely recommend.