Elemen 元素 - The Love Song of Mushrooms, Wild Rice, Herbs, Fruits and Truffles

Elemen is another of those restaurants I always take note of when I pass by its store front in Millenia Walk but never get around to trying its food since my companion is a meat eater. So when he is too busy this weekend to have lunch together with me, I jump at the chance to go to the nearest branch, which is at Thomson Plaza.

Nostalgia hits me the second I step into shopping complex. It is exactly the same as when I visited it as a kid, and it was one of my watering hole during my university years. It has strong character due to the unique layout of the stores and the quaint wares sold in these stores. It is unlike others. I love it. It is so different from many shopping complexes of today, which are flashy but has no personality since they are for maximizing profits only, featuring mainly chain stores.

Okay, enough with that, let me go back to talking about the restaurant. First of all, it is not easy to find the restaurant due to, ironically, the unique layout I relish. Luckily for anyone reading this post, here is the guide to get there since calling the staff hardly helps in any way. When one is at either of the main entrances of Thomson Plaza, head to the inner rightmost corner of the place. Elemen is just on the right side of the food court hidden at the back of the shopping complex.

The interior is of Muji style due to the light beige wooden furniture and white walls. The feel of the whole place is very Taiwanese. It reminds me of the Taiwanese tea houses that I visited to relax and hang out with friends in a calming, homely environment when I was a student.

Finally, onto the food! The appetizer served is a pretty trio that is recommend to be savoured in the order of the mushroom, then the black sesame tofu and lastly the tomato. The mushroom with clear teriyaki sauce really hints at what this restaurant is about. The meaty flavour of mushroom allows it to nicely take over the place of meats. And this restaurant fully utilizes this property of mushroom to appeal to non-vegetarians. The beans that come with the mushroom add a refreshing taste and crunchy element to this first appetizer. Black sesame tofu is so amazing because it is very rich in nutty flavour of sesames and its sweetness is accentuated by the savoury taste of the accompanying sesame sauce. The juicy tomato with plum sauce releases a burst of refreshing tangy juices upon one bite, and it totally whets the appetite. This appetizer signifies a good start on what is to come.

Wild Mushroom Cream Soup with Truffle Oil is smooth and is loaded with the coveted woody aroma of fungi, namely mushrooms and truffle. Who needs meat when one has this soup?

Blue Flower Tofu with Black Truffle Wild Rice is a interesting dish, in which I like the rice more than the tofu. The tofu has a nice blue interior due to the blue pigment from butterfly pea flower—I like it that the colour is from natural source. But the tofu is just a nice tofu that can be found in lots of Chinese restaurants, it does not have anything special going for it. As for the wild rice, I must say it is cooked to perfection: almost al dente where it is firm in texture yet surprisingly soft to bite and every grain is intact, sealing the very mild nut-like aroma within them, to be released upon each bite. The small truffle paste on top is a dot of complex flavours. I do wish there is more of such paste.

Chilled Purple Rice Porridge with Coconut Ice Cream has all the elements I love. The flavourful and starchy purple rice and coconut go so well together. This is like the beloved bubur hitam I like. I will still choose dessert if I go back.

Iced Coconut Mint with Butterfly Pea Flower is so beautiful. And the best part is that it is coconut juice, one of my favourite beverages. Without the sugar, it still tastes great and refreshing, exactly my kind of drink. The butter pea flower water at the top adds a nice colour to it. I also finish up the slice of coconut meat decked on top of the drink since I like all things coconut. So no way am I letting that go to waste. By the way, the stalk of mint is edible also.

Service is the kind I expect from Taiwanese restaurants: very friendly, down to earth and full of smiles. The only hiccup is when I called to ask for directions, and the staff sounded as lost as I was. I was angry at that moment, but all of it dispersed when I was warmly welcomed into the restaurant. And they add a nice touch of serving rosemary infused water instead of the same old plain one.

This is one vegetarian restaurant that I definitely look forward to going back.

My Thoughts: My Favourite Vegetarian Restaurant
Nearest car park: Thomson Plaza's car park

Nearest MRT: Marymount

301 Upper Thomson Road
#01-113 Thomson Plaza
Contact No: 64520341

Note that there are other branches in Millenia Walk and Harbourfront