Happy 2020 friends! Last year I couldn’t update as much as I wanted, as there were so much going on in my personal and professional life. Now things have stabilised (at work) and quietened down (personal life), I finally have the time to share about my travels. I hope these will be helpful for fellow plant-eaters going to the same places. You can follow my reviews at abillionveg.
Malaysian Vegan Festival @ Publika, Kuala Lumpur
In August 2019 I had a chance to be part of the Malaysian Vegan Festival with abillionveg, an up-and-coming global app for anything and everything vegan (free download here). Was there doing outreach with my colleague Jash, our community meow-nager.
As a Singaporean who has only visited Malaysia 3 times before this (I also don’t know why), I never knew much about vegan food there. This was my first exposure to popular local vegan-friendly businesses. Here are my top picks from the festival.
Vegan traditional Malay food that tasted homely. Favourite was the sambal chilli, so spicy and memorable! Was also my first time having roti jala, which literally translates to “net bread”.
Absolutely loved their hearty breads. They place a lot of emphasis on healthy ingredients and making food from scratch. Got their handmade mooncakes and chocolate cookies as souvenirs for family & friends. Hope they open a branch in Singapore!
Although my Japanese friends would argue that these aren’t authentic sushi, I absolutely loved the freshness of the veggies.
Some meals we had outside the festival.
Was most excited to try this 100% vegan ice cream and dessert spot after hearing great things, and it didn’t disappoint. Staff were so friendly and welcoming here, a refreshing change to the average standard of customer service in Singapore. They have an outlet in Singapore at Forum Orchard, too.
Fully vegetarian, old school and offers Malaysian Chinese style comfort foods. Also had a shelf selling vegetarian snacks and mooncakes. I got some vegan walnut cookies and 鸡仔饼 as souvenirs for family and office.
BMS Organics (Kuala Lumpur Airport)
Located conveniently at KLIA2, their menu has vegan options clearly labelled. Great place to eat before a flight as the food felt clean and wholesome.
Johor Bahru eats
The last time I visited JB was 5 years ago because I’ve always been quite a homebody. Spending hours in immigration and traffic is my worst nightmare! Anyway, braved the crowds on a Sunday and here’s what I ate with my friends.
Heard great reviews about this place so we grabbed from the mall near the checkpoint to Skudai. I loved that the staff was very attentive and gave us wonderful recommendations. But they said there are no more vegan desserts anymore 😦 although the menu showed a couple of options. Hope they update the menu soon or bring them back.
Then we headed to Paradigm mall to shop + get a massage. We found Violife (and other vegan milks and butter) in Village Grocer at the basement!
BMS Organics @ Paradigm Mall
I love BMS Organics because their food quality is fresh and good. We had the nasi lemak (without egg), herbal noodles and laksa – they were all great. My favourite thing was the Vision Quinoa Cocoa drink which tasted like Milo without the gut irritation! I bought a whole tin of it back.
We didn’t eat here but I bought their yummy homemade nasi lemak sambal. Everything’s vegetarian here and the staff said most of the items can be made vegan.
What I love about Malaysia is that the service is better and people are generally so much more friendly. Not sure when I’ll be back again because crossing the causeway is a nightmare. If you think there are some amazing dishes I absolutely must try (the spicier the better), please share with me. Might brave the causeway crowds for it!
morethanveggies 
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