KEN HUNTS FOOD: Wholey Wonder @ Hin Bus Depot, Georgetown, Penang.

Monday, January 9, 2017

Wholey Wonder @ Hin Bus Depot, Georgetown, Penang.

Once an anomaly in Penang, vegetarians can now find aplenty of options in town. Nestled in the artsy space of Hin Bus Depot, Wholey Wonder is an excellent place for vegetarians and vegan. The menu is completely plant-based and the dishes are designed to appeal all palates. Options range from Pizza, Pies to home-made pastries; and the prices are well-commensurate with generous serving portion. The first floor is a space dedicated for Yoga classes and ground floor is where cafe located. Wholey Wonder has a nice relaxed atmosphere with vines crawling on the rustic walls, swings in front of the coffee bar and calming-soft background music; the place is not only good for a casual meal but over a cup of Joe as well.

Twisted Shepherd (Rm 20)

Peanut Butter Cheese Cake (Rm 12)

It's hard to imagine the taste of vegetarian Shepherd Pie but this adventurous free-from-animal-produce cafe dares to make a difference. Their Twisted Shepherd is a good substitute to the regular fare. The filling sheathed under the Sweet Potato puree included fresh Shitake Mushrooms, Celery, Carrot, Lentil, Onions and Cucumber. Both flavors and texture were carefully thought of and perfectly balanced. The peppery element was bold but the flavor-combination worked. It was multi-dimensional and for once, we thought we were having the actual Shepherd Pie!

We ended the meal with a sweet note; though calorific, we had no regrets after having their Peanut Butter Cheese Cake. As far as vegans are concerned, the actual dairy product (in this case- "Cheese") was replaced by Cashew Nuts... for the creamy consistency. The Peanut Butter flavor was bold and we actually enjoyed the creamy-gooey texture, as though we were having actual Peanut Butter. But the real draw of the dish was the chewy biscuit base which we thought they really did well. It has been a while since I last enjoyed such a decent piece of cake.