To start off my vegan finds in the Philippines, I’ll feature the veteran, the one vegan Filipino restaurant that made vegan Filipino food “cool before they were cool”: Greens Vegetarian Restaurant in Quezon City. Greens will be celebrating its 12th year anniversary in a few months. 12 Years! Wow, Congrats!
Although this was my first time visiting the place, it wasn’t my first to hear about it. Every time I would ask for a restaurant recommendation, Greens was always one of the answers.
Here I am with my sister and my friends, looking pretty stoked to try their food:
My friends and I showed up one minute early so needless to say we were their first customers of the day. Upon entering, we saw bountiful plants surrounding the place. Inside the cafe, the warm earth colors of green, yellow, and brown welcomed us.
Aside from what’s on their menu, Greens also sells vegan grocery items.
One of the products was named “My Goodness”, ain’t it clever?
Malunggay leaves are the latest craze over there because of their health benefits.
“Fried Oyster mushroom” appetizer. Tasty and reasonably priced.
“Crunchy Vegan Pork rinds”. They’re fried wheat gluten that have the same texture and taste of chicharon.
“Dalandan slush”. Dalandan is a citrus fruit, similar to oranges but has a hint of lime taste.
“Vegan Fish Relleno”, made of seaweed soy, vegetables, seasoning and more. Personally I was used to the sweeter version and this one had a savory, mild bitter taste so I wasn’t a big fan. Most of the folks who have been here however would highly recommend this dish so I guess it’s just a matter of preference.
Vegan pork barbecue skewer with a side of java rice. It’s Filipino barbecue done right. The marinade and grilling were spot on: savory-salty- sweet with the right amount of smokiness.
“Vegan Beef and Broccoli”. I thought the taste was very similar to the pork barbecue except the beef broccoli had stronger flavors.
Sadly, I wasn’t able to take a photo of the Veggie Burger. (I know, I know! Bummer!) I’m currently asking my friends if they have a copy. In the mean time, here’s the review: My friend Lian ordered it because she’s said she’s been craving for burgers. She said she found it filling and tasty.
Here we are, the happy bunch.
All in all, it’s a MUST to visit Greens if you’re in the Philippines. Greens stands by its reputation of good, vegan Filipino comfort food. Bonus points that the prices are cheap: P195 for our total bill, that’s less than $5!
GREENS VEGETARIAN RESTAURANT AND CAFE
92 Sct. Castor St., 1103 Quezon City, Philippines (632) 415-4796+639327830534 (sun)
greensresto@gmail.com
Yum! Great review, Richgail! For vegan chicharrones, I found out Northgate Market (large Hispanic grocery chain) offers chicharrones de harina in their stores. They’re made with masa harina and taste remarkably similar to regular ones (at least from what I remember). If you’re ever in Southern California, you should check it out.
NO WAY! That’s awesome! Now I want to check out all the hispanic grocery stores in my area. But once I’m in SoCal, you’ll know where to find me 🙂
I CANNOT believe this place exists in Quezon City!!!! Thank you for your review, I am so excited to share this with my family!
I know right? And for almost 12 years now 🙂
This is awesome!
Yup! 🙂
Oh my God, I am drooling all over my keyboard. I must make a trip to the Philippines one day.
Okay, I am looking into flights to the PI now because I want to go to Greens! Thank you for sharing pics of all the delicious food. I can’t believe all this was only $5!
Oh my my! Everything looks so good, but I am especially drooling over the bbq skewer and the fish relleno. My jaw also dropped when I saw the vegan pork rinds! Wow!
Terribly hungry now, thanks for sharing. 🙂 Do you know of any Vegan restaurants here in Fort BGC, Taguig or at least any restaurant willing to delivery in this area? Cheers