Afterglow, Keong Saik

By Rubbish Eat Rubbish Grow on May 15, 2014 • ( 6 Comments )

When do you get an afterglow? It’s usually after a strenuous activity where clothing is optional. Lots of moaning and grunting and sweat dripping all over the body. Beginners feel ashamed for not holding it longer; old birds can keep at it forever. After the activity, you’ll feel relaxed, have such a good night’s sleep, and you want to do it again when the morning comes. That’s right, you get an afterglow after yoga, and Afterglow organizes classes from its facebook. Like yoga, raw vegan food is one of those New Age hipsterisms. Afterglow, an apt name for the cafe.

Yup, that’s a bicycle hanging on the wall. Told you it’s hipster.

The server asked, “Is this your first time here?”

“Yes.”

“Do you know this is a vegan cafe?” I threw my head back and laughed. She continued, “It’s just that not many people will purposely seek out a vegan place.”

What can I say? I’m a hipster.

From L (clockwise): Drag-pom salad, carrot orange ginger miso soup, and Borscht soup

Talking about service, the service was so fantastic that it felt like they were vying for the Employee of the Month – and the competition was stiff. They were all so nice, and friendly, and attentive, and they explained to us everything patiently, the concept, the menu, etc. The service gets 10/10 from me.

The gorgeous decor has organic toiletries and little knickknacks–indie magazines and prints–lining the cafe.

Another look at drag-pom salad.

The food follows tenets of hipsterism: farm to table, non-processed, local, community-based, vegan, and eco-friendly. Although the menu has many sections–appetizers, soups, salads, mains, and desserts–not every item on the menu is available. But what was available that day was not bad.

Definitely get homemade raw vegan nut cheese platter ($16) that came with two homemade crackers, beetroot and rosemary. The rosemary cracker was especially fragrant and went exceptionally well with the creamy cheese. I’d like to use the word “addictive” on the food, but vegans are against addictions, right?

Of the soups–we had carrot, orange, ginger miso soup ($14) and Borscht soup ($12)–they were so-so. Huccalily suggested they ought to give gluten-free bread with soups–a sensible idea. I was impressed by Huccalily and then she got angry at me for being impressed because she believed that impressing me meant I had low expectations from her. What?!

The drag-pom salad ($16) was light and refreshing with dragonfruit, pomegrante, avocado and chopped macadamia. The achar nori rolls (6 pc $12/ 12pc $18) were memorable, as tasty as the nut cheese: instead of rice, they use almond and 7-day aged achar that make the “sushi” juicy, sweet, and delicious.

There was only one choice for dessert, a gorgeous pistachio semifreddo cake ($12.50) with a nutty crust base, which my friend described as having a “very Indian” taste. Jasmine, it was the fragrance of jasmine. On first bite, it was so-so but it grew on us.

After eating, I felt light and cleansed. Worth returning once in a while when we want to detox. The price was right, the ambience cozy, the service unparalleled, the food palatable, making this the first eatery we give 4/5 this year. Ah, but you see, we are hipsters and we like the cafe so much we forgive it for being vegan. It cannot help itself; it’s born this way. We paid $96 for four persons, or $24 for one.