Compliments That Make It All Worthwhile

Within 2 hours of releasing our October issue online, one reader (Ms R) dropped us the following email.

Wow! I just read the October 2009 issue and am amazed at the Muslim-vegan story. I too, come from a Muslim family and it was a very, very, very gradual process before I could say I'm a vegetarian. I started eating as little meat as possible about 4 years ago, and cut red meat completely 3 years ago. But I only became vegetarian for about a year - the reason for this is because of family and friends and how people tend to think that I'm going against God for not wanting to eat meat and all that. And Nuraishah even wears a tudung (Editor's Note: Muslim headscarf) and I think it's amazing - wow, I've never met anyone like that ever but I'm glad to know there are people like that out there. :)

...and by the way, I really am not the sort to email magazines to tell them what I think. I'm just so surprised at what I just read that I just had to let you know. Yay!

We were extremely touched by these heartfelt comments and felt proud that we are achieving what we set out to do - being a platform where like-minded individuals can be connected together.

We will be putting our 'Vegetarian Hero' for the October issue - Ms Nuraishah - in touch with Ms R and hope that one day in the future, we can run a story about their resulting friendship!

*******************

Meanwhile, another reader, Ms Joey, shares:

Kudos to you for the wonderful Oct issue. Your article on seal-culling makes me weep literally… I hate to read such news of animal cruelty for whatever reasons there is (legal or not). Not that I hated that you write it, but it just makes me feel very helpless as an individual that I can’t do much for them, but I’m glad that there are organizations that are in the midst of trying to stop them as we speak. It’s good to let more people know of human’s cruelty to animals sometimes knowingly or unknowingly in our daily acts of survival… and to be honest, I’m really determined to be 100% vegetarian now after reading your Oct issue.

We are certainly pleased to hear such committment being taken and look forward to more of the same!

Celebrating World Vegetarian Day at 8 Treasures with Veg-Food Bloggers

VegVibe was honoured to accept a special invitation to dine at 8 Treasures Vegetarian restaurant.

Invited on Thursday, 1st October 2009, together with a handful of prominent bloggers who specialise in vegetarian cuisine, the occasion was to celebrate World Vegetarian Day and the 'face of 8 Treasures Vegetarian', Ms Zenna Ho, personally hosted and tended to the guests.

The notable bloggers who graced the event included VeggieBun, ChicVegetarianFood (also known as CrystalbyMail), SheBakesNCooks and ILoveMyVeg (also known as MavisJan), all of whom are the 'go to' people as far as vegetarian cuisine and recipes are concerned.

The spread for the evening included some off-the-menu creations such as Marmite Willow Mushrooms, and wonderful 'extra-special' presentation especially conjured up for the guests by the talented chefs.

The Special Menu

Zenna took the time to chat with the guests, and explained the dishes, the purpose of the event and also shared more on 8 Treasures Vegetarian's philosophy and direction. VegVibe will be featuring parts of the interview with Ms Ho and include more information on the event in our upcoming issue, so watch out for it!

In the meanwhile, do consider heading down to 282A South Bridge Road - the restaurant occupies the second and third floors of the pre-war shophouse with the entrance (just the doorway) facing the Buddha Tooth Relic Temple - for a scrumptious fine-dining experience. A cosy and posh atmosphere with 121 dishes to choose from ensures both vegetarians and non-vegetarians alike can enjoy a delicious meal in luxury.

8 Treasures Vegetarian is open everyday from 11.00am to 10.00pm (they close from 3.00pm and 5.00pm on normal weekdays) and guests are encouraged to make reservations at 65347727 to avoid disappointment.

For an independent review, please visit Hungrygowhere.com.

Mini Pot Vegetarian Sharks' Fin


Honey Sauce Mock Pork (right)
with
Broccoli with Vegetarian Scallops (left)


Asparagus with Monkey Head Mushrooms (centre)
with
Marmite Willow Mushrooms (right)
with
Vegetarian Fragrant Peking Duck (left)


Nonya Style Mock Fish


Eight Treasures Beancurd (left)
with
Crispy Vegetarian Chicken with Fresh Fruit Salad (right)


Honeydew Sago and Strawberry with Vanilla Ice-Cream


Warm Papaya-Apple Dessert

Reader shares fact-packed information sheets

One of our readers, Mr Robert, shared the following information and encouraged us to spread the knowledge.

The following material discusses the impact of the dairy industry, the relationship between landuse and livestock, and offers a snapshot of the impact reducing meat can have in the UK. What we like is that all the 3 pieces of information comprise only 1 to 3 pages each but have such a wealth of information that is compiled neatly in bite-sized pieces. This is certainly something we can use to rattle off to the 'unbelievers'.

Please click on each image to download/read
the full information sheet in its original PDF format

sources: http://www.dur.ac.uk/animal.rights
http://www.meatthetruth.nl/content/view/113

The Vegan Society congratulates VegVibe

The Vegan Society dropped us an email soon after our inaugural issue was released to congratulate us.

Ms Amanda Baker of The Vegan Society which publishes The Vegan magazine in the U K (left) personally penned the email to us.

Ms Baker also shared information on the society's Vegan Pledge initiative which comprises 3 levels (bronze, silver and gold) and allows those interested to try adopting the vegan lifestyle over 7, 14 or 30 days respectively.

What's more, the society provides assistance and guidance in the form of mentors to help those who take the Vegan Pledge to successfully complete the chosen duration. A good way to experience and appreciate the vegan lifestyle and also a fine way to take your first steps towards a holistic lifestyle change, details on The Vegan Pledge can be found at The Vegan Society's website.

We thank Ms Amanda Baker and The Vegan Society for readily offering to share their knowledge and expertise with us and look forward to working closely with them.

Reader spots errors in September Issue

Eagle-eyed reader Ms Huang Fangqi alerted us to an error.

The error that occurs in the article Cosmopolitan Chennai (Page 12 & 13) and in our Talk Shop section (Page 15). Our dyslexia must have acted up and we wrote 'diary' instead 'dairy' on 2 occasions in each article.

Apologies to those whose reading pleasure might have been diminished due to the oversight. And a big thanks to Ms Huang for helping us get this error corrected!