Filipinos love food. It is where we come together to celebrate, get nourished and bond with our families, colleagues and friends. But with junk food and fast food restaurants all over the globe and the past-paced “instant food” lifestyle, a number of problems arise from this “coming together at the table’. More and more people, even children, succumb to obesity and health problems due to excessive dependence on the newest burger, chips, fries, crispy chicken, burrito or instant food advertised on TV.
These days, making a child eat healthy becomes more difficult especially if it means feeding them with vegetables. It has also become equally challenging making “meat-dependent” adults include vegetables in each of their meals, whether just to keep in shape or for more serious health reasons.
Occasional indulgence in traditional sumptuous delicacies like Lechon, Crispy Pata, Menudo, Sizzling Sisig, Kare-kare, Calderata, and tasty Adobo are continuously sought and gorged happily at parties. Meanwhile, equally fat-packed food like burgers, hot dogs, cold cuts, Longganisa, Ticino and sunny side up eggs get eaten daily without regard for long term effect to one’s health. What’s a mom or any person for that matter supposed to do to ensure getting a filling and tasty but healthy food when it’s hard to find a healthy restaurant?
Well, proceed to Greens Vegetarian Restaurant & Café! This haven of healthy vegetarian food is located in Scout Castor St. Diliman in Quezon City (a street intersecting Tomas Morato-a popular nightlife hotspot in the area). But wait, did I say “greens” as in green leafy vegetables? Yes this is a vegetarian resto, but no, I’m a not a vegetarian. In fact, I’m one of those who have to force themselves to eat vegetables. Yet, I say I ENJOY eating vegetables in this restaurant. Perhaps, second to its delicious menu, it was the relaxing ambiance of this cozy little restaurant that kept me coming back. It has been around since August 14, 2001 and since then, the gracious owners Wally and Mary Ann Duran personally welcomed their customers every single day.
Early beginnings
Greens is Wally’s brainchild and his wife’s skills brought it to life.
Unlike most people with such food preference, Wally started being vegetarian at the age of 15. It was tough, because only he and his brother were vegetarians in a family that initially disapproved their diet. But with the persistence of youth, the siblings tried new ways of cooking vegetarian food. Gradually, they found themselves incorporating their concoctions into the family’s daily meal. Soon, their family started to enjoy feasting in the vegetarian dishes with them.
It was then that Wally’s desire to share his passion in food with more people emerged.
“I wanted to share the idea that it is possible to not feel deprived of flavorful foods just because someone chooses to be vegetarian,” he says.
Yet it took while for him to achieve his wish. He married his “green-thumbed” wife, Mary Ann (who used to be non-vegetarian) and had kids. Having three kids gave Mary Ann the desire to throw the best kiddie parties for their children and having a vegetarian husband whom she loved to cook for, gave her the inspiration to create delicious vegetarian dishes that tasted just as good as the other non-vegetarian foods in the market, so much so that others couldn’t even tell it was not really meat but veggie meat instead. Soon, Mary Ann’s home cooked meals were sought by friends and later, because of the demand for her cooking skills, Wally put up Greens restaurant with her. From its first day, the cozy little restaurant attracted enthusiastic customers.
Opening day best sellersOn opening day, the Grilled Tofu and Mushroom Kebab was among the most sought after dish in Green’s menu. It consists of two huge chunks of flavorful marinated tofu and charbroiled vegetarian barbecue interspersed with button mushrooms, zucchini and bell peppers grilled to perfection. Your choice of java, plain, brown or garlic rice and a free side salad with Greens’ special peanut sauce served upon request completes this filling treat for only P105 per serving. It tastes and looks so meaty no one would suspect that it’s actually veggie meat(I tried it with my dad and he never knew the difference until we finished eating and I told him it wasn’t the usual meat).
The rich charbroiled flavor you sample from the barbeque in the kebabs is sure to make you crave for more of the delicious Greens Vegetarian Barbecue the next time you visit. This barbeque looks and smells a lot like the barbecue moms make on weekends for the family. But it’s actually sliced gluten (meat made from processed wheat) marinated in crushed garlic, freshly ground pepper, and pineapple soy sauce to give it the sweet oriental flavor. Served with a sweet and tangy pickled salad and rice, this makes a sweet meaty meal even kids will enjoy.As for those who like traditional foods but can’t afford ingesting all those fat and cholesterol, Greens offers the traditional favorites.
Traditional but Healthier Favorites
Who would have thought that daddy’s favorite crunchy Sisig, traditionally made from fried pork skin and tender meaty parts deeply fried to perfection, can be made sinfully satisfying and tasty with less oil? At Greens, they are. This restaurant proves that vegetarians don’t have to shun Sisig. Their version has the same soft and crunchy texture of the traditional dish but it uses gluten meat laden with tofu, onions and tomatoes. It’s so good some customers even use it as pizza toppings. This guilt-free viand sells for only P70 in a serving that fits two people.
Greens also has a Vegetarian Chicharon made from gluten that even hypertensive individuals can enjoy. Aside from doing away with the potentially fatal fat and cholesterol, it’s just as tasty and crispy as its pork-skin counterpart. What’s more is that its P85 price per hefty serving will hardly give you a high-blood.The traditional burgers are also made healthier, tastier and more filling in Greens Mushroom Tofu Burger that sells for only P85. Then there’s the Clubhouse Sandwich, which is a mouthwatering snack made from flavorful grilled tofu, stuffed in between whole wheat bread with veggie ham, cheese, lettuce, and fresh tomatoes.
Fulfilling Full mealsAs for those who need heavy meals for the day, there’s the Shepherd’s Pie made from a deliciously healthy mix of broccoli, carrots, chayote, mushrooms, cauliflower, zucchini, corn kernels, Baguio beans, bell peppers, and peas in a creamy sauce topped with mashed potato and served with rice or bread for only P105 per serving. It’s sure to satisfy the biggest appetites.
Meanwhile, there’s the Pastel de Vegetal for the more modest appetite. Their version is a wonderful mix of potatoes, mushrooms, diced gluten meat mixed with carrots and legumes topped with a thin golden brown crust for a crunchy soft feel that melts in the mouth.
There are also delectable finger foods that kids love. Greens offers the creamy Cheesy Soy Sticks made of crunchy taupau (wrapper made from wheat) dipped in golden brown flour bursting with the herby relaxing aroma of basil coupled with the delicate creamy taste of tomatoes that explodes into a delicious flavor in your mouth with your every bite. These five-inch snack sticks sell at P75 per serving, and is good for two people.
As for those who are a little tight on the budget, combo meals are offered during weekday lunches. Greens serves two viands plus rice(one meat-like and one vegetable-like viand) for only P85, and three viands(one meat-like, one tofu-based and one leafy vegetable viand) with rice for only P120 every lunch time.
Extra-ordinary dessertsOf course no meal is complete without dessert. There is a wide variety of these in Greens ranging from Walnut Caramel, Apple Walnut Cake, Mango Custard, Caramel Custard, Chocolate Cake, Apple Pie, Carrot Cake, Baklava, and Taho. But these are not your ordinary desserts because although the taste just as good or maybe even better than their counterparts, they are all prepared without any dairy products and without eggs.
They do all these unconventional preparations because, “We’re trying to educate people to eat healthy. But what sets us apart from the usual vegetarian restaurants is that they cook their dishes the Chinese way. Ours is more Californian, more Westernized.” Thus their food is easy to grasp and enjoy even for children.
“Food is part of enjoyment. For us, food IS entertainment so we really put a lot of importance on the taste so that people will enjoy. We don’t cut ingredients even if it has become expensive because we don’t want to sacrifice the taste,” says Mary Ann, “this is not just a restaurant. This is a passion.”
A passion indeed, not just for the couple and their staff but also for their kids, who turn their passion for earthy acoustic music into a free performance for the customers during the restaurant’s food fest weeks featuring Filipino, Italian, Spanish and other cooking influences every now and then.
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