Grand Hyatt Singapore

Updated August 2018

Located in the heart of the Orchard Road Precinct, Singapore’s shopping and entertainment district, we think the Grand Hyatt Singapore is perfectly located if you’re vegan and looking for a luxury hotel within easy reach of everything that Singapore has to offer; we are going to go right out there and say that Grand Hyatt Singapore is the most vegan friendly, city centre luxury hotel we have ever stayed at.

In line with the explosion of veganism and people wanting to enjoy a plant based diet due to the multiple health and environmental benefits, Grand Hyatt Singapore are leading from the front with a whole range of healthy and delicious plant based food on many of their menus. For guests wishing to continue with the wellness theme during their stay, Damai Spa offers a selection of fitness classes including Pilates, Yoga, Zumba and Muay Thai, plus there’s a gorgeous pool which was perfect for relaxing after a busy day exploring Singapore.

The Vegan Food in 2015

During our first stay we enjoyed breakfast which was served in Straits Kitchen. There was the usual fresh juice bar and coffee lovers will be happy to see that getting a soya milk cappuccino at the Grand Hyatt Singapore was no problem. There was also a salad bar and selection of nuts and seeds so we were able to create our own healthy start to the day and we also headed to the congee station where there was a great choice of vegan condiments to customise our dish. We love starting the day with this simple, traditional rice porridge dish, the team arranged for specially prepared vegan Chinese dishes for breakfast and a selection of tasty vegan Indian curries which were delicious.

Our vegan lunch in mezza9 during 2015 was very impressive, the restaurant prides itself on having 9 different cuisines to choose from, but after our visit we thought they should add vegan or plant based cuisine to the list having catered exceptionally well for us with a specially prepared vegan menu. Below are a couple of the dishes we were served and here you can read all about our memorable vegan lunch, and first visit to mezza9 at Grand Hyatt Singapore.

The Vegan Food in 2018

Ok, where to start? Let us just make it clear that there was nothing wrong with the vegan and plant based food at Grand Hyatt Singapore back in 2015, in fact it was very good indeed and our meal at mezza9 was memorable due to the variety of cuisines that we were able to sample. Jump forward 3 years though and things have changed at this hotel and also around the world, vegan and plant based food is everywhere and options have increased dramatically, Grand Hyatt Singapore have enthusiastically embraced this trend and plant based food is now a permanent fixture on their menus. Not only is this hugely impressive due to the availability of plant based food, but the initiative is in line with their vision for sustainability, as the reduction of meat on their menus reduces the carbon footprint and water usage required by farmers. Combine this with their vibrant roof top vegetable garden, investment in an in-house food waste management plant (they recycle 100% of their food waste into compost) and the plan to remove plastic straws from all outlets in the near future you can see that Grand Hyatt Singapore our serious when it comes to their impact on the planet.

Let’s talk about the plant based food though. Since 1st June 2018, mezza9 have included plant based options on every page of their menu for each of the 9 cuisines that are available. Dishes include a simple sounding yet supremely delicious ‘Oxheart Tomato Salad’ which was made with possibly the tastiest tomatoes we’ve ever experienced, a rich and flavour packed ‘Braised Bean Curd, Black Fungus, Mushrooms with Fermented Bean Paste’ and a selection of plant based sushi called ‘Yasai Sushi Moriawase’. Everything that was served to our table looked amazing and tasted even better, you could tell that thought and passion had gone into creating these plant based menu items and we would have loved to have sampled other dishes including a ‘Root Vegetable and Chickpea Pot Pie with Plant Based Short Crust Pastry’ which sounded very tempting indeed!

Grand Hyatt Singapore were not content with offering extensive plant based options in mezza9 so they raised the bar even higher; after a year of negotiating and planning they became the first establishment in Southeast Asia to serve the ground breaking and fast becoming legendary ‘Beyond Burger‘ to their diners. Take your pick from either the ‘Classic Cheese Burger’ or the ‘Modern Asian Burger’ and be prepared to be blown away by the taste and texture that you are about to experience. Being the vegan-burger-loving-greedy-vegans that we truly are, we ordered both and OMG they were amazing, we now understand what all the hype was about as this plant based burger from the team at Beyond Meat is the closest we’ve ever had to the ‘real thing’ and we can see it being a hit at mezza9.

This rustic and traditional Italian restaurant has been serving diners and guests of Grand Hyatt Singapore since 1973; it’s considered one of the oldest and most iconic establishments in this fast paced and exciting city and has undergone very few changes during its long life. Therefore, the decision to offer multiple vegan menu items including an Italian plant based buffet lunch was ground breaking and courageous; it would have been easy to continue in the same direction, serving authentic Italian fare and fresh produce in a way that had worked for nearly 50 years. All we can say is we’re glad they didn’t stick to the ‘tried-and-tested’ menu as our Italian plant based lunch at Pete’s Place was outstanding! On the day we visited there were 2 types of vegan soup to choose from, a selection of breads that were all vegan, Earth Balance butter for the bread, a huge spread of salads, nuts, beans and pulses, a selection of pastas with choice of plant based sauces, roasted vegetables, vegan melanzane parmigiana and probably even more plant based goodness that we missed, and this was just on the buffet. We also enjoyed a plant based pizza with vegan cheese, ravioli and some delectable and lightly fried cauliflower nuggets from the a la carte menu. We were in Italian vegan food heaven in the heart of Singapore and loved it. Just when we thought things couldn’t get any better we discovered a moist, rich and decadent vegan chocolate cake served with a choice of vanilla or chocolate soft serve plant based ice cream, yes that’s right, our long and lazy and large vegan lunch ended with vegan soft serve ice cream.

After enjoying so much exciting and innovative plant based cuisine during our stay it was always going to be hard for Straits Kitchen to live up to our expectations at the most vegan friendly, city centre luxury hotel we’ve ever stayed at. Combine that with the sheer amount of food we’d devoured at Grand Hyatt Singapore then perhaps a simple fruit salad and a coffee would suffice for breakfast. But of course, we are professional vegans who never want to miss an opportunity to explore the vegan food that is on offer, and there was plenty available during breakfast at Straits Kitchen. We opted for a healthy, fresh and nutritious salad, followed by noodle soup which was packed with rice noodles, vegetables, tofu and a vegetable stock base, both provided a light and flavoursome start to our day. The Western dishes including baked beans, sautéed potatoes, cherry tomatoes and fried mushrooms, all cooked in oil and not butter so perfect for vegans. Rice with mixed vegetables in vegetarian oyster sauce was another option, it was great to see that traditional oyster sauce had been replaced with a plant based, mushroom ‘oyster’ sauce. So often we stay somewhere and dishes that are labelled as vegetarian with only vegetables and tofu have oyster sauce which can be so frustrating. There was also plain congee with a whole bunch of condiments, fruit, oatmeal, soya milk and a large selection of Indian curries, many of which were plant based and suitable for vegans.

The Vegan Essentials

Non-feather pillows were available in our room already, so there was no need to ask for a pillow change and bathroom amenities were from the June Jacobs Spa Collection. From previous stays with Grand Hyatt we know that their products are all organic, contain plant-based ingredients and are not tested on animals which is great news, not only are the products lovely to use but we love the fact that these are always available at Grand Hyatt.

The Vegan Food Quest Verdict

Check-in to Grand Hyatt Singapore if you want to stay at what is in our opinion, the most vegan friendly, city centre luxury hotel not only in Singapore, but the whole of Southeast Asia. Join one of the yoga or fitness classes in between relaxing in luxury and eating vegan food from around the globe, enjoy using the lovely vegan bathroom amenities from June Jacobs or even indulge in a spa treatment at Damai Spa for that ultimate in relaxation.

We were guests of Grand Hyatt Singapore but please rest assured that their generosity in hosting us didn’t influence our views

Grand Hyatt Singapore
10 Scotts Road
Singapore 228211

Telephone: +65 6738 1234
Email: singapore.grand@hyatt.com
Cost From: £240 / $310 per night (Sept 2018)