Vegan & Vegetarian Food in Labuan Bajo

It surprised me that Labuan Bajo has grown into a mini Bali where you can find hipster menus all around the main road.

I spent 2 weeks in Labuan Bajo for 2 different activities. In the meantime, I had the chance to try some cool vegan meals. 

I did not find any restaurant which is purely serving vegan food, but the restaurants that I visited offer vegan and vegetarian options, and those foods are marked so the costumers will notice quickly. The ingredients are super fresh and even organic, but some ingredients were probably imported from outside the Flores island: chia seed and granola for example. 

As for the price, it can be more expensive compared to regular meal. The fancier the restaurant is, the more expensive the food is (obviously). However, the service, the quality of food, and the presentation are also better and more appealing. I spent around IDR 80.000 - 200.000 in one visit. Yes, I splurge on food, I do.

These restaurants are owned and managed by foreigner, which explains the variety of the menu, the price range, the interior theme, and the service standard. My fave restaurants so far would be Mediterraneo and Happy Banana :)

Mediterraneo serves Italian-Mediterranian food with some Indonesian specialties as well, while Happy Banana serves hype breakfast (smoothie bowls and friends), brunch, sushi, and others. I love the menu twist in Happy Banana btw. It is like someday you want to eat sushi, salad, and smoothie bowls at the same time, so you can just visit 1 place.

Well, I did not bring my camera so the pictures that I took might not look as good as they were in real time. Also, I did not take pictures of all the food that I ate. 

* Well I knew this already but after all this eating experience, I realized that the possibility of making plant-based vegan food interesting and adventurous option is endless <3 

Lentil Soup @Mediterraneo, so perfect I almost cried :p.It has lentils, probably mung bean, coco milk, grated coco, garnished with rolled tempeh crisp and fried tofu inside the tempeh

What Dr. Yanti and I ordered: Lentil soup, pumpkin soup, stuffed spinach and cheese pizza (not the real name), and juices. We got free appetizer which was sliced home made bread and salsa with olive oil. The stuffed pizza looked small but actually it was pretty big. We were sooo full after having this dinner.

@Happy Banana: I ordered sushi and turmeric shot

"Om Namoshivyah" Sushi with avo, nut cream cheese, mushroom, and other good stuff

Dr. Yanti ordered Gnocchi, I ate half of that because she was hurried to go to the airport :D

Chocolate Smoothie Bowl @  Happy Banana. Right amount of sweetness and chocolate taste, cacao nibs are my fave topping here

Nasu Dengaku @ Happy Banana, roasted eggplant with miso glazed and sesame seed, along with fresh salad. Ordered this because I like eggplant. Turns out eggplant and miso are good combination.

Rainbow salad by Happy Banana, ordered by Ka Mita

True foodgasm in Mediterraneo: Forgot the name but basically it is sauteed veggie, bean patty (its really gooood), fried tofu, served with super creamy curry coco milk and super fresh salad, garnished with tempeh crisp and sliced potato

Bean patty (the black disc at the center) is the real diva here. I am not sure what it is made of, but maybe it is a mix of mashed mung bean, and some dark legumes. It is super filling :)

At first it looked like a small portion, but I was super full after finished the meal. Curry coco milk is so good too :)

That is all. I would come back to Labuan Bajo for the food and the beautiful hills. As far as I know, Labuan Bajo is the most vegan & vegetarian friendly place in NTT. Of course it comes with high price but I would say the whole food experience is worth the price.