Go green with Baker & Cook Dempsey’s wholesome new plant-based menu

My affinity for Baker & Cook‘s bakes—especially their Gluten-free Lavender Orange Tea Cake—is close to insurmountable. I don’t eat gluten-free bakes on the daily, but this is one exception I’d gladly forgo any other sweet for. That is why when they announced a plant-based menu to join the ranks of planet-friendly troops, I knew I had to have a taste.

Currently, their plant-based menu is exclusive to their Dempsey outpost, which, in a way, is very fitting, given its lusciously green backdrop. I made sure to keep my tummy empty in the morning, before I sunk my teeth, first into The Impossible™ Sausage Roll (S$19).

Made with Impossible™ mince, the roll is made robust with white onions, button mushrooms, garlic, and roasted cashews. Smear the complementary onion jam for extra sweetness and acid, and you have a hearty meal that certainly carries heft in its consistency.

A must is the Thai Green Curry Pot Pie (S$19), which impressively resembles the real deal. Albeit, there’s no meat, the abundance of pumpkin, eggplants, and snowpeas more than satisfying my green Thai curry penchant.

The curry is thicc, silky, and aptly spicy—a satisfying standard you’d not expect from a non-Thai brand.

No one can deny themselves a juicy burger—c’mon, let’s be real, people. Once again, the omission of meat here is not one to be noticed, as The Impossible™ Mushroom Swiss (S$22, S$26 with fries) proves. It’s a burger that’s towering with plump tomato slices, sauteed mushrooms, and vegan truffle mayonnaise—complete with house-made eggless quinoa-dotted buns.

The flavours are impeccably balanced and I closed my eyes to register that I could barely tell the difference between this and a beef burger. It’s that good.

As you know, their sister pizza joint, Plank, rolls out crusty, piping hot pizzas and it only makes sense that a Pizza 10 (S$26 for 12-inch pizza, S$13 for foot-long plank) is birthed for this special menu. Plank’s pizzas are famous for their no-name monikers; only called by numerics for ease of commitment to memory.

Pizza 10 also uses Impossible™ mince for its meatballs, coupled with a peppering of cherry tomatoes, Spanish onions, rocket, and dollops of house-made barbecue sauce. I would’ve enjoyed a more robust pizza, with the barbecue sauce coming through sporadically. The meatballs lacked conviction, leaving me to enjoy placid dough.

If you wish to go green all the way, there’s the Baked Baby Heirloom Beetroot (S$15) (try saying that thrice, really quickly). While this plate was my least favourite—must be my aversion to clean eating—I value its streamlined recipe.

Built with basics such as baby golden and red heirloom beetroots, it’s only tainted by olive oil and pomegranate molasses, which makes for a touch of saccharine.

While I didn’t fall in love with every single dish, there are certainly some that stood out more than others. Heed my advice regarding the Impossible™ Mushroom Swiss; you might not want any other plant-based burger anywhere else.

Date & Time: Baker & Cook plant-based menu is exclusive to their Dempsey outlet now | 8am – 10pm (Daily)

Price: S$13 – S$26 per dish