As I grow older, my appreciation for food that is good for me has grown too. Those who know me well might be quite incredulous of this statement – I am a meat-eating, butter-loving, cake-baking foodie who once would balk at the idea of putting a grain or pulse anywhere near my mouth. I honestly still feel like a meal without meat is not a fulfilling one – but I’m getting better.

Having this food blog definitely helps me to be more open to the idea of eating vegetarian/raw/vegan food. Yes, I know they’re different, and that I’ve grouped all three together in a rather indifferent manner, and yet that’s what they are to me. Vegetarian/raw/vegan = boring. But as I’ve said, things are starting to change, and it’s nice having a light and unbloated tummy after a meal … every now and then.

Thanks to my beautiful veggie friend AB, I heard about Maya Café, located on Moon Street in the trendy Star Street area. She had brought home their quinoa salad as a starter when I went over for dinner at hers, and to my surprise … it was good!

Maya Café has been open for a couple of months and is owned by Mina, a super friendly and approachable Indian lady who runs the front-of-house, and Tina, the French chef. I was eavesdropping on a conversation at another table, and heard that Mina used to work in the diamond industry, and Tina used to be in fashion!

Mina was very happy to answer any questions that I  had about the menu. No butter or flour is used in any of their dishes, and whilst not all of the food is vegan, all of it is vegetarian.

Both the soup of the day and the dahl were vegan, and the dahl was particularly tasty! I am not a lentil lover, but there were lots of layers of satisfying flavour to this dish.

For the main course, I just had to order the Quinoa Salad again. The veggies change according to what is freshly available.

The cabbage was flavoured with nuts that tasted almost like cheese to me.

The tastiest element of this salad was the avocado and parsley garnish on the top – I wished there was much more of it!

The quinoa was a nice, nutty mixture consisting of all sorts things that are good for you – red rice, goji berries, sunflower and pumpkin seeds.

PB decided on the Spinach Feuillete with Green Salad, a filo parcel packed with spinach, feta cheese and pine nuts. It was tasty, but the portion was no where near enough for him.

The desserts all sounded really tempting – they weren’t that good to look at, but it was certainly a case of tasting better than they look. All the desserts were raw, they had not been cooked, and contained no flour or butter – you aren’t going to find a healthier selection of sweets.

Every bite of this muffin was infused with orange flavour, the consistency was more condensed rather than light and fluffy, but that’s because it was flourless, butterless, and hadn’t been baked. Quite remarkable!

Made with cacao, nuts and figs, this raw chocolate dessert satisfied any chocolate cravings that a gal could have, without the additives – it’s actually GOOD for you! The fudge “Power Ball” was dusted in chopped nuts and desiccated coconut, with a distinct cardamon flavour.

The weekend brunch menu could do with being just a little bit less price-wise (seems as if they have changed the price and what you get for it since the time of this other blog review in March), but for this you have a starter, main, a large jar of juice and either dessert or tea/coffee.

All in all, it’s a cute place that I would definitely stop by again for lunch during the week, or for a takeaway quinoa salad for dinner. It’s a perfect healthy option for a quick bite! However, for a weekend brunch, unless you are sitting on one of the tables inside, the comfort level is just not there for spending time with a paper, or gathering with friends. They could do with having more comfortable chairs on the terrace, which is small but does the trick, and is dog friendly.

Maya Café

Address: 5 Moon Street, Wan Chai
Tel: +852 2529 3319

A sneak peak at the Weekend Brunch Menu

The Weekday Lunch Menu