Miznon – first Israeli restaurant in Singapore

As global eateries embark on their journey to make their presence felt in Asia, it’s heartening to see Miznon open their first outlet in Singapore. The chain was founded in 2010 in Tel Aviv, Israel by renowned chef, Eyal Shani who is known for his unique take on Israeli street food.

I was very interested to see the vegetarian food options in Israeli cuisine and decided to pay them a visit. Inspite of the ongoing rainy weather in Singapore, I was pleasantly surprised to see people queuing to try the magic in every bite which the chain endorses in the tees of their staff, #MiznonMagic.

The restaurant has an open kitchen which looked vibrant with the colors of the fresh produce and has an instantly friendly vibe. There is cheer in the atmosphere and the chefs worked like clockwork to dish out the consistent stream of orders.

The Orders

Potatoes are used in abundance in Israeli cooking – these could be the normal potatoes or the sweet potatoes. Both the versions are done well and different to taste in terms of seasoning used at Miznon.

We tried the ‘Run Over Potato’ which was a slimmed down version of the baked potato. The potato was flattened out with a pounder and topped with butter, sour cream, garlic and herbs. It was sprinkled on the top with a generous amount of salt in the crystalline form , so be prepared for that to hit you while eating. On the whole, the taste was good and different.

The mains consist of a few vegetarian options in the form of Pita Pockets. First, we tried the ‘Falafel Burger’ which is definitely one the of the best ones that I have eaten in Singapore. The Falafel patty is more flatter, bigger and the portion completely fits into the depth of the pita bread – so you get the consistent flavours as you finish the pita. The tomato steak, sour cream, pickles and onion make it a wholesome stuffed pita experience. Definitely recommended.

As opposed to the Falafel Burger which had the vibrant colours of the produce, the “White” , as the name suggests, is an all white dish in terms of stuffing in the pita pocket. You will find cauliflower in ample use at Miznon, even in the visual display. This dish contained the filling of cauliflower with tahini, chili, tomato salsa and spring onion. A special mention to the pita breads which were fluffy and easy to chew.

Unfortunately their other recommended dish, ‘Bag of Green Beans’ was sold out – saving some items for my next visit to try along with Israeli wines. if you eat eggs, then ‘Eggs No Steak’ should also be a good vegetarian option to try at Miznon. Last but not the least, I purchased the Miznon special Tahini and will try to use it in cooking at home and share some recipes.

It’s very early days, so hope they really are able to cater to crowds and maintain quality which is one of the key factors to sustain in the food scene in Singapore. For a vegetable forward menu, for a cuisine that lends itself well to vegetarian and vegan food items, for the quality of the ingredients and for the fun ambiance, Miznon is definitely worth visiting.