Going vegan made me more grateful, present and aware of what I’m taking in

Hazel Sim is from Singapore. She’s all about a sustainable lifestyle and living more consciously for mother earth. She is a lifestyle content creator. She loves developing recipes, styling and making videos.

Meatless Movement recently had a chance to chat with her.

Please tell us more about yourself

I’m Hazel
Plant Powered. Self Taught Cook. Ecofeminist.
Hazel 沈雪玟

I’m from Singapore born and raised. I’ve been vegan since 2019. We have a melting pot of culture here which means tons of good food from a wide variety of cuisines.

How and why did you become vegan?

I’ve always been allergic to lactose – be it milk, cheese or yoghurt, one bite will send me running to the bathroom. When I started cooking more for myself around 2016, I started cutting that out whenever conveniently, sticking to mainly chicken and fish for health.

One of my closest friends was raised vegetarian and vegan herself so we often went for lunches at the vegan food mecca, Fortune Centre in Singapore just across from our school!

The turning point for me that made me go vegan was in December 2018. I was celebrating a friend’s birthday and we have Yakiniku (grilled pork and beef) I was raised Taoist with Buddhist influence so I never really touched beef. When I had that it was so gamey it felt like I was eating for what it was – flesh. When I went back home I signed up for Veganauary right away and stuck to it!

I dare not say I’m super healthy but I’m the healthiest I’ve been in my life. It has been good to me too as I had bad eating habits. Going vegan made me more grateful, present and aware of what I’m taking in and really improved my relationship with food.

Vegan Salmon Lox and Cream Cheese Bagel Recipe

I feel good. I feel calmer and I feel more peaceful knowing I’m doing the least I can to avoid harming another being.
Hazel 沈雪玟

The learning curve was huge! A lot of the foods I grew up with had tons of animal by-products that never occurred to me were still from an animal. Eggs are in a lot of the Chinese dishes I love and was the last for me to let go of! To overcome that, I really took cooking to the next level – so much I create food content now so that folks who are trying to eat more sustainably have local food inspirations.

Cantonese Salted Fish Fried Buns | 咸鱼包 Haam Yu Bao, Salted Fish Buns

I mainly create food content on my Instagram/Tiktok and my blog simhazel.site. I focus on cultural foods and stuff I miss because those are the hardest to make vegan. Let alone find vegan in restaurants. I also love experimenting with whole foods to dispel the myth of how expensive vegan food can be sometimes.

What are your must-try vegan dishes in Singapore?

I have two favourites from Well Loft

U-don Wanna Miss A Thing
If you missed having salted egg chicken, THIS IS IT! The udon is drenched in salted “egg” sauce which has a very similar consistency to the real thing with slices of chilli and curry leaves to give that very same aroma, on top of it the five spiced soy meat chunks were so legit

No Birdie No Birdie but You: Korean-styled Spicy Wings made out of battered abalone mushrooms tossed in housemade yangnyeom sauce. Feels like I’m in Korea again! Super fibrous, not very spicy but still so so tasty.

Tips for a first time vegan

Thankfully there’s a lot of vegan food now in Singapore, and all so easily found through the abillion app. I highly recommend it to know what’s good wherever you are for dining out or buying groceries. Holler at me if you’re on there! (referral code: simhazel)

Enjoy vegan food as it is! With an open mind and heart. If you’re struggling on your vegan journey, reach out to your local support group or find food accounts for inspiration. It makes planning your next meal way easier.

See what tickles your fancy and try it out! It can be your favourite food made with faux meat or trying already vegan cultural foods. The occasional meatless meal does great not only for your health but the planet.