In August 2024, a new two-storey restaurant popped up in the affluent address of Bangsar.
This is Roots, a restaurant that refuses to let its vegetarian menu limit its offerings.
The brand actually hails from Johor, founded by brothers Ian, Sean, and Chee Seng—each of whom boast a different background and skillset.
A trio of brothers
A biomedical engineer by education, Ian spent the majority of his career working as a marketeer.
Sean’s experience with F&B extends a little deeper, having worked in the industry since he was 18.
Two years into his career there, Sean decided to pursue a vocational baking course. Upon completion, he worked at a German artisan bakery shop in Jurong West and joined notable bakery brands such as Simply Bread and Swissbake, and even hotels such as St. Regis and One Farrer Hotel.
He also travelled to countries such as Taiwan, Japan, and Germany to deepen and broaden his industry knowledge, ranging from technical skills to merchandising know-how.
Meanwhile, Chee Seng graduated as an IT analyst in NUS back in 2011. The youngest of the three, he handles HR matters and accounting.
Before founding Roots, though, the three brothers had experience with another business, vburg Cafe & Bakery, which was founded in 2016.
The business is still alive today, but unfortunately, only the bakery aspect is maintained, as the cafe was closed down during the pandemic.
Not ones to give up, the three brothers joined hands with Chef Wilson Haw and founded The Roots Bistro brand in May 2022, with their first outlet in Mount Austin, Johor.
Reducing the stigma around vegetarian food
You might be wondering at this point—why vegetarian food?
Well, the three siblings have actually been vegetarian since birth.
“We often find that the landscape of vegetarian and vegan foods in Malaysia lack the ability to change the stigma over vegetarian foods,” the brothers explained.
With that mission in mind, the brothers have been trying to push the boundaries and introduce various cuisines in a vegetarian format since vburg Cafe.
This way, they aim to reach vegetarians and also non-vegetarians, a demographic they hope to change the minds (but not necessarily lifestyles) of.
Having received positive feedback in Johor, they decided to expand to KL. The founders chose the Bangsar location for its diversity of customers that comprise different backgrounds.
“The response in KL is quite high due to its high population density,” they shared. “The vegetarian and vegan community is also much larger compared to Johor Bahru.”
Even though JB does receive a good crowd coming in from Singapore, they share that their targetable demographic is still bigger in KL.
With that, there’s also increased competition. “Hence, we have to keep up the pace to innovate more cuisines that aren’t just creative but also taste great to attract more non-vegetarians to enjoy the foods,” they determined.
The Johor outlet has ceased operations since October 31, 2024, though, due to the lease ending.
But don’t worry, they plan to reopen in the second quarter of 2025.
Pushing the boundaries of vegetarian food
At Roots, typical vegetarian food isn’t the goal. Rather, they’re always on the hunt to create unique dishes from various cuisines that can be “veganised” to accommodate the growing community of plant-based eaters.
Leveraging their nine years of bakery experience with vburg, Roots creates their own sourdough, using their levain that has been cultured for nine years.
This sourdough is also used in their pizzas, which offer a variety of vegetarian toppings.
“We are aiming to launch vegan pizza with nice vegan cheeses in coming months,” they added.
According to the founders, their Orh-luak/Orh-jian (oyster omelette) is well-received by meat-eaters too despite coming without the oysters. For some who don’t mind processed meat, they enjoy the restaurant’s Trio-plant based meat with Ginger Sesame Oil Basmathi Rice.
There are also fusion dishes such like Nasi Lemak Risotto and Sambal Petai Sourdough Pizza, which they admit can be very polarising.
“These dishes are good to let some adventurous diners explore unique combinations,” they said.
With plants, for plants
Aside from serving plant-based foods, which in itself involves lower carbon footprints, the business is also actively trying to be environmentally conscious.
“As much as we can, we try to reduce the use of processed meat. Even the processed meat we used are locally-made instead of other international big brand,” they said.
By “meat,” they are of course referring to “mock” meat.
“We are also trying to practise using clean-labelled products if available, such as the jackfruit mushroom patty,” they said, referring to Nanka, a homegrown brand.
Currently, the Roots team is also working with local farmers to use their fresh lion’s mane mushroom instead.
They’re also planning to launch a “Bring Your Own Container” programme, having noticed that more and more walk-in customers opt for takeaway.
Growing from the roots
Although the three brothers have managed to steadily grow their F&B brands over the years, a challenge they continue to face is consistency in quality and standards.
“This often boils down to the streamline of SOP and training of staff,” they shared.
Aside from reopening their Johor Bahru branch, they plan to return to KL and expand their footprint there.
“We are planning Roots to encompass various countries and cultures of vegan and vegetarian cuisines to deliver a full range of meatless experiences,” they shared about the business’ future.
The brothers also reveal that they’re aiming to open in Singapore as well as other parts of Southeast Asia in the next three to five years.
Featured Image Credit: Roots
