This place is so new it smells of woodworking. It’s clean, modern and very, very green. The menu is basic and short, and clearly designed to appeal to non-vegans, which is good because the omni partner is with me.

I ordered the Heavenly Tofu Burger. My partner opted for Bangers and Mash. They also stock the Samuel Smith Organic Wheat Beer, so I had an enjoyable swift half.

The burger was a ciabatta bun stuffed with grilled tofu and roast veg. It came with proper chips, a tasty green salad and onion rings. The latter were, unfortunately, fried at too low a temperature and were therefore oily. I’ll be giving the tempura a miss in future.

The (tofu) bangers and mash came with onion gravy. The omnivore proclaimed it to be okay, but would not be drawn further, other than it was not as filling as you might expect.

Dessert was something rarely found in vegan form: rice pudding. And it was nothing like I expected. The brown rice pudding had been formed into a cake and dressed with poached pears, blueberries and chocolate. Fabulous!

Heavenly, 185 Hope Street (nr Junction with West Regent Street), Glasgow G2 2UL. Tel: 0141-353 0884. Open 11am – midnight, 7 days a week. Last food order 8pm.

Patra is an Indian speciality made by spreading a spicy gram flour batter on taro leaves, rolling it up Swiss roll fashion and steaming it. It is available from Indian groceries in two forms in the UK. The easiest to find is canned but it is also available frozen, and this is, in my opinion, much better. The amount of patra you need depends on the size of the patra (the frozen is smaller) and the size of your slice of bread.

Polish shops have a range of ketchups. The “extra hot” one illustrated is not as spicy as it claims but has a nice tang. You can always spice it up by going to a Chinese or North American grocery and getting a hot chili sauce to add to it.

To make one sandwich:

between 3 and 5 slices of patra
2 slices wholemeal bread
Polish “extra hot” tomato ketchup
1-2 tbs olive oil
½ tsp white sesame seeds
½ tsp cumin seed
a pinch of asafœtida (hing)

Heat the oil in frying pan and add the spices. Cook for about thirty seconds before adding the patra and turning the heat down. When cooked, it goes a lovely golden brown colour – after a few minutes you will have to flip the slices.

Meanwhile, take one slice of your bread and put lots of ketchup on it. When the patra is done, arrange it on this slice of bread, add some more ketchup and bung the other slice over it. Cut in two and eat.

2 tbl sweet white miso
2 tsp brown rice vinegar
2 tsp sake
a good pinch of yuzu (optional)

Just mix it all together and it’s ready. It’s particularly good the after a night in the refrigerator as the flavours mix together and mellow beautifully. You can also mess with the proportions – using only half the vinegar and sake makes a very thick salad cream type dressing.

Clockwise from back left: Clear soup with wakame and silken tofu; brown rice with fresh broad beans; bamboo shoots in a white miso and rice vinegar dressing, topped with yuzu and matcha; lightly fried asparagus in a black sesame dress; sake-simmered carrot and ginger; bought-in pickles.

Now, I’m feeling a little paranoid. I did not see any reference to my special meal request on my boarding card. So, I’ve bought a couple of items (to go with the hummous sandwich and fruit salad bought at EAT at Turnhouse) – a rice salad with stir fried veg and tofu, and a wakame salad. Both contain a substance called Légumaise, which I am assured does not contain egg.

Air France came up trumps, and the food they provided was spectacular. I haven’t eaten the stuff from Exki yet, so consider this a placeholder. The US Customs were happy to let it in, so I’ll be having it for breakfast.

I was hungry enough to give it a go. It scores poorly on presentation, being served in the plastic container in which it is displayed. But, it’s not bad at all. One of the best ready meal pastas I’ve ever had, and better than some Italian restaurants. The pasta was al dente, and the sauce just spicy enough to be worth bothering. The peppers were a bit mushy, though, and the portion size reflects the price – about £3.50 at an airport. Still hungry.

One point – they will offer to put cheese on it for you. If they don’t, ask them not to.

Pacific Plaza, right by Wembley Stadium, is the reincarnation. It’s much smaller, but the food court contains an entirely vegetarian outlet, Veggie Hut.

The food is mostly South Indian, and is ludicrously cheap. I splashed out on the lunch special, which cost a princely £3.50 and included a plain dosa, one vada, two idli, two chutneys, a bowl of sambhar and a drink of my choice.

All this for £3.50!

The dosa was a touch on the oily side, but that’s as far as I am going to complain. The chutneys were the traditional coconut plus a tamarind one, both spicy and making no concessions to English tastes. The vada was crispy on the outside, soft within and the idlis were so delicate I needed to use a spoon. The sambhar was filled with vegetables, interesting ones.

There are vegetarian options at the other stands, notably Hot Korean and Nambu (Japanese) both of which indicate what’s suitable, or can be made so, on their menus. The supermarket is due to reopen here soon, too.

Oh, and the redevelopment of Oriental City? After taking so much trouble to close it down, the developers have done precisely nothing with the site.

Veggie Hut, Pacific Plaza food court, Engineers Way, Wembley, London HA9 0EG. [Map - note that it's not where Google thinks it is, but over the road among the collection of outlets]. Open 10.00 till 22.00 daily; last orders 21.00.

Stereo is entirely vegan, and the sister restaurant to Mono and The 78. The menu is a lighter one, with plenty of tapas, plus a selection of mains. There is a strong Mediterranean feel, but they’ve clearly trawled the world looking for interesting ideas for vegan dishes. Weirdly, they don’t mention anywhere that all the food is vegan. They don’t even mention that it’s vegetarian, though that would be obvious as soon as you scan the menu.

I went for the farinata, an Italian gram flour baked pancake (see photo). Usually served simply with salt and pepper, here it had been turned into a meal with the addition of borlotti beans and fried porcini mushrooms, and served it with a green sauce which I think was basically basil. It worked well, having the satisfaction level of a pizza (vegan pizza and calzone are also on the menu), but with the hope that it might be vaguely healthy. My partner chose a selection of small dishes. The Patatas Bravas met with his approval, the flatbread contained more garlic than bread, and the olives were devoured by both of us.

There was even dessert, though only a couple of choices, and there was no way chocolate orange cake was passing me by! Drinks-wise it was unimpressive. The only beer worth drinking was the superb Samuel Smith Wheat Beer, and the home-made sodas you get at Mono were absent. I also think they exaggerate the pedigree of their building. Charles Rennie Mackintosh did, indeed work on it, but mostly on the tiling at the back.

Stereo, 20-28 Renfield Lane, Glasgow G2 6PH. Tel: 0141-222 2254. Full menu served noon-9pm daily; tapas served until midnight daily.

The meal consisted of a classic nut roast with the traditional trimmings. The nut roast itself made no attempt to disguise its main ingredient, and was excellent. The roast potatoes were crispy on the outside, and melty within, and the Yorkshire puddings made my day. The main disappointment was the offering of vegetables, mostly frozen I suspect. There again, it’s not the season for anything other than cabbage and spuds right now.

It did lie a little heavy on my stomach afterwards, but that’s the idea isn’t it?