1355 Hornby Street, Vancouver, BC
604-266-3637
A former food blogger, KimHo (I'm Only Here for the Food), showered us with a Social Shopper deal for this Taiwanese-style vegetarian restaurant in Downtown. Thank you Kim!!! Since I'm on my one-month vegetarian diet, it's time to redeem the voucher. Well, the stupid Buddha Girl, me, did not read the fine prints. I arrived at approximately 3:30pm...but the coupon can only be redeemed after 5pm! Grrr...dumb me! Oh well, more reasons for me to return! :p
As soon as I walked in, I saw a Bodhisattva sitting right at the entrance, I knew right away this place offers Buddhist/Taoist vegetarian dishes. I was quite excited after I looked at the menu, very "Taiwan"...hahahaha!
To start, I had a Cucumber Jelly Salad 黃瓜拌粉皮. This was simple salad of julienne cucumber and carrots with green bean sheet jelly. Simply mixed with soy sauce, sesame oil and chili, this cold dish was refreshing.
The Double Wok 回鍋炒 had firm slices of soy meat, Taiwanese cabbage, green and red bell peppers. Other than it being meat-less, this tasted better than many Taiwanese-style restaurants in 604. I'd order this again!
To go with the previous dish, I ordered the Simply Herb 香椿炒飯. I have not had Chinese Toon 香椿 in fried rice for years. The fried rice was extremely fragrant. The pine nuts added texture to the dish. Chinese Toon 香椿, or more commonly known as Chinese Mahogany or Chinese Cedar, originated from northern China and grows mostly in forests or sparse woods. This herb is a traditional Chinese herbal medicine that's widely eaten as a vegetable in China or Taiwan. In 1949, when the Republic of China (ROC) 中華民國 fled to Taiwan after being defeated by the People's Republic of China (PRC) 中華人民共和國, this herb was introduced to Taiwan (started in Chiayi 嘉義 but later cultivated around the island).
Overall, I enjoyed my visit here. The place was spacious and clean. The service was courteous and attentive. However, price points were high, not ideal for frequent visits.
Price points were high? I remember everything on the menu being $10 though...
ReplyDeleteYes, it's high. $10 for almost everything doesn't mean it's cheap, higher than usual prices for smaller than usual portions. Things like deep-fried banana? Deep-fry tofu? Deep-fried lotus? All $10 each? And for soups, $8 for a small or $10 for a large? That's a bit steep. But then again, it's downtown and it is a vegetarian restaurant.
ReplyDeleteI would be vegetarian if animals stopped by so darn delicious! ;)
ReplyDeleteGlad you enjoy it!
Ahhh I see where you're coming from. I didn't order any of those dishes you mentioned. I just got the ones that require more work and were larger portions, so I thought the prices were reasonable. But you're right, $10 for fried banana is quite unreasonable.
ReplyDelete@Kim
ReplyDeleteWanna come for a vegetarian dinner with us? It's honestly not that bad!!! Hehehehehe! 3Q3Q for the gift!!!
@krispymilk:
Hahaha! You never know, maybe it's a big plate of deep-fried banana...but I might as well buy some banana, batter them, then ask Buddha Boy to deep fry them...hahaha!