Tag Archives: vegetarian

Mum Veggie + Coffee + Sweet

6 Dec

the dim sum diaries hong kong

mum veggie hong kongIn a city where it is far too easy to be unhealthy, vegetarian restaurants are inevitably popping up everywhere we look. Mum Veggie + Coffee + Sweet, a cute relatively new vegetarian café recently joined the throng, offering healthy and delicious food to the southsiders in Wong Chuk Hang.

As I’m sure you must by now be aware, the chance of me bidding adieu to meat is about as likely as me giving up food altogether; it simply will never happen. That said, I do appreciate a good veggie meal and was very happy to put Mum to the test.

On the ground floor of shiny One Island South building, Mum is a modern, cosy space with that ever-popular unfinished look – exposed ceiling, dusty stone walls and a hotchpotch of furniture. There is certainly something sweet and alluring about this little spot, further evidenced by the many curious faces we first saw cautiously peer in through the entrance and then slowly make their way to the brightly lit counter displaying fresh, colourful salads and cakes.

mum veggie hong kongAfter a delicious refreshing juice (try the Super C, loaded with fresh orange, apple and lemon), we tucked into a burdock root salad. The combination of colours and textures from the burdock root, carrots, bean sprouts and salad leaves married beautifully together, lightly dressed in a more-ish sesame dressing.

mum veggie hong kongWhilst we loved the idea of Mum’s style dumpling udon noodles, the vegetable dumplings were sadly a little lacking in flavour. Dipped in the chilli and sesame dipping sauce, they fared a little better, but would have benefitted from a little more seasoning. Thankfully, however, the perfectly doughy udon noodles were spot on.

mum veggie hong kongPossibly the best of the three dishes we tried were the sesame somen noodles with wakame seaweed and assorted veggies. Again, the array of textures from the crunchy leaves and seaweed to the chewy noodles complemented each other and the sesame dressing (I think Mum likes sesame!) completed the dish.

mum veggie hong kongUnable to resist the gorgeous looking cakes that had been staring at us from the moment we sat down, we ordered three to share: the vegan banana cake, tofu brownie and vegan toffee apple cake. Whilst we found the banana cake a little on the dry side, the toffee apple cake, served warm, was sweet and comforting, with a layer of fresh apple on top to keep it moist. The tofu brownie, however, by far outshone the other two. This was also served warm and was utterly heavenly; you would never tell it was made with tofu and it was hard to believe it wasn’t terribly bad for me!

mum veggie hong kongPrices at Mum are as refreshing as the food, with main courses around $50-70 and desserts around $25. It’s not necessarily somewhere I would rush back to, given its slightly out of the way location, but if I happened to one day find myself in the area, there is no denying that I would stop by, even if just for a ‘healthy’ chocolate brownie.

Mum Veggie + Coffee + Sweet

G07, G/F, One Island South
2 Heung Yip Road
Wong Chuk Hang
Hong Kong

Tel: +852 2115 3348

www.facebook.com/Mumveggiecoffeesweet

Closed Saturdays

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Something Fresh

11 Jun

something fresh hong kong

Without generalising too much, nor aiming to insult too many people, the average Hongkonger I know is lazy. With so many restaurants within walking distance of pretty much anywhere, why would you not go out for dinner most nights? Or, if you do fancy a cosy night on the sofa, almost every restaurant will deliver, so why not order in? Unless you’re cooking for two or more people, supermarket shopping is painfully expensive (oh, how I miss Sainsbury’s), so surely it’s easier and cheaper to eat out/order in, right? Born out of three friends’ desire to encourage better eating habits in Hong Kong, Something Fresh has emerged with the hope of changing this mentality.

Something Fresh’s founder, Shawn, believes that “a fresh and healthy meal is something that people deserve every day, not just once in a while when time permits.” Therefore, similar to the tried, tested and of course much loved Secret Ingredient, Something Fresh will deliver you the ingredients washed, weighed and chopped, ready to make simple, delicious and healthy recipes in minutes. Something Fresh’s recipes are all vegetarian, vegan and many are gluten-free. If you’re a carnivore like me then don’t be put off by this; I don’t know how they do it, but the team behind Something Fresh manages to make vegetarian food exciting as well as super tasty.

I had the pleasure of trying out not one, not two, but four Something Fresh recipes on multiple evenings; when the fourth meal was over I was devastated and very nearly went online to book another Something Fresh delivery.

something fresh hong kong

The first meal I made was probably my favourite of the four: Mexican Flautas with Roasted Tomato Chipotle Salsa. Imagine crumbly feta, ripe avocado, crunchy sunflower seeds and crisp red pepper wrapped in a gently pan-fried tortilla. The whole process from when I received the delivery to when I devoured my ‘flautas’ took no more than 10 minutes and was effortlessly simple. Served alongside a satisfyingly fiery chipotle salsa, this was the perfect Sunday night dinner.

something fresh hong kong

something fresh hong kong

Other dishes I tried included chilli basil tofu with straw mushrooms, curried quinoa with roasted cauliflower and peas, and chickpea pancakes with avocado cilantro salsa. Each dish was designed to impress even the most vegetable-fearing individual, and each took a maximum of 20 minutes to cook and serve.

something fresh hong kong

Even if you’re a complete novice in the kitchen, the recipe card will guide you through each step. Ingredients are individually packaged and marked with a letter that corresponds to each step in the recipe, making it impossible not to be able to follow.

I am by no means a master chef, yet I have been cooking since a young age and love experimenting in the kitchen, or following complicated recipe books to create something truly delicious. Admittedly, for me, having everything pre-chopped and ready to go does take a little bit of the excitement out of cooking. At the same time, I am ashamed to admit that sadly, in Hong Kong, the process of cooking often feels more like a chore than a pleasure, so at times like these, to have someone do the hard work for me every so often and yet still be able to create something that makes my taste buds dance in contentment is certainly a bit of a blessing; Something Fresh offers a refreshing reminder that cooking needn’t be seen as a chore.

I believe it is due to the team at Something Fresh being of Indian descent, that each dish I tried featured chilli somewhere in the recipe. For me, the dishes carried the perfect level of heat, yet those who can’t handle their spice may need to slightly adapt the recipe to suit their tolerance level.

At the moment Something Fresh only offers main courses, yet I have heard that there are plans in store to create starters as well as desserts. Recipes change on the website every two weeks, with a choice of six delicious meals to choose from, and prices range from $150-$185 for two people. There’s no need to wander the supermarket aisles for hours wondering what to have for dinner; just go online, select your dish and delivery time, and you’ll have a tasty, healthy dish to impress your dinner guest in no time!

www.somethingfresh.com.hk

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The Herbivores

10 Dec

4_oh

the herbivores hong kong

I love going to a restaurant with absolutely no expectations and being very pleasantly surprised. This is not often the case with vegetarian restaurants (bar MANA! And Grassroots Pantry of course), and I was certainly not expecting big things from The Herbivores. I was, however, quite wowed by this one, even if it was lacking that all-important ingredient.

The Herbivores occupies a very small space on Staunton Street that only seats 26 diners. Apart from a cosy booth at the back of the room, the only table is a long, wide wooden one that takes up most of the room, for all to share. This shared table, along with the simple décor of white-washed exposed brick walls, contrasted with black corners and hanging blackboards, gives off a relaxed and welcoming feel. To add a touch of colour and intrigue to the room, vegetarian ‘fun facts’ are scrawled onto the black part of the walls, such as “you might be better off kissing a vegetarian than a meat lover, as research has shown that vegetarians taste and smell better.” Hmm….really?!

The entire kitchen of four chefs were all previously at ROKA, which must account for a lot of the Japanese influences that have snuck in to the menu.

the herbivores hong kong

Our meal began with one such dish: a Japanese Crunch Salad. This presented itself as a light, refreshing medley of crunchy cabbage, soft abura age (a healthier version of deep-fried tofu) and rice-noodle-esque konjac jelly, smothered in an incredibly addictive sesame dressing and black and white sesame seeds. You probably know how I feel about salads, but this is a salad I would not refuse.

the herbivores hong kong

A cute bowl of crispy wedges followed, served with homemade cocktail sauce. These perfectly crispy wedges are deep-fried in super healthy Omega 9 Oil, making them almost guilt-free. Paired with the zingy and delicious sauce made with a blend of tomatoes, Parmesan, chilli powder and pepper, they were twice as tasty. Feeling greedy, we also asked if we could try the homemade truffle mayonnaise – seriously, you MUST try this!

the herbivores hong kong

To follow, came a very simple yet wonderfully tasty dish: Japanese plum pasta. Fresh linguini cooked al dente in vegetable stock was topped with a pile of shredded seaweed, dried basil and a single Japanese plum. Tossed all together until the plum disintegrated, the beautifully contrasting flavours of sweet, salty and sour set off fireworks in my mouth.

the herbivores hong kong

The daily special, not on the regular menu, was another cute dish (I love The Herbivores’ crockery!) of Baked rice with spinach cream. The fluffy rice was topped with a layer of mushrooms and tomatoes, followed by a layer of wilted spinach, finished with crumbled Parmesan before being baked to golden perfection. Despite the cream, this was a lovely delicate dish that wasn’t at all heavy.

the herbivores hong kong

The only disappointment of the evening was the NY Cheesecake. Although it had a good flavour, it was a little too dense and there wasn’t enough of a distinction between the cheesecake and the base, which could have been a lot crunchier. Its redeeming factor, however, was the delicious mixed berry and red wine purée that provided a welcome and refreshing tanginess to the rather heavy dessert.

the herbivores hong kong

The Mango yoyo, on the other hand, a dish I would normally never order, was divine: yoghurt pudding topped with strips of fresh mango, mango purée and oatmeal crumble. It was delightfully smooth and creamy, whilst still somehow light and refreshing, but the real star was most definitely the crunchy crumble.

the herbivores hong kong

As the restaurant is still in the soft-opening stage, it is still awaiting its alcohol license. There are, however a selection of delicious mocktails on the blackboard, including ‘The Herbivores’ (mint, lemongrass and honey), ‘Meditation’ (fresh lemon, fresh cucumber, white grape juice and cranberry juice) or, if you’re feeling like a celebration, a ‘Mock Champagne’ (ginger ale, white grape juice and pineapple juice) – it almost tastes like the real deal….almost!

Service comes with a smile. The small team are very personable and passionate about what they do, which is always refreshing to see in Hong Kong. Prices aren’t too unreasonable, with starters and salads around $60 and main courses between $100 and $200. The Herbivores is a lovely little place that serves delicious, hearty food, despite the rather untrue ‘facts’ – I’m pretty sure that as a meat eater I smell and taste pretty wonderful, thanks!

The Herbivores

35 Staunton Street
Central
Hong Kong

Tel: +852 2613 2909

www.the-herbivores.com

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MANA! Fast Slow Food

5 Jun

 

 

The organic, slow food movement has taken the world by storm. Although Hong Kong has been pretty slow to jump on the bandwagon, little steps are being taken to catch up with the rest of the world and fulfill the growing demand for healthy, vegan food. First we had the ever-popular Life Cafe, which then opened up a deli on Ship Street; now we have MANA! Fast Slow Food, set up by Bobsy (the founder of Life Cafe and the Bookworm Cafe on Lamma) and Christian, a chef who previously worked with the likes of Alain Ducasse in France.

MANA!’s motto is ‘Eat like it matters’ and specialises in organic, vegan and raw food, with many gluten-free options. Personally, there’s only so much airy-fairy health food I can handle, but when it tastes sooo good, and when I know that every bite I take is filling me with guilt-free goodness, I do get a little bit excited. I have been to MANA! a number of times and think I can safely say that I have tried, if not everything, then at least most things on the menu. In all honesty, there isn’t a single thing I have tried that I really didn’t like; there are things I would not order again (like the Earth Juice, but only because I prefer my beetroot on a plate as opposed to in a glass), but generally I actually have to refrain from going back there most days for fear that the staff might think I’m a little bit obsessed.

Potato and zucchini soup

Starting with the soups, MANA! offers two kinds: the soup of the day that obviously varies depending on the day, and a dhal. Whilst the potato and zucchini soup on this particular day was delicious, light and comforting, I’d recommend going for the dhal, which is beautifully spiced and that little bit more exciting.

Large salad box

The salad selection is also delicious, offering choices such as beetroot and mandarin, grilled vegetables, potato salad and quinoa. Because I eat there fairly often, I would quite like them to offer different options every now and then, but then again, as the old saying goes, “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”

Autumn flatbread

The flatbreads are what MANA! is all about, though. The bread is freshly baked in MANA!’s handmade brick oven, smothered in ‘zaatar’ (a combination of sesame seeds, thyme, sumac and sea salt), filled with all sorts of goodies and then wrapped, ready to go. Try the Autumn Flat filled with grilled haloumi, grilled veggies and rocket. I like to ask them to add a dollop of babaganoush for good measure. If I may make one complaint about the flats, however, it’s that the price seems a little high for what it is. Effectively, the flats are like glorified sandwiches, and I would find it difficult to part with $80 for a sandwich.

Haloumi and tofu burger

The haloumi and tofu burger sadly isn’t as delicious as I had imagined, but then again I was probably imagining something unattainably perfect. The ‘healthy’ fries, however, are dangerously moreish. I think they must call them ‘healthy’ to make you feel slightly less bad about gorging on them.

Raw hazelnut torte and raw chocolate truffle

Definitely save space for dessert, especially as they are healthy desserts! The raw, vegan coconut ice cream is pretty special, whilst the raw hazelnut torte is divine – gooey and intensely chocolatey with an added nutty crunch at the bottom. Though delicious, raw chocolate truffles are rather rich, so all you really need is one little ball of goodness.

It’s not just MANA!’s food that is green; the whole space is built to respect and give back to the environment, with free water, energy-saving lights, water-saving toilets, reclaimed furniture and paper straws (note: make sure you drink your juice before the straw becomes soggy). Considering how un-eco-friendly the majority of Hong Kong is – think of how much energy the light show every evening must waste – I think Bobsy and Christian’s concept is very refreshing. I wonder how long it will take for the rest of the city to follow suit, if at all…

MANA! Fast Slow Food
92 Wellington Street
Central
Hong Kong

Tel: +852 2851 1611

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Slim Taste

4 Jun

Slim Taste, in my favourite building on Stanley Street with all the restaurants (3 more to go until I’ve done them all!) is one of a kind. Everything, and I mean literally everything in the restaurant is made of paper or cardboard. Cardboard chairs, cardboard tables, cup holders, decorations, everything. The only things not made out of cardboard are the cutlery and the plates. Obviously I had checked it out online and I added it to my list quite a while ago, so I was aware of the paper theme. Nevertheless I don’t think I quite expected what I saw on arrival. Attention to detail is evidently key here, as there are little pieces of cardboard on the walls all the way up to the ceiling. There are cardboard owls, cardboard farmyard animals, a cardboard Eiffel Tower, a cardboard sun, and even a rainbow made out of ornately put together pieces of cardboard! Definitely like no other.

When I mentioned the cardboard furniture to friends, they all were immediately concerned as to what happens if you are too heavy for the chair. Fear not, however, as apparently the seats are strengthened with wax so that they won’t soak up any spillages and can each bear a maximum weight of 180kg. So you can eat your heart out at this quirky little spot and not have to worry about breaking the furniture – always a bonus.

Slim Taste offers healthy Chinese cuisine from a range of regions. The dishes are primarily vegetarian, although there are a number of yummy-sounding meaty treats on the menu too. Wanting to be “healthy” and as I was dining with one of my most favourite vegetarians in the world, we stuck to the veggie treats, and thankfully they were so delicious that meat wasn’t even necessary.

Vegetarian spring rolls

The Tempura showy yam rolls, soft purple yam cylinders wrapped in a very light crisp batter were interesting: sweet and smooth on the inside while savoury and crisp on the outside – very pleasing to my taste buds. The vegetarian spring rolls were some of the better spring rolls I have had in Hong Kong – deep fried but not overly greasy and lovingly filled with succulent vegetables. The crispy vegetarian goose was my least favourite of the dishes, firstly because I couldn’t understand where the chef got the idea that it was similar to goose from. It was as similar to goose as night is to day. Mushrooms encased in a thin layer of tofu and deep fried; not a terrible dish but the name might need rethinking.

Now, I’ve had red rice, I’ve had brown rice, I’ve certainly had white rice, but something I have never before tasted is purple rice. Until Thursday night. We ordered the Ganoderma Lucidum mushroom fried purple rice. I’m not exactly sure what that means but it was a species of yeung chow chow fan (special fried rice), except with rice which was interestingly very purple and, much like brown rice, purple rice has more of a bite to it. Apparently it is very rich in antioxidants, more so than blueberries, and is ideal for people suffering from asthma or even some types of cancer. This dish was a highlight, although in my opinion it did need a little bit more flavour. It went perfectly with the cucumber with garlic sauce which was deliciously moreish.

Ganoderma Lucidum mushroom fried purple rice

We asked our waitress at the beginning of the meal if they served any wine. She didn’t understand us, so asked the ladies on the table next to us to translate, after which, said ladies and the waitress proceeded to laugh at us. No, they do not serve wine, or indeed any kind of alcohol, although they do have some delicious, freshly made iced teas to choose from. We had one apple iced tea and one lemon and cumquat iced tea, both containing real fruit and served in fun little cardboard boxes. You could always nip down to 7-Eleven to buy some vodka to sneak into your iced tea, but seriously, who does that?!

The service was fair, although as previously mentioned, the waiters barely speak English. We were the only ‘gweilos’ in the whole restaurant which was surprisingly busy. One of my theories is that if a Chinese restaurant is full of Chinese people, they must serve great food, so clearly Slim Taste is doing something right. We ordered more than enough food for the two of us to decline dessert (the steamed red bean cake did sound appealing) and the bill only came to $237. Admittedly it is a bit of a strange place with an even stranger concept, but we did have a highly entertaining evening so I would definitely recommend it if you’re after some fairly healthy, reasonably priced Chinese food with a difference.

Slim Taste

9/F Stanley 11
11 Stanley Street
Central
Hong Kong

Tel: +852 2530 1199

Date visited: Thursday 2nd June 2011

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Veggie SF

20 Apr

What with it being the week leading up to the Rugby 7s which is always a ridiculous weekend where you simply cannot avoid drinking far too much and eating far too unhealthily, I had been trying my utmost to prepare for this by NOT drinking at all, and eating as healthily as I could without limiting myself to rabbit fodder… at least for a couple of days. So when planning a lunch date with a friend who is also of the same mind set, we had to take this into consideration. She suggested trying Veggie SF, which I admittedly had never heard of and therefore jumped at the idea so that I could kill two birds with one stone: my ever-present hunger and the need to try a new restaurant.

It’s located on Stanley Street in what I think is one of the most amazing buildings in HK. Not looks-wise. In fact I have no idea what it actually looks like from the outside as I’m always way too eager to get INside. But because of the fact that most of the building seems to be dedicated to just restaurants! A-MAZ-ING.

As soon as you step out of the lift on the 10th floor, you are immediately catapulted not only to an American diner, but also to the 1950s. I’ve never been to San Francisco, but that is the style it is going for, and according to people who have been there, it hits the nail bang on the head. Obviously I’ve never been to the 1950s either but… you know what I mean. There are car license plates, road signs, American flags and all sorts of retro bits and bobs on the walls. What I particularly liked was the mismatched chairs and stools which give it a really laid back feel and make you feel like you could actually be in someone’s home. It’s not too big either so has that kind of cosy feel to it.

I checked it out online first (obviously) and YES they do have a website! We’re starting strongly here, first two restos both have websites! The website actually shows pictures of some delicious looking meals (all vegetarian of course, but still yummy-looking) such as home-made veggie wanton with pumpkin sauce or a rather interestingly named rainbow bimbimbap (huh?!) but I’m not sure where they were on the menu. Definitely weren’t on the one we were offered, so I’m guessing either they didn’t like us or there’s a different evening menu. What we were offered was a double-sided menu with the set lunches on one side and the side dishes on the other. We wanted to have a soup each and a selection of side dishes to share, tapas style, but apparently this is not allowed. Sergeant waitress told us we had to have a minimum of one set lunch each (does anyone seriously order more than one?!) and then you’re allowed to order side dishes. I’ve lived here long enough to understand that this is not only this particular restaurant’s rules, but in fact, HK rules. If something isn’t on the menu it’s “No. Cannot. Sorry.” End of story. So we opted for the “Light Combo” kicking off with a broccoli soup which at first sight appeared somewhat watery and…green, but actually rather pleased my taste buds. We were then served some delicious warm seeded bread with pesto, which tasted scrumptiously home-made. I’m sure bread is usually served WITH soup, not after it, but the pesto was too good to complain. A little on the salty side but still wonderful. The star of the show was the garden salad featuring lettuce, raisins, cashew nuts, beetroot and cherry tomatoes in what they call a “mysterious dressing”. I assumed that given that title, it would be a secret recipe but was told straight out that it is a balsamic and honey dressing. I personally usually prefer my salads naked (actually, what am I saying? I rarely actually even opt for a salad) but rather enjoyed this mysterious-but-not-so-mysterious dressing. As we ordered the set lunch and we were then “allowed” a side dish, we chose the curry veggie balls. They lied to us on two accounts here though: 1. The waitress told us they were made of vegetables, which was not strictly true as it was some kind of tofu, and 2. the menu states eight pieces but we were only given six. This was more than enough though as, even though the curry sauce was delicious, the actual veggie ball when bitten into had the texture of a frankfurter which is possibly my least favourite type of sausage. I gave it a second and third chance but will definitely never give it a fourth.

Overall opinion on the food: it was fine but not wowee delish. I’d definitely go back though as I’m keen to try the yummy looking dishes which I never got the chance to order. At the very least I need to find out what a bimbimbap is! Maybe for dinner they aren’t so strict on the set menu – who knows. Total bill cost was $207. Bargain.

Great ambience and something a little different to your average vegetarian restaurant. One thing I must mention about this place is that along with herbal teas and other healthy fixes, they sell some really sweet vintage handbags and vintage jewellery. Wouldn’t necessarily wear much of the jewellery but it’s such a lovely idea and it reminded me of my favourite bar in Bath which sells all sorts of vintage knick-knacks. I miss you, Opium!

Veggie SF

10/F Stanley 11
11 Stanley Street
Central
Tel: +852 3902 3902     

Date visited: Tuesday 22nd March 2011

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