If you haven't already heard, Taiwan is a vegetarian and vegan-friendly place. During
my volunteering trip to Taiwan, I visited 9 places and tasted food ranging from Western-inspired dishes to the local vegan food fare. Read on to find out what food treasures are hidden in Taiwan!
1. Plants
Nothing screams vegan more than an eatery that calls itself Plants. A quick search on the Internet would show you the number of times this cafe appears in the recommended list vegan cafes to visit in Taipei. Over-hyped? Wait till you try the food!
All their dishes are plant-based, gluten-free, egg-free, dairy-free, and refined-sugar-free. The cherry on top? They also use organic, natural farming and non-GMO ingredients. Raw vegan food options also available! Reservation is advised if company is more than 2. I arrived at 4pm on a Friday, and was brought to a long table where all the solo eaters sat. Service was excellent (5/5), and the atmosphere was calm and peaceful, lulling me to being at home.
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Papaya Party Bowl (330 NTD)
Menu desc: Pitaya and banana smoothie topped with seasonal fruits, maple chia pudding, cacao goji sprouted rawnola and raw chocolate sauce. |
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| This is the point when I stopped to think if I should get another bowl. |
Papaya Party Bowl was a deflightful party of flavours in my mouth. I loved the papaya-chocolate combi, and the addition of rawnola (cacao nibs, goji berries, and oats?) added a lovely crunch. YUMMMMM. 😋😋😋 I'm still fantasising about it till this day. I loved the food so much that I went back a second time, but on a Monday - an off-day!! Ugh!
How to go: Exit from Da'an MRT station exit 6. Walk straight until you pass a musical instrument store, then turn right. The cafe is beside a ramen restaurant.
Address: No. 10, Lane 253, Section 1, Fuxing South Road, Da’an District, Taipei City, Taiwan 106
106 台北市大安區復興南路一段253巷10號1樓
Opening hours:
Tues - Fri 11.30am - 9.30pm (last order 8.30pm)
Sat & Sun 10am - 9.30pm (last order 8.30pm)
Closed on Mondays
Map
Website
2. Vegan Taipei
Like Plants, Vegan Taipei is also a few minutes' walk away from Da'an MRT station.
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Pumpkin soup (120 NTD)
Food desc: Fresh pumpkin, coconut cream, salt and pepper |
With the entrance of soup packages onto supermarket shelves, I feel the need to clarify that this pumpkin soup had a distinct taste of pumpkin (because God forbids the use of artificial gunk to ruin my exquisite taste buds). The soup is on the runny side but somehow still creamy, with a consistency that reminded me of Campbell soup.
I also ordered a slice of coffee walnut cake. It's not my usual flavour to order, but it called out to me that day, so I had no choice but to answer its call with cash.
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| The buttercream was so light and fluffy! |
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| Coffee Walnut Cake (150 NTD) |
It was alright, not mind-blowingly good but decent for the price.
P. S. Don't forget to give the pizzas a try before you leave! A customer recommended me to try them... alas, pizzas are better shared, not for solitary eating.
P. P. S. They do customisable birthday cakes! I had wanted a peanut cake while I was there because I saw a picture of it plastered to the wall, but the boss told me that's for pre-order only!
Address: No. 130, Rui'an Street, Da’an District, Taipei City, Taiwan 106
瑞安街130號一樓
Opening hours: Mon - Sun 11.30am - 8.30pm (closed on 1st and 4th Sunday of the month)
Map
Website
3. Vege Creek (蔬河)
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| Those "plants" on the wall are actually vegetables that you can put into your bowl! From far away, they look just like plant art. |
Vege Creek is what I would call an upgrade from Yong Tau Foo in Singapore. The concept of choosing your own ingredients remains the same, and you can expect greater variety of ingredients and elevated prices. How it works:
Step 1: Choose the ingredients according to you heart's desires.
Step 2: Look at the cost of each ingredient and frown at the above-average prices but buy the food anyway because you're out of vegan options.
Step 3: Bring your bowl to the counter for payment and cooking.
Step 4: Wait patiently for your food.
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| cooking-in-progress |
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| Final result |
Vege Creek has multiple outlets in Taipei. Chances are, you can find one in your nearest shopping mall. The one I went to is near Taipei Main station, as listed below.
Address: Shin Kong Life Tower, 66, Sec 1, Zhongxiao W Rd, Zhongzheng District, Taipei, Taiwan, 100
Opening hours: 11am - 9pm daily
Map
4. Ooh Cha Cha (自然食古亭)
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| Is Ooh Cha Cha the Taiwanese way of saying Ooh la la? |
While cafe-hopping in Taiwan I realised that the concept of macrobiotic bowls is common in Taiwan. And so I got myself one - although in Ooh Cha Cha, they call it
nourishing bowl. All nourishing bowls are served with
organic multi-grain rice and quinoa.
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Sesame Tempeh Bowl (270 NTD):
Sesame tempeh, marinated seaweed, cucumber, baby corn, wild mushroom, sauteed carrot, miso sauce |
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| Creamy as an avocado |
But back to macrobiotic-ism. What does it mean?
As far as I know, vegan macrobiotic diet is just another fancy-schmancy term for whole food plant-based (WFPB) diet. Basically, a
macrobiotic bowl contains an admixture of mostly
unprocessed food, such as
whole grains (brown rice, purple rice, red rice, rainbow rice
(i'm kidding. this is not a thing)),
legumes (lentils, peas),
protein (beans, tempeh), and
vegetables. You're literally tasting the rainbow here.
Address: No. 207, Section 2, Nanchang Road, Zhongzheng District, Taipei City, Taiwan 100
100台北市中正區南昌路二段207號
Opening hours: Daily 10am - 9pm
Map
Website
5. Brother Su （布拉德施）
It was drizzling slightly when I reached Brother Su's vegan kitchen, just in time for some vegan comfort food.
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| Brother Su mans the counter while his wife preps the food. |
You know how people say the Taiwanese are a friendly bunch of people? Brother Su is among the friendly bunch. When I told him that I'm not entirely vegan (yet) but try to eat vegan outside, he was very encouraging and supportive of the efforts I made to my diet. He also shared with me more about their desserts, including the ingredient list.. but I only remember one tidbit of information, which is that
all fruits used are organic.
Before we move on to dessert, let me show you the sunshine-y Pumpkin Curry Rice that I got.
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| Pumpkin Curry Rice Bowl 卡里南瓜饭 (130 NTD) |
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| Close-up |
Out of all the vegan food I'd tried and tasted, this one is what I truly call home-cooked food. The smell of Indian spices hit me in my nostrils before I even see the food. Despite the strong smell of Indian spices, you would be sorely disappointed to find out that the curry is not spicy at all... like me. I like my curry to have a kick, but the spiciness of this dish was like a wimpy shove. Hence, this dish is
best reserved for those who can't take spicy food at all but still want to enjoy the creaminess of curry.
Spice level aside, all you weight-watchers out there would be pleased to know that this curry was light on coconut cream and oil, if at all.
Dessert time!
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| Lemon Chic Cheesecake (110 NTD) |
The crust seems to be made from dates and nuts, the middle layer has the consistency of ice-cream. The best part? This dessert has
no sugar added! Though I must say, I was rather disappointed at the meagre slice of cheesecake. Good for lone eaters, not ideal for sharing!
My overall thoughts: Part of what makes this home-made meal so home-made, I feel, is that the food can be easily whipped up at home. If you're out and about and are craving for something healthy and wholesome, this is the place to go! Price-wise, I feel that it is slightly steep, but remember, you're paying for quality food. Plus this is a small local business so do support!
Address: No. 29, Nanhua Road, Zhonghe District, New Taipei City, Taiwan 235
Opening hours: Tues - Sun 11.30am - 3pm, 5-9pm
Closed every Monday, and 1st weekend of the month.
Map
Website
6. Yuan Tong Vegetarian （圆通素食）
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| What I got |
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| Fried mock meat |
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Kimbap
Funny story: I actually ate the plastic, thinking that it was deep-fried batter coating the seaweed. Such a face-palm moment. |
White and brown rice available (at a small cost), served upon request at the cashier counter. Skipping the rice would be a good idea if you want a taste of more of the dishes. Each meal also comes with a bowl of self-service soup.
Put this place down as an alternative foodie spot if you ever want a more balanced meal over
Shilin street food, at just 5 mins' walk away from the night market.
Address: No. 158, Dadong Road, Shilin District, Taipei City, Taiwan 111
111台北市士林區大東路158號
Opening hours: Mon - Sat 10am - 9pm. Closed on Mondays.
Map
7. Ru Wang Vegetarian （如旺素食 自助餐）
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| A bit of noods, some greens, eggplant, marinated tofu, and mock meats |
This is one of the few vegetarian stores I don't recommend going. For one, the dishes were too oily. They were also cold from being left in the air-conditioned room for quite some time. The variety of dishes might be a redeeming factor... but you can expect the same varied offerings at any other sit-down vegetarian restaurants.
Address: No. 3, Lane 29, Heping Street, Sanxia District, New Taipei City, Taiwan 237
237新北市三峽區和平街29巷3號
Opening hours: Mon - Fri 6.30am - 1.30pm.
Sat & Sun 6.30am - 2pm
Map
8. Si Ji Flower Vegetarian (四季花開 健康蔬食)
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| Sesame paste noodles 麻醬乾麵 (50 NTD) // comes with soup |
I wished I discovered this place earlier as it was close to my residential estate! The menu was impressive (check it out
here), Because the menu is in traditional Chinese, I had a difficult time ordering. That's when the lady boss came to my rescue! I asked simple questions like "Is this a noodle dish? Is the noodles dry?" and I got what I wanted in the end. SO SIMPLE SO GOOD!! If you haven't tried sesame paste noodles before, you're seriously missing out.
Address: No. 29, Guoji 1st Street, Sanxia District, New Taipei City, Taiwan 237
237新北市三峽區國際一街29號
Opening hours: Mon - Fri 11am - 3pm, 5-8pm
Sat 11.30am - 8pm
Closed on Sundays.
9. Ji Yuan Vegetarian (吉缘素食)
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| Sesame paste noodles // can't remember the price, but I think it was around 40 NTD |
As you can no doubt guess, sesame noodles had quickly become one of my favourites. A classic Asian dish, the only way one can screw up is to not add enough sesame sauce. Below the springy noodles lies a bed of leafy greens for health an that crunch factor.
Address: No. 15, Lane 109, Section 3, Heping West Road, Wanhua District, Taipei City, Taiwan 108
108台北市萬華區和平西路三段109巷15號
Opening hours: Daily 10.30am - 8pm
