Pure Veggie House (心齋)

In the past, I disliked most vegetarian dishes served in those so-called traditional vegetarian restaurants as most of them were extremely oily, and what's more, many of them were made with mock meat (yuck!).

I mean, hey, what's the point of having a vegetarian meal if you still wanna eat something that has the imitated flavour and texture of meat?

But I'm glad to see more and more modernised vegetarian restaurants popping up all around town nowadays; and this Pure Veggie House where my friends and I visited for dinner last night, has recently become one of my favourite vegetarian restaurants in Hong Kong.

All dishes we ordered were light but flavourful (DE~~LISH!), and we were impressed by the sophisticated food presentation. Their signature dish, Braised Lotus Seeds Wrapped in Sliced Winter Melon, was just pleasant to look at and it does look like a lotus pod, dynamite!

What a gorgeous ceiling lamp!

I wanna get something similar to this Buddha stone carving for my home

Pan-fried Bean Curd Sheet (京都乾煎豆筋) - it is definitely a winner to pair with beer (unfortunately I did not have beer that night). The bean curd sheet in this dish is sweet and savoury (I suspect teriyaki sauce was used, not sure though), slightly peppery, and the texture is unique, i.e. crispy and chewy at the same time.

(P.S. I forgot to take photos at the beginning, so the time when I took this photo, half of the food in this dish had already gone into my friends' stomachs)

Sweet & Sour Konjac with Pineapple (菠蘿咕嚕魔芋) - the spongy and gummy konjac cubes have absorbed most of the sweet and sour sauce, a very appetizing dish!

(P.S. I forgot to take photos at the beginning, so the time when I took this photo, half of the food in this dish had already gone into my friends' stomachs)

Luffa & Bean Curd Skin Boiled in a Mini Wok (鑊仔勝瓜(絲瓜)煮鮮竹) - I loooooove the soup in this dish, it is intensely flavourful as the essence and sweetness of the ingredients have all gone to the soup

Baked Eggplant in Tinfoil (秘制茄子盒) - I could have easily gobbled up two big bowls of plain rice becoz of this yummy dish if no one had stopped me^^

Pure Veggie House Fried Rice (心齋炒飯) - the rice was very fluffy and pleasantly chewy (on the soft side). Look at those pine nuts, thinly sliced carrots and stems of Chinese kale in this rice, can anyone resist it?

Sautéed Mushrooms, Mountain Yam and Zucchini (脆肉瓜山藥炒牛肝菌) - did you know that mountain yam is so good for your health? Read this!

Braised Lotus Seeds Wrapped in Sliced Winter Melon (荷塘吐艷) - I like the subtle flavour along with an earthy touch to the palate of this dish.

Doesn't it look amazing? It looks like a flower to some people, but it looks like a lotus pod to me.

Wolfberry, Longan Pulp & Osmanthus Pudding (杞子龍眼桂花糕) - it's just my personal preference, I never like osmanthus pudding, so I didn't like it

Sesame Glutinous Rice Flour Ball w/ sweetened black sesame puree filling (麻沙糍) - be careful when you eat these balls, the filling is hot hot hot

Red Dates and Coconut Layered Glutinous Rice Cake (棗茸千層糕) - my top pick dessert of the night

Who dares to say vegetarian food is boring again?

Dinner for 5: HK$750 approx. (US$96 approx.)

Pure Veggie House
Address: 3/F, Coda Plaza, 51 Garden Road, Mid-Levels
Tel: 2525 0552