What do you think of a meatless meal? Yay? Or Nay? Many people I know belong to the latter group. And even among those who embrace it, quite a handful see it as an obligation rather than as a cuisine to be enjoyed. I am one of them; the obligated vegetarian who eats vegetarian only when my Mum insists (for religious reasons). Don’t get me wrong, I don’t dislike vegetables. I just prefer to have some meats to go along. Plus I love love love eggs and dairy!!

But after dining at Sufood, Taiwan’s #1 vegetarian restaurant chain, I began to realise that vegetarian meals can also be delicious in their own right! From now on, I shall no longer see vegetarian meals as an obligation. Instead, I will actively choose it because the food at Sufood was so good, I didn’t miss meat at all!

A word of caution though, Sufood may not be for everyone. Being a vegetarian restaurant that uses fresh and nutritious ingredients coupled with healthier cooking methods and seasoning, Sufood presents dishes that may be more suitable for those with a lighter palate. Foodies who enjoy stronger flavours may or may not like Sufood.

New Set Menu at Sufood (Launched in March 2017)

At Sufood, you can choose to go ala carte or take their sets- 6-Course Express Lunch Set and All Day 8-Course Vegalicious Feast Set. Each set will come with a complimentary chrysanthemum tea, fixed appetizer, rosemary breadsticks and your choice of soup, main course, dessert plus beverage. The Vegalicious Feast will also include additional mulberry juice vinegar and your choice of salad. Sufood does not feature a very big menu but they try to keep things interesting by refreshing their menu with new dishes periodically. This time round, they have introduced two new salads, two truffle dishes and one new dessert. With the addition of these new menu items, there will be 10 mains and 3 to 4 salads/soups/desserts/beverages to choose from.

New Menu Items (Launched in March 2017)

New Salads

I have always been a fan of fruit salads so it is little wonder that Sufood’s new Mix Fruit & Vegetable Salad captured my heart. This refreshing salad has a medley of apple, watermelon, pineapple and greens served in a lightly sweetened egg-less blueberry cream dressing. The dressing looks and tastes like blueberry yoghurt and it is so good I wouldn’t mind eating it on its own! Being devoid of dairy and vegetables from the allium family (eg. garlics and onions), this salad is suitable for strict Buddhist Vegetarians and Vegans.

Caesar Salad at Sufood consists of leafy greens topped with walnuts, cherry tomatoes and raisins. What’s unique for this Caesar’s salad is that you can choose between a Caesar and BBQ dressing. Since this is a Caesar’s salad, I went for the Caesar’s dressing. Compared to other Caesar’s dressings, this one is lighter but still tasty. This dressing is also egg-less and made without dairy. However it uses garlics and onions.

New Truffle Dishes

Due to its distinct flavour, black truffle is fast infiltrating most menus (immediately truffle fries comes to mind) to become a trend ingredient! Unsurprisingly, this highly popular black diamond has also made its way onto Sufood’s menu. But Sufood did not include the black truffle for its trendiness. Apart from the taste, Sufood is interested in this delicacy because it is protein rich and contains over 18 kinds of amino acids, making it a healthy and nutritious ingredient. Currently, you can look forward to two truffle dishes- Cream of Wild Mushroom Soup with Black Truffle and Grain Rice with Mushroom and Truffle Grain.

This is a creamy mushroom soup drizzled with truffle oil and served with a toasted bread topped with shaved black truffles. As Sufood does not use corn starch in their soups, this cream soup is lighter than its peers, which pleases me. However, the truffle flavour is very subtle so it might disappoint truffle fans. If taken as a mushroom soup, it is pretty tasty. Dairy and onions are used in this soup.

This is a simple dish of grain rice with truffle oil then served with fresh mushrooms. As with the soup, the truffle flavour is faint. For me, this is an average dish.

Desserts

Finally, folks who must avoid alcohol can enjoy a tiramisu! While the standard tiramisu uses mascarpone cheese, coffee and alcohol, Sufood has made a good tiramisu without the alcohol. This being a cake, we can’t avoid eggs and milk so it’s a pity Vegans and Lactose intolerant foodies can’t join us in this indulgence. For your information, Sufood is totally alcohol free so they do not even use Chinese wine in their dishes.

Chef’s Recommendations & Popular Dishes

Other than above new dishes, Sufood also has some evergreen dishes that many regular patrons come back time and again for. Among these, I will recommend their Star Pizza, Lion’s Mane Mushrooms with Black Pepper Sauce and Roselle Jelly Yoghurt.

Evergreen Mains

The Lion’s Mane Mushroom is the dish I love most at Sufood. It is also one that redefined my perception of a meatless meal. I used to think of a meatless meal as one that serves mock meat. In other words, a vegetarian meal is one that features meat dishes cooked without meats. But Sufood is so confident of their dishes that they do not try to dress the dishes as meats. So instead of Mock Black Pepper Steak, you have the dish as it is- Lion’s Mane Mushroom with Black Pepper Sauce.

To be honest, this dish is not without its flaws. Firstly, the portion is not big enough to serve as a meal on its own although it is sufficient as part of a 6 or 8 course set meal. Secondly, the side of tomato spaghetti is so lacklustre it is almost redundant except that I do need some carbohydrates for a balanced meal. But the star of the dish, Lion’s Mane Mushroom is just too good.

Lion’s Mane Mushroom is so named because it has numerous soft spines/beards that mimic a lion’s mane. When properly softened by slow cooking, this mushroom will give a meaty and textured mouthfeel, making it a good meat or seafood substitute. Using this fact, Sufood expertly boiled the mushroom to soften it before mixing in eggs and seasoning then fry it. It is then served in a homemade black pepper sauce (not the best but good enough) to yield one of the most delicious mushrooms I have tasted.

The Star Pizza is really aptly named; it has a star shape and is also one of the star dishes here. I am not someone who will ever order a vegetarian pizza at pizzerias but because I have heard raved reviews of it, I had to try it to satisfy my curiosity. I am glad I did. It may be just a medium crust pizza topped with oyster mushrooms, cream cheese, mustard sauce and salted seaweed, but the combination is perfect.

Recommended Dessert

This is an excellent dessert that I will definitely order again! Here we have a Roselle flavoured jelly topped with yoghurt and almond bits, served cold. It is a light and healthy dessert that puts no burden even on those who are dieting.