Asian | vegan food and living in Los Angeles

Dec

vegan vietnamese at vinh loi tofu

by miss anthrope

the best tofu you will ever eat lives in reseda.

fried tofu (lemongrass and chili) $1.25

it is a good time to be a vegan and live in the san fernando valley. they’ve got everything over there. follow your heart, madeleine’s bistro, hugo’s tacos and a slew of vegan thai huts. i didn’t think the valley could possibly offer anything better than all of that. well, i was wrong. after months of putting it off because i didn’t want to make the drive to reseda, i finally checked out the 100% vegan vietnamese restaurant and tofu factory, vinh loi tofu.

you see, foodeater over at to live and eat in la (the vegan blog i frequent most) had been singing the praises of this place forever. she has gone on and on about the noodles, soups, sandwiches, even the non-GMO soy beans. i kind of took it all with a grain of salt, thinking, how good could some vegan asian food be….right? i get plenty of that! well, i was wrong. all the stuff she said was 100% true. vinh loi tofu is an odd gem in an a huge sea of fried udon, faux meat and salty broth. i can’t possibly describe to you how fucking good it is.

it’s the kind of food that you start chomping on with another person and for the next half hour the conversation is littered with outbursts like, “no, really this is so fucking good,” “….i know, right? god this is amazing,” “wow, this food is much better than i thought would be…” and then various chewing noises.

the best thing i tasted from vinh loi tofu was of course the tofu itself. created in the tofu factory within the restaurant by the mad scientists/chefs/magicians, the soybean concoction that vinh loi comes up with is utterly perfect. and when they fry it up with lemongrass and chili for just a buck 25, it’s enough to have you on your bloody knees begging for more.

vinh-loi-tofu-cu vegan vietnamese at vinh loi tofu

but that’s just the tofu. they have tons of other drool-worthy dishes on the big, vegan, vietnamese menu. stuff that looks like run-o-the-mill asian foodz like noodles, soups and rice dishes are completely reinvented.

house special duck soup: yellow noodles with bean curd seasoned in a duck broth. $8.50

the duck soup (everything is totally vegan, so need to even ask) was insanely delicious. flavorful meat with delicately cooked noodles, swimming in a savory broth. garnished with fresh vegetables, this garlicky and spicy dish was honestly i think the best soup i’ve ever had. seriously, it’s true! i know you won’t believe me…unless you’ve had it as well.

same goes for the stir-fried udon noodles. cooked up in the most scrumptious sauce, covered with thick faux meat and fresh chilis, this dish packed so much flavor and so much heat. i really don’t think we knew what we were getting into. a fight went down and spoonful was divided until the bitter end.

stir-fried udon: wheat noodles stir-fried with chicken or beef, tofu and vegetables. $9

and, ummm….not to sound like a broken record, but the veggie spring rolls were also the best ever.

veggie spring rolls (3): green leaves and shredded fried tofu wrapped in rice paper. served with coconut sauce. $4

most spring rolls have a clear, thin and moist skin. not these. the wrappers on these were thick, tough and stretchy. the vegetables were crisp and the fried tofu was all kinds of wow. 3 of these could easily be a meal on their own. they are also packed with a lot more food than most rolls. all the ingredients must be shoved in so tight, because there is so damn much inside.

vinh-loi-rolls-cu vegan vietnamese at vinh loi tofu

seriously, if you are a vegan in los angeles you can’t say shit about anything until you’ve tried vinh loi tofu. they take a cuisine (vegan asian food) that is usually so meh, and they make it spectacular. i don’t think i’ve ever in my life eaten soup, noodles, spring rolls, or tofu that has gotten me so enthusiastic. i mean, i love talking shit on restaurants. but i just can’t with vinh loi tofu. there is nothing negative to say.

even the owner, kevin tran was working the counter when we went in. chatting away to customers and answering all kinds of questions about the food, he was more friendly and helpful than any restaurant owner i’ve ever seen in action.

vinh-loi-int vegan vietnamese at vinh loi tofu

PLUS, owner kevin tran was even sporting a shirt picturing the webmaster of quarrygirl.com, the one and only tofu robot. we knew we were in good hands. here is a spy iphone pic to prove it:

kevin tran, owner of vinh loi tofu wearing a shirt picturing tofu robot, the mascot of quarrygirl.com

so no matter where you live in la, vegans, make the bloody drive to vinh loi tofu. they are in the valley, so of course, they are located in a strip mall. kevin excitedly told us though, that they were planning on opening a restaurant in silver lake. oh how awesome that would be. we can only hope.

vinh-loi-ext vegan vietnamese at vinh loi tofu

vinh loi tofu
18625 Sherman Way #101
Reseda, CA 91335
(818) 996-9779

asian, noodles, soup, spring rolls, tofu, tofu robot, vietnamese

183

Nov

zen palate: speedy vegetarian in nyc

by miss anthrope

NYC, more restaurants (not LA)

quarrygirl’s tour of nyc continues! in this installment, we’re here to tell you all about a cozy little chinese joint in manhattan called zen palate.

you see, here in los angeles when you hear “vegan asian food”, you probably think of one of the 975,000 vegan thai restaurants that are so popular here. well, nyc is packed full of vegan options that aren’t thai food: chinese, korean, malaysian, you name it! what a relief.

granted these places are usually a lot more expensive than the thai ones i’m used to here in la, it’s usually pretty easy to sneak in on a lunch special and get a fixed price meal for not a lot of money. zen palate, a semi-fancy chinese vegetarian restaurant located right in the hustle and bustle of midtown, has a pretty good deal going where during the day, you can get an appetizer, rice and a tasty entree for just under ten bucks. plus, the menu has tons of vegan options and anything that contains dairy or eggs is clearly marked. my husband and i had to check it out.

shredded melody (with taro spring rolls and rice): shredded soy protein stir-fried with celery, carrots, zucchini, & pine nuts in a light garlic sauce. $9.50

my husband ordered the shredded melody, which was definitely the favorite at the table. it had so many vegetables, delicious and garlicky sauce with thin strips of soy meat. plus, it came with pine nuts…which i love and have never ever eaten an asian dish. seriously, so good. the taro rolls were delicious as well, albeit fried and pretty unhealthy tasting.

shredded-melody-cu zen palate: speedy vegetarian in nyc

i opted for the tofu delight, because i love black bean sauce, and it was pretty good as well.

tofu delight (with taro spring rolls and rice): soft tofu with zucchini & tomatoes in a black bean sauce. $9.50

the tofu was soft and silken, but cooked sooooo nicely. i think they must have fried it, because the outside got kinda crispy and developed a bit of a skin, but the inside stayed fluffy and white. the black bean sauce was delicious as well, and perfectly coated the yummy array of vegetables. so lovely to have vegan chinese food for a change, and not have to worry about anything icky like fish stock or even cross-contamination.

zen-palate-tofu-delight-cu zen palate: speedy vegetarian in nyc

overall, zen palate was lovely. judging by the menu, it may be a bit pricey for dinner, but their lunch specials are a deal and a half! the service is great as well, they were happy to accommodate my obsessive orders that nothing contain bell peppers, and they were quite knowledgeable about veganism upfront about their ingredients. plus the food came out in like 5 minutes….now that i like!

so check out zen palate when you visit nyc for some fast, tasty, no-brainer chinese food. ahhhhh, such a welcome rest from all this los angeles thai fare.