Two hungry herbivores in Taipei (Part 1)

Published on Saturday, September 24, 2011 Leave your thoughts »

There is no shortage of food selection in Taipei when it comes to vegetarian options.
I'm going to introduce a couple of my favourites so far.

So Free, Wood Fired Pizza, No.1 Ln.50, Sanshui St., Wanhua District

This adorable pizza place is in Ximending, a "fashionable" district filled with younger people. (Lots of unique shopping, restaurants, nightlife, etc - more about this later.) My lovely mother found this place all on her own and has since been trying to convince everybody she knows to join her here. She's right though; they do make some tasty thin-crust pizzas with special toppings. The pizzas are individual-sized but if you're not monstrously hungry, it could most likely feed two people.

We split a Mushroom Asparagus Pizza between the two of us.

Other choices on the menu include "Smoked Cheese Pizza," "Rosemary Potato Pizza," "Apple Cinnamon Pizza," "Korean Kimchi Pizza," and "Ginger Superman Pizza." Clearly, we opted for the least adventurous choice. Next time around, I'll definitely have to try out one of their dessert pizzas.

Landi (Lan de) Pasta, 1F No.7 Wenhua Road, Yonghe District

Classy and vibrant atmosphere. I like the huge arch windows spanning entire walls of the restaurant because they make you feel connected to the busy street and bright lights outside. This is not technically a vegetarian restaurant but I know that they make veggie versions of the dishes on their menu and they are kind and happy to take your request.

Here's my dinner, Butter Rice and Mushroom Casserole!

Creamy, gooey goodness.

Cafe India, Food Court of Shin Kong Mitsukoshi (新光三越) No.66 Sec.1 Zhong Xiao W. Road

I was wandering aimlessly around the food court and could not resist when I saw the dishes in the display. Their menu is not strictly vegetarian but they have at least 6-7 veggie options. I ordered a Spinach Cheese Paneer which came with soup, salad, na'an bread, and rice.

Take a look at the display below. I would say it's a little pricey by Taiwanese standards, $200-300 NT, around $10 CAD. I think this type of cuisine is a less common in Taiwan, hence the inflated price. The paneer was worth the money though!

Da-Ai Vegetarian Food Court, Tzu-Chi Hospital No.289 Jianguo Road, Singdian City, Taipei County

I admit that it seems odd to list a hospital food court as a lunch destination but if you've seen this place, you'll understand. They have a wide variety of cuisines such as Thai food, Congee, Italian food, pastries, and more. The lobby upstairs usually has music performances around lunch time with volunteers (or possibly special guests) playing traditional Taiwanese music/instruments as well as piano and violin. There are also booths and a large gift shop selling environmentally friendly products, non-profit CDs, children's books, etc. This has been our lunch destination for the past 4 days consecutively and I'm still not tired of it yet! There is also a snacks/treats shop and a bakery in the food court. The food court is strictly vegetarian and all dishes listed below with "meat" titles are imitation meat.

Fish sticks with peppers in sweet and sour sauce. I apologize for the out-of-focus photos, I'm still figuring out my new camera and all its tricks.

Thai chicken red curry. The chicken is hidden beneath the generous amount of curry sauce.

White turnip soup with carrots, tofu, and fishballs.

Rice and cucumber casserole. Yum, casseroles are definitely in my top ten favourite foods in case you couldn't tell.

Chicken strips in sweet soy sauce. In my opinion, the flavouring of this chicken strongly resembles actual meat.

Here's the bakery I mentioned earlier.

Believe it or not, all of these are veggie buns. I am particularly fond of the veggie hotdog bun. Both of these need to be eaten while they are fresh, as they will go bad within 1 or 2 days even if refrigerated. (I believe due to lack of preservatives.) The sweet patries and cakes don't have this problem.