Karen and I decided to catch up one day over brunch. I always suggest brunch when we meet up because I love brunch but little did I know that Karen hardly even ate breakfast! Thanks Karen for indulging me in my brunch outings and for some great conversation as usual. The Naam was actually Karen’s choice of restaurant and although I had been there for dinner before, this was my first brunch visit. Many of you probably know of The Naam as a standard in Kitsalano and it is also quite well known for its vegetarian and vegan fare.

Even though I don’t usually seek out vegetarian restaurants, I still had a hard time deciding what to eat because everything just looked so tasty. After a great deal of deliberation, I finally decided on the Farmer’s Omelette, which was filled with veggie sausage, grilled zucchini, onions, mushrooms, tomatoes, and cheese. The omelette was very hearty and surprisingly filling even though there was no meat. Although I knew the sausage was a veggie version, it still had a nice texture that was similar to very lean sausage. I really enjoyed the abundant stuffing of veggies, which also went very well with the hot sauce, which was more like a salsa than hot sauce if you ask me. The omelette also came with a few slices of toast and some organic jam. At $9.95, the price was quite reasonable.

Karen decided to order the Tempeh Benny. Instead of an English muffin and ham, the poached eggs came served on a tempeh burger patty and was accompanied with spinach, miso gravy, and cheese. I learned from Karen that tempeh was actually pressed soybeans and has similar nutrients to tofu. Its taste is quite a bit stronger though and is also firm yet crumbly. I really enjoyed the miso gravy and it helped to bind the flavours of the egg and tempeh quite nicely. Along with the cheese and potatoes in this dish, it was really very filling and together, Karen and I were able to barely finish half of it. The Tempeh Benny was $10.95.

I quite enjoyed our brunch at The Naam. It was different from my usual brunch places and vegetarian food is actually a nice and light way to start a morning. The items we chose probably weren’t the lightest things we could have ordered though but it helped to make us feel better that what we were eating was vegetarian. Another good thing about The Naam is that even though it’s always very busy, it is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week so you can go there to satisfy your craving at any time of the day.

Details:
2724 W. 4th Ave, Vancouver
Tel: 604-738-7151

Summary:
Food: 3 out of 5 stars
Service: 2.5 out of 5 stars
Price: $$

It was my dad’s birthday and we decided to go a little low-key this year. My dad suggested Simply Vegetarian, a small vegetarian (duh!) restaurant at 8291 Ackroyd Road in Richmond. It has a variety of vegetarian versions of Asian dishes, including beef, pork, and fish items. Definitely an interesting place to go for a meal.

We started with the “beef short ribs and tendon”. I’m going to put most of the dishes in this review in quotes because they are all 100% vegetarian…not even any fish or egg products! What was especially cool about this dish was that the short ribs even had “bones” and the tendon not only looked like the real thing but even had the same texture. This was one of my favourite dishes of the evening.

The short ribs came with a side salad, kimchi, and a lychee jelly.

The pan-fried turnip cake was so-so. It was plain and had no sausages or dried shrimp so I found it a bit plain.

We also had a vegetarian version of a Taiwanese specialty: pork with pickled veggies in a steamed bun wrap. The taste was there but this was too messy for me. I even spilled some veggies on my pants!

Next, we had curried veggie patty with rice. I didn’t try this because I was starting to get full but I was told it was very good.

We also ordered a couple of crepe dishes. The first was “beef meatballs” with a light crepe…similar to the ones used for Peking duck. The “beef meatballs” were very tasty and kind of even tasted like beef!

Next came “pork chop” with crepes. I liked the beef meatballs more but the pork chop tasted even more like pork. It was also easier to wrap with the crepe.

We also had deep fried tofu with spinach and black bean sauce. Nothing too special about this but it was still good…especially with rice.

Next came a veggie hotpot dish. The interesting thing about this was that instead of cooking the veggies in a broth or stock, it was cooked in soy milk! This gave the veggies (mushroom, taro, and spinach) a slightly creamy taste and was very different from what I was used to normally.

The last time I was here, I wanted to order the veggie “oysters” but was told it would take 30 minutes to make and I was too hungry to wait. This time, we ordered it right at the beginning and it didn’t arrive for at least 45 minutes! Inside was a blend of spinach, basil, and tofu. It didn’t taste like oysters but the texture was spot on. This was also served with a tangy miso-like dip.

The food at Simply Vegetarian was very enjoyable, just like the first time I went there. It was very interesting and fun to see how regular meat dishes were served up vegetarian style. I also found the items to be very different and tasty. The only downside to this place is that the service is minimal to non-existent. It took forever for us to flag down a server and the food took ages to come. As long as you keep this in mind and you are not too hungry to wait for your food to come, it is definitely a place to check out. The prices are also very reasonable. Six of us were full and had leftovers for $86 after tax and tip.

Details:
135-8291 Ackroyd Rd, Richmond
Tel: 604-278-0852

Summary:
Food: 4 out of 5 stars
Service: 1.5 out of 5 stars
Price: $