We love this year's Plant Curious Plant-Based Deals Book even more than last year's. This year's book is less expensive to purchase, has more deals, and is valid for a longer period of time! Why haven't you bought yours yet! There are a few places in the book that we have never been to and didn't know about. Sushi Maro was on our list already but the book saved us a few bucks!
SM, which is located on Mainland in Yaletown. It is not a vegan restaurant but has a whole separate vegan menu and we love that!
We started with Ohitashi because I had never heard of it! This is a naturally vegan dish (unless you add bonito flakes) of blanched spinach and broth, flavored with soy sauce. It was very good.
The Vegan Bento Box gives a nice little cross-section of tasty items and comes with miso soup on the side. The deep-fried tofu was lightly battered and just crispy and the teriyaki sauce made it flavourful. A nice little salad, some crispy veggie tempura and a yam tempura roll rounded out the box. A pretty good lunch at $13.50. We were impressed except the yam roll left a little to be desired. Yam is a bit too much on the mushy side to be the subject of a roll and didn't seem to be very tempura. It didn't do much for us.
We tried all the nigiri that they had to offer. The avocado was predictable but tasty enough and we are always fans of Onigiri. The salmon (I think it is tomato) had an interesting texture and flavour which made it a nice bite. I don't think a pescatarian would be fooled but that's not really the point.
So we tried 3 of the Chef's Special Rolls which officially made us gluttons but allowed us to use our coupon! The first 2, kind of blend together a little bit. First, was the Mango Roll featuring, your guessed it...mango. I wasn't paying enough attention at the time but soy skin is a part of this and I'm not sure where. It was very fresh and bright with avocado, pine nuts and a mango sauce.
Next was the King Veggie Roll. More avocado and mango but this time with yam tempura. Again, the yam was not overly impressive. I think a little more tempura crispiness could have helped here and less actual yam which made the whole thing a little too sweet.
Finally, we had the Taste of Yaletown Roll. The centre of this one which is maybe vegan crab cake (?) is a little non descript and not very memorable. There was at least a spicy note with a bit of jalapeno and a splash of hot sauce on the top but it was still not our favourite thing.
The staff and service were friendly and quite attentive. We liked that the room was a bit cluttery feeling and maybe informal. They have a nice outdoor seating space. We are always happy that someone is making an effort to serve plant based food and we hope that they continue to refine the craft.
Food 3 1/2 out of 5
Vegan options 4 1/2 out of 5
Comfort 4 out of 5
Service 4 out of 5
Value 3 1/2 out of 5
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