Yet another Vietnamese place with plant-based items on its menu makes an appearance. I am convinced that this must be the most compassionate people on the planet and surely it goes to the Buddhist culture that is strong in Vietnam. Why do I say that? It's because every second or third place that we visit and review is Vietnamese. Many of the fully vegan restaurants in Metro Vancouver are Vietnamese. It doesn't hurt our feelings as we love Vietnamese food!
Located adjacent to Rona in the strip mall at King George and 148th in South Surrey, we realized that we had gotten take out soup here from the previous tenants at the height of the pandemic. Nha Toi opened somewhere around the beginning of February this year.
We started with the Veggie Spring Rolls, marked as vegan on the menu. These were a notch up from the spring rolls that we usually experience partly due to the mung bean paste that was part of the filling. They were crispy and hot and served with a wonderful dipping sauce.
With Vietnamese vegan cuisine, we have had startlingly good faux meats in the past. Today was no exception. With the Vegan Vermicelli Bowl there was a vegan ham that was fried crispy and very good. It actually put us in mind of spam. Between the noodles, crispy tofu, greens and a tasty sauce, we were pretty happy with the offering.
The Vegan Noodle Soup was also a treat. With a variety of faux meats in a tasty broth and lots of noodles, we were content with this version of pho. There was some serious substance here without the animal stuff being involved.
The soup came with a nice variety of fresh stuff to add, beyond the usual, of bean sprouts and herbs. The leafy variety of coriander was new to us but familiar tasting. We used it in the soup of course but ate some right off the plate like rabbits.
We find that quite a few restaurants that make the effort to offer at least some vegan options can't figure out the dessert part so we are thrilled when there is something available. The Deep-fried Banana Cake was wonderful. The batter on the bananas was light and crispy while the sauce was rich but not overly sweet with coconut and tapioca. Try to order this to eat immediately rather than to go!
I'm not sure how the partnership works but NT is serving Truedan who specialize in brown sugar and bubble tea drinks. We tried a couple including this coffee milky drink which was prepared as a plant-based beverage. It was very tasty although this is not really my area of expertise (nor is anything else now that I think about it).
The cafe is light and airy and nicely decorated. We loved the tables which were a sort of faux wood with burned-in logos. The folks there (the owners) were very friendly and promised more vegan items on the menu if we could get more vegans to visit! Sounds like a reasonable arrangement!
Food 4 1/2 out of 5
Vegan Options 3 1/2 out of 5
Comfort 4 out of 5
Service 4 1/2 out of 5
Value 4 1/2 out of 5
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