Can Vege'ology's Plant-Based Noodles Flourish at Xiaoyun Lu?
We’ve heard good things about Vege’ology,
but we're worried about them. Just how popular can a vegetarian noodle
place get? Especially on a dark, narrow Food Street, surrounded by
eateries dishing out lunch for an average RMB 15? When we found out it's
located near the failed beer bar Craft Art & Craft Beer (check out
our less-than-satisfactory experience here), our doubts mushroomed.
It
takes a good ten minutes to walk to the end of the street, but you can
hardly miss Vege’ology when you get there. The sign is covered with fake
foliage, the front is painted green, and the outdoor dining area is
also light green, under large – yup – green umbrellas. Inside, there’s
the huge trunk of a real, 100-year-old tree (!) as well as modern
plastic chairs and tables dotted around it. You'll never guess what
color the tables are.
The original veggie noodle soup (RMB 38)
Fortunately,
the food is more subtle than the theme. There are eight kinds of
noodles on the menu, including pho, dry noodles, and noodle soups, as
well as soup salads (referred to by Vege'ology as "warm salads" perhaps
less than appetisingly). The original veggie noodle soup (RMB
38) contains an impressive variety of vegetables, including sweet
potato, bean sprout, lotus root, seaweed, broccoli, lettuce, mushroom,
and corn. The colored noodles are not soft like those you might find in
run-of-the-mill noodle joints due to the addition of whole wheat and an
infusion of wolfberry and wormwood. Surprisingly, none of these flavors
dominate, and thanks to the light vegetable stock, you can taste each
individual ingredient.
Slurping the noodles while gazing out, we
noticed their slogan on the door: “Plant-based, low carbs, good protein,
healthy diet.” And that's a fair description of the food we tried.
For drinks, there are two in-house made varieties (each RMB 12): red bean with coix seed water and lily with mung bean water,
both sugar-free. The former has coix seed boiled and cracked in the
water, blooming like a flower, and the red bean adds color to the drink.
After a sip, I felt the diehard toxins of my liver due to beer drinking
trying to get out of my body, and could practically hear them
screaming: “Damn, she’s switched to a healthy diet!”
The ambiance
is relaxing and modern, giving us space to ponder the puzzle of how a
pioneering plant-based restaurant could survive here. “It's just too
good, it should be in Hong Kong, Tokyo, New York … or Sanlitun.” But
seeing the delivery guys dashing in and out puts our mind at rest.
Vegetarian or not, your body can always use a healthy, detoxing meal.
Hopefully that'll be enough to sustain this Xiaoyun Lu gem.
Daily 10.30am-8pm
Food Street, Southeast of Yuanyang Xinganxian, 35 Xiaoyun Lu, Chaoyang District
朝阳区霄云路35号院远洋新干线东南侧美食街
178 0112 5097
Photos: Tracy Wang, Dianping.com
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