Shu Yuan Hobart City
Shu Yuan proves there is more to vegetarian cuisine than insipid salads and boring breadsticks. Fast and friendly, this lunchtime favourite is hidden in the Bank Arcade, in from the corner of Liverpool and Argyle Streets. With few Asian vegetarian options in Hobart, the tiny space attracts daily hordes of health and taste conscious Hobartians. There's a limited a la carte menu available with fragrant soups and stir fries, plus scrumptious cold snacks such as innovative rice paper rolls. However, by far the feature of the menu is the array of ever-changing, freshly cooked specials in the bain-marie.
If you don't know Chinese vegetarian then frankly you haven't lived. It's nothing like the poor excuse for a vegetarian meal a lot of restaurants throw in to the menu, rather it's made up of a combination of the tastiest, most textured and (sorry to say this) the meatiest range of stir-fries and curries. The cuisine was invented over centuries by Buddhists who were losing monks simply for want of flesh (the cooked variety) so to stem the flow they created meaty dishes from tofu, flour, mushrooms and spices. The results are not just spectacularly delicious, but incredibly healthy - this restaurant has been awarded by Eat Well Tasmania. It definitely warrants a visit.
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