Amid the bustling alleys in the hostess bar district near Linsen North Road, it's easy to walk past one of the best vegetarian spots in town because it's concealed on the third floor in a concrete, office-like building on Changchun Road. But the Spring Natural Vegetarian Restaurant is worth the journey through the urban maze, for it provides an array of vegetarian delights that taste just as good as meat, if not better, at reasonable prices.
The interior design of the restaurant makes it look like an upscale version of the organic/vegetarian eateries scattered around narrow alleys in the city. The restaurant has a comfortable and clean looking dining space with its beige table sets and charcoal gray stone floor. Even though the restaurant has eight private rooms for reservations and luxurious set meals, its main attraction is the buffet section which features a broad selection of salad, cold appetizers, soups, main courses, drinks and desserts.
The various greens on the salad plates are either organic vegetables imported from abroad, or locally grown vegetables. Serving environmentally friendly food means the eatery naturally has higher costs, but this pays off with the quality of the food. The salads are fresh, crispy and juicy. You can get a healthy feeling just by looking at it. For appetizers, you can get peculiar looking dishes such as nutrition-rich coral grass (珊瑚草) and the valuable plant tian shan hsueh lian (天山雪蓮) seasoned with honey and sweet osmanthus sauce.
PHOTO: HO YI, TAIPEI TIMES
The selection of soups and drinks should satisfy the most health-conscious customer, who can tuck into chlorophyll and wheat grass juice and Chinese herbal soups.
As for the main courses, signature dishes include kung-pao monkey head mushroom (宮保猴頭菇) and Chinese toon tree leaves Tofu (香椿豆腐). Both are ingenious creations by the chefs who blends fresh ingredients with herbal seasoning. The resulting taste is simply divine. You can also choose a vegetable and ask the chef to cook it for you on the spot.
The service is attentive and the owner Zhu Xiu-qing (朱秀卿) is often found talking to the customers about the food. Zhu told me instead of tap water, they use purified water produced by US-patented purifiers to clean all the food and cook the noodles and rice.
Business at Spring Natural is good even on the weekdays, so it is recommended to make a reservations beforehand. Otherwise, you'll have to wait outside for a long time to get a seat.
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