Vege Creek (Da’an District, Taipei) – ★★★★

Quick Check:

• Quality: ★★★★  – Very Good
• Type: Vegan Friendly; Taiwanese, Ramen
• Location:  Near Sun Yat Sen MRT Station, Da’an District, Taipei, Taiwan
• Hours: Mon-Sun, 12-2pm (lunch), 5-9pm (dinner)
• Price: $$ – Moderate (Cash Only)
• Website: Restaurant Website, HappyCow Page
• Language Barrier:  Items labeled in English, staff speak some English

About, Location & Contact:

Vege Creek is an all-vegan restaurant located in the Da’an district of Taipei, Taiwan, near Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall.  It has an unusual concept:  You choose your ingredients off the wall, and the chef prepares a dish using them.  The total price is determined by which ingredients you choose.

Address & Contact:

• English: 2, Lane 129, Yanji Street, Da-An District, Taipei, Taiwan
• Chinese: 大安區延吉街129巷2號, Taipei, Taiwan
• Transportation Access:  Near Sun Yat Sen MRT Station (Blue Line)
• Phone Number: +886 2-2778-1967

 Google Map:

Restaurant Review:

Vege Creek is an all-vegan restaurant with a very unique atmosphere.  There’s no menu in the traditional sense: Instead, you choose your ingredients from the walls!  When I visited, one wall was lined with glass cups filled with various greens, while another had an arrangement of metal baskets filled with seasonal vegetables,  mushrooms, vegan “meats,” and various toppings (nori flakes, etc).

 

Every metal bowl is labeled with the names and prices for each ingredient it contains.  The total cost is the some of the cost of your ingredients. After I chose my vegetables, I could choose from 5 tiles, each of which represented a different noodle choices. The tiles had both Chinese and English written on them, so you’ll know what you’re choosing. (My photos in this post are poor-quality, unfortunately, since I took them at night.  I high recommend checking out this Chinese-language blog for way better photos!).

After you’re finished choosing, you go to the front, give the chef your ingredients, and he’ll ring you up.  Then, he’ll cook a dish using the ingredients you’ve chosen. My friend and I received hot, delicious bowls of ramen!

 

Everything is very modern:  it’s very simple with lots of exposed metal, cement and  light wood. Dining is communal:  There’s just one long wooden table, encircled in tall bar stools, placed at the center of the room.  Unfortunately it can only seat about 10-12 people at a time, which means that you may have to wait for a seat when you arrive.  My friend and I visited at 8 on a weekday and were able to get 2 seats, but we had to wait for about 10 minutes for room to open up.

However, even if you have to wait, I highly recommend visiting here.  The service is excellent – there’s only one server and he patiently helped my friend and I to understand how to choose our ingredients.  The spare decor perfectly mirrored the focus on simple, fresh ingredients, and the communal atmosphere was really refreshing.  The food was simple but really delicious, and overall it’s a very unique restaurant that’s definitely worth visiting.