Taiwan is a progressive country in many ways, and its diet is no exception – setting aside its role in the creation and popularisation of international sensation pearl milk tea, the country also has a large vegetarian population. This is, in part, thanks to its strong foundation in Buddhism, whose teachings imply a meat-free lifestyle and simply-flavoured food. However, thanks to strong governmental advocacy of vegetarianism, many of the Taiwanese population actively practise vegetarianism, if even on an occasional basis.
Thousands of exclusively-vegetarian restaurants operate throughout the country, serving typical Taiwanese fare with food with the proteins typically replaced with vegetables like mushrooms, tofu, or gluten. Nowadays, even if vegetarians crave even something like Taiwanese-style fried chicken, it’s accessible if you’re willing to make an effort to search for it.
We heard of one style of dining in Taiwan whose menu is exclusively vegetarian, much to our surprise and curiosity. Dim sum (點心 – or “small eats”, which refers to the snack-like style of food served), also known as yum cha (飲茶 – literally, “drink tea”), is notoriously known for its meat-heavy plates, thanks to many of China’s iconic dishes often focusing on pork and pork fat for flavour. Already, we’ve tried a pork-free halal-certified dim sum in Malaysia, though it still achieves much of its savoury flavours from chicken or beef, which made us particularly curious as to how the same could be achieved with no meat at all. Keen to see how meat-free yum cha compares to its original counterparts, we didn’t hesitate at all in making the decision to go.
Making a Reservation
With so many of Taiwan’s population practising vegetarianism, it was no surprise that bookings are highly recommended for dim sum lunchtime sessions, especially on weekends. Reservations can be made over the phone, if you speak Chinese, though can also be made in Chinese, English, and Japanese via their website, which is a very straightforward process. Be advised that this site may not work to full capacity outside of Taiwan.
The Restaurant
Exceptionally clean, the restaurant is not as large as we expected. Located on the 2nd floor of the building just outside of Exit 8 of Songjiang Nanjing Train Station (松江南京站). It may be a little confusing to find, as the signage is a bit ambiguous – you must first enter a bakery, crossing the room to access the elevator on the other side. Don’t feel too intrusive, as it seems that the bakery staff are accustomed to this. When we were there, we found that the bakery shelves had been moved to clear a direct path between them and the cashiers, which to us seemed to emphasise that permission does not need to be requested if simply looking to access the upstairs restaurant.
While some people may still associate yum cha with wandering food carts or trays from which you choose your dishes, this is largely a declining practise due to space constraints and concerns regarding food wastage. Even in Hong Kong, where dim sum is strongly associated, many restaurants including larger and more formal establishments have gradually waned this out in favour of a more efficient system of ordering like in any other restaurant.
Yang Shin has a hard copy of the menu at the table for you to order from, which also includes some ala carte meals such as cooked meals and stir-fries, rice or noodles, and appetisers that are not typically found in yum cha carts. The menu has plenty of photography for reference, as well as names of the dishes in Chinese, Japanese, and English. You can find their full menu on their website, as well as a downloadable version, with a comprehensive list of prices, too.
Placing an order is easy – for even more efficient communication, there is a small block at the table which, depending on the image placed face-up, will call a waiter to your table who can help you with your enquiry. Options include a neutral resting state, if you’d like your water or tea refilled, and if you want your plates cleared.
The Food
The menu has icons for eggs and milk, to show which items are suitable for ovo- and lacto-vegetarians, with a majority of menu items actually catering for both. Those with soy and gluten sensitivities are advised to be vigilant, as Asia is still in early stages of awareness of such a concept.
There are too many so-called “must-eat” dim sum dishes for us to become too obsessive with our selection. We chose a variety of dishes including steamed, baked, and fried, so as to get a good idea of a variety of their dishes. As we made reservations via the English site, the servers that approached us had a little knowledge of English, though patience is still required if making more complex requests. For the most part, we pointed at the menu items, which was enough to communicate our order.
Typically, they ask which tea you’d like. As we’d noticed when enjoying our halal yum cha experience, the lower fat of a meat-free meal will mean a lighter tea such as jasmine is enough to cut through the richness.
Barbecue Vegetarian Pork Flaky Pastry Char Siu So (鬆化叉燒酥)
Traditionally, this dim sum is made of the typical char siu (barbecue pork) found in steamed barbecue pork buns – marinated, barbecued pork, cubed and cooked in a red sauce – then folded into a flaky pastry and baked. The meat in this vegetarian version was substituted with either firm tofu or gluten, but the sauce was so similar that the combination of the flavour and texture was convincingly delicious.
The unexpected star of the show, however, was the pastry. When served, you can already see each individual layer, thin as paper and layered like flower petals having risen from baking. Only the slightest pressure has to be applied before the pastry almost shatters against your teeth. An incredible start to the meal, it left us in anticipation for everything else we ordered.
Daylily and Lily Bulb Steamed Cheong Fun Rice Roll (忘憂百花腸)
Cheong fun is inarguably a yum cha staple. A batter of rice flour and water is steamed in a thin layer to form sheets, upon which any variety of fillings are layered and rolled within. This is usually dressed with a light soy sauce at the table. An excellent version has a thin, melty skin, with a balance between the quantity of filling and the skin.
Expectedly, the filling is often meat-based, but in this case we chose the daylily and lily bulb because of how uncommon such ingredients are normally for us back home. Here at Yang Shin, the rice flour seems to also be combined with a different starch, giving it a little more chew, but also more integrity, neither of which are bad. The filling has some savouriness like mushrooms have, with a little bit of sourness though not unpleasant. Like the first dish, this certainly doesn’t lose out to the original.
Deep-Fried Stuffed Mushroom Dumpling (家鄉鹹水餃)
The original of this dish consists of a glutinous rice flour dough wrapped around a pork mince filling, often with the addition of mushrooms as well. It’s then deep fried to give a crisp skin, a tender, chewy dough, and a savoury, meaty filling. Compared to many cheaper yum cha establishments, we delighted at how filled these dumplings were, resulting in a thinner skin that isn’t too chewy.
Due to the fineness of the pork mince and the skimpiness of the filling of the regular version, we found that we hardly missed the meat. With the flavour predominantly coming from the savoury mushrooms and a slight funk from what seemed like a fermented sauce, there was enough happening to make up for the lack of meat. Tasty!
Loofah Xiao Long Bao Soup Dumplings (絲瓜小籠包)
Soup dumplings (xiao long bao, 小籠包) are making waves internationally because of its uniqueness. Steamed dumplings with thin skins are filled with a meat filling such as pork mince, as well as a gelatinous broth which melts as it cooks, pouring out as a flavourful, lava-hot broth as you bite in. We were curious as to how they would recreate the liquid broth, as the low melting point of meat-based gelatin is so crucial to achieving the final product.
The use of cubed loofah was the final answer – like many gourds, water is expelled as it cooks, resulting in a juice which is refreshing and slightly sweet. While tasty, don’t expect it to be traditional – the dish did not aim to imitate meat at all, but focused on the juice. If you go in with the wrong expectations, it may be disappointing. While we enjoyed it, this wasn’t in our top dishes.
Steamed Dumplings with Vegetables and Mushrooms (田園蔬菜餃)
You can’t go wrong with dumplings. With such a variety of flavours available, we didn’t judge this one against any dumpling in particular, but rather enjoyed it as it was.
Despite how much skin there appeared to be, this wasn’t an issue at all, and the crunch of the green vegetables in addition to the savoury mushroom pieces made for a delicious dim sum.
Deep-Fried Pastry with Shredded Turnip (蘿蔔絲酥餅)
This dish originated in the Jiangsu Province, and consists of finely shredded turnips, often seasoned with shrimp and/or pork, wrapped in flaky pastry and deep-fried. The addition of meat as flavouring rather than a main component makes it easy to remove, resulting in a filling that’s tender and slightly sweet from the turnip.
While the juice from the turnips made the inner lining of the pastry unfortunately a little mushy, the outside is incredibly crisp and flaky, but the fineness of the layers gives a different texture to the first pastry. The bed of sesame that coats the underside of the pastry provides a subtle nuttiness which further elevates its depth of flavour. As such, another incredible dish, even if we thought it could have done with a touch more salt.
Steamed Pumpkin Dumpling with Porcini (牛肝蕈南瓜果)
Another choice, another dumpling. We chose this one as the combination of flavours sounded tasty, and it sure was.
It made use of the textural and flavour variations of pumpkins, mushrooms, and spring onions, to give crispness, creaminess, and bounciness, as well as an incredibly fragrant smell. Delicious.
Runny Custard Bun Liu Sha Bao (黃金流沙包)
Though normally vegetarian, it does contain eggs and milk. This dessert is comprised of a fluffy steamed bun filled with molten custard made with salted egg, which results in a sweet, salty filling that’s complex and almost a little savoury in the way that salted caramel might be. This is one of Jos’ favourite dim sum items, that is, if done right.
The custard was a little coconutty, eggy, salty, but predominantly sweet. Lacking the savoury oomph of a rich salted egg custard, it makes for a delicious plain custard bun, though not one of our top liu sha bao.
Deep-Fried Sticky Seaweed Rice Cake with Peanut Powder (海苔手札條)
Try as we might, we can’t think of a normal dim sum equivalent to this dish, which is why it intrigued us so much. Perhaps it’s more common in places outside of New Zealand, but it was certainly our first encounter with such a dish. It turned out to be a dough of glutinous rice flour and seaweed, wrapped around a red bean paste, deep-fried and rolled in peanut powder.
Fried red bean glutinous dumplings are a pretty common dish, and at first it was similar to that besides the addition of peanut powder. Then, nearing the end, the fragrance of the seaweed came through, and it was like eating a red bean paste wrapped with a sheet of crisp, toasted seaweed paper like you’d use for sushi. It was unusual and complex, but downright tasty – an experience in itself.
Final Thoughts
We had some expectations for Yang Shin, especially for its price point and atmosphere, but it walloped those expectations and far exceeded it. The ordering system ensured freshness, and the incredible care and expertise put into each dish was evident in the quality of the food. We were particularly impressed with all the doughs and pastries, whose textures rivalled the best versions of all the yum cha restaurants we’ve encountered, such as the fine layering of the flaky pastries or the thin skins of the dumplings.
Against our preconceptions, several of the dishes we ordered did not aim to fully replicate the original by creating meat-like substitutes, but instead recreated the dishes for a vegetarian diet while retaining key features of the original. We embraced this approach, and without a doubt enjoyed the experience enough that we’d look forward to returning if ever we were in Taipei. Even with how much we ate, it was light compared to the greasy food that’s otherwise common in Taiwan, and almost guilt-free. This is most definitely a recommended stop, especially for any vegetarians and vegans who are looking for a yum cha experience.
Yang Shin (養心茶樓 蔬食飲茶)
104, Taiwan, Taipei City, Zhongshan District, Songjiang Road, 128號2樓
Open daily for Lunch, Afternoon Tea, and Dinner sessions
English Website (also available in Chinese and Japanese)
Our Total Bill: NTD1136 (US$38)
