It looks like meat but it's verily veggie

Online Travel Vietnam: Thien Tam is usually packed with diners, particularly on the first and fifteenth days of the lunar month when even non-Buddhists turn to vegetarian food. Nguyen My Ha reports.

Of all the big towns and cities in Viet Nam, people in Hue set their own pace. It is generally calm and somehow conveys to outsiders the sense of a slow-moving picture. After losing its status as the kingdom's capital more than 60 years ago, Hue seems to be like a sleeping beauty in need of being awoken by an unexpected Prince Charming.

If you live in Hue, you don't have to travel all over the world to see the world. The world comes to you. The now popular Hue Festival will enjoy its 7th session next year, bringing to town some of the best artists and troupes from Russia to China, from Europe to America.

In Hue, even non-Buddhist people turn to vegetarian food on the first and fifteenth days of the lunar month. So after our trip to Hue's Tuong Van Pagoda, we went to lunch in a newly opened vegetarian restaurant.

Although I've been a devoted fan of Hue cuisine since a child, I never had the chance to taste the former royal city's delicious vegetarian specialities. So on a very hot day we sat down in Thien Tam Restaurant to a feast of many popular dishes, known even to those who are unfamiliar with food from Hue.

Thien Tam, or Tranquil Mind, was opened in February by an artist couple, Hoang Thanh Phong and Nguyen Thi Hue. Oil paintings by the husband adorn the restaurant's plain brick walls while silk paintings, the wife's medium, are barely visible on the ground floor. The restaurant has seating for 300 people on two floors, with the upper floor dedicated to monks.

We started with banh beo (VND14,000), made of rice flour and dried shredded ‘shrimp' that are actually made of tofu. The steamed round cakes are dipped in a yellowish sauce extracted from seaweed and finely chopped scallions.

Buddhist cooking prohibits the use of garlic and onions, so scallions, which are a member of the onion family, are used to replace garlic in the dipping sauce. On first bite I couldn't identify all of the ingredients but overall the cakes tasted good.

I was a vegetarian for a long time, but I did not find the need to create meat-like substances out of vegetarian ingredients. Fried tofu stirred in tomato sauce, boiled seasonal vegetables dipped in soy sauce and fermented tofu were enough for me. I was not a devoted Buddhist nor a vegan, so I still ate garlic and onions. And I was happy.

But our lunch at Thien Tam opened my eyes to the many things that can be made out of fruit and vegetables.

Banh beo, banh bot loc and banh nam, varieties of steamed and fried cakes, are always popular during any visit to a Hue restaurant. At Thien Tam we tried vegetarian banh bot loc which was made with a slice of fried tofu and crispy mushrooms instead of shrimp and sauteed pork.

Va tron (VND25,000), or fig salad made from finely sliced figs that were then squeezed, really impressed us. Roughly chopped roasted peanuts and sesame seeds enhanced the flavour when paired with fried ‘shrimp' cakes. We never could have guessed on our own that meat was not on the ingredients list.

We also tried tau hu hap (VND20,000), steamed tofu in tomato sauce and nam xao sa ot (VND35,000), stir-fried mushrooms with lemon grass and chili, which really made this mushroom and tofu fan's day. A Vietnamese meal on a hot day is never complete without a big bowl of soup for everyone to share. Canh chua (VND15,000), sour soup made with tomatoes, pineapple and bamboo shoots, put an end to the meal nicely.

Then desert was served. On first glance I was not impressed with the short glasses filled with yellow lotus seeds that were presented: che sen (VND10,000 a glass). As a big fan of Hue's sweet desserts, I'd tried almost every variety of the city's che during our visit but not the one made with lotus seeds as I've had it many times before and frequently cook it for my family on hot summer days in Ha Noi. My children love the chilled sauce sweetened with lotus seeds.

In that mindset, I took my first bite of the restaurant's che sen. I was awe struck at how good it tasted. The seeds were soft and glutinous, and tasted nothing like any of the lotus seeds I'd eaten in my life previously. I was thrilled that something so delicious could be made with two simple ingredients: lotus seeds and crystal white sugar. I asked to see and thank the chef, but was told I had to mention all three of the people behind the food: Nguyen Van Hung, Tran Thi Thanh Thuy and Nguyen Van Hoi.

Thien Tam is not only a restaurant, it is a destination for meetings, receptions and even weddings. It promotes good and kind living by not killing animals, by eating healthy, local food presented in an artful way, and therefore contributes to promoting Hue's long tradition of both royal and common cuisine.

If you just look at the prices on the menu and you're used to expensive meals in Ha Noi and HCM City, you won't believe that it's possible to find good food at such a modest price. But life in Hue is not as hectic as in the bigger cities. Money goes further in Hue.

I'm reminded of another eye-opening experience I had on the train from New York's Penn Station to a Vietnamese pagoda in Upstate New York many years ago, when I was offered vegetarian shredded beef by a monk, my companion on that trip. "Please try some, it's very good. It's imported from Taiwan," she said. To which I politely declined as I believed vegetarian food did not need to look, or taste, like meat. "And why on earth would a monk want to chew on fake meat after committing not to kill any living creatures?"

I can't answer that question, even now, but I would definitely return to Thien Tam for further enquiries.

Thien Tam Restaurant Address: 110A Le Ngo Cat, Hue Tel. (054)-389-8220 website: www.thientamrestaurant.com e-mail: thientamrestaurant@yahoo.com Comment: Healthy food in a zen-like atmosphere

Source: VNS