• 3
• Miu Fat Chai - Tsuen Wan

first off, i have to admit that i'm usually at a loss as to what to order at old-school chinese vegetarian eateries, because: 1. my chinese isn't good, which leads to 2. the menu is almost always too extensive, with many dish names vague and indistinguishable, and 3. i usually don't like mock meats. this is exacerbated when i'm the only vegetarian in a group of diners with various aversions and who are there mainly to oblige my dietary choice. after poring through the menu, we decided to ask the staff for recommendations. the first was of the "everything is good" camp, rattling off a list, among which i only caught "barbecued eel" and some kind of "chicken" dish. the second one was more friendly and patient, offering suggestions when we said we preferred something lighter in taste and with more veggies. we eventually ordered three dishes: ee mien (flat noodles) with mixed mushrooms, steamed tofu in lotus leaf, and a vegetable medley pot recommended by the wait staff. (some of the english translations in the menu are not entirely accurate. if you don't read/speak chinese, i think you'd be safer accompanied by someone who does.) my aunt, an omnivore and a good cook, commented that the food was bland. while unmemorable in taste, the mushroom noodles and tofu were acceptable to me (i hardly add salt when cooking at home), excepting the tofu's rough texture and use of diced mock meats. what i found disappointing was the vegetable medley pot, which seemed haphazardly thrown together. it consisted mainly of "dong fun" (冬粉, vermicelli mung bean noodles) accompanied by bok choy, mushroom, black fungus, a little broccoli, kailan, chinese spinach, fake prawns. what i took to be tofu turned out to be white konnyaku(?), and there were many other chunks of konnyaku(?) in various shapes, textures and colours (pinkish-orange, beige, greyish) swimming around the pot, probably to represent different seafood? i was cringing inwardly throughout the meal. http://www.happycow.net/venueimages.php?vid=19763&i=121849 overall it was a "meh" experience. but i blame it on my inaptitude in ordering and am open to going back for its dim sum, which other reviewers seem to have enjoyed. (if anyone can recommend some veg-heavy, non-processed-mock-meaty dishes besides eggplant and monkey head mushroom, i'd be glad to hear from you.) the meal came up to hkd268, and was enough for dinner for 3, plus a takeaway lunch and dinner for one.