Mother Chu's Vegetarian Kitchen

Mother Chu's is always delicious and a favourite when I visit Sydney.

for a cheap feed this is quite a good restaurant. the food isn't anything to rave about but its pretty good.

Classic Chinese and Taiwanese veggie food.
Nice staff.
Old fashooned/budget decor.

We went here on the basis of other reviews, however, I wish we had chosen one of the hundreds of other options that were located around this place. When you first order you have to pay straight away. This is probably to stop you from not paying due to the horrible food. I had tofu with vegetables which consisted of 10 pieces of old, deep-fried tofu sitting on what what seemed liked half a kilo of raw bean sprouts and topped with 6 slices of cucumber, with a tiny bit of soy sauce drizzled over top. My husband ordered stir-fried vegetables which came out swimming in some watery, flavourless sauce and appeared to have been cooked days ago and reheated. Same with the boiled rice which tasted like it was days old and reheated. I love rice, yet it was inedible as was most of our meals. I think we managed to eat around a quarter of each meal (and one mouthful of rice), only because we were so hungry, before we felt ill. We actually went and got a coffee somewhere else afterwards just to get the awful taste of the food out of our mouths. Greasy and tasteless food that was not cheap as I could get something delicious for that price elsewhere. SO disappointed, we definitely won't be going back.

Food is so so good

I love this restaurant. It's food is consistently good, no matter what dish I try. The staff are always so friendly and helpful. I love the fact that there is often an elderly member of the family spending time in the restaurant just doing their own thing, the last time we went the grandmother was doing seated tai chi, which really gave us a sense of authenticity.

Highly recommend the avocado soup, the deep fried nori rolls, the fried pumpkin with gluten, and the tofu clay pots. The serves are generous and always filling. I haven't had a bad dish yet.

Close to public transport and the centre of the CBD

For the amount of food you get, i don't think the price is unreasonable. Decor nothing fancy, but if you want fancy decor, there are plenty of other restaurants that might suit your taste.

The veggies are ok, the fries could be better.

Mother Chu's in Pitt st Sydney is awesome if you like Chinese/Taiwanese vegetarian food.
I recommend crispy tofu with miso sauce for starters, they have fresh juices by the way. Tofu roll with back beans sauce & ginger is my favourite
There is a multitude of choices.

Simple decor not flash. But nice friendly service and good classic Chinese food, done without meat. Lots of options so will definitely go back to try out some of the others.

Amazing amount of vegan options, some honey in a couple of the meals so watch out for those.
Tofu, noodles, gluten based mock meats and heaps of veges. Amazing flavours. More than enough rice for 4 people. Great friendly service. Yum ginger tea too.
Updated from previous review on Monday April 28, 2014

I've been going to Mother Chu's for decades. The food is consistently fresh, wholesome and filling and there is a wide variety of choices.

I liked this restaurant. It has an extensive menu and the food tastes good. It's not the best food I ever had, but well worth having. I ate a sizzling gluten, which was a little too sweet for me, but good anyway.

This is a place I've been to a couple of times on previous visits to Sydney but not for a while so my memory was a bit vague. It has a fairly plain setup with Formica tables in various configurations. The menu is extensive, although I noticed that some dishes had versions under different categories, such as the soy bean roll, which, in addition to its standard entry, also had variations under 'steaming' and 'clay pot'. We ordered the standard plus a miso clay pot with tempeh and steamed rice. The soy bean rolls were quite delicious, a little hot and accompanied by spring onions in a dark sauce. The miso dish on the other hand really didn't work for us: the broth was weak without much flavour and this left big hunks of crisp vegetable (including non-tender cauliflower and cabbage) to fend for themselves. The moral: be selective and look for recommended dishes (the soy rolls being one of which we took heed). We opted for a banana fritter (there are also apple and pineapple) with a scoop of mango soy ice cream plus one scoop each of passion fruit and mango soy ice cream. Very nice. All up this cost us $60 (including my freshly squeezed OJ and my partner's lemonade), which took me a little by surprise but is by no means outrageous. I'm not sold on this place yet but the menu's big enough that I'll come back and try it again

It's a good atmosphere, and the food is pretty good too.

Quite yum. Good price. Friendly service. Highly recommended.

This is a great dairy free, egg free, msg free vego restaurant, lovely people as well and a huge menu.
Try the hot pots they are really delicous...no that is not a prawn on top!! :)

Tastey noodles and Vegs. Curry puffs were very good too.

Nice staff, good location, all around good spot.

Probably not the most healthy thing in the world, but super tastey.

We went to Mother Chu's for both dinner and lunch the next day during a recent trip to Sydney. The food and vibe was fantastic both days. The serves were good size but not huge - we had three dishes plus rice to share between the two of us which was plenty! In particular I loved the way the veggies were cooked.

All meals are vegan except three which contain honey which is a real plus for a travelling vegan!

They don't serve or allow alcohol there which may be an issue for some. We look forward to returning next time we're in Sydney!

Nice place very friendly people food excellent

Of all the vegan/vegetarian restaurants I've ever been to, nothing quite compares to the food at Mother Chu's. I have been going to Mother Chu's for 14 years and I have never left disappointed.

Granted, there have been a couple of dishes over the years that were a bit too strange for me (both times, mock fish dishes), but even these were still tasty and my partner (who is not vegetarian) enjoyed them. However, this is only two dishes out of probably hundreds by now. All the others have been a joy to savour, and we have never left anything uneaten.

You must try the salt and pepper tofu, which is my favourite. Also the crispy gluten, flat rice noodles, tempura sweet potato, and the tofu with shitake mushrooms. The seaweed and moss soup, as a starter, is also a delight.

It can become very busy, but the food usually comes out fairly quickly. It is easy to rack up a bit of a bill, but then again, people who don't usually eat at vege restaurants think I am mad for thinking it is slightly expensive - it really is cheap compared to most places. We are always a group of 4, and we usually spend about $75.

Mother Chu is always sitting in the corner, keeping an eye on things. I would go so far as to say Mother Chu's is a bit of an institution in the veg*n dining world of Sydney, and I cant for the life of me understand why it has only 4 cows for a rating! 5 cows from me and long live Mother Chu!

As a westerner with little experience of Chinese Food I found the menu over whelming, ordered Tofu with cabbage and Curry Rice, which was really tasty!
Only problem was trying to work out what to order for my Gluten Free partner, as their menu doesn't suggest GF options. A separate GF Menu would be helpful!
This meant the Tofu was Steamed not Fried so it absorbed none of the sauce flavour and was a bit unappetising. Also were charged an extra $2 for the sauce to be made GF.
I think it was a little pricey for a backpacker (The conversion from GBP to AUD isn't good)
But the food was very tasty and seemed like popular place.
Beware the opening hours Closed between 3pm-5pm and Sundays I think.

Also I asked if the food was vegan, and was told it is all vegan, but I saw they use Honey in lots of the Dishes, so this might be a consideration for Vegans to think about!

During a recent trip to Sydney to celebrate my 30th birthday with 6 other friends (my husband & I are vegans, our group included 2 veggies, 1 ex-veggie and 2 omnivores) we all tried this place out on the first night when starving and a little drunk - and were delighted with our find! The food was wonderful with so much variety - the omnivorous ones loved their cheat meats and the rest of us reveled in delicious, simple but amazingly tasty stir fried veg, tofu and gluten in a variety of spicy sauces with yummy fried rice and noodles on the side. We liked it so much we all went back again before we left! Highly highly recommended. Prices very very reasonable too,e specially given it's central location.

In downtown Sydney in the shadows on Pitt street (close to Central) is Mother Chu's.

Convenient opening times means lunch at 3pm is no problem.

Only been there once, and it was OK. The food was fresh and presented well. Tasted nice, nothing wrong at all. But nothing flash either.

Overall, a good standard chinese vegetarian meal, wholesome but not pretentious.

The menu was extensive, and the food that I had was fine (and arrived without delay -- some other reviewer seemed to complain about this aspect). Everything was satisfactory. What elevates my rating from 4 stars to 5 stars is the dessert I had: mango "ice cream". This, of course, is made from soy products and is vegan, but it tastes just like real ice cream and is the best I have ever had. You must go this restaurant for this one treat alone. Don't miss it. The next time I am in Sydney I will go to Mother Chu's

Mother Chu's is a great place to take the kids -- especially if their grandparents live interstate, because old mother is always sitting at the back folding wonton papers, or just taking in the atmosphere. The food ranges from exceptional to not so good, so your experience there really depends what you order. I had a mushroom ball thing there once that was amazing. We also tried the peking duck once, though -- which has to be ordered a day in advance -- and I was left wondering what the fuss was about. The menu's so big there, on the other hand, that you could spend many visits trying out everything on offer, and I think it's worth doing. On balance our visits there have been pleasurable.

i'm new to town and have been to Mother Chu's twice since the beginning of the year but was underwhelmed on both occasions. on my first visit, we were served ginger ale past it's use by date. twice! and just last week we ordered a "bird's nest" which consisted of frozen (!!!) vegetables. we sent the dish back to the kitchen in protest (but paid for it out of principle). i really don't know what all the fuss is about this restaurant? perhaps we simply made "wrong" choices? or maybe visited on an "off" day? either way, i'm unlikely to risk it and return to Mother Chu's anytime soon...

everybody who sat down for dinner waiting for them to open 5pm end up getting their meals super late.
i waited for my dish for 30 mins...do they still ahve that policy where when u wait more than 30 mins, food is free?

anyways...its alright.

it is located on Pitt st. north of liverpool.

The crispy soy bean roll dish is amazing. Also lurve the crispy gluten, the soy slices with beans, crispy tempeh and green vegies with nuts, the eggplant dishes are beautifully cooked and caramelly-melty. And the 'black pearl' mushroom rissoles and the clay pots. And ... well almost everything! The staff are not excessively attentive, but all you have to do is signal and they will come. And you get to have dessert - a rare treat for vegans eating out! At times like Chinese new year they have extra special dishes which are expensive eg $28. I am saving up to try some of them next year!

Had a chance to visit Mother Chu's on my last visit to Sydney. The place is located at the corner of Liverpool and Pitt streets. Near Chinatown and Darling Harbour. About a 15 min. walk from the Opera House.

The food was really good with a large selection. English spoken by staff and service was good.

The items are however, a bit pricey.

Had a small bowl of soup and 1 entree with a bowl of rice, total price was about 23 dollars.

Brown rice also available.

I would definitely go back and try other items on the menu.

Nice and simple place withwho i assume is Mother Chu sat in the corner overseeing things. Lots of choice. Fresh ingredients and lovely jasmine Tea. Price is average. Would definetly go back.

Went here for dinner and enjoyed it.

It is a very plain setting, cheap and cheerful...well perhaps not cheerful :)

We ordered the mixed entree, was pretty good, maybe a little dry.

We then had curry rice, soy bean roll and Mother Chu's special curry for mains. The highlight of the meal was the Soy Bean Roll. It is a mock meat type dish, with nori around it to give it a seafood flavour, then battered, friend and serving with some sliced veggies and a nice barbecue sauce. The special curry was interesting, pumpkin, avocado and gluten, not something I'd order again but an interesting combination of flavours and perhaps the first time I've had avocado in an asian meal. The curry rice was perhaps the wrong thing to order, as we ate it with the mains and the flavours were hidden, will order steamed rice next time but no complaints either.

This was a good meal and we left satisfied. Not exactly a setting for a date due to the somewhat spartan surroundings and the staff not being overly talkative, but for an informal dinner with friends a good choice.

Have a soy bean roll when you are there too!

I've been eating at Mother Chu's for over twelve years now; I've never had a bad meal or a bad experience there. My only regret is that my partner's gluten intolerant, so we don't get their crispy fried gluten in savoury sauce any more.

I'm not a big fan of Chinese food in general, but Mother Chu's was quite nice. They have a large selection with a picture menu. Servings were very large and quite flavoursome.

The first time I went there, the meal was so great I ate two main courses and went back again the next day!

Almost every gluten dish is fantastic! They have a large menu and this is our favourite restaurant. Sizling anything is recommended. Don't get the "with vegies" ones are they are always like frozen peas, corn & carrot in the dish. The ones that name the vegies separately are better. The mock ham and pineapple fried rice is our favourite. They offer white or brown rice, even for fried rice. Not an extravagant place, although some meals cost more. Most are about $12. They have fried banana fritter with tofu ice-cream or pineapple. Good location near cinemas, Sydney CBD.

A friend recommended this place to me when I was in Sydney. I would highly recommend it myself! We ordered a few dishes to share, an entree platter: which had a number of sample items. All of them very tasty and leaving me wanting more. I resisted as the mains came along shortly after. The tamerind curry is something I miss now, (back in Melbourne). It was rich, but not too rich, spicy, and nicely blended flavours. Went back the next day and ordered it again! The ambience is simply relaxed, and the service was also good. Will be going back when in Sydney again.