It’s not easy to find a vegetarian joint in Hong Kong that can strike a balance between pricy salads and wallet-friendly-yet-gluggy Chinese food. Enter Leisurely Veggie, though, which serves up a spectrum of cuisines at decent prices and is sans meat, including fake flesh.
We arrive in the new Causeway Bay restaurant during dinner and, even though it’s only been open for a handful of weeks, the place is full. The interiors are all white and pastel blue – not unlike a doll’s house. It’s cute. But it’s hardly as leisurely as the name suggests due to a host of reflective windows, bright lights and the loud general volume in the room.
Ordering à la carte at dinner carries a minimum charge of $200 a head, so we get the dinner set ($218). We begin with a trio of small salads, including a tart walnut, beetroot and apple combo. This comes with a flavoursome double-boiled soup and an asparagus and alfalfa hand roll, which is light and tasty, despite the fact we find cucumber instead of asparagus in ours.
For the mains, we select the monkey head mushroom red curry with rice and naan (for an extra $20). The bread is more like a roti – but we happily use it to soak up the curry, which is a hearty portion and sports plenty of the titular fungus. The creamy sauce is rich yet almost cloying by the end.
We’re left extremely full – a lack of meat doesn’t mean a lack of substance. You get solid cuisine at Leisurely Veggie but the ambience doesn’t provide any of the expected serenity and the dishes aren’t perfect. However, it’s good value and a decent alternative for those Hongkongers who love their greens. Anna Cummins
Leisurely Veggie 25/F, Jardine Centre, 50 Jardine’s Bazaar, Causeway Bay, 3565 6393; fb.com/leisurelyveggie. Dinner for two: $440.