If you think a restaurant committed to serving no meat, no seafood, no eggs, no onion, no garlic and no MSG would be a no-go, you’d be wrong. Somehow despite all that’s not used, Naïve dishes up intense flavours and textures.
Much of the magic is accomplished through the copious use of monkey head mushrooms that taste more like meat than vegetables. You’ll find them soaking up flavours such as sweet and sizzling kongpo sauce; braised in an aromatic five-spice broth; or sliced and sautéed thin and crispy.
Of course, tofu makes an appearance, but the plain old curd is transformed into a star with a tangy barbecue baste worthy of a pork rib, or sharp tamarind, lemongrass and chilli sauce. The warm pumpkin and sago soup was a dessert highlight. And the blessing of the sesame seeds (BLOSS) is a surprise you’ll have to ask the helpful staff about.
Costs: Lunch sets from $9.90, dinner sets from $14.90.