Tian Ci Vegetarian Restaurant - Yum Cha @ West Ryde

I love Yum Cha!! The idea of Vegetarian yum cha would have never crossed my mind, but you meet new people who open your world to new ideas. I admit, the outside of the restaurant looks dodgy, but looks can be deceiving right? Some of the dishes were a bit different to what I would normally order at a Yum Cha, but always willing to try new things. It was also different as it was a small restaurant, so no one comes around with trolleys, you are provided with a menu and tick the boxes for what you would like to order.

Steamed rice rolls with satay sauce

This was on the special menu, and one of my favourite dishes. Steamed rice rolls is a yum cha staple, no matter if it is with prawns, meat or in this case some faux meat. There was a lovely light soy based sauce that accompanied the dish. I enjoyed the dish without the satay sauce, but my friend thought it was bland without it.

Steamed vegetarian dumplings

Steamed BBQ pork buns

Mushroom and vegetable buns

Both steamed buns were tasty, but I preferred the mushroom and vegetable buns. The buns themselves were soft, fluffy and delicate. Blogging and thinking about the steamed buns makes me salivate.

Pan grilled vegetable rolls

This dish had a very interesting texture, one that my palate did not quite enjoy. The inside was nice though, filled with mushrooms, and other various vegetables. I am not actually sure what the outside is made from, but it seemed slightly egg but also tofu like.

Pan grilled dumplings

Chicken with mushrooms

The broth was extremely tasty. But, I find that vegetarian chicken is not my favourite faux meat, as it can be more chewy than other faux means. 

Duck with Five Spice sauce

This was not what I expected. The dish smelt like duck, but didn't contain any pieces of duck (that I could see). The sauce was warm and juicy and absorbed in the layered rolls of duck (well I don't think it is duck, but I have no idea what it was). It was soft, yet chewy and filled with the lovely juices.

Sago with fresh melon

As per usual, you can't leave a restaurant without dessert. We were quite full by the end of it, so a dessert to share seemed appropriate. The dessert was refreshing, and a great way to end the meal.

I am not sure how much each dish cost, as all yum cha places have their own system. However, for 8 dishes and 1 dessert the bill roughly totalled $50 for two people.

Good food, good times!