Gushan District, Kaohsiung City｜Mottainai Plant-based Whole Food Café

By far one of my favourite vegan places I have ever been to (in the world)! Food is incredible and staff very kind. Highly recommend going here!

I don't give marks like this lightly, but on my first visit I was just so deeply impressed with this unassuming little bistro, tucked away within Sizihwan's salt-lashed alleyways, that I had to come back again the next day just to see if my first experience was a fluke. Today, a third day, a third experience, I justified to myself by insisting internally that my purpose was to assess their dessert menu and their late-night ambience, but let us be candid here: the truth is that I was hungry for more, and it was less than an intellectual motivation which brought me back to their table. This is the best 100%-vegan restaurant I've ever eaten at in all of Asia. I know, I know -- superlative, superlative. But I do not flatter. Day one: a veggie burger and a smoothie. It was no prodigiously demanding request, but they really excelled: the knowledgeable and friendly waiter informed me that they use only whole-grain buns, that they source their produce from regional farmers, that the potatoes aren't fried but baked for health reasons. I was advised to remain attentive to the lemon leaf tang that hovered atop the flavour profile of the green smoothie I'd ordered. It was all really outstanding, and I left full, content, impressed -- and fully intent upon returning the next day. Day two: I ordered a more technical dish. Their standard-issue kimbap comes without the "homemade kimchi" -- I opted into this unique offering, naturally, for the 25 kuai extra they charged. Good heavens, was that a good decision. Crunchy cucumber chunks and carrot shreds that taste and feel as if they'd been in the ground that morning awaited me; the "gim" was chewy, richly flavoured with brine and sun, just incredibly fresh; the rice was faintly seasoned, perfectly cooked, bearing the slight hint of vinegar. Radish, cabbage, perilla, and gherkin rounded it out; in an aesthetic little bowl, a quantity of veganaise was commingled with just enough ground mustard to keep the palate craving more. I ordered their rooibos tea, tastefully presented in a wee white cup. Everything is presentation, plating, and attentive arrangement with this place. Very well; as the kids say today, "I see you." Tonight I returned to the same genuine warmth and politeness, and to a somewhat less crowded dining space, but opted once again to sit outside (the mosquitoes were out and had begun to sample what within my flesh had remained from the day before of the aforementioned kimbap, but the cheerful server very considerately brought an organic, homespun bug repellent out, which smoked away next to me as I began to nosh.) As I'd dined on Indian already earlier in the evening, I opted to have a go at their dessert menu and, in fact, was quite curious as to whether or not the sky-high standards for elegance and quality would be sustained there. I ordered the lemon scone (everything is vegan here! I can even get baked goods! hurrah!) and, again, that lovely rooibos tea. They brought me a diminutive, attractive, dense, filling little treat on a tiny cutting board next to a ramekin of what I have since learnt was their in-house mulberry jam. It was scrumptious. I serenely sipped my rooibos infusion, merrily paid, and thanked them for their hospitality, and came home to write this review. Among the predictable disappointments of this postmodern condition which surrounds us at present, is the reality that not every establishment which advertises itself as offering high-quality, affordable, unpretentious, health-giving, 100% vegan cuisine is going to do so. Even so, however much this wayward and hasty world may, in the interest of maintaining the efficiencies and quantities which have apparently become the overwhelming imperatives of that world, insist upon trimming this or that corner, upon skimping on this or that detail, or upon withholding what (taken alone) may prove to be some insignificant flourish, it is no slight comfort to this well-fed little creature, now safe and happy back at home in her flat, that there still exist exceptions to such expectations.

A beautiful plant based restaurant with delicious food and friendly staff. This used to be one of our favorite places, but it closed down due to Covid. We were so HAPPY to find it reopened! A must try if your looking for delicious, plant-based food.