SHING WANG TAIWANESE VEGETARIAN CUISINE, SHAVED ICE & BUBBLE TEA, n miami

http://www.shingwangrestaurant.com/

Just opened April 2008! All vegetarian Taiwanese-Buddhist restaurant

here is the miami herald review
http://www.miamiherald.com/living/story/622566.html

Update: Review
This past weekend we had the delight of eating at Shing Wang. The first impression upon walking in was that the place looks clean. The friendly owners immediatly struck up a conversation wth us & were excited to hear that we are veg & came all the way from 1 hr north! We first got some bubble tea - which is fruit juice with big black tapioca balls in it, ohhh yum & filling. We enjoyed the dumplings, inari sushi with seawead salad ontop, sweet sesame balls, bun buns (little donuts), mango "chicken", black bean "beef", udon w. veggies, veggie fried rice & miso soup. Had to taste them all & happily had leftovers we enjoyed the next day.
The food was all freshly made to order & the veggies were very crispy. All in all we really enjoyed everything & are excited for our next visit. We are appetizer lovers so next time i'm going right for the inari & dumplings... And for sure we will try the shaved ice, which looked like ice cream with fruit & those sweet beans, yummy!

In talking with the owner and her sister we came to find out that all the equipment is new & they are very particular about how they handle food. Almost everything is vegan, the do have optional egg in the fried rice & egg in the wonton skins (allthough they continue to try non-egg skins they haven't found the right one yet).

This is the only veg asian restaurant i know of in all of se florida! Welcome & best wishes, we are happy to have u here!

Kosher & vegan

Living in SE Florida there sure are alot of Kosher establishments. Which is great for vegans! I can easily get my toffuti cream cheese & lots of other goodies at any kosher market. Also many of the kosher restaurants have lots of vegan items on the menu. I do recommend that if you are going to eat something fried - go to a dairy-kosher restaurant, much less likely that they fry animal products in the same frier as the falafel or fries.

Today we went to Kosher Kingdom in aventura, just to check out this market, and we found lots of items that are marked vegan - they even sell the challah I recently posted about. We found vegan chocolate, gnocci, raviolies, pizza, ice cream, chocolate spread, and more!

As for resturants:
Sara's didn't tickly our fancy, we like a nice dining experience, and this place seemed like a diner.
The Gourmet Carrot in Miami, while they do serve meat, is awesome. They have fresh juices and a smoothies - the only place I know of that makes fresh mango juice - oh yummy!!!! They are very popular with the locals, so be sure to make a reservation - even on a week night. The soups are always vegan, and they even have vegan dessert & soy cheese. Lots of options here and they really seem to care about the food and the experience. Once in the many many times we have gone we didn't have the best experience, our salad was soggy, the service was - ehhhh, and the food just didn't have it's normal vibrancy, we've been back since and they have bounced right back.

I see that I would surely do well in Israel, I look forward to going back again some day (i went when I was 16).

So if your having trouble finding vegan stuff in your area - search for kosher, you may be very surprised.

There are different types of Kosher, so be sure to do a little research into this before you venture out.

La Chaim - To Life

Vegetarian Restaurant: A simple name for simple, fresh, vegan fare near Doral - Miami, FL

Vegetarian Restaurant: A simple name for simple, fresh, vegan fare near Doral

source
By LINDA BLADHOLM

LINDA BLADHOLM/FOR THE MIAMI HERALD

CHEF-OWNER: Juan Francisco Cabrera serves pizza and a revolving selection of specials.

• Recipe | Avocado salad
• Online-only recipe | Dominican stewed red beans

Juan Francisco Cabrera starts his day shopping at the Allapattah Produce Market at dawn with a menu percolating in his head. As he picks through the tubers, tomatoes and peppers, he decides on the daily special at his juice bar and natural-food place: Vegetarian Restaurant in the Holiday Shopping Plaza on Southwest 107th Avenue between Doral and Sweetwater. It might be seitan stir-fry with cauliflower and broccoli, tofu with spinach or corn pie.

Customers call to find out and come to eat at the counter or pick up food to go. Most also get fresh-squeezed juice or batidos (shakes) of banana, mamey (the soft, dark reddish-orange fruit tastes like sugary sweet potato) or papaya, whirled with oatmeal instead of milk.

Cabrera, 37, was born in San Francisco Macori in the southern Dominican Republic. At 17, he moved to New York, where his family opened a clothing alteration shop. He got into natural foods through a cousin a few years later, eventually becoming a vegan.

In 2002, the cold drove him to Miami, where he worked in a warehouse by day and took yoga classes at night. He cooked vegetarian meals for friends and family, and when the yoga place moved he rented it and set up shop in the bare-bones space. The pale green and yellow walls are augmented by floral displays.

Cabrera operates on the premise that it is better to eat whole fresh foods than processed products or nutrient-enhanced foods. That means as natural as possible -- and no eggs or dairy, as this is a vegan kitchen.

It's hard to resist his whole-wheat crust pizza scattered with tomatoes, peppers, onions and garlic with soy cheese (available daily) or his rotation of specials. On a recent day, it was boiled and mashed yuca with onions sautéed in olive-oil ''butter'' (a thick emulsion) and annatto (a small red seed that adds color) with soy hot dogs steamed with cabbage and peas, brown rice and a side of guacamole. Diners also had the option of lentil soup with cilantro or a salad tossed in oil and vinegar.

Other specials include lasagne made with eggplant, tomato sauce, soy cheese and stewed garbanzos and tofu curry with spinach and mushrooms in white sauce made from soy milk and ground almonds.

Mangu is a Dominican favorite consisting of boiled green plantain mashed with grated soy cheese and olive-oil butter, giving it the traditional rich, creamy flavor without the unhealthy fats. It is served with red beans and brown rice.

Papas rellenos are mashed potato cakes stuffed with a vegetable mixture, while pastels are entree-size whole-wheat pies stuffed with a savory blend of spinach, cauliflower and soy protein. Or get smaller empanadas stuffed with spicy textured soy protein -- so good you might not miss the meat.

Picadillo is made from the same TVP steamed with celery, onion, garlic, collard greens, carrots and parsley -- a sum of ingredients that tastes much better that it sounds. There's also good old spaghetti (whole wheat) with tomato sauce and soy cheese and cannelloni stuffed with spinach. End with homemade apple or pineapple cake washed down with fresh strawberry or carrot juice.

Place: Vegetarian Restaurant.
Address: 115B SW 107th Ave., Miami, FL (Holiday Shopping Plaza).
Contact: 305-553-0078.
Hours: 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday-Saturday.
Prices: Juices $3-$4, daily specials $4-$7.

Veg Pizza - In Oakland, CA

Pizza Plaza has recently gone through some wonderful changes. The owners have become vegetarian. The menu 1/2 vegetarian & 1/2 vegan.

Pizza Plaza
6211 Shattuck Ave Oakland, California (near the Berkeley border)
Phone: 510-420-1433
http://veganplaza.com/


I am spreading the word to bring support to these people. I believe that when we change we can bring those changes into every aspect of our lives. Congrats to Pizza Plaza for standing for what you believe in.

Best wishes for your success.

Oakland California is in the East Bay area of the San Francisco Bay Area, CA.