South Philly Review

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People become vegetarians for a variety of reasons. Former carnivores do so for political or ethical reasons. Some forego animal protein for health reasons. Either way, more and more of us are adding fruits, vegetables and grains to our daily diets.

As Martha Stewart would say, “it’s a good thing.”

I have never reviewed a vegetarian restaurant. My first turned out to be a kosher Asian restaurant a few steps from the Oyster House on Sansom Street. I’ve passed Su Xing House on numerous occasions. One day I decided to forego a lunch of New England clam chowder and a shrimp roll for an adventure in the world of Asian vegetarian cooking.

I was pleasantly surprised at how tasty and fresh my meal turned out to be. I enjoyed it so much, I decided on a return visit with my sister Sandy, the picky eater, who finally on the last day of last year tried sushi for the first time. I figured she would be up for Asian vegetarian if I got her to sample raw fish at Zama.

The restaurant has several levels with comfy booths. Some of the tables have a shiny gold lacquer which is quite pretty. A hot cup of tea warmed me up immediately on a blustery cold day. Many of dishes on the full-course lunch special menu are available during the dinner hour as well.

With the help of my server, I chose the as-you-wish ($7.95) lunch. Specials include a choice of soup, a side dish and brown or white rice.

The hot-and-sour soup was spicy and piping hot. It had a silky texture and was chock full of bits of tofu and mushrooms. The vegetable spring roll had a crispy free-of-grease wrapper and was filled with assorted Asian vegetables.

As-you-wish is described as crispy tofu skin filled with black and golden mushrooms, dried bean curd and celery. Two plump blintzes-like savory confections were stuffed with heady mushrooms and seasoned just right. The platter was so generous, I could just about finish the entrée. I opted for brown rice which was steamed to perfection.

During my meal, my server kept returning with the teapot and my cup was always filled. The ubiquitous fortune cookie had good news.

My sister Sandy loved the hot and sour soup and as-you-wish. She is now gaining a sense of adventure in restaurant dining.

“I cannot believe this is tofu,” she said as she dove into her platter.

I tried the lotus root and peanut soup ($2.25) which was hot, temperature wise, and light. All it needed was a sprinkling of white pepper. The soup was the perfect preamble to my meal. I decided to visit India with cauliflower and potato curry ($6.50).

I adore curries if they are not too over-the-top hot. This one was satisfying and not too spicy. The cauliflower and Yukon gold potato cubes were bathed in an appetizing yellow curry, which was sunshine on the plate. This time my side dish was seaweed. It was different from the seaweed you get in a Japanese restaurant. The strands were a little thicker — they looked like a dark green linguine. Since there was no toasted sesame seed oil on it, I just sprinkled on some salt and pepper. The seaweed was cool and my vegetables were piping hot. This was a nice contrast. Brown rice came with the entrée. Our teacups were filled throughout our meal. And, by the way, Su Xing House was packed.

My first outing in a vegetarian restaurant turned out to be a fine experience. So did my second.

Three tips of the toque to Su Xing House. SPR

Su Xing House
1508 Sansom St.
215-564-1419
BYOB
www.suxinghouse.com