The good sized and pleasant dining room of Whole Vegetarian is where you’ll find truly delicious Chinese vegetarian dishes, from the crispy and munchable Chef’s Special Chow Mein with imitation seafood (that tastes like the real thing!) to the creative and adventurous Seaweed and Soft Bean Curd Rolls.

Following the principles of traditional Buddhist-style vegetarian cooking, no garlic or onion is used in any of the dishes, but after the first bite you’ll discover that these kitchen restrictions have no effect on the overall flavor of these delightful dishes. My favorites such as the Sweet and Sour Pineapple Delight (a vegan-friendly version of the conventional sweet and sour pork) are always super fresh and mighty flavorful.

This inspired vegetarian restaurant fits in perfectly with the eclectic mix of dining options along the increasingly hip and trendy Main Street. With Whole Vegetarian’s great selection of large and affordable family-style dishes (all less than $15), the restaurant squarely hits the mark for Vancouverites and lucky visitors in-the-know. Here the tasty and satisfying eats might even fool a meat-eater’s eyes, while appealing to appetites of all persuasions.

Sweet and Sour Pineapple Delight (vegan) from Whole Vegetarian Cuisine restaurant in Vancouver BC Canada (Main Street).

Chef's Special Chow Mein (vegan, with simulated seafood) from Whole Vegetarian Cuisine, a vegetarian Chinese restaurant on Main Street in Vancouver BC Canada.

Another great Chinese vegetarian / vegan dish from Whole Vegetarian Chinese food restaurant on Main Street in Vancouver BC Canada.

About the Authors
Tony from RealMenEatGreen contributed to this article. Tony is a Vancouver based writer/blogger on masculinity, food, health, and man boobs.

This article was edited by Geoff from geoffmobile. Geoff also lives in Vancouver and leads a busy life as a software developer, video editor, and food enthusiast.

This area of Granville Street is a colorful mixture of new, high-end restaurants, older greasy spoon places, night clubs with pounding beats, and a couple of remaining sex shops left over from seedier days. The street is in transition with the sidewalk widening almost complete, making it a safer place to walk at night (along with the sometimes rowdy crowds of night-clubbers). It’s only a five minute walk from the upscale Yaletown shopping and restaurant district to the east, and about the same distance to Burrard Street to the west and beyond that the West End residential neighborhood.

Some of my favorite items to order at the Templeton are the Macaroni and Cheese (around $10, served with fresh tomato salsa, three kinds of cheese, and an organic green salad), and the Med Quesadilla (also around $10, made with artichoke hearts, sun dried tomatoes, green olives, aged white cheddar, fresh tomato salsa and sour cream). On my last visit however, I had already eaten something substantial earlier in the evening, so opted for the ultra healthy and “good for you” Dinner Salad (around $6.50, pictured below).

The Templeton is one of the few dining spots that is open with full service food late at night in the downtown area. I was there a little after 10:00pm on a Sunday night and they did Last Call for food at around 10:30pm. That’s pretty good for a Sunday. If it’s late and you’re hungry, it’s worth a shot – why not give them a call (604-685-4612) to find out if they’re open? =)

For more photos (and info about their breakfasts) please view Part 3, Part 2, or Part 1.

Dinner Salad from the Templeton on Granville Street in downtown Vancouver BC Canada.

I have a friend who follows a raw vegan diet, which means that he doesn’t eat any animal-related products (vegan) and foods must be unprocessed and not heated above 46 degrees Celsius (raw). He blogs about the Raw Vegan lifestyle on Eat Raw Vegan. I was interested to see what a Raw Vegan meal would taste like!

Raw Vegan food preparation takes a lot of creativity to make food that is satisfying and interesting to eat without using cooked or processed ingredients, and without meat or dairy products. Amazingly, all the dishes pictured below are raw vegan dishes. I must say that I was quite happy and full after the meal.

The Raw Vegan Cashew Alfredo Zucchini Linguini ($10, pictured below) was made with zucchini “newdles” smothered in a rich white cashew cream. It was served with a green leaf salad. It tasted cool and refreshing, and was amazingly creamy considering that no dairy products were used.

The Maui Waui raw vegan pizza ($6.00, also pictured below) is a sun-dried tomato and fresh tomato herb sauce topped with a mix of tenderized kale and seasonal greens then topped with fresh pineapple bits and a crumbly walnut “cheez”. It is served with a sprouted sunflower and buckwheat, flax and carrot crust.

For an appetizer we also tried the Raw Vegan Zucchini Hummus and Crackers ($7.50, pictured below). This tasted amazingly good, better than ordinary hummus I thought! The bean-free garlicky hummus dip is served with house-dehydrated crackers.

Other notable items included the Freshly Squeezed Orange Juice ($5.25, pictured below) – this is heavenly if you like orange juice; in fact I thought it was some of the best orange juice I have had in Vancouver! The raw vegan chocolate cake (also pictured below) was really fudgey and chocolatey, a treat not to miss!

The restaurant is open every day from 11am until 5pm.

Raw Vegan Cashew Alfredo Zucchini Linguini, from Gorilla Food in Vancouver. $10.00

Maui Waui Pizza ($6.00) raw vegan food from Gorilla Food restaurant in downtown Vancouver.

Fresh orange juice ($5.25) and Green Glory drink ($5.50) from Gorilla Foods in Vancouver.

Raw Vegan Zucchini Hummus and Crackers ($7.50) from Gorilla Foods in Vancouver.

Raw Vegan Chocolate Cake! (From Gorilla Food in Vancouver, downtown).

Wild Rice is one of the only restaurants in Vancouver with a menu that takes familiar Chinese dishes and re-imagines them in a marvellous fusion between new and old-world Chinese cuisine and high-end Western-style tapas.

40something, a reviewer on DineHere.ca writes (click here to read review):

The decor is polished and dark with mute dark green panel lighting. Wear black my dear! Very Sean Connery turtle neck. BTW The prices reflect the ambiance.

[...] The food was pretty darn good. Like with other outings, we ordered and shared. It was eclectic and all nicely presented, yet seemed more like elaborate tapas then meals. Our service was good (I guess that has changed for the better recently given the older reviews). And our wait staff seemed knowledgeable and attentive enough.

The restaurant is offering a special menu for Dine Out Vancouver 2009. I have copied it from their website and included it below. Vegetarian (vegan) items are indicated with a “v” symbol.

3-COURSE MENU OPTIONS:
available wednesday, january 14 through sunday, february 1, 2009.
please note that, during dine out, our regular a la carte menu will not be available

1st course:
bc side stripe shrimp congee or
hot & sour soup or
wonton soup with pork dumplings

2nd course:
yarrow meadows duck confit on shanghai noodle or
local mushroom & baby bok choy on noodle or
free range kung po chicken on jasmine rice

3rd course:
red bean panna cotta or
seasonal berry dumplings or
tea cup chocolate pudding

$18 per person. optional VQA wine pairings available.

Pictured below are some of the dishes we tried last week. It was a real feast!

Peking style duck pancakes from Wild Rice restaurant in Vancouver. Made with yarrow meadows duck breast, scallion pancakes, and hoisin $18

Spicy kung po chicken with twice cooked peanuts from Wild Rice restaurant in Vancouver. Made with Maple Hill free range chicken, broccoli, and rice noodles $18

Side stripe shrimp congee from Wild Rice restaurant in Vancouver. A modern take on traditional Chinese soup. Made from brown rice $9

Ma po doufu from Wild Rice restaurant in Vancouver. Made with tempura eggplant, chili jam $11

Gai lan (Chinese brocolli) and crisped shallots from Wild Rice restaurant in Vancouver. $7 (side dish)

Local fruit dumplings (dessert) from Wild Rice restaurant in Vancouver. Star anise caramel, vanilla doufu ‘ice cream’. $8. The Caramel sauce was stupendous!

The restaurant appears to be under new ownership, and from what I can tell, the food has improved, but the place seems to be a bit messier than before. This is definitely not a place to take someone to impress them! However if you want to get full on tasty vegetarian food for $6.00, order their “Chef’s special” (pictured below) and if it’s a nice day, take your plate out to the small patio.

Chef's special from Deserts Restaurant on Commercial Drive.

I enjoyed the Najib’s Special plate (pictured below, $9.29) which featured some wonderful crispy cauliflower served with roast potatoes, hummus, salad and pita. I could have ordered rice instead of the roast potatoes, but the potatoes were a good choice. I also had the Baklava for a sweet dessert ($2.62, not pictured).

paekakariki writes on DineHere.ca (click here to read review):

We love Nuba for healthy fast well priced food. The garden falafel is really tasty with avocado and their homemade pickle. The vegetarian appetizer plate is a great sampler of all their goodies. I love the flavour of the lentil/rice/avocado dish, the crispy cauliflower is amazing and the mushrooms are great!

Trentm writes on Dinehere.ca (read review):

Radha has a great atmosphere, with hardwood floors and exposed brick in a big, open space. The live folk music really added to the relaxing, calm feel of the place. It’s also such a treat to go out for dinner on a friday night and not have to fight the crowds or feel rushed. The food was tasty and presented well…

Pictured below is the Nori Roll (Japanese Seaweed) appetizer, $7.00, which their menu describes as “raw sunflower-hempseed paté, julienne vegetables, sprouts and avocado in toasted nori with homemade pickled ginger and orange dragon dip”. The orange dragon dip is a light soya sauce with a touch of orange juice. Also pictured below is one of their featured main courses for the summer, the Southern Style Tempeh ($13.00). Maple-barbecue glazed tempeh – like tofu but coarser – was served with cornbread, warm summer greens, and seasonal vegetables. It was delicious. My only wish was that there was more glaze / barbecue sauce to soak into the cornbread!

The Chinatown area of Vancouver (where Radha is located) is one of the more graphic neighborhoods, but is quite safe to visit.

(above) Maple Barbecue Glazed Tempeh ($13) from Radha restaurant in Vancouver.

Raw Nori rolls at Radha restaurant ($7.00)

The wonton soup (pictured below) was nicely flavored and made a good start to the meal. We also enjoyed the Fresh Enoki Mushroom Chow Mein noodles, the Sweet and Sour Pineapple Delight, and the Steamed Chinese Brocolli (all pictured below).

The prices at Bo Kong are quite reasonable: a large meal for two people including three dishes and a soup came to about $20 per person including tax and tip.

View Part 1 for more photos.

Vegetarian Won-ton Soup at Bo Kong restaurant

Sweet and sour pineapple delight at Bo Kong

Steamed Chinese Brocolli at BoKong Restaurant

Vegetarian Chow Mein with fresh Enoki Mushroom (at Bo Kong restaurant)

The Naam serves breakfast from 6am until 11:30 am on weekdays (and until 1:00pm on Saturday and 2:00pm on Sunday). I enjoyed the “Naam Special Breakfast” (pictured below, $9.50) which is two eggs any style, two whole wheat pancakes, veggie sausages or “Sam’s strips” (a kind of veggie patty) and home made potato fries. Yum!

For lunch and dinner, the restaurant serves tasty creations such as enchiladas, burritos, burger platters, curry, rice bowls, and wok dishes.

The Naam also features live music (mostly folk, jazz, and blues) from 7pm to 10pm every evening. Check out their web site for the upcoming schedule.

Video from the Naam:

“Naam Special Breakfast” ($9.50) – two free range eggs any style (pictured above, scrambled), two whole wheat pancakes and syrup, veggie sausages, and home made potato fries (which were very delicious, and totally not greasy!)

Many people discuss The Foundation on DineHere.ca (click here for review link). Bexby Jones, a reviewer, writes:

It’s not really a place to bring a date (unless your date is an outdoorsy vegan hippy/ skateboarder musician type) and I probably wouldn’t go here for business dinners. But it’s great for friends/ boyfriends/ girlfriends, no matter who you are. The food is definitely comfort food. The rice/ quinoa dishes are rich and saucy with nuts and raisins and things in them. They kind of remind me of stuff my vegetarian hippy mom would make me (if I had one). The salads are tasty. My favourite dish by far is the nachos. For just $8 you get a platter of nachos with corn and beans, and amazing salsa/sour cream, that can fill two people. At night it’s a great place to come for candlelight & wine. They’re open late, too. Sun-Thurs till 1am and Fri/Sat till 2am (but they stop serving drinks at 1am).

Mango Forte pasta ($9.75)