Traditional Vegan Taiwanese Food near Nanjing Fuxing

New safety measures for COVID-19: None.

Delivery information: No delivery, but they have a lot of different food available to go, including bags of dumplings and baozi.

正饌素食 — Zheng Zhuan Sushi, which translates to “vegetarian food” in English — is a tiny, hole-in-the-wall restaurant near Nanjing Fuxing, the kind that we would normally pass by without even noticing. Despite its modest appearance, Zheng Zhuan Sushi is well-known in the neighbourhood for having some truly excellent traditional Taiwanese food, all of which is vegan and made without the five pungent vegetables that some Buddhists and Taoists avoid.

There is limited seating inside Zheng Zhuan Sushi, but turnover is usually pretty fast, with most customers finishing up their meals quickly or simply taking items to go. For a guaranteed spot inside, it’s best to visit during offpeak hours, like midmorning or between lunch and dinner. We visited in the late afternoon and were one of the few customers dining in, although plenty stopped by to grab bags of buns or dumplings to prepare at home.

The first thing we ordered was the mushroom and bamboo shoot bun (香菇脆筍包, $20). Baozi is one of our favourite grab-and-go Taiwanese snacks, and we particularly love the meat-filled versions. That being said, these were just as good — the filling was generous and incredibly tasty, and the dough was soft and delicate enough that it won the approval of our Taiwanese friend who normally dislikes all kinds of baozi. There were several kinds of fillings to choose from that all sounded great, but we’d definitely come back for these sometime. 

Next, we got a plate of cabbage dumplings (高麗菜水餃) and pickled vegetables dumplings (雪菜水餃) for $60. Again, we usually order dumplings with meat in them and were expecting these to be subpar, but they were incredible. The cabbage was slightly sweet, with a little bit of carrot inside, and the pickled vegetable dumplings were so flavourful we couldn’t believe there was no onion or garlic inside. Both were incredibly well seasoned and just as good as any of the meat dumplings we’ve had in the past, and we’d be hard-pressed to choose a favourite between them.

After that, we went for the red braised glass noodle (紅燒冬粉, $85). This was an interesting dish because it was very similar to beef noodle soup, with thick chunks of tofu that mimicked the taste and texture of beef, and a rich, hearty soup base that was full of flavour. We chose to get this with rice noodles because they soak up the flavour of the soup more, but you can also get it with regular noodles (紅燒麵), which would be even more similar to beef noodle soup. This was an incredibly filling dish with bold flavours and varied textures. We loved that the soup base was clearly simmered for a long time, but the vegetables weren’t overcooked at all. If you like it on the spicy side, try adding some of their home-made chilli sauce and some sesame oil for an extra kick.

One of the really cool things eating at 正饌素食 was watching the staff prepare countless dumplings, baozi and pastries in the corners of the restaurant while they chatted amongst themselves. Observing the skill it took to make these fresh every day was fascinating, as was people-watching while all kinds of locals — from Buddhist monks to smiling neighbourhood aunties — dropped by to buy premade bags of food. We were stuffed by the time we finished our meal and couldn’t imagine eating more food, but we promised ourselves that next time we’d follow the lead of our fellow customers and take home a couple of bags at dumplings to make at home.

Check out (most of) their menu down below. It is in Chinese, so you will have to use a translating app, bring a friend, or rely on chance as you point at a random item on their menu.

All in all, we were huge fans of Zheng Zhuan Sushi. This was one of our first forays into vegan Taiwanese food, and it made for a great first impression: we genuinely couldn’t believe how filling and delicious everything was despite containing no meat, onions, or garlic. It was also incredibly cheap, and between two people we only spent $165 for a meal that left us completely stuffed. Although we’re not vegan ourselves, we’d definitely return to Zheng Zhuan Sushi for an affordable and tasty meat-free meal if we were in the neighbourhood.

What’s the vibe?

Small hole-in-the-wall local restaurant in the Nanjing Fuxing area. It’s popular with locals, and it’s not uncommon at all to see Buddhist monks dining in or taking out.

Worth it?

Yes! It’s cheap, filling, and tasty.

Would you go back?

For sure. We loved everything we got, especially the dumplings, which we’ll be buying more of next time.

Last updated May 2020

正饌素食

Hours: Tues-Fri 7:30am – 7pm Sat 7:30am – 5pm Sun 7:30am – 3pm Closed Mondays

Phone: 02 2517 5138

English Address: No. 152, Liaoning Street, Zhongshan District, Taipei City

Chinese Address: 台北市中山區遼寧街152號