Shanghai surprise for the vegetarian
Kung Tak Lam Vegetarian Cuisine 35 Tung Lo Wan Road, Causeway Bay Tel: 890 3127. Open daily: 11am-10pm PEERING from a number of signs sticking out above the walkway along Tung Lo Wan Road, there is one that reads Kung Tak Lam in large green Chinese characters.
On the face of it, you would have no reason to suspect this restaurant is any different from the others in the neighbourhood.
But flip open the bilingual menu and you find out that this is a vegetarian restaurant in the Shanghainese style.
The restaurant has half-a-dozen tables that seat two or four. A family party may need a reservation, and only a few tables are large enough for a group.
The place is practical-looking, clean and bright and without frills or the usual Buddhist knick-knacks.
Patrons are mainly Shanghainese. On a weekday, it's easy to find a table, but reservations are advised on the weekend.
A first-time visitor can trust the waitresses' recommendations with their Shanghainese-accented Cantonese. If you speak Mandarin, they are even friendlier.
''Vegetal'' goose is one. Not too sweet nor salty, the ''meat'' is made from tofu skin and mushroom and deep fried. Crunchy for ''meat'' and crispy for the ''skin'', it tastes like the real thing. But better - it lacks the heaviness of meat. A good accompaniment to the goose is sliced bran, a starch made from a special Shanghainese dough, served with gravy.
Another interesting dish is diced mushroom with rice vermicelli. The name in Chinese is even quainter. Translated, it means ''ants crawling up the trees''. While the diced mushroom represents the hard-working ants, the vermicelli, apparently, is the trees. The natural taste is spiced with chilli, leaving a comfortable tingling feeling on the taste buds.
If you think you haven't had your fill after the goose and the ants, it's not surprising. The bare minimum of oil is used in the preparation, contrary to the usual oil-soaked cooking associated with Shanghainese food.
The restaurant prepares nice crunchy wantons in soup. Eight come in an order - enough for four people.
For something more substantial, try the stewed noodle with green cabbage. Very soft and stew-like, it complements the cook's skill as it wasn't soggy and milky.
If you're a rice-lover, try the fried rice with salted vegetable and pine seeds. A popular dish here, it tastes similar to glutinous-sticky rice but lighter. The tint of green salted vegetables enhances the otherwise bland-looking dish.
After trying the savoury dishes consider the desserts, such as the glue rice dumplings with sesame, which are served in sweet soup.
A meal for two, including beer, costs about $200.
