Celebrity chef Will Meyrick’s flagship Southeast Asian restaurant Mama San offers authentic vegetarian flavours
- No scrimping on rich regional tastes and textures as executive chef Budiana goes the extra distance for vegan and vegetarian diners
FARE Southeast Asian
AMBIENCE This is a branch of Will Meyrick’s Bali flagship that serves pan-Asian cuisine. Diners here step into a Balinese environment, where the smiling faces of the staff are as amiable as the decor. The walls are painted in warm tropical colours and feature several large murals that loom over comfortable brown leather couches, providing a truly Asian feel.
COST The vegan dishes we tried ranged from HK$108 to HK$168.
WHO TO BRING Anyone from a meat lover to vegans and vegetarians.
TURN-ONS The truly impressive vegetarian/vegan menu. Yours truly – a vegan – can tell that executive chef Budiana has gone the extra distance to create a vegan menu that does not scrimp on all the rich colours and flavours of Southeast Asian cuisine. The wild mushroom salad with bamboo and Chiang Mai nam prik, mint and mushroom soy dressing and the pomelo salad with lime leaf, banana blossom, cucumber and mint are must-tries on the starter menu.
Among the main courses, we loved the moong dal tadka palak – mung beans with spinach served on chapattis and poppadoms – the vegetable red curry with pumpkin, tofu, long beans and okra, and a side of sautéed green beans with sambal ulek (chilli paste). The Balinese and Asian sauces make these dishes particularly outstanding and we will definitely be back for more.
TURN OFFS None, really.
DRINKS Quench your thirst in the summer heat with coconut water straight from a young green coconut. There is also a great selection of juices and tea.
Mama San
1/F, Winning Centre, 46-48 Wyndham Street, Central, 2881 8901