Spring Natural Vegetarian Restaurant was highly recommended to us by many of my mom’s vegetarian friends. With branches in Taipei and Taichung, Spring Natural offers buffet-style vegetarian lunch, afternoon tea and dinner in a clean, airy and elegant setting. As the afternoon tea (served between 2:30pm and 4:30pm) offerings are comparable to that of lunch but at a discounted price, my mom and I decided to head over to the Taichung branch to try it out.
![Eating Out: [台中市] 春天素食下午茶 (Spring Natural Vegetarian Restaurant, Taichung, Taiwan)](http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2477/4076206037_03da110722.jpg)
Spring Natural’s buffet setup consists of several different stations: cold salads, diy salad station, steamed dishes, dim sum, stir-fried vegetable dishes, vegetarian sashimi (What? How? I will get to this later . . .) and sushi, stews and soups, traditional Taiwanese dishes, as well as an extensive sweet dessert soup, pastry and ice cream station. Soda, juices, and teas were also included as well and upon arrival, a special brew of herbal tea is sent to your table straightaway. Touted as having beneficial properties, the light but flavorful tea was a good appetite opener.
I wasn’t able to get photos of the buffet stations (I felt uncomfortable taking photos of it while the waitstaff were milling about), but here are some photos of the plates that my mom and I put together:
![Eating Out: [台中市] 春天素食下午茶 (Spring Natural Vegetarian Restaurant, Taichung, Taiwan)](http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2474/4076205629_aa0e80ec1d_b.jpg)
My first plate: pan-fried savory turnip cake, sauteed bittermelon, glazed shishito peppers, cold lotus root salad in passionfruit dressing. Everything on this plate was extremely fresh and well prepared; I especially loved the turnip cake (the chef had just finished frying it up when I swung by the dim sum station) as well as the shishito peppers, which were sauteed and tossed in a soy-sesame glaze.
![Eating Out: [台中市] 春天素食下午茶 (Spring Natural Vegetarian Restaurant, Taichung, Taiwan)](http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2623/4076961724_48e111ff4b.jpg)
Mom’s first plate: fried cruller, hot and sour soup, sauteed greens, cold seaweed salad, mushroom “steak.” I didn’t try any of the food here; my mom said the “steak” was so-so while the seaweed salad was good.
![Eating Out: [台中市] 春天素食下午茶 (Spring Natural Vegetarian Restaurant, Taichung, Taiwan)](http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3432/4076961786_55c4354b77_b.jpg)
I also got the vegetarian version of the infamous Taiwanese “stinky tofu.” I’m not sure what makes normal stinky tofu non-vegetarian, but this version was delicious; the soup was a flavorful umami broth; sour, spicy and savory; the tofu didn’t seem to harbor an overly stinky smell. For those who have never tried stinky tofu and are a bit intimidated by it, Spring Natural’s version would probably be a good, gentle introduction to the dish.
![Eating Out: [台中市] 春天素食下午茶 (Spring Natural Vegetarian Restaurant, Taichung, Taiwan)](http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2421/4076206233_c7b0260874_b.jpg)
My second plate: a random salad I threw together with various sprouts and a ginger-soy vinaigrette, more shishito peppers (I liked it enough to go back for seconds; normally at buffets I try not to get seconds of anything in order to try as many dishes as possible), braised figs.
I also got this at the sushi/sashimi station: two pieces of sweet “sushi”, actually a mochi-type confection that was made so that it resembles a maki roll. I didn’t really detect much of any one flavor in this . . . it was a bit strange to me. It’s no secret that I dislike anything mochi-textured, and this didn’t impress me either. I believe the center of the maki was steamed sweet potato, the middle layer was sweetened azuki bean paste, followed by the mochi outer layer.
![Eating Out: [台中市] 春天素食下午茶 (Spring Natural Vegetarian Restaurant, Taichung, Taiwan)](http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2771/4076205533_e77cf65a83.jpg)
At the bottom of the plate you can see the one slice of vegetarian sashimi that I got for kicks, though I have lean towards a vegetarian diet, I’m a die-hard sushi fan (probably the only thing preventing me from becoming a complete vegetarian). I don’t think anything could replace the taste and mouthfeel of real raw fish flesh; and this was no exception. I have to give credit to Spring Natural for being able to replicate the “look” of sashimi, from its color to somewhat slippery texture, but it didn’t taste nor feel like sashimi at all. I’m not really into the idea of creating vegetarian versions of meat as well . . . I couldn’t get into this.
![Eating Out: [台中市] 春天素食下午茶 (Spring Natural Vegetarian Restaurant, Taichung, Taiwan)](http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3492/4076206143_1ecea6be54.jpg)
Mom’s second plate: more stinky tofu, seaweed salad, sauteed greens, egg roll, sweetened red bean pastry.
Despite sampling all that food, we still had room to try some dessert:
![Eating Out: [台中市] 春天素食下午茶 (Spring Natural Vegetarian Restaurant, Taichung, Taiwan)](http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2565/4076206355_781c809fc0.jpg)
Sweetened taro paste cake, chocolate covered peanut clusters, vegan custard (made with agar-agar instead of gelatin). Nothing too special here; I usually find dessert bars at any buffet to be so-so to disappointing, due to the fact that desserts like cake and cookies tend to dry out due to being put outside for long periods of time (but maybe I just have really high expectations of dessert).
![Eating Out: [台中市] 春天素食下午茶 (Spring Natural Vegetarian Restaurant, Taichung, Taiwan)](http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2728/4076206461_8523667152.jpg)
Red bean pastry innards, peanut-powder covered hakka-style mochi (hidden underneath the vegetarian maki roll).
Spring Natural’s offerings for their afternoon tea are generous; though I’d stick to their savory dishes such as the soups, dim sum, salads and sauteed items. For those who are vegetarian, Spring Natural goes beyond basic tofu and sauteed vegetable dishes; offering a diverse and enticing menu. For those aren’t, it’s a great place to try some tasty Taiwanese-style meat-free cuisine.
春天素食
台中市西屯區大墩十七街88號2樓
(04) 2328-0956
午餐:11:45 ~ 14:00, 每人500、兒童 300
下午茶:14:30 ~ 16:30, 每人350、兒童 250
晚 餐:17:45 ~ 21:00, 每人600、兒童 350
Spring Natural Vegetarian Restaurant
No. 88 (2nd floor), Dadun 17th Street, Xitun District, Taichung City, Taiwan
(04) 2328-0956
Lunch:11:45 ~ 14:00, Adults NT500、Children NT300
Afternoon Tea:14:30 ~ 16:30, Adults NT350、Children NT250
Dinner:17:45 ~ 21:00, Adults NT600、Children NT350