Admittedly, the first time I went to The Veggie Table, I was spotted immediately and served extra dishes. This is customary within the industry, to pour a taste of wine or try a new menu item. On subsequent visits, remaining anonymous, I have had equally wonderful meals, despite a lack of meat, egg or dairy.

Vegan food is made without animal products. It’s not defined as being organic, but kitchen commander Laura Fanelli has her own personal rules that include sourcing local organic produce when possible. She even makes the restaurant a pick-up point for CSA (community-supported agriculture) members to collect boxes of organic produce from Haidian’s Little Donkey Farm, which also supplies some ingredients. ‘Sourcing organically is a problem,’ admits Fanelli, whose voice becomes guilt-ridden when she talks about having to use locally grown conventional produce and the carbon footprint that results from using imports.

Hummus, described boastfully as ‘the best in Beijing’, is a beehive swirl of chickpea purée Verdict Rookie chef gives us vegan and organic food with great flavors with a lava-flow of olive oil erupting beneath a bright red chilli dusted by a halo of sumac. It could use a heft of garlic but it’s easy to like. For the adventurous, a mock liver paté sounds frightening, but it’s surprisingly good and remarkably close to the real thing. An Indian dahl of stewed lentils with brown rice could serve two, with rich and deep flavors coaxed from spices and vegetables.

The Vegan pizza is a flat disc made from organic local flour that doesn’t hold the crisp-doughy complexity that pizza crust needs. It’s sweet from a spread of sun-dried tomato paste, stippled with flecks of onions and torn pieces of eggplant flesh.

Address: 19 Wudaoying Hutong, Dongcheng District 东城区五道营胡同19号

Source: timeoutbeijing.com