Lacto
Ovo
Chinese
Japanese
Buffet
Fast food
Take-out
Taiwanese
清祺素食 neighborhood vegetarian buffet and dim sum eatery located diagonally opposite the Eastern Vegetable Market (Dong Caishi). Dim sum are vegan; cakes and some made-to-order dishes are vegetarian. Reported open, June '23. Open Tue-Sun 5:00am-11:30am, Tue 2:00pm-9:00pm, Thu-Sun 2:00pm-9:00pm.
24 Reviews
First Review by Zoermoos
nishaaa
Points +5316
so good - Edit
yet another buffet vegetarian restaurant with lots of amazing vegan options! glad to finally try the xiao long bao here!
Read moreGuest
frankensteinsmonster
Points +1777
Vegan dim sum fit for a Qing - Edit
Came for vegan dim sum brunch... Lots of vegan options, very cheap, yummy and filling.
Read moreThis was one of the best vegan eats FM has had in Taiwan but 4 stars not 5 as some of the dim sum were a bit chewy.
Updated from previous review on 2023-06-22
Guest
Ansemsa
Points +49
Breakfast of my dreams 😍 - Edit
This store is indeed open and thriving!
Read moreThe variety they offer is incredible and beats any omnivore breakfast shop by far!
On my plate, I could gather only a small selection of what they offer. This cost me roughly 170 NTD (including fresh, warm soy milk).
I'm definitely coming back!
Updated from previous review on 2023-05-14
Guest
AleksandraGorbatenko
Points +34
Place does not exist?! - Edit
Did not find the place! And nobody picked up the phone call...
Read moreAnsemsa
Could it be you went on a Monday? It's closed on mondays
Read moreGuest
TeaganKane
Points +190
Solid Local food - Edit
I really enjoyed the food that they had here as it was not as greasy as a lot of Taiwanese food. Lots of options but some were not vegan but they told me. Lovely staff and funny.
Read morePros: Cheap , Variety , Lots of sauces
Cons: Some was cold, Some not vegan
Guest
BadassJB
Points +654
Open when you're hungry - Edit
This place opens early and shuts late. So, you can get something hot to eat most times of the day. They offer steamed buns, shanghai style dumplings, cabbage rolls, veggie medley, and various other dim sums. The ladies can be a little pushy and 'mother knows best' mentality, but just acquiesce and take the freshly steamed option. plates filled up don't tend to be more than 120. Oh, bring your own chopsticks if you can. They only offer ones in a plastic sheath.
Read morePros: lots of options, dim sum /small dishes, inexpensive
Cons: semi-aggressive staff
Guest
tubbins
Points +294
Quick dim sum - Edit
I had a plate of pretty good dim sum here. You can help yourself from a central table and pay before you eat. Staff didn’t speak English but another customer helped me figure this out! The dim sum was cold but nice enough. $83 for a plate full, so good value. The place was basic but good for a quick refuel.
Read morePros: Vegan options, Cheap , Quick
Cons: Cold food only , Hard to communicate if you don’t speak Chinese
Guest
HannahWynne
Points +19
Cheap, delicious and authentic - Edit
Great for vegetarians - you can pick anything without any worry.
Read moreThere is very little English spoken, but they saw us floating aimlessly, passed us a plate and said everything is veggie.
The giant spring rolls and turnip cake are fabulous. All the little bao buns are great and they've got veg plates on the top - I loved the Cabbage.
My husband and I had full plates each and it came to under 200TWD. You just take your plate to the counter once full and a lady totals it up whilst there.
So glad we tried this place out - love to experience the local culture without panicking about meat.
Pros: Everything suitable for vegetarians, Tasty foods, home style cooking , Cheap!
Cons: Little English (though this isn't a problem!)
Guest
thechatonstravellers
Points +1274
Amazing buffet! - Edit
Definitely the most amazing vegan buffet in Tainan! Cheap prices and the food is so good! There are mainly Dim Sum (dumplings, springrolls, buns, radish cake, sesame balls...)
Read moreFriendly Staff but no English. We wanted to come back the next day and we were so sad it's closed on Monday. You really have to go there!!
Pros: Cheap and amazing food, Local food
Cons: No english
Guest
jessika311
Points +1059
Fabulous - Edit
I love dim sum and was so happy to find a vegan place!
Read morePros: Inexpensive , Lots of options
Guest
Moix
Points +343
Maybe going at 3pm was a bad idea - Edit
3pm is between typical meal times for most people. Still, the restaurant was open and cooking. I was the only person dining. There were trays of buns and dumplings sitting out.
Read moreAfter staring at the food for a few minutes and unsure how of how to order (no labels or menus), staff handed me a takeaway box. I got the message and filled it with a selection of items, not much clue of what they were but hoping for the best.
I sat down to eat with my takeaway box but when I tucked in the food all cold. It was also greasy and didn't enjoy it. I wondered if I got the lunchtime leftovers.
I also found the staff rather brisk. I've given it 3 stars instead of 2 because it seems like it's probably much better when fresh and I'd be willing to give it a second chance.
Cons: Difficult to know what you're selecting, Risk of cold and oily food, Staff were brisk
Guest
Zoermoos
Points +165
great food! - Edit
Friendly staff. Food is very good and also very cheap. We ate here twice during our two-day stay. The food is filling and tasty and there are many options.
Read morePros: Mostly vegan. Only a few of the cakes contain milk
Cons: Not speaking English at all. Had help from expat.
Guest
kwanza
Points +305
No frills, delicious dim sum and soya milk - Edit
Simple neighbourhood dim sum buffet restaurant. Just grab and fill your paper plate or takeaway box.Almost all items are vegan - the staff can advise. I enjoyed all of the items I tried, mostly savoury and a couple of sweet ones. Sweetened and unsweetened soya milk also available. My wife and I enjoyed the food so much that we came back and had dim sum for breakfast the following day.
Read morePros: Delicious dim sum, Great value for money, Nice neighbourhood atmosphere
Cons: Paper plates
Guest
Shachimin
Points +426
Authentic Cuisine run by Lovely Aunties - Edit
A kind auntie who spoke Japanese explained to us what each food item was and which contained eggs/ dairy (there were only 2), she helped us through the entire process of choosing what to eat. You basically grab either a plate for eating-in or bento box for take away then fill it to your liking and take it to the cashier lady to pay; you can also order Ramen (which we did, if was good) as well as some delicious soy mill (there is sweet or unsweetened).
Read moreIt’s all very affordable, delicious and very clean. After we each had a plateful and one ramen to share, we grabbed the bento box and took some dumplings, fried radish mochi and spring rolls to go, as well as this large piece of bread that is slightly sweet.
I highly recommend this place. The staff were very friendly and helpful, it felt like we were eating in a relative’s house.
Guest
Finn024
Points +407
Good place to try many local food - Edit
It's a buffet style restaurant. Several ladies work here. They don't speak good English but one of the ladies speaks simple Japanese. They were kind and helpful. Some steamed bums/cakes are not vegan. If you tell them they'll point out which contains egg.
Read moreI liked radish mochi and noodle they have. The restaurant was clean and food was good.
Guest
MicrobialFuture
Points +1055
Easy Dim sum - Edit
This restaurant exclusively serves dim sum. The ladies seem to be constantly cooking a variety of dim sum and setting out new dishes. It is a vegetarian restaurant, and they do serve egg in some dishes, so you have to state if you are vegan: "I don't eat egg", or 我不吃雞蛋, or "Wǒ bù chī jīdàn". They will point out the dishes that you won't want to eat. The food hits the spot though if you are in the mood for greasey, room temperature dumplings and taro cake, which i was.
Read moreUpdated from previous review on 2019-04-16
Pros: dim sum, vegetarian, many options!
Cons: room temp food, greasey
Guest
mattmoffitt87
Points +81
A winner - Edit
If you love dim sum, come here! The food isn’t the healthiest nor is the service warm, but the dishes are 100% delicious and the price is reasonable. I’ll be back!
Read moreGuest
stam
Points +2073
Lots of dim sum to choose from! - Edit
Not the cheapest place, but quite a range of dim sum to choose from. Also not the tastiest or best made dim sum, and some items are cold. That being said, it’s a reliable breakfast place - just watch out for weekends when it’s closed in the morning. Take a plate and choose what you want to eat, then take it over to the small table on the right. Staff will come over and tell you how much it costs. A lot of ppl take out food and there are some unique dishes like a mayo sushi roll inside a traditional siu bang. Watch out for eggs and dairy. Dim sum selection doesn’t change much.
Read morePros: Good vegetarian dim sum selection
Cons: Watch out for dairy and eggs in some items, Not the freshest food
Guest
tantantan
Points +1109
So many delicious things! - Edit
I love this place, I ate here almost every night. The best part is that it's self service so you can pick and choose with no hassle. There are so many different choices of dumplings but also veggies, greens, mushrooms, soybean creations.. Sweet cakes are not vegan but everything else should be. The ladies are so sweet. They also have brown rice milk and soy milk! Usually after 9pm they are closing up but you can grab takeaway until 10pm. My dinners were usually between 50-120NYT depending on how many veggies I had :)
Read morePros: self service, pick and choose your own things!
Guest
JMarszal
Points +83
What am I eating? - Edit
The food was very good (it could have been warmer though) but it was quite hard to figure out what it was exactly as the ladies working there spoke barely any English. The only one that does a little, though, assured me there was no meat or fish in the dishes. All in all, I enjoyed the traditional food without the meat, so it’s definitely worth a visit.
Read morePros: Traditional food without meat, Very affordable
Cons: Lack of English menu
Guest
kool_kitchen
Points +862
Wide variety but disappointing execution. - Edit
It's a buffet style of mostly dim sum with a wide variety available. Unfortunately some it was luke warm, a lot of the dim sum was a bit sweet. The spring rolls were a bit greasy.
Read moreOne of the mock meat dishes also had a few hard pebbles that could of damaged my teeth or I could of swallowed. Not sure if they were supposed to be there, but that was very disconcerting.
I wanted to like it as I love dim sum and it had great variety and was super cheap but I was disappointed. The best things were some of the cooked buns.
Pros: very cheap, wide variety
Cons: some of the food can be greasy, cooked food can be luke warm, very basic canteen style seating
Guest
JesseFletcher
Points +58
Little Local Slice of Life - Edit
Next to the temple of the Tainan City-God these ladies are constantly cooking up soul food. Steaming dim sum baskets of meat free delights await! This is a no-frills, brisk business. Don't be put off by the abrupt welcome, their hearts are in the right place... and so are you. Just grab a plate and breathe easy.
Read morePros: cheap, all day
Cons: dirty
Guest
AndyCB
Points +2227
Great variety and fab staff! - Edit
We were lucky when we arrived to have help from some other local customers in checking what was vegan. In fact, all the dim sum was vegan-friendly. It seems that just the cakes aren't.
Read moreOur lunch was so good, we came back in the evening for more. The staff were so friendly and welcoming!
You can just take a plate or box and help yourself to whatever you want. A good plateful comes to between $70 and $100. Options include cabbage roll, spring roll, steamed dumplings, veg of many varieties, plus more!
Highly recommended!
Pros: Great choice, Friendly staff
Guest
bruixa86
Points +346
Good variety - Edit
Really good variety of dim-sums, dumplings and rolls. Very tasty. You just have to grab wherever you want either in a plate o a paper box to take away, pay, and enjoy!
Read moreGuest
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