Lao Wai

Lao Wai is a Chinese-vegan vegetarian restaurant. Their menu is primarily inspired by the genuine Sichuanese and Taiwanese kitchens. Their careful selections of basic and complementary ingredients together with our preparation methods are designed to please the palates of even non-vegetarians!

Their food contains no eggs or dairy products. They use those ingredients which should be used in Chinese cooking and refrain from all inferior substitutes. For example we use spring onions instead of leeks, dried chili peppers for “gong bao” in place of chili sauce, fresh garlic and ginger rather than powders, rice wine instead of sherry, and so on. They grind our own spices and roast our own nuts and seeds. All sauces are prepared on the spot. Powder or prepackaged sauces are never used. They do not use MSG.

Only fresh vegetables are brought into their kitchen. Fresh spring onions, baby corn, coriander, morning-glory, sweet basil, asparagus, long bean, water chestnuts, Chinese broccoli, taro, lotus root, and Chinese celery for example, are flown in regularly from the Far East. They do not use any canned goods.

They use fresh organic tofu in all our tofu dishes. Tofu, also known as bean curd, is a very nutritious product made by curdling soybean milk. They feature soft, firm, pressed, and smoked tofu in our dishes.

For their soy protein dishes we use only GMO-free soy products from Japan and Taiwan. These products come in various shapes and flavors, but are used mainly for their texture to complement the vegetables and mushrooms.

Both fresh and dried mushrooms are used frequently in their dishes: shiitake, forest mushrooms, champignons, oyster mushrooms, chanterelles (in season), cloud ears, and golden needle mushrooms.

All their dishes are served with jasmine rice of the very best quality. They make our rice often and in smaller quantities to ensure that it is always fresh. Everyone is happy to avoid “tired” rice.

They flavor our dishes with light, dark, and sweet soy sauce, fresh and dried chilies, chili bean paste, rice wine, Sichuan pepper, 5-spice, sesame oil, homemade chili-, herb-, and spice oils, black fermented beans, and plenty of ginger, garlic, and spring onions.

All their food is prepared with respect and with attentive care, in a wok. Nothing is made ahead of time and then reheated. Each dish is made to order. To attain maximum freshness certain ingredients are even cut, shredded, and chopped only after the order has been taken. We stir-fry in pure vegetable oil.