Easy House Vegetarian Cuisine

Name of Restaurant: Easy House Vegetarian Cuisine (寬心園)
Address: No. 3 Hesi Road, Yancheng District, Kaohsiung City, Taiwan
高雄市鹽埕區河西路3號
Phone Number: +886-7-561-2631
Hours: Daily 11:30AM-9:30PM
Website: www.easyhouse.tw
MRT: O2 Yanchengpu
Days off: None
Vegetarian Options: Yes
English Menu: Yes
English Service: Yes
Average Cost Per Person: TWD 300 to TWD 500
GPS Coordinates: 22.621934,120.288939

On any given day and in any given restaurant, being a vegetarian in Kaohsiung can be extremely frustrating.  Most restaurants lack vegetarian options or simply won’t alter a recipe to make something vegetarian for you.  However, what Taiwan does have that America does not are restaurants serving only vegetarian meals.  These meccas for vegetarians include all sorts of places – from the quick lunch spot to a swanky date-night bistro.  Easy House Vegetarian Cuisine belongs to the latter group and has quickly become my favorite special occasion restaurant.

Atmosphere
Set on the banks of Kaohsiung’s Love River, Easy House Vegetarian Cuisine offers a romantic setting often foreign to the city.  The second floor provides views of boats bobbing down the calm water.  The softly lit interior is decorated with images of Buddha and classic Chinese calligraphy set on a dark stone color scheme.  The service is discreet yet attentive and helpful.  Together, these factors add up to one of the most enjoyable dining environments in Kaohsiung.

What to Eat/Drink
Unlike many vegetarian restaurants in Taiwan, the food at Easy House Vegetarian Cuisine is neither greasy nor bland.  The owner and chef have created a menu of internationally inspired vegetarian meals using natural spices and healthy cooking methods. While tasty meals and soothing refreshments are plentiful, a few are, in my opinion, particularly noteworthy.

1. Portuguese Noodle Soup
This dish smells so great that your mouth will be watering before the waiter can set it down on your table.  The creamy, curry broth contains tomatoes, Japanese seaweed, baby cabbage, mushrooms, and noodles.

2. Mushroom and Truffle Fried Rice
This twist on the classic Taiwanese dish adds a dimension of flavor that is not found elsewhere.  The dish is prepared with special ingredients such as day lilies, wild mushrooms, asparagus, and a truffle sauce.

3. Passion Fruit and Pomelo Tea
This flavorful tea is full of authentically Taiwanese flavors.  Pomelo, a local fruit that tastes somewhat like grapefruit, and passion fruit are freshly squeezed into a pot of soothing, hot tea.

All entrees can be purchased a la carte or with a set meal.  Sets include fruit and vegetable energy juice, a Japanese salad, vegetable soup, seasonal fruit, and a red bean dessert.

Directions
By Scooter: From Bo Ai Road, turn west onto Wufu Road.  After you pass over Love River, take the first right onto the small street named Hesi Road.  Easy House Vegetarian Cuisine will be on your left at number 3.  If you see the Kaohsiung Film Archive, you have gone too far.

By MRT: Take the orange line to O2 Yanchengpu.  Exit the station using exit 1 and walk northeast along Jhong Jheng Road.  Turn right onto Wufu Road after one block.  Turn left onto Hesi Road after seven blocks (just before the river). Easy House Vegetarian Cuisine will be on your left at number 3.  If you see the Kaohsiung Film Archive, you have gone too far.

 

After I began writing this post, I saw a sign advertising a new additional location for this restaurant.  The second location will be at the corner of Mingcheng Road and Fuguo Road.  While I cannot foresee the view being nearly as great at the Zuoying address, it will be much more convenient for those of us living up north.