I've been working across the street from Mother Chu's Vegetarian Kitchen the last 9 months. So I jumped at the opportunity of finally lunching there when 2 workmates mentioned that they were planning on trying something new. The elderly Chinese have a respect for this place, and I can totally understand why. They serve delicious vegetarian alternatives and the Buddhist culture is truley brought out in the casual decor, genuine service and hearty menu. Catering for strict Buddhists means that there's no alcohol consumption on the premises. Sparkling juices are prepared in replacement of wine and beer. And tofu or soybean of all shapes and textures are served looking and sometimes even tasting like the meaty variation.

This is X's lemongrass tea. Uber fragrant with bruised stalks of lemongrass!

I had the sparkling grape juice which was reminiscent of Maison's non-alcoholic sparkling wine.

Mother Chu's also do vegetarian peking duck! But considering our limited hour, we only had the San Choi Bao. There were bits of bamboo shoots, shitake mushrooms and water chestnut. I didn't really take notice of the other ingrdients but each bite was full of flavour. You could barely tell that it didn't consistent of meat!

san choi bao

Next was the honey glazed pumpkin and apples. The photo talks for itself. A thick yet light crisp batter coated the sweet pieces of pumpkin and apple. The glazed honey was perfect and wasn't one bit too sticky nor sweet. I'm coming back here for the dessert fritters... available in pineapple, banana and more.

honey glazed pumpkin and apple

The hot pot was meant to add greenery to our meal. But instead we were served white vegetables (cauliflower, potatoes & Chinese cabbage) in a glutinous curry sauce. The soybean and nori rolls were fried to a golden brown and tasted a lot like fish!

curry hot pot with soybean and nori rolls

Mother Chu's Vegetarian Kitchen was warm & cosy. The generous serving sizes and yummy food makes it one of the must visit places along Pitt Street :)

Mother Chu's Vegetarian Kitchen
367 Pitt St Sydney
Mon-Fri 12:00pm- 3:00pm
Mon-Sat 5:00pm-10:00pm
Tel: (02) 9283-2828
Web: http://sydney.citysearch.com.au/E/V/SYDNE/0020/16/08/1.html