Home Sweet Home @ Purity Vegetarian

I'm happily back home in Vancouver for the Christmas holidays and for my first meal back, I chose to eat at Purity Vegetarian.  I have never been here, but have supported it from the beginning.  Yes, I am biased because one of the owners is actually my aunt. 

During my university days when I lived alone at home, my aunt would always send me my favorites (like adobo,  beef stew, paella, chicken broth, etc) because it's not ones I knew how to cook, or had time to cook, or not something I could cook for one.

My aunt is also a food lover and puts care in everything she makes just like my grandfather.  Each dish I received never disappointed and always provided me comfort especially when the stress level from school was high.  So I knew even without tasting the dishes it was going to be good.  Last night,  I was excited to see my aunt and finally try her new restaurant in Richmond called Purity Vegetarian.

The restaurant is very casual and feels very open and welcoming.  

 The head of front of house is behind the cash register giving us a discrete and pleasant smile as I eagerly wait for the food to come.

I was at the hands of my company to order me whatever they recommended.  The first was the veggie meat wrap in brown sauce.  It's like the Peking duck course without the duck.  It was very good, the "meat" is actually pretty well resembled, the vegetables adds nice texture, and the sauce is quite tasty.

Another dish was the crispy veggie oyster with salt and pepper.  It looks more like nuggets to me. The colors of the tofu are the colors of oyster and does have a hint of oyster taste.  I must say this is my favorite dish.  The tofu has a unique taste with the combination of being perfectly seasoned. I could finish the whole dish on my own. It was good on its own or eaten with the accompanied radish.

The other dish we had was the crispy bean curd sheets layered with taro.  The taro was very smooth and the taste was very pure, which contrasted well with breaded bean curd.  Eating it alone, or with the sauce and/or radish changes the taste of each bite.

We had so much food that there was no more room for dessert! The desserts are fabulous in the place...it's made by the the genius pastry chef cousin of mine. (Again not biased! Her desserts are just always good.)  I will definitely try it on my next trip. 

Although these dishes aren't the same the ones from my university days, it still gives the same feeling of comfort.  It is not just another restaurant trying taking your money with mediocre food.  This is a place where food made with love and service from people that spreads love.  It feels like home sweet home.