Grassroots Pantry is one of the new slate of vegan restaurants which have taken Hong Kong by storm over the last several years.
When I lived in Hong Kong from 2007-2011, it was relatively challenging to find vegetarian restaurants–and vegan places were unheard of. You were stuck with a few buddhist Chinese restaurants, the fabulous Lock Cha Tea House, and perhaps one or two others. That has totally changed with more and more restaurants offering vegetarian menus, and new vegan-only restaurants like Grassroots Pantry pop up.
The good news? Regardless of whether you are vegan or not, your tastebuds come out winners.
The epic and well designed entrance of Grassroots Pantry. Somehow the circular window reminds me of the hobbit houses from Lord of the Rings–in a good way.
This nook alone should convince you that Grassroots Pantry is awesome. Notice how this window is the same one pictured in the previous photo.
The Indian Tikka Flatbread with hedgehog mushroom, tikka spice rub, curry pine nut cream, mango chutney, and cilantro mint pesto. This was very good and surprisingly versatile. Savory and sweet but not too much of either.
The popcorn chicken. I’ve never had chicken before, so I can’t say if it is like the real thing, but it was very friend and very tasty, although I honestly got tired of it after three or so.
Thai green curry. This one was very well done. The curry was thin, but not too sweet. The veggies were not overcooked, and the whole dish was refreshing, Very good.
The koji smoked carrot crepe with shaved Chinese seasonal greens, pine nut yolk mousse, teff ingera, and wild arugula and dill salad. This was trying to replicate a crepe with meat on it–probably salmon–and honestly, it was pretty good. Not my top choice, but if you want a crepe you can’t go wrong with this one.
The buckwheat pappardelle bolognese with soffrito, home-roasted marinara, garam masala, minced tofu, shiitake pancetta, tree-nut cheese pecorino. I’m not a huge pasta guy, but this was very good. It felt like only an approximation of pasta though, at least the kind that most people are used to eating.
To be honest, I wasn’t so into this raisin cannoli. The vegan ice cream, however, was very good, if a bit sweet.
I wanted to include this photo because these desserts look awesome, but sadly I didn’t get to try any of them.
The interior of Grassroots Pantry has a modern but vaguely green sort of feel. Overall it complements the food well.
The Verdict
Grassroots Pantry is awesome and has great vegan food. I’m so glad this exists and if you are vegan and visiting Hong Kong, you have to go. If you aren’t vegan, it’s still worth checking out. If you’re reading this, you might also be interested to visit Lock Cha Tea House, a vegan tea and dim sum restaurant in Admiralty’s Hong Kong Park.
And if you’re a vegetarian/vegan traveling around the world check out our guides to the best vegetarian/vegan restaurants in Seoul, Stockholm, Santa Cruz, and Auckland.
Getting to Grassroots Pantry