su tao cafe

sutao cafe
81 lancaster avenue
malvern, pa
(610) 651 8883
www.sutaocafe.com

type of cuisine: chinese
culinary excellence: 6
vegan friendliness: 10

su tao, which means "way of vegetarian cooking", boasts a huge assortment of 100% vegan dishes, featuring mostly mock meat renditions of staple chinese fare. however, despite serving up food that is cruelty-free, i'm not sure about their claim to health. most of the edibles here are deep fried and rather on the greasy side at that. granted, i did fix my own plate from the buffet and chose predominantly fried selections, but after dinner i could feel my stomach distending out in protest. luca was nauseous. as for the taste factor, everything was pretty good except for those little mushy triangular concoctions that may have been mimicking shrimp toast. stand outs included general tsao's chicken (good texture, batter fried), spring rolls, lemon chicken (crusted mock meat w/ a drippy lemon sauce) and tasty little fried banana balls. other choices such as vegetable tempura were good at first but then entirely too greasy. if i do go back, and i kinda doubt that I will, i think i'll order something a bit more balanced from the menu. this place is a good example of how vegan does not necessarily equal healthy. go if you live within 15 minutes, otherwise it's not really worth the trip.