Eating Vegan at Pei Wei

Chris and I had a wonderful little picnic on Wednesday. When we first got together in West Virginia, we used to go have date nights at one of our town's two Chinese buffets. Chris became vegetarian while we were living in Midland and didn't feel comfortable eating at the Chinese restaurant there without knowing 100% that their options were vegetarian friendly.

So, the last time either of us had had Chinese food was probably in San Francisco in 2009. Yikes!

We've been in Austin for two years now and still hadn't tried anything local nor another nationwide Chinese food chain. One afternoon we met up at a Panda Express. Chris asked one of the girls at the counter which items were vegetarian. One said, "Oh, anything without meat is vegetarian," but was quickly corrected by another claiming that all we could have were spring rolls and white rice. There's even more debate on whether or not there's anything at Panda Express that's actually vegetarian. The issue apparently is that they use chicken broth in nearly everything as a sauce or base. So if you're vegetarian but somehow don't have a problem with chicken broth, you're okay. But they definitely do no have vegan options.

Pei Wei, to the contrary, has vegetarian items listed on their menus. And, according to Vegan Eating Out, there are three vegan options for entrees. You can get edamame and spring rolls as sides and have can choose between the Spicy Korean, Sweet & Sour, or Thai Blazing (or Dynamite?) for entrees. If you're general vegetarian or an herbivore, you also have the options of getting the Honey Seared or Japanese Teriyaki Bowl, the sauces for which contain honey. With any option you can order it with vegetables, tofu, or vegetables and tofu on rice or noodles. Chris ordered the Thai Dynamite (pictured above) while I got the Sweet & Sour (see below).

Chris seemed pretty impressed with her dish, saying that it wasn't too spicy but was still quite good. She liked the spring rolls a lot. I thought they could have been crispier. But I liked my dish quite a bit as well. It wasn't too sweet and had a great mix of vegetables, pineapple, and tofu. Oh, the tofu! That's the BEST part. Apparently it's marinated and has a meaty, chewy texture. It's awesome. Needless to say, we were both very happy with our dishes. We each ate half for lunch and ate the second half for dinner.

We ate at a little pull off on Chisolm Trail in Round Rock. It was actually near the Round Rock the city is named after. We didn't have the chance to go into the historical buildings off to the side, but the scenery was very nice and peaceful. It was really hot out, but there was a mild breeze and that made the meetup more bearable. 

Anyway, I'm super glad to be able to get Chinese food again. I'm hoping to go to the Pepper Tree restaurant while we're in Houston in September. Vegan Chinese buffet? Yes, freaking please! Another option we're considering is a place called Radical Eats, a Mexican restaurant owned and operated by a former Kerbey Lane employee. 

All right, it's time to go back to work. Don't forget to enter this month's giveaway; you could win a $25 coupon code redeemable at the Glass Dharma website for reusable glass straws and accessories! Thanks for reading!