An entire wall of vegetables！A café-style, East District creative “vegetarian luwei” (braised delicacies)

Text & photos byPingzi

Luwei is a beloved local Taiwanese dish, mostly served in traditional shops. Pingzi wants to introduce you to VEGE CREEK 蔬河, tucked away in the alleys of Yanji Street in Taipei’s East District. What makes this place stand out is its creativity. The shop is small and primarily serves vegetarian luwei. With an entire wall of vegetables, customers use a self-service basket to pick their favorite ingredients before checking out. Everyone then gathers around a large communal table to eat — it’s definitely a conversation starter.

The shop is really tiny, hidden in the alleys. It’s not big, but it’s easy to find. Walk straight down the alley across from the 50 Lan drink shop on Yanji Street, and when you see the first left turn, take it to reach Lane 129. On your left will be Chuntian Bicycle Shop, and right across from it is VEGE CREEK 蔬河.

Transparent glass windows offer a clear view of everything happening inside.

At night, the sign lights up, adding a charming glow.

The simple yet creative chalkboard at the entrance invites: “I’m happy... because I...” with space for various sentences.

Magazines and promotional materials are also displayed in the corner.

Once inside, you’ll see one large wooden table with about ten high stools. The table occupies the center of the room, leaving only narrow walkways. The dipping sauces are all arranged in the middle of the table — a specially designed setup. If the place is full, you’ll have to wait for someone to finish and leave before you can sit.

To dine here, you first grab a basket, just like shopping at a wet market.

Start by choosing your favorite mushrooms, beans, and vegetarian ingredients. The right side features an entire wall of these dishes, all served in washbasins. Pick whatever you like — super creative, right?

There’s a dazzling array of over ten options.

Each washbasin has a small wooden clip indicating the price, the name of the dish, and what kind of vegetarian ingredient it is.

The left side is the vegetable wall, where all the vegetables offered that day are displayed. These vegetables are delivered directly from farms, ensuring healthy and worry-free eating.

Finally, there’s the noodle section, with five options to choose from: shredded chicken noodles, steamed noodles, Prince noodles, ramen, and glass noodles. They’re designed to look like individual chocolate blocks in wooden trays, color-coded for easy selection.

At lunchtime, they also offer an affordable business lunch set for 99 NT — a choice of noodles + any two vegetables + select one of meal sets A, B, or C. It seems like a pretty good deal.

The luwei is simply priced into a few categories, which are clearly labeled. Blue-labeled items are all 35 NT, while orange-yellow ones are 25 NT.

The kitchen is open-concept, so as soon as you step into the luwei shop, the aroma hits you.

After payment, you’ll receive a small wooden token, and your order will be served to your table shortly after.

On the day Pingzi visited, the total came to 180 NT — not exactly cheap, perhaps that’s just the going rate in the East District. But you get a full bowl brimming with choices.

The luwei here doesn’t follow the traditional heavy braising style. Instead, it offers a lighter, fresher broth. If you’re like Pingzi and enjoy some spice, you can opt for a mild level — the heat isn’t numbing, and it’s really tasty.

Pingzi isn’t usually a fan of typical vegetarian food — often the smell isn’t great, tasting more like additives. But the vegetarian luwei here is pleasantly aromatic, brewed with a special broth made from black dates, angelica, goji berries, licorice, and other Chinese herbs. It’s savory and flavorful without being overly medicinal, leaving a lingering taste you’ll remember fondly. The food isn’t overly salty either, and the broth is drinkable. That day, Pingzi chose the steamed noodles, which were chewy and quite delicious.

Nowadays, people care more about health and prefer to pay a bit more for better food rather than consuming additives. Pingzi has visited VEGE CREEK 蔬河 several times, and whether it's lunchtime or evening after work, the place is always bustling. This modern, design-forward vegetarian luwei spot is entirely vegan. Most importantly, it gives vegetarian food lovers another great place to dine.

VEGE CREEK 蔬河 — East District creative vegetarian luwei.
Address: No. 2, Lane 129, Yanji Street, Taipei City.
Phone: 02-2778-1967.
Hours: 12:00-14:00; 17:00-21:00.
Facebook Page:https://www.facebook.com/VEGECREEK。

upssmile萍子（up’s smile向上微笑）！
She is a designer and also the photographer for Up’s Smile Travel, Food, Design & Film.
She is passionate about “traveling,” “food,” “design,” “photography,” and movies.
Blogger:http://upssmile.com/

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