Vegetarian Chinese Banquet

Ok - this was definitely an interesting culinary experience! So you guys are all familiar with those 10 course chinese banquets - shark's fin soup, scallops and brocolli, chicken, duck etc etc. - how about a totally vegetarian version? I had the good luck of being invited (last minute) to a vegetarian "Tuen nin fan" banquet in New York. All the attendees are strict vegetarians due to their Buddhist faith. Apart from veggies, they are really into fake meats made from tofu or bean proteins. Instead of coming up with whole new dishes, the whole idea is to duplicate the taste and look of the meat versions. Of course, it won't be exactly the same but all in all, very impressive!

Take a look at the photos - one is the vegetarian cold platter with veggie jellyfish and seaweed, the soup was an amazing winter melon soup with lots of ingredients. The presentation here was key - the waiter came round and cut the winter melon on the top which released the other ingredients from the bottom.

The "scallop and brocolli" was created with a stuffed braised shittake mushroom. The tofu rolls was masterful - the filling was a mixture of different vegetables finely-diced wrapped in a tofu pocket.