#Vegan dim sum windows

Inomoni is a vegan dim sum pop-up that offers dumplings online and sometimes out of a local soul food restaurant. Even the most basic dumplings require folding skills, hours of practice to get right, and experience to masterfully construct - the more elaborate dumplings might take years to consistently get right. Traditional dim sum from the Guangdong province and Hong Kong isn’t something a home cook merely whips up on a whim. “‘You should cook professionally,’ she told me.” He immersed himself and made plant-based versions of everything from pad see ew to mapo tofu and Bolognese to fajitas. “I’ve always been a home cook, and when I met Paulette, I changed my entire pantry. Xiao Long Bao is on the menu at Morning Nights' restaurant. He was determined to have her try it, even if he had to make it himself. Furthermore, he found plant-based dim sum tough to track down. But when he did, he felt there was something lacking.

They took trips to San Francisco to dine at upscale vegan venues like Shizen Vegan Sushi Bar and Izakaya, eating burdock root maki and yuba nigiri while drinking plum sake.Īfter the vegan sushi experience, Tsan was inspired to explore Chinese vegan restaurants back in L.A. Locally, he and Paulette enjoyed mushroom tarts at Tal Ronnen’s Crossroads Kitchen. “She was fine with me eating meat, but I’d rather share vegan meals with her.”Īt first, Tsan dipped his toes into the vegan world with simple fare like tofu scrambles, and then he got into the fancy stuff. Tsan, who is Chinese American, born in Paramount and raised in Long Beach, transitioned into a vegan diet when the two began dating. She was a lifelong vegetarian and a vegan for seven years. She hadn’t been exposed to very much Chinese cuisine in the States or her home country. This problem-solving mindset kick-started his journey into reinventing dim sum for vegan eaters. “But it’s also challenging, looking at things from different points of view.”

This is the “Nights” portion of the place, while the dim sum represents the “Morning,” hence the name of the restaurant’s, from founder Phillip Tsan.Īlejandro De Anda finishes a Cucumberita at Morning Nights' hidden cocktail bar. Once inside, the bar and patio area felt like a private club or an oasis from shopping - super chill. Down a dark hall just right of the pickup window, beyond a custom-made, towering red door, a hidden vegan cocktail lounge awaits. Once an eater finds the window, there’s an even deeper culinary secret in store. It shares basic seating in the hall’s dining area with other restaurants.

#Vegan dim sum windows

Two small, sliding glass windows are for orders and pickups. Unlike the other airy food stalls in the Hangar, Morning Nights is hidden in the shadows, as if it doesn’t want to be found. I rushed past it on the way into a modern food hall called the Hangar, at the Long Beach Exchange retail complex. As I sat with this shumai, the question hit me: Could dim sum aficionados give vegan dim sum a shot? And also, would vegans care for dim sum that mimics meat so well?