SF - Cha-Ya restaurant, local, vegan, delicious

[Guest guest]

Cha-Ya Vegetarin Japanese Cuisine has it all; noodles, sushi, salads, and

absolutely delicious delicacies you cannot find anywhere else. Everything they

make is vegan, yet they span the Japanese cuisine repertoire. Some of their

" cannot miss " items are the Soba Salad, the Hangetsu and the Yellow Moon

dessert.

 

Their Soba Salad is simply described as " Soba noodles topped with various

seasonal vegetables " . This description doesn't do this plate justice. Their

perfectly cooked noodles are topped with an assortment of vegetables such as

fresh peas, strawberries, cucumbers, pickled radishes and more. There is such a

delectable variety of flavors in this dish it satisfies all by itself. But be

prepared, they change the vegetables with the season, so you might want to ask

when you order what they are featuring.

 

The Hangetsu, deep fried Portobello, is one of the most original delicacies on

their menu. Their masterful chef takes a perfect Portobello layers it with

atsuage tofu and deep fries it in a light tempura batter, the mushroom and tofu

blend into a smooth and creamy consistency. This delicious treat is then served

with a kiwi sauce, and let's not forget about the edamame garnish. Scrumptious!

What's truly wonderful about this dish is that sometimes you just want something

deep fried that still has flavor, and this won't leave you feeling bloated and

greasy.

 

Finally, you can't leave without trying one of their desserts. From Pineapple

Chunks to Chocolate Vegan Cake they have it all. I highly recommend the Yellow

Moon. Although this item is described as deep fried, I know again with the deep

fried, but that's not what is striking about this one. The presentation of the

organic banana sliced into six little piles and topped with green tea sauce and

azuki bean sauce is beautiful. The bananas themselves are crisp on the outside

and smooth on the inside. They use organic bananas so you really get a great

banana flavor.

 

My only complaint is that they don't have a very good beer list and the warm

sake leaves much to be desired. But then, typically sake served warm is done so

to hide the impurities. I will admit, I'm a cold sake gal myself.

 

Cha-Ya can be found in three locations: 762 Valencia, 1386 – 9th Avenue, and

1686 Shattuck in Berkeley. Check them out and enjoy!

 

Cha-Ya doesn't have a website, but they do have a Yelp listing.

 

Author: Stephanie Robbins

Stephanie Robbins is an Examiner from San Francisco.