CHAU VeggiExpress

I think it’s because they opened a new location, the quality at Victoria dr is just not there anymore! The noodles are extremely over cook, the ingredients in the same bowl, some are way over cooked, and some under cooked… What I use to love about the place is how well they pick and prep the ingredients… yeah… that’s out the window too. Been there twice since the new location opened, and same poor quality both time… hopefully they can fix that soon!

If you’re in Vancouver for vacation, heed my warning and don’t go all out of the way for this place.
So promising. 4.5 star average reviews. And vegan? I know most people’s stomachs churn when they hear that phrase but vegan restaurants in my experience are actually better than their normal counterparts, mostly cuz they have to try extra hard to please normal people.
Twas not the case here, even though this place is crowded it’s not very special. We got both of the soups and they were equally unimpressive. The curry was not spicy. I asked for extra vegetables since I wasn’t getting the noodles and I think they just gave me more soup. Not filling. The udon was just udon. We could’ve bought it at a grocery store. We told them the food wasn’t good and they apologized but as there is a steady stream of customers, and the tables overfloweth, they probably don’t greatly care.

Heard a lot about this place, had pretty high expectations, and they definitely delivered!
To start, parking at this location can be a bit hit and miss because it’s located on a busy street, but if you swing around the corner there’s usually lots of free parking available.
When you walk in, grab a menu and sit down to figure out what you would like to order. Then, go up to the till and order. I say grab a seat first because they can get quite busy, so you wanna save your spot! Once you place your order, everything else is self-​serve. There’s water and utensils to the side, and there’s individual and communal seating available. I did a quick glance and it looked like they could fit around 30 – 40 people between the two parts of the restaurant.
The set up of the restaurant is pretty cool. All of the beverages are made in the café side (right) whereas the food related stuff is all on the left. Washroom can be located on the café side, and to my knowledge there was only one… unless they had one on the left side too and I missed it?
I went with a friend on a Wednesday afternoon around 6pm. We had arrived just before the rush so we were able to get our food in under ten minutes. Both of our dishes were ordered onion and garlic free, and they were able to make the adjustment for the meal, which was wonderful! Being able to eat without worry is always a plus! They gave us a sign containing a type of vegetable, and told us that they would deliver the food to us at our seats. We realized later that instead of numbers, they used names of vegetables — cute! Way more personable too.
My friend ordered #8, the Rice Field Bowl, which contained rice noodles (thin) and an assortment of seasonal vegetables, along with a fried egg. He also ordered a drink that apparently is one of their most popular? I can’t remember what it’s called and the website doesn’t seem to have the beverage menu available, but he quite enjoyed it. This Rice Field Bowl is an interesting dish because the broth is available on the side and is meant to be sipped as the dry rice noodle is eaten. My friend really enjoyed it and he was glad that the waitress who delivered the food took the time to explain the dish.
I ordered #15, the Red Sand Dunes Soup, which also came with rice noodles (thick), along with tofu, beancurd, spicy lemongrass and shredded greens. They also had some bean sprouts, jalapeños and a slice of lemon available for me to add in on the side if I wanted to. I decided to add a fried egg on top as well. I also ordered the earl grey iced tea and very much enjoyed it! It contained slices of lemon in it which was a pleasant surprise. I decided to toss everything I had available as a side into my bowl and it added a ton of flavor to it. As somebody who usually has tons of hot sauce in my food, I ate through a good portion of the dish before I felt like eating spicier and added it. It was amazing either way!
Side note: we were both slightly thrown off at one point when we realized that our dishes came with pineapple. We hadn’t read the menu closely enough so we missed it. It wasn’t bad, just surprising, and in hindsight, I’m glad I tried something new, cause the sweetness of the pineapple layered with the spiciness from the jalapeño and the citrus from the lemon created such an amazing flavour!
We finished all of our food around an hour or so; we had been chatting and enjoying every last bite. As we were getting ready to wrap up, our waitress swooped in to clean our table and asked us whether or not we wanted dessert. We caved. Totally caved. No regrets though! None at all!
My friend ordered the Thai iced tea ice cream while I ordered the coconut vanilla bean ice cream. Both were absolutely delicious and I wish I didn’t have a meeting following the dinner, because I would’ve totally bought a pint to take home with me!
We paid for the dessert at the table and got to skip the line, and the treats were brought out very quickly. Mine had some coconut flakes on top, and sweet Merlin, I don’t have the words to describe how amazing it was. I also got to try a bit of my friends Thai tea ice cream, and it tasted just like a Thai tea — which I love!, so the next time I go I think I’ll be ordering that as well!
Amazing experience for a first time. Looking forward to going a second, third and fourth time ;) would highly, highly recommend!

Oh man what a tasty treat!
Had the ‘non la rolls’ as an appetizer and the ‘golden temple soup’ for dinner and it was a delicious! My wife had the ‘rice fields bowl’ which was just as good. The only place to go in Vancouver that has healthy, vegan and tasty Vietnamese food.

Bought 2 bags of their taro chips and it cost me $ 12.50 for both — $ 6.25 each (doesn’t even include tax yet). There was like only 10 chips in the damn bag each! Way too over priced for non organic food. Their veggie dishes are bland and simple, you can just buy veggies and make it at home yourself for less than what they’re trying to sell it for. I don’t know why people are raving about this place. It’s overpriced & they’re all about profit for some simple plain NON organic food than can be made at home instead.

Wonderful concept — healthy veggie fare plus yummy delectable desserts! Everything is fresh and tasty. Even though I’m not vegetarian, I did not miss meat for dinner here. Favourite dish we tried was the coconut curry vermicelli dish. Wish I could remember the other dish we tried with the wild rice and greens. Who knew healthy vegetarian could taste this good! And the salted caramel drizzle over dark chocolate cake with a side of housemade chocolate banana ice cream was divine! Think it called a ‘one night stand’! Excellent service even though it’s a self serve place. The proprietress served us our dessert and drinks at our table. We sat for quite a few hours and never felt rushed. A lovely place with a neat casual vibe! Will return for sure.

Get the coconut shake! I keep coming back for it again and again. The Golden Temple Soup and the Bai Sao Beach Chips (taro chips!) are also delicious.
Don’t underestimate the satisfaction of vegetarian food at this gem. The flavours are bold and the portions are decent!

Love this spot!!! Chau Veggie never disappoints! Don’t let the lack of meat on the vegan menu fool you. Everything on the menu is incredibly flavourful and fresh. Ontop of that the girls that work here are super nice. This place is always jam packed. My fave thing on the menu — the Golden Temple. Must try.

Not sure why there’s such a high rating for this place or maybe it’s my lack of familiarity to vegetarian/​vegan food, both my friend and I couldn’t finish our meal. We came at around 6:30 and it was nearly full. About 10 – 15 minutes later, people were pouring in and for the duration of time we were there, there was a constant lineup.
There’s two sections to this restaurant. The left side looked like a seat yourself kind of establishment while the other side which is partly separated looks a pastry/​coffee shop. Both side are available for dining.
My friend is viet and we were excited to try some vegetarian Vietnamese food. We agreed to order:
–Bai Sao Beach Chips (4/​5-​$ 6.75): Hand-​cut taro chips with spiced paprika garlic organic tofu dip. Probably the only good thing in this restaurant and I’m not someone that only goes crazy over deep fried food. The chips were thin and that dip! Oh my God that dip was sooo good. I could buy a jar of this.
–Rickety Rickshaw bowl (2.5/5-$ 10): The was a lacking in taste from the fish sauce so it made the dish super bland and pretty much tasteless.
–Golden Temple Soup (2.5/5-$ 11.75): This bowl of light turmeric coconut curry soup with a small bowl of quinoa. Not sure we had to pour it in but I enjoyed my soup separate from the quinoa. Not exceptionally bad, but I wish there were more coconut milk to it.
–Night market salad (2÷5− $ 7.50): This dish was sour. It totally tainted my love for papaya salads. It was supposed to come with peanuts but we didn’t see nor ate any.
–Coconut shake (³⁄₅): From what I remember this was made with coconut cream and coconut juice and shaken. It was alright, not the best coconut drink I’ve had. It wasn’t as creamy as I thought it would be but I liked that they included huge chunks of coconut meat.
–Ice cream (3÷5− $ 3.50/scoop or $ 3.75/scoop): Depending on flavour, the price per scoop is different. I tried the Thai ice tea, pandan and kale and salted caramel banana. Of the three flavours, the pandan is the best. The Thai ice tea was tied with the salted caramel banana until I had too much of the salted caramel banana which was way too salty after consuming more than three spoons full. As an ice cream lover, I won’t go back for their ice cream.
Overall, the food was not satisfying. The service was ok. We got to skip the line for ordering desserts at the table.

If you’re vegetarian and vegan, you’ll probably find this restaurant pretty good. Staff were super friendly and helpful. It was our first time trying this restaurant so their staff were very patient with us when we came to order.
I must say the ingredients used seem quite fresh! We ordered: Golden Temple (most popular dish), Namaste (salad roll) and Red Sand Dune soup. The Golden Temple was huge and delicious. However it was very creamy so it made me full without actually getting full. The soup was very heavy. The Red Sand Dune soup was quite spicy, maybe a little too much.
Overall, it was a pleasant meal and I would go back again to try their other menus.

I remember one time (before becoming a member of Unilocal), I wanted to look for any good restaurant here in Vancouver. I stumbled upon this restaurant on Unilocal and I said to myself. «If a restaurant is past 4.5 stars, then I got to check what is going on and what is it that is making it so good. Not only that, it was the first time I tried vegan for the first time. So I was there with one of my friends to try it out for the first time. Here is the verdict.
Customer service was spot on and they did offer organic tofu for $ 2. I did not need it since I was just wanting to try their curry. I did have it with quinoa because I was definitely craving it for sure. Here is what I saw with my eyes.
The curry itself was a turmeric-​based curry. Inside the curry there was broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, some sweet potatoes, taro root and other delicious goodies inside this savoury curry. I tried the curry first thing and it was amazing. It was as if I could taste the whole country of Vietnam in one bite. The turmeric being the star of the show as it guided my senses to see what vegan food tasted like. It was a wonderful experience trying out vegan food for the first time.
I would definitely come back to this place again for the other meals and snacks being offered, Having a bite into their food is like finding gold in California or something great at that magnitude.

See my review below. Since becoming plant-​based, Chau has been a staple in my life. It’s fast for take out and for dining in. Service is always friendly, even if the customers aren’t necessarily so.
The alcohol (especially the wine) is a bit expensive so I stick to their non alcoholic beverages and tea selection.
Pro tip: they have the best vegan ice cream in Vancouver.
This takes the cake (or phở) for my favorite restaurant in Vancouver.
Cant wait to try their Granville island location.

The food here, is really fresh and delicious!
We ordered the namaste roll, taro chips, jungle salad and the Rickshaws bowl. Everything was fresh delicious.
Be prepared to go early or wait for seats, this place isn’t the best for big groups if you come late as it is self seating. Once the food is ordered the food comes really quick!
The namaste roll and taro chips are a must order! The server suggested the golden Temple, which i did see allot of others ordering, so it’s a must try next time!
We brought a friend who hates veggies but still rated the place a 6.5÷10!

Came here with my mom yesterday. We both thought it wasn’t that great. Had better vegetarian spring rolls, salad rolls and phở at other places. Spring rolls were tiny, not worth it. Papaya salad wasn’t good! Never come here again.
Sorry :(

I was pretty skeptical of this place (super tasty vegetarian food?), but I noticed tons of positive reviews on this place, so I finally came around to give it a try.
And wow, I seriously love the food here. We started off with the beach chips for $ 7 — taro root chips & a spiced tofu dip. It was really tasty and crunchy, good value.
We also ordered a few drinks: the coconut shake, and tamarind soda. The shake is a blend of coconut water and coconut cream, and was really refreshing! The tamarind is similar to sour plum juice (not as strong), but its not for everyone.
We tried a deep fried roll, and a salad roll (Non La, and Namahata, $ 4.25 each). Both had a variety of kale, shallots, tofu, beancurd, quinoa, and all that good stuff dipped in a vegan fish sauce. While these aren’t bad, the clear appy winner for me are the beach chips.
Onto the Golden Temple Bowl ($ 11.75) — turmeric coconut curry soup with kale, yam, taro, mushrooms, and tofu served with noodles, or a side of rice or quinoa. By far, these noodles are my favorite. The rice noodles, I have no idea where they came from but they beat out any Chinese vermicelli I’ve had. It soaks up the soup nicely and holds the flavor so well, but its a bit bouncy and NEVER GOES MUSHY. Heaven! The only thing I didn’t care much for was the tofu — they’re just plain slices, and doesn’t pick up any flavor. If they were lightly fried, or tofu puffs, that’d be the only improvement.
Also, just a tip — they sell their tofu dip behind the counter, $ 4.50 for 250 ml tub. I finished my tub in almost 2 days, and I’ll be back for more.

I am totally in love with Chau Veggie Express! The staff are wonderful and the food is delicious! It was my first time there and they were so patient with explaining the menu and making recommendations.
It’s a casual restaurant, you line up to make your order, get a number, take a seat and wait for your food. We arrived around 7 and the line up was to the door but it moved pretty quickly. We thought we would have trouble finding a seat but by the time we ordered others have finished and we got seats.
The most memorable thing we ate was the taro chips with the tofu dip and the golden curry soup bowl! OMG! I’m still thinking about it! We were too full for dessert so I bought some pints of ice cream for home. They were really nice and let me taste all of their flavours. I decided on Thai Iced Tea and Coconut Pandan Leaf ice cream! I can’t wait to go back and try all of their other dishes!

Food — 4 stars.
Layout & Service Concept — 2 stars.
The food is great. Freshly prepared, fresh ingredients, delicious flavour combinations. I’ve tried salads, soups and spring/​summer rolls and really enjoyed them all. On the coffee bar side I’ve tried a vegan peanut butter bar and vegan caramelized banana ice cream, both were awesome!
First of all, Friday nights here are brutal and a test of patience and personal space (probably Saturdays too, but I’ve only been on a Friday). The layout is strange and results in disorganized and frustrating experience for inexperienced patrons. Line up, order food, pay, find a seat… oh, a coffee bar, excellent I’d like one of those nice looking dessert bars and a coffee too… oh no you can’t buy that here, get back in that 15 minute line, order, pay and then I’ll bring it to you, meanwhile your food is ready…“where are you sitting”… oh I was sitting there but those people moved my jacket and now I guess I’ll have to find another seat… sigh… dislike. So learn from my mistake — next time order and pay for everything you might possibly want first.
The food is great.

I am fairly new to the vegetarian dining experience and if you are as well this is the restaurant you go out of your way to try out.
Service was pretty efficient, casual atmosphere was busy and all the food looked amazing.
They offer a pretty diverse menu of flavors from the look of it and the portions are big, which pleases my big appetite.
The prices are really affordable and the drinks were great, I had an Earl Grey Ice Tea.
The pictures really speak for themselves but this was an awesome experience for someone who enjoys meat, I really didn’t mind and would certainly return here again.

I’m disappointed to change my once 5 star review to 2 stars but I’m frustrated with my last experience here.
I ordered takeout from Chau on Sunday (Non La, Namaste roll, and banana cheesecake). When I got my order home I opened up a hot mess. The non la which once came in a nice container with air vents to keep them from getting soggy was thrown into a tinfoil bag. With no way for the air to escape, it became one solid soggy mass of spring roll. The namaste roll (salad roll) was completely squashed and poorly packaged and was falling apart. Not only that, but it was missing half of the ingredients it’s supposed to come with. The cheesecake was thrown into a container and it was broken into several pieces. The rolls were inedible and went right into the trash. I salvaged the cheesecake and while it tasted great, I don’t understand why it was sent out to a customer in the shape it was in.
I can’t believe the change in the quality of Chau’s takeout orders. I have consistently ordered takeout from them, but this is unacceptable. It’ll be a while before I return.

You will like this place even if you are not a vegetarian. They have several veggie bowls to choose from, whether it’s noodles, rice or soup you prefer.
I arrived here in the morning right when it opened. The staff was very friendly and explained some of the dishes. I decided on the popular golden temple soup. It had a coconut curry broth that was very creamy, and it was filled with noodles as well as fresh vegetables-​broccoli, kale, carrots and mushrooms. I appreciated that the vegetables still had a bit of crunch to them, a sign of freshness. On top of the great taste, the soup was very hot (temperature-​wise) just the way you want soup to be.
I also ordered an iced Vietnamese coffee made with coconut cream. This was delicious and not overbearingly sweet. So good.
As for the atmosphere, the place is bright, spacious, clean and modern. I can see that it’s a well-​liked spot as more people started trickling in throughout my meal.