Sarnath Veggie & Coffee, a vegetarian restaurant in Yilan, is popular for its simple, straightforward dishes. See what intriguing ingredients and delicious delights Aggie discovers in Yilan in this week’s episode of Veggie Island! The owner of Sarnath Veggie & Coffee (鹿野苑), chef Alex Chang, is inspired by both Taiwanese and Italian flavors, and she crafts her dishes with local ingredients and organic produce. Upon visiting her hometown of Yilan, Taiwan, chef Alex discovered there were few vegetarian-friendly food options available for locals or visitors to enjoy. So, she founded Sarnath to provide the healthy and flavorful vegetarian meals she had hoped to find in Yilan. Vegetarian-friendly restaurants are abundant in Taiwan, so what sets Sarnath apart from the rest? One thing that makes chef Alex’s dishes stand out is her approach. She takes classic concepts from Italian cooking and recreates them using local ingredients from Yilan, including ma bamboo shoots grown by a local farmer just next door to her restaurant. Host Aggie Hsieh (謝沛恩) samples a diverse array of vegetarian foods at Sarnath, including roasted bamboo shoots with sesame mayonnaise, spicy brined tofu, cumin grilled mushrooms and wine braised mushroom risotto. These dishes employ traditional Taiwanese cooking methods, such as breading mushrooms with tapioca flour before frying them, a technique that gives Taiwanese fried chicken its characteristic crispy and crunchy texture. This vegetarian version will have your mouth watering! Join Aggie to see these and other fantastic vegetarian creations on Veggie Island!