Jasmine's Offers Up a Big Serving of Vegetarian-Friendly Dishes

Several readers have recently written to me asking me about vegetarian restaurants in the suburban area, and requesting that I review one. This led me to Jasmine Asian Bistro, in the heart of Glenside, having previously stopped by and discovering it has a large, separate vegetarian menu.

Most Asian (and also Indian) restaurants include a number of all-vegetable dishes on their menus, but few offer this large a selection of “vegetarian” dishes, i.e. dishes made of wheat, soybean and flour gluten to create meat-like and seafood-like dishes. (Note: The vegetarian menu is not for those requiring gluten-free meals.)

On that first visit to Jasmine, my “Lovely Dining Companion” (LDC) and I decided to divide forces—I ordered from the vegetarian menu, and she ordered from the main, non-vegetarian menu.  First, we compared the regular versus the vegetarian wonton soup. Both were very good. There was only a slight taste difference between the regular, clear chicken broth and the veggie broth. My seitan pork-filled wontons were just as good as most meat-filled ones. Honestly, in a blind tasting, I would not have been able to tell this was vegetarian wonton soup.

The dining room—furnished mostly with vinyl-upholstered booths, the tables dressed in immaculate white and pale lime linens—was occupied by a decent amount of people for a Wednesday night. The noise level was low for the number of diners.

Discounting high-end Asian restaurants like Nectar and Yangming, Jasmine has one of the more beautiful smaller Asian “storefront” dining rooms I have seen.  It is studded with expensive-looking imported objects d’art of the Orient. The room has high ceilings, and the noise level was low, a pleasant hubbub. The restrooms were spotless.

As is typical, crispy fried noodles were served gratis with a dish of duck sauce, along with wonderful jasmine (of course) tea in a cast iron Japanese teapot, which kept the tea hot for the duration of our meal. A complimentary plate of refreshing cabbage was also served.

Our two entrées were well presented with colorful embellishments—a rose sculpted of carrot slices and small trios of orange slices.  My LDC chose shrimp with Mandarin orange ($12), which had a piquant but overly sweet sauce to my taste, a moderate amount of medium shrimp, and, boringly, a grove of orange segments and few, if any, veggies. 

She could have picked something with a little more variety and interest, such as the “Happy Family” of seafood, chicken, beef and vegetables served in a crispy “bird's nest” ($14); or the “shrimp and chicken Fu-cien style” ($15), described as “fresh jumbo shrimp sautéed in a white sauce on one side, and crispy spicy chicken on the other. 

It is not often that I have the kind of vegetarian dishes that imitate poultry, beef, shrimp, scallops and pork.  So I gave a dish of  “chicken and shrimp with asparagus” a go.  Overall, the veggie plate was very appetizing, and the red-brown sauce very tasty, especially since I had requested added spice. (You may request more or less spice in any dish.) The shrimp were a good imitation, although my LDC did not like the texture. The chicken was more like sliced mushrooms in appearance and texture, but quite delicious.

Desserts were much more than the usual, desultory scoop of ice cream or dish of canned pineapple of yesterday’s Chinese-American restaurants. We shared a glorious dish of cappuccino ice cream covered in a thick coating of dark chocolate, with a dab of whipped cream and chocolate syrup.  Fortune cookies and fresh orange are also complimentary.

I liked Jasmine Bistro so much that I have returned quite a few times.

The owners are a sweet and cheerful couple, Kim and Huoy Ngov, who emigrated from Cambodia in 1978, having survived Pol Pot’s “killing fields” holocaust. For 19 years, they owned Szechuan Rose Garden in Flourtown.

Kim emotionally said, “America is the best.” 

Two weeks ago, we came for lunch and enjoyed two low-cost lunch specials.  Chicken and Shrimp Supreme was a great choice, as it included not only an ample amount of the two lead ingredients, but also a wide variety of vegetables.

My LDC picked the succulent walnut shrimp, which was sweet and spicy, and ringed with bright-green broccoli florets. Steamed white or pork fried rice was included.

We each started with a bowl of wonton and egg drop soup—my personal favorite soup and the best I have tasted anywhere. An appetizer of honey roast pork was a delicious follow-up, more like boneless spareribs.  For dessert, you might try, as we did, a large wedge of the fabulous mud pie ice cream cake—what a treat.

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Overall rating:  mmm 3/4  (out of 5 m’s) Above average neighborhood Chinese, in a beautifully decorated storefront space

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Jasmine Asian Bistro

138 S. Easton Road, Glenside

Phone: 215-885-4333                            

Cuisine:  Chinese, plus southeast Asian specials

Prices:  Appetizers and soups, $2 to $12; entrées, $9 to $19

Ambiance: Beautifully and richly decorated, low noise, very clean.

Reservations: Suggested on weekends           

Credit cards: All major accepted

Alcoholic beverages: B.Y.O.B.

Special features:  Full vegetarian menu ($9 to $12)

To contact Mitch Davis, email MdavisMainCourse@aol.com.