Local Goods: Dao Palate in Park Slope & How to Rationalize Ordering Three Dishes for One Person

Three pan-asian vegan dishes for one person?

The rationale is simple: Dao Palate is really, really tasty.
And you know what? You deserve all the delicious Dao Palate entrees your little fingers can “Add to Bag” on the Seamless app. When you request 4 sets of plastic cutlery so that the delivery guy won’t judge you, you’ve maybe crossed the line.

But not when you’re talking Dao Palate. Cross the line. Do it.

Enough preamble, let’s discuss the three dishes I ordered: Hijiki Salad with Edamame Peas, Basil Soy Protein, and Sauteed Shredded Bean Curd with Peppers.

This was my first Hijiki Salad and it will not be my last. Imagine if that basic seaweed salad you always order took down its ponytail, whipped off its glasses, and ditched the overalls a la every teenage fantasy. What you’re left with is Hijiki Salad. It’s a chewy seaweed, finer, shorter and less slimy than the fluorescent green seaweed salads you can find at the grocery, and packed with way more natural earthy, sea-y taste. The edamame peas were a little wrinkly from the takeout container’s steam and they also seemed a bit superflous but I’ll take the addition of protein with a smile.

If you’re at all familiar with Whole Foods’ Vegan General Tso’s Chicken, you’ll know how serious it is when I say that this Basil Soy Protein entree is better. The texture was very similar to chicken, venturing dangerously close to the eerie I-think-this-is-chicken? mouth feel. But this is a good thing too. It means the pieces were a little more substantial and denser, better equipped to fully take on the delicious brown sauce and basil flavors. The veggies were tender and the long very thin strips of ginger make me think all dishes need long very thin strips of ginger.

The Sauteed Shredded Bean Curd with Peppers features bean sprouts, chives, and a whole bunch of onions in a light sauce. The mouth feel of the soft bean curd with the similarly shaped softened-but-still-a-bit-crisp bean sprouts is really nice and makes me want to keep stuffing my face for a good while. (When I refer to a “mouth feel” I feel like an even bigger tool than when I tell customers oxblood colored jeans are really “on trend”…did not know that was possible.) Sure my mouth will taste like onions for a good long while but I’m a single 25 year old girl who just ordered three dishes of pan-asian vegan delivery for my own party of one…I’m pretty sure my dog won’t say anything.

Final thoughts: I will be eating this Dao Palate delivery for lunch and dinner for the next week. And I am more than happy about this. Go on. Order your very own way-too-many-dishes. The delivery guy and I won’t judge.

DAO PALATE
pan-asian vegan cuisine
329 Flatbush Ave.
Brooklyn, NY 11217
718.638.1995
http://www.daopalatevegan.com/

Tags: appetizer, asian, basil, brooklyn, brown sauce, chinese, dao palate, delivery, edamame, food, health food, healthy, high protein, hijiki salad, japanese, local, lunch, new york, park slope, restaurant, review, savory, seamless, seaweed, soy protein, tofu, vegan, vegetables, vegetarian