Though found in better supply around the Bay Area, vegan dim sum is a rare treat for most of the country. Sassy Foods has sprouted inside of Imperial Garden, a 30-year establishment beloved by the Portola neighborhood and beyond, challenging the status quo of conventional Cantonese food.
Ask for the vegan menu, developed by chef Menny Ly and added to the traditional fare in March of 2023, and they’ll take good care of you. Your best bet is to come early, especially if you want to find parking in their limited lot. Show up right at opening time and you can expect to find a handful of aunties and uncles already milling about outside.
I wish I could have ordered every single small plate, but stuck with a dumpling-centric meal to make the most of my limited stomach space. If you only get one thing, although that would be a big mistake, make it the Xiao Long Bao, AKA soup dumplings. Incredibly rare in the plant-based world, they’ve historically been made with gelatinized broth that melts upon cooking, leaving a scalding sip of rich soup bundled up in a chewy wheat wrapper.
What makes this so difficult to replicate, aside from the essential skill required to wrap such a challenging filling, is the fact that agar doesn’t behave the same way as animal-based gelatin. Once set, it won’t remelt under any amount of pressure or heat. I could speculate as to how Chef Ly achieves such a feat, but it’s also nice to bask in the mystery of this culinary achievement. Explosively juicy and wildly meaty, they’re everything I dreamed of.
Watching steam escape from the uncovered basket like a locomotive off-gasing, you may be tempted to let the dumplings cool, but this is a moment where you must accept the risk to reap the rewards. Start by nibbling a hole in the dumpling skin, then carefully slurp the hot soup out. Now you’re safe to take a real bite, fully appreciating the flavors and textures so carefully crafted together. The dance between danger and pleasure is part of the fun.
The Har Gao, glowing with a golden sheen, are an excellent pick as well, but much more subtle in flavor, allowing the veggie shrimp to shine. They’re especially nice when dipped lightly in the rosy pink vinegar sauce on the side, but don’t overdo it. Their beauty lies in their delicacy.
Potstickers are a wonderful in-between choice, lightly crisped on the outside, stuffed with scarily authentic pork-adjacent soy protein. My dining partner in crime was even concerned that they may not be vegan for their incredibly accurate in taste and texture.
The best approach is to clear your morning and afternoon schedule, grab a nice group of friends, order until the table groans under the weight of myriad dishes, and share everything. There’s not a single dud I could see in the dining room.
I would be in vegan heaven if only I could tolerate gluten. What a fabulous place to eat – everything looks amazing an of course your excellent photos get some of the credit too.
It would be tough to resist all the glutenous items, but they do have a number of things you could eat, too! Lots of rice-based foods, veggies, and tofu!
Wow! I SO totally agree with your last two sentences! Now I LOVE potstickers but the whole menu seems totally inviting :) !
I’m already plotting my next visit! If it was closer, I would have already eaten through the full menu, no doubt.
I’m curious as to the soup dumplings and feel a bit of research coming my way!
I would LOVE to see what you come up with! It’s truly my holy grail right now.
So good! Delicious dim sum like this reminds me of the Chi Lin vegetarian restaurant in Hong Kong. You just can’t pass it up.
I wish I could visit!
Hannah, this whole spread sounds incredible, you had me at vegan XLB! The way you describe that burst of hot soup and the mystery behind how they pull it off is just magic. The har gao and potstickers look amazing too. Honestly, I’d clear my whole day just to eat through that menu.
It’s at the top of my list for a revisit next time I’m in the area! As much as I want the recipe for the xiao long bao, I know that even if I had the instructions, I could never replicate that artistry myself. It takes such skill to create them!