Ryong Veggie street food that even convinces meat lovers

Even though New Year's Eve was a little while ago, we still try to keep our New Year's resolutions. As a passionate meat lover, I have resolved to reduce my meat consumption. I am therefore delighted to be able to dine at Ryong - an excellent vegetarian-vegan alternative to other restaurants.

Ryong in Berlin-Mitte serves Japanese-Vietnamese, street food-inspired fusion cuisine in a modern yet simple-urban interior. To warm up, we have jasmine and ginger-lemon tea. Then the starters are already being presented. We deliberately rely on the recommendations of the house, which the Ryong team recommends to us with the utmost enthusiasm.

The first dish that catches our eye is "Golden Temple". Four beautifully prepared bites consisting of pickled radish baked in a tofu coating and covered with cheese and miso sauce. The first bite turns out to be very soft, minimally hearty, very refreshing, but above all very, very tasty - a perfect appetiser. The second plate could become my favourite: Seaweed salad with red onions and chilli on a Chinese cabbage leaf, accompanied by a refreshing lime-chilli dip.

In Korean BBQ style, the leaf is rolled up together with its contents and shoved into the mouth. The fresh acidity harmonises perfectly with a slight spiciness. This balance lets you enjoy the classic to the fullest, a little pick-me-up that makes you want more. And there is more. Bowl three reveals something hearty: baked sweet potato in a turmeric-tempura coating with garlic mayonnaise and dill-mushroom sauce. Very hearty, flavourful, and 100% vegetarian.

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By now, we're pumped and are looking forward to the rest of the evening. As a small drink accompaniment, we order a naturally cloudy sake, which quickly turns dinner into a small party. The main course follows: Besides the sake, the first main course, a classic Pho, also warms the stomach.

Nowadays, you can get them on almost every corner in Berlin, and most of them are relatively fine. However, the pho at Ryong stands out from the rest: the broth is super spicy and intense and comes with various fresh herbs and vegetables. A small squeeze of lime, a pinch of fresh chilli, slurp once and you feel reborn - a perfect meal for such a frosty, urban night.

As a second main course and a heartier alternative, we are served a house speciality: a bao bun burger. The "Late Summer" is a real eye-catcher with its red bun wrapped in beetroot tempura. However, its inner values are also convincing: tofu, seasonal fruits, roasted corn kernels, leaf spinach, avocado and teriyaki sauce, as well as nori mayonnaise. A peanut marinade perfectly complements the other components, and the burger is devoured in no time. Yummy!

We crave a little refreshment with a full stomach and decide to order cocktails. Honestly: I can't remember exactly which cocktails we drank - that speaks for the evening. They were both damn tasty, and I can strongly recommend everyone to drink their way through the menu.

And so we slowly come to an end, the finale, the dessert. We spooned a white chocolate and matcha mousse. A not too sweet, but fluffy and creamy dessert dream that rounds off this dinner perfectly. Despite hardly any room left in our stomachs, we lick out the little glass and slurp down our cocktails.

The ambience and atmosphere at Ryong are so cosy and familiar that we order another sake to reflect on the evening. The whole package is just right: I've rarely received such a warm welcome and felt so well taken care of as I do at Ryong. The fact that the restaurant is vegetarian is entirely irrelevant. It's tough for us to leave, but even the last guest has to go eventually. We thank you very much and look forward to seeing you again!