Lucky Creation

Stepping into this little restaurant with its nondescript storefront, you might feel transported to a cafe in Hong Kong’s Wanchai. With its relaxed vibe, handful of wooden tables and an altar in the corner, Lucky Creation serves up unpretentious vegetarian fare close to Waverley Place. Originating in Buddhist monasteries in the 1st century, China’s vegetarian cuisine is an underappreciated facet of the mainland’s food culture. A distinctive feature is the use of vegetable proteins to imitate the texture of meat—think deep-fried taro root "fish," or sweet and sour "pork." With these tasty imitations, you could easily splice out a chunk of your calorie intake. Tell any meat-obsessed doubters that this cuisine was elevated to the status of imperial cuisine in the Qing dynasty. If it was good enough for the Emperor...