South King Street is earning itself a reputation as Sydney vegan’s home turf, and one of its prized players is Golden Lotus, a Vietnamese eatery. This is the place to soothe your hangry with a massive laksa. The creamy soup has a thin, bright chilli heat to it, and in place of prawns or chicken there’s no less than four kinds of soy-based proteins: some twisty like a cheese straw, others fried crisp like a biscuit, and one lone cube of standard tofu. You’ve got thick, round white noodles and flat, tangly yellow ones – none of them containing egg at this all vegan joint. And just in case you missed the memo, the giant neon pink sign on the wall says “Veganism is Magic”. It’s certainly fun. Young families squash in with lefty political types and no one here needs to ask if they can eat what’s on the menu – everything here is for you, including the mock-chicken with lemongrass. Sometimes the faux meat works, like in the crisp savoury “pork” satay skewers, but next time we’ll order the straight tofu mains – better the bean curd you know than the spongy “chicken” your brain can’t quite accept.
Check out Time Out's guide to the best vegan restaurants in Sydney.