Veg out

Be fooled by the Lily Pad

by Margaret LeRoux

Lily Pad 755 Grafton Street Worcester 890-8899 Lunch Mon.-Sat. 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Dinner Mon.-Sat. 3-10 p.m., Sun. noon-9 p.m. Cash only No alcohol Handicap accessible

I thought you said this was a vegetarian restaurant," my companion whispered as he looked over the menu at Lily Pad. He was confused, for the range of Chinese, Japanese, and Vietnamese dishes includes beef teriyaki, Vietnamese spring rolls, moo shu chicken, and kung pao shrimp. But don't be fooled by the names; the beef, chicken, and fish listed on Lily Pad's menu have quotation marks around them.

As our friendly waiter explained, "We don't serve meat; but we do cook with meat substitutes."

Later in a telephone interview, Lily Pad's chef/owner, Huy Duong, assured me that my companion's initial confusion was common.

"People frequently ask us if that's really meat or chicken on the menu," he said, "but we only use imitations."

Duong was born and raised in Vietnam, son of a vegetarian cook who taught him the trade. Lily Pad's extensive menu is a reflection of Duong's 20 years' experience as a cook. There are 99 items on the menu, including appetizers, soups, noodles, and meat-substitute dishes. There are also 22 different luncheon specials and a variety of beverages. Some dishes are made with soy protein, others with tofu; and some renditions, we thought, were more successful than others. During this first visit, my companion and I enjoyed all the vegetable items we sampled. But we were put off a bit by the texture of the meat substitutes featured in serveral dishes we ordered.

From a list of 19 different appetizers, we selected Japanese vegetable tempura ($2.95), a generous serving of broccoli, carrots, cauliflower, and mushrooms coated in light batter and deep fried until crispy. It was a very good rendition of tempura -- not at all greasy. Lily Pad offers Chinese and Vietnamese soups; we shared a bowl of bamboo soup ($1.25 small/$3.75 large), a delicately flavored broth with slices of bamboo shoot, straw mushrooms, and bits of tofu. It was very satisfying.

The specials of the night included Szechwan-style green beans ($4.95), and we made quick work of the mound of bright green legumes. I liked the spicy Szechwan sauce; it gave zip to the beans but didn't overpower their taste.

From the "chicken" offerings, I chose orange-peel-flavored chicken ($7), a picture-pretty platter of crispy fried chicken surrounded by a ring of broccoli florets. The sauce was delicious, full of those bittersweet, charred bits of orange peel I've learned to appreciate, My non-vegetarian palate, however, was not fooled by the little balls of crispy fried-chicken substitute. I think they must be an acquired taste. Same was true for the "fried fish" with lemon grass and chili ($4); we didn't fault the flavor so much as the texture.

A return visit, this time in the company of two friends (a bona fide vegetarian and a sometimes-non-meat eater), gave me a slightly different perspective. My vegetarian friend gave thumbs-up to the fake beef in the teriyaki appetizer ($3). This time we thought the texture was more true to what you'd find in a thinly sliced steak, though we enjoyed it even more when we combined the teriyaki slices with an order of vegetable lo mein ($5.50). This was a generous serving of noodles, straw mushrooms, bok choy, carrots, broccoli, and water chestnuts. We thought the flavor of the teriyaki slices gave a little extra punch to the dish.

Another appetizer we enjoyed was Vietnamese spring rolls ($2), four crunchy cigarillo-shaped rice-paper rolls of crunchy cabbage, carrots, and shredded Vietnamese potato.

Lily Pad's hot-and-sour soup ($1.25 small/$3.75 large) lived up to its name. The broth is vegetable, but the spiciness high powered. Our favorite dish, however, was Vietnamese chicken salad with mint and chili ($2.50), a delicious cold salad of shredded cabbage, carrots, basil, and mint, topped with shreds of imitation chicken and roasted peanuts. Served with a vinegar chili sauce, this was a satisfying hot-weather dish.

We also liked Szechwan spicy bean curd ($5.50) -- triangles of firm tofu, sautéed with carrots, bamboo shoot, scallions, red and green peppers -- served with a spicy Szechwan sauce.

Lily Pad offers hot green tea and an assortment of soft drinks. There's also a fascinating assortment of fruit drinks, and non-alcoholic daiquiris made with banana or strawberries ($2.50). We tried a combination called the dance of the butterfly dream ($2.95) because we were intrigued by the name. Our waiter explained that it's a mixture of fruit juices, pineapple, and coconut milk. Tasting very much like a virgin piña colada, it was a delicious finishing touch to our vegetarian meal. The bill for three of us was a very reasonable $28.03 before tip.