A Taste of Cantonese Vegetarian Cooking at HEI YIN
HEI YIN approaches this year's Vegetarian Festival through the versatility of Cantonese cooking, bringing vegetables, tofu and mushrooms into dishes that range from delicately shaped dim sum to a remarkably convincing vegetarian Dong Po. The menu's appeal lies in the attention given to each preparation, whether pairing vegetable-filled dumplings with naturally sweet pumpkin soup or allowing mushrooms to absorb a full-flavoured black pepper sauce. Familiar forms provide a starting point, while thoughtful combinations give the dishes their own character.
Available from 9 to 18 October 2026, "A Taste of Purity — An Expression of Nature" brings this seasonal approach to HEI YIN on the third floor of Gaysorn Centre. Executive Chef Jackie Chan draws on Cantonese techniques to develop a menu spanning dim sum, soups, substantial savoury dishes and dessert. Yamabushitake, also known as lion's mane mushroom, features prominently throughout, its distinctive texture allowing it to move between several culinary roles without being confined to a single style of preparation.
The Goldfish Har Gow in Pumpkin Soup gives the meal an appealing opening. The dumplings' fish-shaped presentation introduces a little whimsy, while the filling of vegetables and mixed mushrooms establishes their vegetarian character. More than a decorative flourish, the dish succeeds through the relationship between that filling and the soup beneath it. Pumpkin supplies a natural sweetness that complements the vegetables and mushrooms, bringing the elements together without requiring the seafood normally associated with har gow.
There is something particularly pleasing about this approach to the dumpling. Its name and shape suggest one thing, yet the filling offers a different experience that works on its own terms. The pumpkin soup gives it a clear flavour direction, and the combination feels considered beyond the effort involved in shaping each little goldfish. It is one of the menu's clearest examples of how a familiar dim sum format can accommodate a new composition.
Vegetarian Fried Taro and Mushroom Rice Noodle Rolls continue the dim sum selection, introducing other established Cantonese preparations into the meal. Here, the variety comes from the forms themselves: fried taro alongside mushrooms enclosed in rice noodle wrappers, each offering a different way to present a vegetarian filling. Together with the Goldfish Har Gow, they give the opening dishes a sense of range before the menu moves towards more substantial preparations.
Vegetarian Mixed Mushroom Soup brings Yamabushitake into a setting that emphasises its contribution to texture. The mushroom has a softly firm quality reminiscent of crabmeat, joining an assortment of mushrooms in a warm, savoury soup. Its inclusion shows how the ingredient can provide substance within a relatively gentle preparation, rather than relying exclusively on richer sauces or a meat-like presentation.
Crispy Tofu Peking Duck Style takes a more recognisable classic as its reference. Thin, crisp tofu is paired with fried Yamabushitake on a Peking-style pancake roll, with a sweet-savoury sauce bringing the components together. The preparation preserves the appeal of gathering contrasting elements into a single bite. Tofu and mushroom contribute separately to that construction, allowing the dish to interpret the original through a combination of ingredients rather than asking one substitute to carry the entire effect.
The Vegetarian Dong Po with Preserved Mustard Greens and Mantou is more ambitious in its resemblance to the dish it references. Visually, the layered centre comes remarkably close to real pork belly, recreating the alternating sections of meat and fat with considerable care. It is the kind of presentation that invites closer inspection, particularly once the first bite reveals how differently the individual layers behave.
The section replacing pork fat retains a distinctly vegetable-like texture, so the resemblance is not complete. The layer standing in for the meat, however, is surprisingly close to sliced pork. That difference makes the dish more interesting to assess than its appearance alone might suggest. The visual construction is convincing, while the texture delivers a particularly effective result in one part of the dish and a more recognisably plant-based experience in another. Preserved mustard greens and mantou complete the familiar composition around it.
Stir-Fried Mixed Chinese Fruits and Nuts in a Taro Nest shifts the emphasis towards variety within a single plate. Yamabushitake and shiitake mushrooms are combined with Chinese dates, ginkgo nuts, peas and macadamias, then presented in a two-coloured fried taro nest. The preparation gathers ingredients with different textures and flavours into a classic Cantonese format, giving the mushrooms a place among fruit, vegetables and nuts. It also introduces taro in a different role from the earlier dim sum.
Yamabushitake returns in two sauce-led dishes, each exploring another treatment of the ingredient. Braised Yamabushitake in Red Gravy coats the mushroom in a concentrated sweet-savoury sauce, drawing on its ability to absorb flavour. Yamabushitake in Black Pepper Sauce makes an even more immediate impression through its resemblance to stir-fried meat. At first glance, the plate looks very much like a familiar black pepper meat dish; only upon biting into it does the mushroom’s identity become apparent.
The effectiveness of the black pepper preparation goes beyond that initial resemblance. The mushroom has absorbed the sauce thoroughly, allowing the flavour to settle into it rather than remaining merely a coating. Appearance supplies the surprise, but the integration of mushroom and sauce gives the dish its substance. It is a strong example of why Yamabushitake works well within this menu, particularly when a preparation makes use of its own qualities as well as its capacity to suggest something else.
Dessert brings a final, less expected appearance of the mushroom in Hot Assorted Chinese Dessert in Longan Juice. The warm Tao Tueng combines assorted ingredients with fragrant longan juice, with Yamabushitake contributing another texture to the bowl. Its presence extends the menu's central ingredient into a sweet preparation, completing a progression that has taken it through dim sum, soup and several savoury treatments.
HEI YIN's seasonal offering is most memorable in its specific details: the natural sweetness of pumpkin alongside vegetable-and-mushroom dumplings, the thoroughly absorbed black pepper sauce, and the contrasting layers of the Vegetarian Dong Po. These dishes give the menu character beyond visual imitation, with enough care in their construction to make the differences as interesting as the similarities. Familiar Cantonese preparations remain recognisable, while the ingredients give them a fresh expression for the Vegetarian Festival.
HEI YIN Bangkok
Tel: +668 0964 5423
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heiyinbangkok/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/heiyinbangkok
Email: heiyin@impact.co.th
Location: 3rd Floor, Gaysorn Village, 999 Phloen Chit Rd, Lumphini, Pathum Wan, Bangkok 10330
Credits
Article: Wariya Intreyonk
Photos: Wariya Intreyonk
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