Ahhh… Vegan Chinese Food. Yes, that’s right, I said VEGAN. In a time when so many Asian-style restaurants are loading their dishes with fish and oyster sauce, finding suitable options at your local Chinese joint can be challenging to say the least. But if you’re lucky, you have at least one local spot where you can get veggie lo mein or maybe some sesame tofu, right? Well, if you’re really lucky, you live within driving distance of Southeast Denver and can pop into Sunny Gardens because not only do they skip the fishy sauce, they also have vegan meat!
Yes. Vegan meat.
Don’t get me wrong, I love me some veggie lo mein and sesame tofu, but ohmygosh what a treat it is to be able to enjoy sweet n’ sour chicken again without all that pesky guilt and those cancer-causing proteins! And since I know you’re probably wondering what the vegan meat is made out of, it seems to be seitan-like. They said it’s made out of gluten, mushrooms and other vegetables. They did have a little problem a couple years back when they switched to a faux meat that contained egg powder (as their yelp reviews show), but happily for us and the hens, they’ve switched back to a fully vegan product!
Check out their vegan menu: 
First of all, does “vegetarian meat soup” not make you laugh? It made me laugh. Also (and this is the bestest), the veg section is on the FRONT COVER of their menu! When vegans and vegetarians visit Sunny Gardens we’re not some kind of second class citizens who need to skulk in the back door and be happy nibbling on fortune cookies dipped in spicy mustard. Oh no. We’re the guests of honor!
And my excitement doesn’t stem only from the possibility of vegan food, oh no. I’m excited because the food here is really good. Really. Really. Good.
My girlie Jamie (speaking of bestest!) and I had dinner here last Sunday. It was my second visit and I couldn’t wait to take her there.
We always share (cause that’s how we roll), and since we couldn’t really narrow it down, we ordered 3 dishes to split. To quote JL, no shame in our game!
Hands down, my favorite was the Sesame Chicken with Tofu. The tofu was all breaded up and fried, and the “chicken” was fried as well, just enough to be a little bit crispy. I also love how there were so many veggies, and the entire plate was ringed with steamed broccoli!
Sesame “chicken” with tofu
A strong second place goes to the Orange Chicken (which wasn’t spicy like the menu indicated) but still delicious. Again, the “chicken” was a bit crispy and felt very meaty in my mouth. If it had tofu as well, it would’ve tied for first! Once again there were tons of veggies and the wonderful ring o’ steamed broccoli.
Orange “chicken”
This last one was our least favorite, although it was still quite good. It was the Double Delight with Garlic Sauce and included veggie chicken and beef. Jamie thought the flavoring of the ‘beef’ was a bit strong, but I liked it. It wasn’t fried though, so the texture was a little softer.
Double delight with garlic sauce
Favorites and least favorites aside, you can’t go wrong when everything is this tasty! And veeegan!
The restaurant is located in a strip mall just a mile or two off I25 (Yale and Monaco for you locals), and while it’s nothing fancy, it is clean. It seems to be family run, and our server was very nice and knowledgeable.
Did I mention how yummy it was? 😉
Want more Denver-area restaurant reviews? Check out my Mile High Vegan Eats page!
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YUM!!! Can’t wait to try it out when I am there is a couple of weeks for my birthday!! 🙂
Oooh, how fun! Where else are you going to eat?
OMG, yum!! We have a little Chinese place like this that serves vegan meat too. But it’s on a special, secret menu that you have to ask for. Definitely second-class citizen treatment. Ha! This delicious post reminds me that I need to go there VERY, VERY soon.
Though I don’t eat mock meats like this at restaurants often (or really, ever) I totally would if only I had the option! So awesome that you have meaty vegan Chinese food within easy reach. The sesame “chicken” tofu looks like it’s just my speed.
I need to go there next time I’m in Denver!
You do!!
This! I was just craving chinese the other day and was looking online for vegan options in Denver. I read their Yelp reviews but then wasn’t sure if they were vegan or not. Thanks for clearing it up!
That all looks sooooo good. I get so excited when I see “vegan” printed on a menu.
My parents live in Denver so now I know where to go when I am there! Thanks!
Oh my gosh!! I didn’t know this place existed! And it’s down my way in South Denver! I can’t tell you how stoked I am to go try it. Thanks for the review! <3
Sweet! I had no idea this place existed, and so close to me. Can’t wait to try it!
Thanks for the shout-out! 🙂 The food was awesome as Barb describes, and I’d reccomend always ordering your dish with both a mock meat and tofu. Good times!
*recommend agh!
Unfortunately, the meat analogs are NOT vegan. Sadly, they use egg powder in most of them.
Actually, that’s not true. If you read my review you’ll see that they’ve changed the mock meats they use and they no longer contain egg powder.
Yay for vegan Chinese food! Looks so good! Wish I had one in my neighborhood!
Awesome! I live just North of Denver. I added this to my list of restaurants to try out on “Date Nights”. 🙂