So, we decided to take Easter lent this year after a long while. Being Syrian Christians, our Easter lent is one of the hardest to stick to unlike other lents we get to see in different communities. Our Easter lent essentially translates to being vegetarians for 50 days! It has been a daily struggle to figure out vegetarian meals and we were barely getting by to be quite honest. And then I discovered Thea! Or rather, my friends took me to Thea!
When it comes to office lunches, its been doubly hard as most of the joints we visit have only a handful of vegetarian options that almost always seems like an afterthought. After a couple of visits to the Central Market, my friends at work realized I was not faring well in the food department 🙂 And that’s how Thea’s happened.
As I am writing this, we have already been to Thea’s three times and we have enjoyed the food served here every single time. A Taiwanese restaurant that focuses on tea and serves only vegetarian food, Thea’s has been a rare find. The texture of soy used in dishes changes according to the non vegetarian dish it is trying to emulate. They have a curry rice special on Wednesdays and even though there is additional seating available downstairs, the place does get packed to the brim quite quickly. The care and effort being put into each dish to make it as close to the non vegetarian version is just phenomenal if you ask me.
Thea’s also has a small store downstairs that offers mock meats (mostly made from soy) and ready to cook vegan curries. The curry packs do have their equivalent non vegetarian names to understand the flavour profile. And by now, I have tried 3-4 different curries and a couple of different mock meats and trust me, the family cannot make out the difference 🙂
Overall, if you are a vegetarian, or vegan, Thea’s is a must visit when in Adelaide, especially considering how reasonably priced the dishes are. A huge shout out to my work buddies who opted to become vegetarians for our Wednesday luncheons, it meant the world to me! And now for some non vegetarian eh!
Thea Tea Shop
Address: 110 Gawler Place, Adelaide SA 5000
