We needed a place to go with Sam before theater in Falls Church and chose CHAY which hs been getting raves for its strip mall veggie cuisine and deservedly so. First thing to remember here, ORDER SMALL, everything is huge. The food is filling and delicious and if you want spice, it will be there.
Bi Chay Rolls are filled with shredded tofu, sweet potato, taro and bean noodles with a dipping sauce, while Grilled Chay Rolls have vegan sausage, vermicelli and a peanut mushroom dipping sauce. You cannot miss the Fried Avocado and its yummy tamarind sauce!
There is no alcohol here (oopsie!) but the teas (iced and hot) and the Vietnamese Iced Coffee are all fabulous.
When the mains arrived, we went into shock. The arrival of the first platter (which turned out to be mine) was met with "where shall we fit it on the table?!!" as the Bun Dau Mam Chay-Vegetarian Vermicelli Platter was loaded with Fried Tofu, Veg Pork Belly, vegan patty, lettuces and herbs, cucumber and fermented vegan shrimp paste sauce and a huge pile of vermicelli at the center. A lot of this was packaged to go, needless to say!
The Nem Nuong Mien Trung -Chay Wrap & Roll Platter was another monstrous plate where you wet your own rice paper and make rolls from grilled vegan sausage, vermicelli, lettuce, cucumber and herbs with mushroom dipping sauce! there were also fried crispy rolls on the side, just in case!
Will was not crazy about his Cari Chay Coconut Curry of Vietnamese soy ham, sweet potato, taro, mushroom and carrots, but our friend Scott loved his! So go figure.
I think the biggest hit was the Fried Tofu Dish with vegan tofu floss. The tofu was whipped into a mousse, battered and fried and served with a grated cheese0like tofu floss on top which Sam declared as unique and also said the amazing vegetarian variety was great! I have to agree!
Wooden chairs, simple and very inexpensive make for a great quick meal if you are in the Bailey's Crossroads area (P.O. is Fall's Church, but this is Annandale!)
