We now live in a not-so-brave new world. Therein, the ominous threat of an omni-potent virus can be found in every corner, while an environmental catastrophe in the making is bringing many a species to the brink of extinction.
A dramatic exaggeration perhaps, but one that serves well the argument for plant-based meats. Rearing all those animals for the sake of our carnivorous desires is ecological folly without doubt. Time then to check out the plant-based-meat options on a menu rolled out earlier this year at Element Fresh.
Enter Shenzhen-based Starfield, one of China’s top plant-based-meat producers that recently secured funding from New Crop Capital, in part to help it bring next-generation foods to Chinese consumers via restauranteurs such as Papa Johns, Planet Green, Nayuki’s Tea and Element Fresh.
The idea is pretty simple; Starfield provides their plant-based meats (thanks to their patented method for extracting glycophilic proteins from seaweed) and Element Fresh their signature salads, vegetables and well, general overall freshness, to the rest of the plate that is also a feast for the eyes.
The special menu (which you may have to ask for, btw, when the wait staff are feeling less than diligent) features but three plant-based dishes; Middle Eastern Style Grilled Starfield Meat Skewer (¥58), the Starfield Burger (¥58) and Starfield Meat Ball Pasta (¥52).
Each come with between 305 grams and 330 grams of “meat”, making these dishes but slightly more than half the price of their carnivorous equivalents.
As the menu goes, the skewer comes, “Infused with fresh dill, paprika and Cajun”, which is then grilled over a real fire. The impressive credentials really work too; for our money the skewer is the standout dish of the three, the plant-based meat actually tasting better than the “real thing”. An added bonus is the lack of the odd piece of offal or occasion shred of bone.
Completing the dish are the homemade humus, garden salad, whole wheat pita bread and lemongrass rice.
The other Starfield/Element Fresh creation worthy of mention would be the burger, that also comes with a Middle-Eastern twist, in the form of the plant-based patty being topped with a falafel slider. The combination is completed by the addition of cranberry mayonnaise, rossalettuce, jalapeño, crispy onions and fresh basil, with a garden salad and mango-yoghurt dressing.
With those taste buds salivating, there can hardly be a better introduction to the world of plant-based meats. Our ecological, culinary future awaits.
Element Fresh is located at F133, Kingmo Mall, 1698 Shuanglong Avenue, Jiangning District. Tel 86155701.
