Tian Ci Vegan (Takeaway only) — Restaurant in Sydney

This was my 2nd visit to Tian Ci - a friend and I popped in for lunch. The place was absolutely packed (clearly loved by the local Chinese community, it's a dead giveaway that the food in this place is authentic and delicious) so they took our number and said the wait shouldn't be too long. And they were right, about 10 minutes later, a staff member popped her head out of the door and waved us in from the shady spot outside we were waiting in.

The interior is quite plain and unassuming, minimal decoration and basic seating and tables. It would be easy to walk past the restaurant after glimpsing through the window.

But if you did walk past, you'd regret it.

The staff are wonderful. The first time I visited, it wasn't busy and the staff were friendly, attentive and knowledgeable about the dishes on the menu. And when the restaurant was full of people and there was a slight air of controlled chaos, the staff were just as before, not stressed, not rushing us and opening and closing the front door for customers.

The food... Wow. The food is phenomenal. I've been plant based for 5 years now and apart from a rather expensive place in London, I've not found a good Chinese restaurant that caters purely for vegans/vegetarians. The variety is massive - there are plenty of classic dishes; chicken satay, chow mein, roast duck that have been converted to plant based using fake meats. If you're not a fan of fake meat, plenty of their dishes are packed with veggies and use tofu to fill the gap left by meat. The lemon chicken is a MUST try - made with tofu skin.

The portions are fantastic, the service is diligent yet respectful and the food itself is served very quickly and is uncompromising in flavour.

Makes me sad that I live in Auckland.

Go and support this wonderful little place....

Food and service are absolutely excellent. Amazing taste, quality and friendy attentive staff .... however we must give a bad review as the staff are all made to wear disposable plastic face masks and the takeaway containers, menus and signage are the worst kind of plastic for the environment when it's so easy to source compostable packaging. The plastic masks and packaging kill animals, especially ocean life, and this makes the restaurants claim of being vegan facile and one dimentionial. We should all be looking at the bigger picture and make every action loving and intentional. Tian Ci could become a shining example to their customers by using washable fabric masks to match the cute staff uniforms and switching to compostable packaging, menus and signage. If the plastic use is based on economics then we would be happy to pay more for this vegan service and deeper respect for the creatures of the earth. Our expectations were that a vegan restaurant would already understand these principles so we thank you for the realisation that we must continue to educate our peers for the betterment of...

I visitied Tian Ci for the first time today with a few of my friends. I've been vegan for awhile now, and I can't believe I didn't visit sooner! All of the staff are incredibly friendly and kind, and were very diligent at observing social distancing and COVID-safe protocols. Because it was very rainy today, we were offered complimentary hot tea instead of water, which was very kind (and the tea was really delicious!) For food, we ordered the XO hot pot, fish and chicken fried rice, mongolian lamb, sweet and sour pork and stuffed tofu. We also received complimentary fruits after eating, which were so refreshing!

In case you're not aware, Tian Ci is also garlic and onion free (as far as I noticed), which I was very thankful for as someone with allium intolerance.

For the amount and quality of the food, as well as the high level of service Tian Ci offers, We'll definitely be visiting again. 10/10 Highly recommend, even if you're not...