Entree Kibbles: Chickpea Eatery - A Vegan Restaurant @ Da Nang City in Vietnam

Tuesday, March 24, 2026

Chickpea Eatery - A Vegan Restaurant @ Da Nang City in Vietnam

After that unforgettable vegetarian meal I had at Hum Vegetarian, Café & Restaurant in the Vietnamese city of Ho Chi Minh, I decided to look out for another vegetarian restaurant when I was at another city in Vietnam; Da Nang City.

One of them popped out for its amazing review score of 4.9 from over 1,000 reviewers on Google Maps! That was last year; now that I just checked, it had jumped to almost 1,500 reviewers with no change in score.

Cafe design had a sunny, welcoming charm that seemed to relax us upon entry. Maybe because there weren't so many customers on a Monday afternoon and the eatery was playing the soft chants of Buddhist scriptures; it also felt peaceful, as if enveloped by a zen aura.

Even the lanterns looked unconventional.

Unlike those typical ones you see at Hoi An.

Anyway, it's hard to make a decision on what to have for lunch since there were so many dishes to choose from on the menu, which I shall share at the end of this post. One thing to note, it's purely vegan, meaning no "dairy, eggs, honey, and gelatin".

Banh Bao - bite-sized goodness with the texturizing crunch coming from strips of I don't know what they were. Maybe due to the need to enhance flavour, I did think the patty was a tad salty.

Bun Cha Gio - "crispy spring rolls, tofu, veggies, cucumber, pickled carrots and homemade sauce", this would be the dry kind of Vietnamese noodles I prefer. p.s. unlike most people I don't enjoy pho at all.

The ingredients were fresh and mixed in with the homemade sauce with a strong peanut base; this was exhilarating delicious! Interestingly, I didn't quite like the gio (crispy spring rolls). Maybe I was too accustomed to the ones we had in the vegetarian stalls in Singapore.

BBQ Tempeh Skewers - do you like chickpeas? I don't yet this dish was literally "chickpea tempeh, pickles, jicama, kumquat with Vietnamese basil".

To be frank, it was flavourful, just that the texture was mushy, without the solid satisfaction I would expect from a meat skewer. Once again, I did find the tempeh to be overly salty. Damn, I guess the Singapore government had succeeded in making us eat less salty food!

Creamy Cauliflower Pasta - decided to add something Western to the mix and I guess a pasta would be a safe bet. Plus, creamy cauliflower alfredo pasta just sounded so tempting!

Pasta was al dente and the sauce was a liquified version of mashed potato, which was well-enjoyed by Alex, who loves mashed potatoes unlike me. To him, it was a hearty yet comfortable meal.

Com Ca Tim - indicated as a mom's classic rice plate, this consisted of "turmeric rice, eggplant, peanut, fried shallot, crouton, scallion oil and sauteed sauce". I don't know about you but just peanut and fried shallots would already help to enhance the dish!

Turned out to be the best dish amongst the rest! Eggplant was lightly seasoned, giving us plenty of natural flavour to savour. The turmeric rice was another surprise; not light and bland like many other places and perfect with the shallots and sauce! Mom was impressed!

Teapot (Herbal Blend) - a lovely blend that differed from the usual green, black and jasmine teas. Best of all, the pricing was the same across the four kinds of tea.

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Free passionfruit for us!

Even though Hum Vegetarian, Café & Restaurant is better, this didn't pale much in comparison, and if I were to visit Da Nang again, I will revisit and order Com Ca Tim with other dishes I didn't manage to try in my inaugural visit!

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