Healthy Garden
4 palms
Where: 4100 N. Wickham Road, No. 106, Melbourne
Hours: 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and 4:30 to 9:15 p.m. Tuesday through Friday; 11:30 a.m. to 9:15 p.m. Saturday
Call: 321-242-2122
Other: See the menu and learn more at http://usa-healthygarden.com.
I was sad to hear Kiko’s Japanese Cuisine was no more, but now that I’ve tried Healthy Garden, I understand.
Kiko’s Jim Wu recently decided to switch from sushi to the vegetarian fare of Healthy Garden in the Post Commons shopping center in Melbourne, and it was a smart move. Not only does the restaurant fulfill his mission of turning people on to good, healthful food, but it’s a delicious and different attraction among the area’s mushrooming sushi spots.
The restaurant is in the same narrow, clean space, with little fountains gurgling and Japanese lanterns overhead. But the menu contains some surprises, namely, pork that isn’t pork, chicken that isn’t chicken and steak that isn’t steak. Many of the dishes feature natural “veggie meat.” Soy is a common ingredient. And there’s no MSG.
After eating at Healthy Garden, I can totally imagine becoming a vegetarian. The dishes had lots of fresh flavor. The texture of the faux meat was pretty close to the real thing, but it was less chewy and less likely to prompt a post-lunch nap. My lunch companion mused she could bring takeout home to her boys and they wouldn’t suspect a thing.
We started with the Super Fruit Roll ($6.99), a sushi roll with chunks of a number of fruits, such as mango and peach and avocado in a soy skin. It was a pleasing mix of savory and sweet.
We also got the stuffed mushrooms (the receipt says $3.99, though the menu says $4.99). The meat substitute was not all that different from crab, and I found the plump little bites addictive.
While my friend ordered green tea, I ordered a smoothie ($2.99) with papaya, mango and banana, one of many flavor combinations offered. It was a beautiful orange color, very good and filling to boot.
We felt obligated to try a lunch combo; ours were $6.99 each (dinner combos are $10.99) and came with miso soup, a salad with a fruity ginger-carrot dressing, fried brown rice and a couple of pieces of faux-chicken sushi roll. Plus there was the main course. My friend’s curry chicken was flavorful and, indeed, looked and felt like chicken. The “pork” in my ginger onion pork resembled pork, and I have to be honest here: I liked the consistency better than the real thing.
Obsessing about the “meat” isn’t really the point, anyway. All the bright, fresh veggies that surround it, with seasonings and sauces, give these meals their lively flavor. We were more than satisfied, and with everything we ordered — yes, there were leftovers — the bill came to just over $30. Amazing.
Go to Healthy Garden, enjoy yourself and leave guilt-free.
Contact Kridler at 321-242-3633 or ckridler@floridatoday.com.
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