PRICE HK$40-45 for set lunch. Pick 3 out of 6 daily dishes. Includes free refills of soup and rice.

FOOD RATING Goood. Menu changes daily.  A contemporized version of home-style cooking without all the hard to digest fake meats. The daily soup at Liza Veggies is highly recommended. The corn on the cob baked in lemon grass leaves at Happy Veggie is wonderful when available. For dinner, Liza Veggie is the clear winner.

GREEN RATING Quite Green. Vegetarian. According to the FAO, Meat production accounts for an astounding 14-22% of total carbon emission worldwide.  Reducing meat consumption is the most significant way you can reduce your carbon footprint. Getting your own rice allows you to get just the right amount thereby reducing waste.

LOCATION Liza Veggies is located in Room A-D, 2/F, Harvard House, 105-111 Thomson Road. 4 minutes walk from Wanchai MTR exit A3. Happy Veggie is located 5 minutes away from Wanchai MTR exit A2 on the 1/F of Bayfield bldg, 99 Hennessy Rd.

Happy Veggie is a social enterprise located on the second floor across the street from Southom Playground. Its social mission is to provide employment for the hearing-impaired. A year after opening, the original chef struck out on her own and opened Liza Veggies. The dishes in both establishments are quite similar, however the food quality at Happy Veggie has become more variable since chef Liza left.

Both restaurants provide canteen-style service during lunch hours. You select your dishes and pay at the cash register, then line up to get your meal. The food is light, with not too much oil, salt or sugar, yet tasty and satisfying. The dishes change regularly. Some of the Liza Veggies dishes we really enjoyed were the curry potato, sweet and sour tofu, steam egg with vermicelli, and the mushroom with black fungus. As mentioned the lunch dishes are similar at Happy Veggie, however, the seating arrangement is tighter and it may be a little harder to get a seat during lunch. On the other hand, supporting a social enterprise with a valuable mission makes the short wait at Happy Veggie very much worthwhile.