Tofu Vegan London Gong Bao Vegan Chicken Review

This was my third and final London trip at the end of March 2025, after I managed to get three return tickets from Colchester to London for £30 with Greater Anglia.

For this one, I made it a very short trip. I was literally only going to be in London for about an hour and 19 minutes, so I made my mind up that I was going to Tofu Vegan, as it was pretty near Liverpool Street.

Weirdly, I’m good visually, so once I’ve been to an area, I can usually remember it. I couldn’t tell you how I got there or what road is what, but visually, I sort of know where I am. That’s about as organised as it gets.

Tofu Vegan opened at 12, and I was waiting nearby, so I went in not too long after. There were already a couple of other people in there as well.

The staff were very prompt. I ordered a glass of water because I was so hot, then they passed me the menu. I think I already had a fair idea what I was having. I usually do when I go to a restaurant, unless they haven’t got a menu online.

Tofu Vegan do have their menu online, so I already knew what I was probably going to order. I still had a good look to see if anything would change my mind.

It didn’t.

I think they asked if I wanted both dishes served at the same time, which I did.

🥢 What I Ordered at Tofu Vegan

For this visit, I ordered:

Gong Bao vegan chicken — £13.80

Stir-fried water spinach with chilli and Sichuan pepper — £8.80

The total came to £22.60, which I didn’t think was too bad, especially as this is basically central London and not far from Liverpool Street.

The Gong Bao vegan chicken is basically Tofu Vegan’s version of Kung Pao-style vegan chicken, with that spicy, nutty, slightly sweet sauce thing going on.

I love Kung Pao. It’s one of my favourite things to order from a typical Chinese takeaway or restaurant, and at that time, I hadn’t had it for a long while because I was living plant-based.

So when I saw the Gong Bao vegan chicken on the menu, it stood out to me straight away. It felt like the safe option, and probably the one closest to something I already knew I liked.

It was partly about the food, but also about bringing back those good memories.

The other dish I ordered was the stir-fried water spinach with chilli and Sichuan pepper. Whenever I see anything with Sichuan on a menu these days, I’m usually interested, because I like spice.

I also like to have some veg with my main meal, so this felt like the sensible green thing on the table. Well, as sensible as anything with chilli and Sichuan pepper can be.

Both dishes came out pretty quickly, which I didn’t mind at all. Like I said, I was short on time, so for me this was actually a bonus.

I was very happy that my plan was working, and I wasn’t just sitting there waiting for the food to arrive, knowing I’d then have to eat it so fast that I couldn’t actually enjoy it.

🌶️ The Food

Both dishes were pretty good, and I definitely enjoyed the meal.

The Gong Bao vegan chicken had that Kung Pao-style flavour I was hoping for, with the spicy, slightly sweet and nutty sauce. It was the sort of dish I knew I was likely to enjoy before it even arrived, which is probably why I went for it.

I think because I love Kung Pao so much, I probably went in with very high expectations. It was still a nice dish, and I was happy I ordered it, but I think in my head I had built it up quite a bit before I even got there.

That’s not really a criticism of Tofu Vegan. That’s more me getting excited because I’d finally found a vegan version of something I used to love ordering.

The stir-fried water spinach with chilli and Sichuan pepper was a good side dish to have with it. I liked having something green on the table, and the chilli and Sichuan pepper gave it the kind of flavour I’m usually drawn to.

Looking back, part of me does wonder if I should have tried something a bit different. Tofu Vegan has quite a few interesting dishes on the menu, so maybe I played it a bit safe by going for the thing I already knew I liked.

I don’t regret ordering it, but I do feel like I might have missed a small chance to try something a bit different from what I would normally order.

💭 Final Thoughts

The meal ended and I still had plenty of time to get my train home, so the plan actually worked out pretty well.

In a strange way, it felt more like one of my quick Colchester visits than a proper London day out. I basically went into London, ate at Tofu Vegan, and then headed straight back again.

The quick train home helped as well, as it only takes around 45 minutes from London to Colchester on the faster train. So it didn’t feel like I had been stuck travelling all day.

It was very much an in-and-out London visit, but for what I wanted to do, it worked.

Stay Sneaky, everyone 🕶️