This question has come up quite a lot recently, "hey, Mr. Ibaraki Eats, where can I go to get some great vegan food in Ibaraki?" I have never been able to give a good answer to that question because of two reasons. First, I'm not vegan. Second, I had not heard of a good vegan place in Ibaraki. I have heard of places in Tokyo, but unfortunately not here. So, I could not answer this question, until now.
Hikari Shokudo
Hikari Shokudo is a vegan food stall that is usually open during the Village Market in Tsukuba. From what I was told about the place, the owner seems to be a professional chef that takes great pride in his work. So far, the food stall only sells three vegan items. Donuts, parmesan cheese, and sloppy joes.
I am not a vegan but I don't mind giving vegan food a try. The owner of Micro Farm and one of the organizers of the village market told me to go and try their vegan sloppy joe. I trust his judgment and decided that would be my lunch for that day.
Vegan Donuts
First, let me talk about the donuts. The donut flavors are as follows from left to right: white chocolate, chocolate nuts, chocolate cacao nibs (no idea what that is), chocolate coconut, and finally regular chocolate. The top part of the small shelf has granola and vegan parmesan cheese. I have yet to try the granola or vegan parmesan cheese, but I have tried the white chocolate donut. It was a pretty good donut but I still prefer a regular donut.
Next, let me get to the main event.
Mac and Cheese Sloppy Joe
A vegan mac and cheese sloppy joe? I had never heard of such a thing. I looked at the sign in awe for a while and then ordered my sandwich. I was completely prepared to accept the fact that this sandwich was a vegan sloppy joe and it was just going to be "OK." I mean it's vegan, it can't defeat the taste of a real mac and cheese sloppy joe. Right?
This is Vegan!?
I owe an apology to the owner of Hikari Shokudo for doubting his culinary skills and for thinking this vegan sloppy joe would just be OK. It was more than OK, it was magical. I had so many emotions flow through me with my first bite. Delight, excitement, confusion. A lot of confusion. How could a vegan sloppy joe be this good!? It was one of the creamiest and most flavorful sloppy joes I have ever had. The buns were perfect and held everything together, well mostly everything together. I did need a napkin or two. The mac and cheese brought out a cheesy flavor that was perfect with the sauce of the sloppy joe. This was an amazing sandwich that blew my mind and made me reevaluate everything I knew about veganism. I am still a meat eater, and I am pretty sure I always will be. But I think if I was given a choice between a meaty sloppy joe and this vegan sloppy joe, there is a good chance I will choose this amazing vegan sloppy joe.
Hikari Shokudo was a delicious eye-opening experience. I love their vegan mac and cheese sloppy joe so much so that I have had it twice thus far. For vegans and non-vegans in Ibaraki, you need to try this place.
Before I end this post, I should explain one thing about Hikari Shokudo. They do have a restaurant, but it is in Tochigi prefecture. If you would like to try them in Ibaraki, you need to catch them at the village market or at any other event they might be attending around Ibaraki.
So if you are looking for a great vegan option in Ibaraki and don't know where to go, why not give Hikari Shokudo a chance? Who knows, you might see me at their stall, joyfully chowing down on that amazing vegan mac and cheese sloppy joe.
Enjoy!
For more information on Hikari Shokudo, check out their website:
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