Cha-Ya, Ch-yeah!

I've lived two blocks from this place for over two years, and only recently tried it for the first time. It's weird because I feel like living close to some good eats doesn't necessarily mean you go there all the time. The desire to go to Cha-Ya has increased in past months due to a multiplicity of reasons: there's always a hella long line for dinner, nearly half of my close-friends are vegetarians or veggie-inclined, and I also keep passing by the one in the Mission. Sweet-ole K.yo's b-day was a week ago, so the friends and I decided to finally give the place a try. I ordered the Vege-Tofu Curry with Udon. First of all, I lovelovelove Japanese curry, so I was already pretty stoked before even entering the restaurant. The soup was flavourful, and there were so many veggies! Kabocha, pearl onions, celery, carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, zucchini, mushrooms, and sugar snap peas to be exact! I finished my entire bowl and was surprised at how incredibly stuffed I was. Although Japanese Veggie Food sounds weird, this is really a must-try. The menu was cute and explained how the restaurant is inspired by vegetarian food consumed at Japanese temples. So yeah, it's actually legit even though most people think of either fish or katsu when it comes to Japanese cuisine. Other delicious items consumed that night include veggie tempura. Itadakimasu!

Cha-Ya Vegetarian Japanese Restaurant
1686 Shattuck Avenue, Berkeley
(In between Virginia and Lincoln)