On the upside, it is at least an excuse to organise a party.

And so to commiserate my latest not-quite-thirty-yet anniversary, I rounded up the girls and headed to Lehká hlava (or "Clear Head"), a well-known vegetarian restaurant in Prague 1, selected after much deliberation for the occasion due to its laidback vibe and established popularity among the group.

Located down a little side-street in Old Town, in the historic building formerly occupied by my much beloved Dobrá čajovna (just never quite the same since its sadly sanitizing move to Wenceslas Square), Lehká hlava is not exactly easy to initially locate. Nevertheless, the place is still packed out each and every lunchtime and evening with diners presumably also on the hunt for something a little different from the glut of mediocre, over-priced "Old Bohemia" tourist traps that otherwise populate the area.

The big pull of Lehká hlava - apart from the novel menu and non-smoking policy - is undoubtedly its atmospheric interior, which at various locations of the restaurant includes bamboo-covered corridors, glass-beaded table tops, and of course the unique "star room", with domed blue ceiling lit up by hundreds of little fairy lights. My photos didn't really do the place justice, so I nabbed some off the website. (Food ones are, as ever, still all my own, though.)

Lehká hlava's menu is made up of various salads, dips, pastas, and other tofu-, bean- or dairy-based vegetarian main courses (vegan options also available - and no preachy Supreme Master in sight this time!), as well as a wide range of freshly blended fruit juices and loose-leaf teas.

On this occasion, most of us kicked off with either Italian Chardonnay (at 50 CZK, one of the few wines they have by the glass) or the wine of the day, which was a rosé of some description. (I was still a bit preoccupied opening presents at this stage of the evening - thanks, ladies!) Both went down very well and, needless to say, a follow-up round was soon ordered.

Our one abstentious member of the group, L, went for a fresh ginger tea with honey (45 CZK), which came steaming hot with plentiful slices of fresh ginger added.

After much deliberation over the menu, we finally got round to ordering our food.

L and S both decided to go for the Thai red curry with tofu and rice (145 CZK). Sorry about the slight blur.

I had a bite and found this surprisingly good. The red curry sauce tasted more authentically Thai than I would have expected from a non-Asian restaurant, while the rice was cooked in such a way that, if not quite traditionally sticky in the Thai style, it was at least pleasantly halfway there. I for one was surprisingly impressed, and L and S both echoed the sentiment.

After much umming and ahhing, Prague Ginge opted for the bulgar wheat risotto with stir-fried tempeh, spring vegetables and sun-dried tomato and peanut pesto.

I've had this on previous occasions and not been the greatest fan. (Despite my decade of teenage vegetarianism, tofu or tempeh type dishes are still not really my culinary cup of tea.) Prague Ginge, on the other hand, raved about the smoky flavor of the tempeh and the tastiness of the pesto topping, so a definite hit here. Mind you, she was just about four sheets to the wind before she even turned up at the restaurant, so I wouldn’t take her word for it entirely here… :-)

M went for one of the lighter options with the couscous patties with feta cheese, sundried tomatoes and celery, served on a bed of lettuce with a spicy soy dip and bread at 135 CZK.

I didn't try these myself, but comments from her direction were positive, at least. I noticed the dip was the same as for the Thai curry sauce.

Our second L of the table ordered one of my own long-standing Lehká hlava faves in the grilled vegetable kebabs served with potatoes au gratin, tomato salsa and a small spring salad with lemon-honey dressing (145 CZK).

Simple but delicious, with perfectly done courgette (zucchini), aubergine (eggplant), red pepper and mushroom skewers accompanied by two generous hunks of lovely squidgy squishy potato gratin.

As for me, I went for my usual burrito with pinto beans, avocado salad with goat cheese, tomato salsa, sour cream and rice (210 CZK).

I preferred the significantly cheaper (150 CZK) black bean rendition I'd previously had at sister restaurant Maitrea (reviewed in a separate post here), which, as I recall, was much spicier, better presented, and came with more generously portioned condiments - including, on that occasion, guacamole. On the other hand, I also liked the avocado salad with goat cheese accompaniment served at Lehká hlava, though felt it could have done with a stronger dressing or at least some kind of oil / balsamico extras on the side. In short - okay, but not as good as I remembered from previous visits.

A couple of our party also went for desserts, with L's carrot cake made with millet, grated coconut and ginger, served with chocolate sauce and a physalis berry (70 CZK) arriving first to the table.

Opinion across the group was very much divided on this one, terms used here being "bitty" and "like birdseed" - certainly it wasn't the spongy, icing-topped variety of carrot cake most of us would normally imagine. On the other hand, it was doused in copious amounts of hot dark chocolate, which is a great redeeming feature in pretty much any scenario. My thoughts here are that a bite or two was nice enough, but, the cake in question being quite this fibrous and dense, any more than that would probably have done very bad things to my digestive system.

More chocolate soon followed in the shape of Prague Ginge's chocolate fondue with a variety of fresh fruit (80 CZK), which, given the quantities involved here, she practically implored us to help her get through.

Needless to say, the rest of us were more than happy to assist...

So overall, yet another win here for Lehká hlava, in our collective view still justifiably popular on the basis of its atmospheric interiors, friendly service and varied range of simple-yet-tasty vegetarian fare at reasonable prices.

In fact, my only minor niggle with the place is that it is to some extent a victim of its own success. Spontaneous visits are practically an impossibility here, whilst on ringing to reserve, you are asked upfront how long you think your table will need and imperiously informed that your reservation will only be held for 15 minutes max. Groups of over seven people are similarly restricted to choosing only a few different items off the menu, so as not to "overload" the kitchen - a seemingly somewhat overzealous limitation which I've never encountered in any other restaurant before.

We ourselves unwittingly fell foul of the Lehká hlava rules on this occasion, when we were (very politely of course) asked please to hurry up on the fondue as our allotted two hours were now up and another group was waiting for our table - it can't be all that many restaurants in Prague that still boast full-house reservations even getting on for 10 o'clock at night...

As for us, after hurriedly scraping the last of the chocolate from the fondue dish, we diligently vacated the table and moved on to drinking pastures new for a further birthday round or two - needless to say, by the end of that particular evening, not many people's heads were all that clear anymore...

Lehká hlava
Boršov 2
Prague 1
Phone: (+420) 222 220 665

We can cultivate a saint out of ourselves, or we can make a sinner - The Supreme Master, Ching Hai, again

I had again been planning to review one of the many restaurants I recently frequented with visiting relatives for this week, but following my latest visit to vegan restaurant-café Loving Hut the other day, I now instead want to speak of a new family - a better, more spiritually enlightened, global family of regularly meditating, ecologically minded, dedicated, herbivorous followers of our revered leader, the Supreme Master, Ching Hai. According to her website at www.godsdirectcontact.org, our Supreme Master "has come to this world, on the mission of Quan Yin, to save sentient beings from misery," as well as apparently also saving the planet at the same time. (Moonies-meet-eco-warriors is probably not too far off the mark here...)

I haven't been vegetarian, let alone vegan, for a good 10 years now, but had been meaning to visit one of the Loving Hut branches, on Londýnská or Truhlářská, for some time, out of curiosity if nothing else. I now realize this curiosity was, in fact, the Universe's way of bringing me into the fold of our beloved Supreme Master, who (in her wisdom divining that faith can very often be bought via food) heavily endorses the Loving Hut restaurant chain worldwide.

Though the interior of the Londýnská branch of Loving Hut was, as a whole, spacious, airy and clean, the presence of sponsor/spiritual savior Ching Hai, in the form of lionizing portraits adorning the walls, a shelf of her personally penned spiritual literature in the corner, and a widescreen TV playing her dedicated channel Supreme Master TV non-stop could not fail to escape our attention.

Our exalted Supreme Master teaches that we should achieve enlightenment via the practice of Quan Yin mediation, renunciation of material possessions and strict adherence to a vegan diet - hence the Asian-themed, tofu-reliant menus of Loving Hut restaurants around the world. Those who accuse the Supreme Master of fraud and hypocrisy in the practice of her non-materialistic, stridently environmentalist beliefs are clearly just unenlightened fools blinded by the false prophets of both consumerism and carnivorism.

Our Supreme Master also preaches abstinence from alcohol, hence a drinks menu limited to soft drinks and holistic teas. I will admit that my then-unenlightened self initially reacted with horror at this uncompromisingly temperate stance; however, I realize now that our Supreme Master, in denying me my usual evening glass of wine (or two), was simply attempting to steer me onto the noble path towards enlightenment. Cola light and Mattoni were both deemed spiritually acceptable, however, while Mr. T went for a very nice ginger-and-orange tea, which smelled and tasted kind of like a non-alcoholic svařák.

As well as an already-vegetarian Mr. T, I was also joined on this occasion by a normally meat-eating Miss E and good friend Prague Ginge. They appeared bemused by my sudden, unquestioning embrace of our Supreme Master and all her various teachings, in their as-yet-unenlightened state bandying about such clearly misinformed terms as "cult," "creepy" and "female Kim Jong-il."

Anyway, back to a more earthly plane and onto the food itself.

As a long-time vegetarian in Prague, Mr. T was in his element having a whole menu to choose from, rather than just getting stuck with the usual default veggie option of smažený sýr.

In the end he opted for a starter of curry soup made with potatoes, carrot and soya meat (35 CZK), followed by the tofu-based Champion burger (65 CZK).

Devotee that I am, I cannot remain blind to the fact that, while our Supreme Master may be perfect in every way, clearly not everything about Loving Hut's food met those standards.

I couldn't help but notice that the soup (acceptable as, I'm assured, it was) certainly looked pretty unappealing, while the burger was very small and pretty lazily presented. Mr. T said that it wasn't bad, but that he could easily make better himself at home, and also that he would have preferred ketchup on top rather than the pinkish vegan mayonnaise-style sauce it came with. However, Google reliably informs me that ketchup is not always considered strictly vegan due to the inclusion of animal bone char in the processing. Yum.

Given that our Supreme Master descended from an ethereal to an earthly plane via Vietnam, it is perhaps to be expected that Loving Hut fared rather better with its Southeast Asian-style cuisine than imitation Western. That, or the fact that all the kitchen and service staff were also Asian. (Not to mention most efficient and polite, while we're on the subject.)

I, for example, couldn’t turn down the option of Vietnamese phò at 95 CZK.

I noticed that the imitation black beef shown on the menu had been substituted for white mock chicken, but this didn't bother me - one pretend substance is as good as any other as far as I'm concerned.

Even in my decade-long period of teenage vegetarianism, I couldn't really bring myself to truly embrace any kind of tofu or imitation meat apart from Quorn, but for the sake of our Supreme Master (and also the chance to sample one of my traditional favorites) I was willing to give it a go.

Vegan or not, I've never yet found a phò outside of Vietnam that's come anywhere near my level of spice/seasoning requirements, so had to utterly douse this one in chili and soy sauce until it had sufficient zing for my purposes. There was a smattering of coriander and spring onion already thrown in to jazz it up a little, but I'd have preferred much more in terms of both seasoning and fish oil, not to mention the more traditional lime rather than lemon wedges to squeeze into it too. Still, it was certainly a generous portion, and - once I'd poured in half the contents of the table condiment jars - pretty much acceptable. Even the mock chicken wasn't quite as off-putting as I'd been expecting - the texture was a little odd, admittedly, but it had clearly been marinated in advance and added a welcome substance to the dish as a whole.

Miss E went for the Green Harmony at 69 CZK.

This green vegetable and mushroom stir-fry was definitely a cut above the bog-standard slop you get from your typical "Čínský bistro" - Miss E was very impressed by the freshness of the vegetables, which still retained a nice crunch rather than being sautéed into soggy oblivion like they unfortunately do at my local Chinese. I had a taste and found the sauce to be pretty bland and sorely lacking in chili for my taste but, on the other hand, I didn't think I detected any (or at least much) MSG in it either. You certainly got plenty of the stuff at any rate, to the extent that the rest of the dish looked like it might drown at any minute.

Last but not least, Prague Ginge indulged her sushi love, working on the basis that with enough soy sauce, wasabi, and pickled ginger, she could perhaps overlook the notable absence of any actual fish.

On the menu photo there had been only six pieces shown, but for the same modest price (96 CZK) Prague Ginge was presented with an entire 16. Needless to say, she wasn't complaining about quantity, though the quality, on the other hand, was a little more dubious here. She commented that several of the pieces looked quite clumsily made, and compared it to supermarket sushi in terms of the taste and texture of the rice. I also thought they could have shown a little more creativity in varying the fillings from just plain raw vegetable, maybe by using avocado, tofu, or some of the mock shrimp featured in some of the other spring roll starter dishes. Overall, Prague Ginge confirmed that she'd pretty much got precisely what she'd been expecting in ordering an all-vegan sushi dish, which I think says it all really.

So, as a newly dedicated follower of our Supreme Master Ching Hai, what was my overall verdict on this particular branch of her personally endorsed chain of Loving Huts?

Our Supreme Master teaches that: "Heaven or hell, they are all created by ourselves."

Therefore, if you are into the vegan food scene and don't mind trying out such "alternative" ingredients as mock meat or imitation shrimp, then Loving Hut probably has more choice in this respect than anywhere else in Prague. If, on the other hand, you are the type who likes a big bloody steak for dinner and considers tofu a hippie "non-food," then it's probably best give this one a miss, especially if - like me - you find the idea of a meal without alcohol pretty hard to stomach.

Personally speaking, I'm not into tofu or other meat substitutes as the predominant ingredient enough to warrant a second visit, but would recommend it as a casual and affordable lunch or dinner option to those that do have the taste for it. I personally thought the menu could benefit from the addition of a few more vegan-friendly "natural" options, such as bean- or pulse-based dishes as well. Instead, Loving Hut seems to me rather too reliant on just one "artificial" foodstuff, the mock meat, which may not necessarily be to everyone's taste.

That said, the place was pretty packed on the evening we were there, so in truth it's not as if they really need to diversify for the sake of their custom here. As for me, though, I still definitely prefer the variety and ambience of Lehká hlava and Maitrea (admittedly both vegetarian rather than vegan) when it comes to getting my ethical food fix.

And oh, alright then, I'll admit it - my own short period of spoof spiritual devotion ended approximately three quarters of an hour later, when a concerned Prague Ginge, in a noble attempt to wrest me from the cultish clutches of Ching Hai & Co., succeeded in dragging me into our official "local", of V & R Imports (or "Robert's", as we call it) on the way home, where the two of us inevitably proceeded to re-convert ourselves from saints to sinners over the consumption of multiple bottles of lovely, lovely red wine...

Fair enough, I might not ever get to be a "fairy, Bodhisattva, saint or arahant" this way, but when it comes to good times and gourmet, at least, Robert's - as opposed to the holy-rolling Loving Hut and the like - has to be my true spiritual home!

Loving Hut Londýnská
Londýnská 35
Prague 2
Phone: (+420) 222 515 006