I added Spicy Moon to our New York itinerary on a bit of a whim – it was listed in a vlog about the best vegan eateries in the city and Dr HH had been talking to me a lot about Szechuan pepper, so I just went ahead and booked it. Closer to the day, I became a bit concerned that the restaurant’s name was a clue that the food might be too spicy for Mother HH and me. I don’t think I’d had Szechuan food before, and it occurred to me at last that I might not like it. Happily though, it was a gamble that paid off. It was one of the culinary highlights of the trip for all three of us.

If you really want to go, I’d recommend booking – we were at the East Village branch and it was very small, with only a few tables. Service was extremely friendly and efficient, even while they were busy doing a roaring trade in takeaways. There was a lunch menu where you could choose from a couple of starters and a few mains to get a cheaper meal deal. We all got the fried vegetable dumplings for our starters, and received two per person. They were piping hot, and quite tasty. We all chose different options for our main.

Let’s start with Dr HH, the budding Szechuan enthusiast. He was a little concerned about ordering the mapo tofu because it was labelled as very spicy. Our server reassured him that it was more the tingling kind of spicy than the burning-your-tastebuds spicy, so he went for it and was very glad he did. He paid a bit extra to get Beyond Beef crumbled in it and plain rice on the side too. He has been raving about this dish every since. The texture of the silken tofu was lovely, and the sauce was so flavoursome. I braved a taste, and found it very pleasant. We are hoping to recreate this dish at home this summer!

Mother HH ordered the vegetable fried rice, which was less spicy and which she also raved about for the rest of the trip. Where she lives it’s quite difficult to get good fried rice so she was absolutely ready for this. It was a very filling dish too.

If there’s salt and pepper tofu on the menu, I will usually order it, and this was no exception. And it was incredible! The tofu was so crispy and everything was coated in tasty spices. As well as the vegetables, there were little scraps of batter and fried chilli and garlic, and it was all just so delicious. I would have really loved to go back and have another meal here, but alas, we just had too many places on our wish list! This is definitely one of my top tips for New York vegan meals now.

Have you tried Szechuan food before? Or recreated a dish that dazzled you in a restaurant?