On the ground floor of Auckland's new eco-friendly Sudima Hotel on Nelson Street, a quiet revolution in dining is taking place. East restaurant is proving that plant-based cuisine can be bold, flavourful, and deeply satisfying—all while respecting the environment.
"The ethos behind East is high impact on taste and low impact on the environment," explains owner Kanika Jhunjhnuwala. "We've created a menu and a space that focuses on sustainable, health-conscious dining, while providing a stylish and delicious dining experience."
Head chef Harmeet Singh leads a diverse team representing culinary traditions from Japan, Hong Kong, China, Thailand, India, and Sri Lanka. Together, they've created a menu showcasing regional Asian flavours through a plant-based lens.
Signature dishes include Southern Thai yellow curry with pumpkin and pineapple, Peking jackfruit pancakes, and caramelised black pepper tofu. Thailand's beloved som tam papaya salad has been reworked without fish sauce, while Indonesia's gado-gado comes loaded with longbean, chioggia beetroot, and tempeh. Dumplings arrive filled with water chestnut, corn, and coriander.
The kitchen has developed innovative vegetarian sauces, including a vegan 'XO' sauce featuring shiitake mushrooms processed to achieve authentic texture and flavour. It's estimated that 75 percent of the menu is fully vegan-friendly.
Beverage experts Simon Kelly and Ben Legget developed the drinks list, featuring an extensive 100 percent organic and vegan wine selection from New Zealand and Italy. Cocktails incorporate Asian ingredients like jasmine-infused sake, lemongrass and coriander-infused vodka, umeshu, and Thai basil.
East demonstrates that sustainable dining doesn't mean compromising on flavour—it means innovating to create something even better.