ith the prevalence of Chinese-American cuisine consisting of greasy egg rolls, chicken fried rice and chicken balls, one of the first fusions to hit the western world seems to have become depressed.

Don’t despair, however, because Shing Wang has arrived to breathe new life into the pairing. Shing is Miami’s first all-vegetarian Chinese diner and one of the city’s first pushers of Taiwanese shaved ice and bubble tea. Shing takes vegetarian cuisine and adds a whole lot of fun.

Bubble tea was a huge fad in the early 2000s. Young people everywhere were getting surprise tapioca balls lodged in the backs of their throats. The little round fruits rest at the bottom of the tea just waiting to be sucked up though a fat straw to shock unsuspecting first-timers. Shing Wang has hot and cold versions of the fad in flavours from litchi to mung bean to hot kumquat tea. Bubble tea can be had as a dessert, a snack or a starter to a meal.

The food at Shing, you should know, is all fake. There are vegetarian mock-offs of beef, chicken, pork and shrimp on the menu made from wheat gluten and soy products. They don’t taste all that great but vegetarians will enjoy the option and the protein health benefits. Guests mix and match their meal from over sixty options on the menu.

Black bean sauce, spicy ko-po sauce, mixed vegetables, jasmine rice and/or egg noodles are just a few of the many options available. At $6.95 a meal this is a healthy bargain. Try the Taiwanese shaved ice for dessert. The shaved ice, like the main dishes, is a mix and match option. There are over thirty puddings, beans, jellies, rice’s, barleys, fruits, and so on to choose from. You could come out the other side with a cantaloupe, almond pudding, red bean, mango jelly and dried plum dessert. Not bad. I love a good do-it-yourself menu.