Basil Box – Tasty, Fast & Fresh

I had the opportunity to go to The Basil Box for the first time this week, and I really liked it. I checked out their website in advance and noticed they had a bunch of great looking vegan sauces, and a tasty looking tofu option – I was really happy to see how easy it was to order a vegan meal with them.

Everything is clearly labelled V for vegan-friendly, and everything is gluten free by default. It was quick and easy to order and I think it would be a decent option for our whole family (toddler included).

First you chose a base – which can be brown rice, jasmine white rice, rice noodles, mixed greens or a mix of a couple different bases.

When I was ordering I went with the long grain jasmine rice, but for my next bowl I would probably do rice and mixed greens.

Next you pick two veggies (all of the options are vegan by default) so there are sauteed peppers, roasted onions and peas, lemongrass corn, roasted edamame, and charred sweet potato. I was tempted by that sweet potato, but went with edamame and sauteed peppers for a colourful mix.

They have one main vegan protein option – a coconut curry tofu, which is a nice pressed extra firm tofu marinated in one of their own Basil Box made curry pastes and coconut milk. The owner mentioned they are testing a couple other vegan protein options, so there might be more in the future. (and I want to try them.)

There are five sauces to choose from – but I went with the one with the most fires next to it, since I like everything spicy, and got the Penang Curry, and it was a great choice. I though it was spicy without being overpowering or overwhelming – though of course your mileage may vary.

Lastly, there are a few box toppers – I chose pickled vegetables (how could I not) and sriracha spiced pumpkin seeds. They also have roasted sesame seeds, crushed peanuts, herbs, chia seeds, and fresh Thai chilies.

For snacks/dessert: they have a Chiang Mai trail mix which has a nice mix of sweet and salty flavours as well as a sweet mango rice parfait which is coconut rice pudding topped with a mango puree (and of course, I’m mentioning them because they’re both vegan.) I took a pack of the trail mix home and it made for a great mid morning snack.

I tried two of their drinks – the Pineapple Rose Soda, which was magical and my kind of flavour profile and the mango ginger ale which was had a lovely gingery bite to it. I liked it, and I will be back.

There are locations across Canada, and more coming soon.

P..S. I was invited to a BasilBoxMeets, and the meal was provided for free, but as usual, I only post about something if I actually liked it!