Usually it is a vegetarian soup, but can also be made with meat stock.

It's also served as a powerful-tasting vegetarian soup.

The vegetarian soups have earned high praise, and the coffee is tasty too.

I had to rush out to Tesco's for a vegetarian soup.

Made here with a vegetable broth and beets done in the microwave (beets are notoriously slow to cook), this vegetarian soup can be the centerpiece of a meal.

Cuban black bean, a vegetarian soup, is more subtle, tasting of cumin, parsley and pepper.

This is normally a clear soup containing a small amount of meat, but may also be a thick, vegetarian soup.

Thicker cellophane noodles are also commonly used to imitate the appearance and texture of shark's fin in vegetarian soups.

But it's possible to make a satisfying, even hearty, vegetarian soup if you choose your ingredients carefully, and extract every bit of flavor from them.

Recommended are starters of crisp Shanghai-style spring rolls; minced beef in an egg-white broth, and vegetarian sweet-and-sour soup served in an individual little footed tureen.