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best lunch special deals! hate to say this, but the food here is pretty much going to share the title of favorite asian vegetarian food from happy family in monterey park. although the service at happy family is still pretty much tops in terms of sweet ladies serving me food, this place is pretty awesome.
the prices for dinner are somewhat pricey, but their lunch is where you can score a deal. you practically get the same portions for lunch as you would normally at dinner, and they're the same dishes as well, but for half off. plus you get either brown rice or porridge w/bread. the specials range from $5-$8, but you really get a lot for your money. lunch also runs to 2:30pm and includes weekends! keep in mind though that anything under $20 is cash only.
amazing, standout dishes: the crispy oyster mushrooms and the regular bean curd with napa dish. the yuba is so fresh-tasting that it makes this normally typical vegetarian dish amazing!
Came here with family. The place is still really clean for SGV Chinese restaurant standards, and the service was still kinda cool. We walked in totally unexpected, all 16 of us, and they got a couple of large round tables for us within just a few minutes.
We had a plethora of dishes. Half of which I couldn't really tell you what it was exactly, but it was all pretty good. Even the fake shrimp with pineapple wasn't bad. They had orange "chicken", which it was actually a mushroom, but it was prepared like it was orange chicken. They also had these deep fried oyster mushrooms in what I think was spicy salt, so I had quite a bit of that. We didn't have the lettuce wraps like last time, but again, I was really pleased with everything. I must've had about 4 or 5 bowls of rice. What? I was hungry, haha.
Of course, you have to remember, this may be a vegetarian restaurant, but it's a Chinese vegetarian restaurant, so the grease and heaviness still comes into play.
I mean, most of you all know how much of a carnivore I am, so for me to give a vegetarian place anything higher than 3 stars says a lot. I guess they've been able to find a way to not compromise on flavor even though there's no meat.
I should ease up on the rice though.... I should've ask if they have brown rice.
Hello, my name is Austin S. and I'm a meatatarian. It's a life choice...
I spent this Chinese New…
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My BFF and I came here for lunch and while neither of us are vegetarian, we were told the food here was good, and we're always down for good food regardless of what it is.
The lunch menu consists of a good selection of items which comes with your choice of 1) sweet potato porridge and a piece of steamed or fried bread 2) soup and brown rice or 3) soup and white rice. We decided upon 2 items from the lunch menu with a #1 and a #2.
Since my BFF was adamant about trying anything fake -- when I suggested salt and pepper "pork" chop, her words were: I don't want to eat any fake meat -- I settled upon Japanese white bittermelon with salted egg and diced dried beancurd (la cao la). We also ordered an appetizer, a mock goose (su nger).
Mock goose: very tasty and flavorful without being overly sweet. This dish can sometimes be over poweringly sweet and then it becomes sickly. It was served with chili soy sauce.
Japanese bittermelon with salted egg: you have to love bittermelon to like this dish. I personally LOVE it so I enjoyed it. The white bittermelon seemed more bitter than the regular varietal, but again, if you like the stuff, it's great
Diced spicy beancurd: generally this dish has ground pork in it, but for the vegetarian version, they of course left it out. However, it didn't detract from its flavor at all. I really thought it needed a little more spice, but hey, that's me.
We decided that we should order another dish and BFF left it up to me. I decided to order the salt and pepper fish against her earlier request of no fake meat. When she asked me what I had ordered (since I did it in Chinese) I said you don't wanna know.
When the fish arrived she groaned and grimaced "GOD! FAKE FISH!!!!" But when she took the first bite, she then groaned again, this time to a totally different tone "OMG, this is DELICIOUS!!!" I rolled my eyes and said "aren't you glad I ignored you". Turned out, this was our ultimate favorite of the 4 items we ordered. The 'fish' pieces looked like fish, with seaweed wrapped around the outside to mimic the skin of the fish. The texture wasn't funky either.
So there ya have it.... we were both completely SOLD by this place. Two thumbs up from non-vegetarians who would both return here in a heartbeat!!!
Mom went to Gourmet Vegetarian Restaurant with her friends twice before. She really likes the food there. But my dad isn't a fan of vegetarian food so she couldn't get my dad to go with her. My dad was having lunch with his friends one day. So mom asked my sister and I if we would go to this vegetarian restaurant with her. Of course, mom!
Thai Ice Tea was buy 1 get 1 free. My sister and I liked it.
During lunch special hour, for every dish ordered, you can pick (1) bread & pumpkin porridge or (2) rice & soup or (3) brown rice & soup. We got 1 bread, 1 pumpkin porridge, 2 brown rice and 2 soup. The soup of the day was hot & sour soup. It was tasty. The fried bread was sweet, but a little oily. Pumpkin porridge didn't have much taste. But I like the sweet pumpkin in it.
Soft Tofu and Pumpkin with Brown Sauce in Hot Pot was everyone's favorite on that day. The sweet pumpkin with the brown sauce was really good.
I wasn't a big an of the Tofu Ball in this dish. I thought the tofu ball tasted really bland. But mom said that's how it supposed to taste like, just tofu. The broth was also on the lighter side. I did enjoyed the vermicelli though.
Vege Fish and Black pepper Sauce with Yam was pretty good. The menu said "yam", but the more proper name is Japanese mountain yam. It was crunchy and a little slimy on the surface. I really like this vegetable. It's also healthy. The vege fish was made with soy. I like it.
Great vegetarian lunch. It was light and healthy. They were super busy during lunch hour. Going for lunch is a better deal. Not only the dishes are cheaper, you also get the free soup, rice, porridge and bread. It's good to eat vegetarian food once in a while. So if you want to go vegetarian for one meal, I would recommend this restaurant.
So this is probably my favorite vegetarian restaurant, better than all those Happy Family restaurants out there that keep getting so many stars.
I'll make this simple and quick. The place is very clean, the food is good and tasty and prepared health-ily (if this is a word) with a lot less oil than other places. They have brown rice, lunch specials, and yummy hot and sour soup that comes with the lunch specials.
They have a wide selection of dishes that you'd normally find at other asian vegetarian restaurants. But come here for your vegetarian fix!!!
This is the best gourmet Chinese vegetarian restaurant in LA. I have gone to no less than eight Chinese vegetarian restaurants in LA and Orange County. I like the rice noodle in sesame oil. The ingredients they use for vegetarian dishes are fresh and high quality. It shows in the colors and taste. If you like vegetarian food, you will like this place. It is clean, but the price is higher than other Chinese vegetarian restaurants.
I'm not vegetarian, but I like vegetarian food! :D
I had tried a different vegetarian place and actually enjoyed it so I convinced my mom to try this place with me. She was skeptical and hesitant at first but after our food came out and she tried the dishes, she actually really enjoyed it. Yay! :D
Here's what we ordered:
~"Fish" and yams: The fish chunks were reminiscent of the fish cakes you see in regular meat-serving places and had a hint of fishiness from the seaweed. The yams were a special white kind that has a slight crunch and "gluey-ness" to it. I'm not sure how to describe it, but I liked it. Everything was cooked in a black pepper sauce (that got noticeably spicier when we ate the dish as leftovers).
~Orange "Chicken": My mom was surprised by how close this dish seemed to the real thing. Since real orange chicken is usually loaded with batter anyway, you don't really notice that this orange "chicken" was not real chicken.
~Crispy Shitake Mushrooms: Recommended by the waitress! This dish was fried mushrooms that were then stir-fried with a sweet sauce and topped with sesame. It was good at the beginning, but got a bit overly sweet for me after eating more of it. Next time, I'll try the Crispy Oyster Mushooms, which the waitress also recommended and said that it was a savory version. Oh! Just a sidenote, the Crispy Shiktake Mushrooms aren't as good cold. The batter around the mushrooms gets soggy. =T
We ordered off the lunch specials so we got the brown rice and hot and sour soup to go along with our food. I enjoyed their brown rice, but I'm not a fan of hot and sour soup so I wasn't too into their soup. I plan on trying the bread and porridge the next time I go. My mom and I actually split a bowl of rice because it was so big. Both of us were really full after and still had leftovers to take home. My mom was actually really surprised at how good vegetarian food was! ;]
We gave the leftovers to my dad and brother and they couldn't tell that it was vegetarian food until we told them. If they could fool my dad and brother (true carnivores!), then you know it's good vegetarian food! ;P
went here with Yoon P. and Larry X. [vegan/vegatarian experts] after a nice short hike in san pedro. needless to say we were hungry, and being friends with veggies, i already surrendered to the fact that, "beef, it's not what's for dinner".
now i've been to several vegetarian restaurant with these guys, but wow, this has got to be "one of the best chinese vegetarian restaurant in the us. period. [haha i stole that from yoon].
i think the secret is in their batter. i was surprised that what i liked most wasn't even fake meat. you know.. like the "chicken" or "beef". most of the flavor came from the batter itself. i had the "crispy oyster mushroom" and "mandarin orange mushrooms", and some not worth mentioning. de-lish!
to top it off i had dessert: the almond tea with puff pastry. i was talking smack about it because it looked silly. yet, i killed it so quick.
awesome place. worthy of the 5 stars!
Vegetarian food gets a bad wrap. I'm tired of omnivores raising their noses over vegetarians and vice versa. Seriously, just because I suggest we eat vegetarian doesn't mean you'll die because you missed your protein fix.
Anyways, vege fare has come a long way. This place is great proof of that. Anything 'meat' here is obviously not meat, but looks, tastes, and has the the same texture as meat. Unfortunately, our party pretty much ordered all meat dishes: pork cutlet, fish, and chicken. To balance it out we also ordered the eggplant (yummy) and a tofu dish as well. All of the entrees tasted great and were completely satisfying. If I blindfolded you and forced you to come eat here, you'd have nary a clue it was vegetarian!
The lunch special is great: rice (white or brown), soup (hot and sour is awesome), and choice of entree. Can't beat that for about 5-8 bux. You also get a pot of tea to enjoy (it's free!) with your meal.
Servers mainly speak mandarin, but are very friendly to everyone and will accommodate your english or poor mandarin or poor engrish. Come here and 'vege' out!
Came here yesterday for a close friend's wedding. Yes, it was my first vegetarian wedding. We were all skeptical. Its a nice clean restaurant located on the 2nd floor at Focus Plaza in San Gabriel. The waitresses and waiters were very attentive. Great service. For the most part, food was pretty good. It was a 13 course meal plus cake so we were full by the 6th dish. I really like the first dish, which was a cold platter. The wheat gluten was nicely seasoned but a bit oily. It was fun trying to figure out what each dish was. The honey ham sandwich was good. I've tried this at another vegetarian restaurant and was extremely disappointed.
One of the Best Chinese Vegetarian Restaurant in US. Period. I wish I could take this entire restaurant home! Even my omnivore friends swear by it.
Food can vary depend on what you order, but the waitresses know their cuisine, so ask them for recommendations if you don't know what's good, but some of the dishes you should totally consider:
- House Special Soup (it's green but OMG it's so tasty)
- Vege House Chicken
- Crispy Oyster Mushrooms
- Vermicelli and Spicy Sauce (if you're into spicy food)
- Soft Tofu and Eggplant with Basil in Hot Pot
- Almond Tea with Puff Pastry (so yummy & healthy! it's made with soymilk)
Bonus: I like the interior here also. And the waiters are so nice and friendly! :)
NOTE: After you fight for parking, find the Yogurt place in this humongous plaza, and this restaurant is on top of it.
First, I'm not a vegetarian and I love my meat (actually, just chicken).
I came here for lunch with my parents unknowing we were going to dine in a vegetarian restaurant. I should've got the hint when we saw a group of monks coming down the stairs and my father made a comment about them. I'm so damn slow.
My first impression was Buddhist Temple food in a high-end vegetarian restaurant. I'm assuming this restaurant must be relatively new since everything looks pretty clean. We arrived around 1:30 pm and there weren't a lot of people, which was a good thing. We ordered 3 dishes from the Lunch Special menu ($5.50 per plate), which is served with a choice of: bread & pumpkin porridge; rice & soup; or brown rice & soup.
VEGE SLICED SAUSAGE w/PICKLED NAPA CABBAGE
- Wait a minute, it was sausage? My mom told it was made from flour...
- First taste was shocking, was really, really sour and then the spiciness kicked in.
STIR FRIED BEAN SPROUT w/CELERY
- My favorite dish of the meal, although no thanks to carrots.
RADISH & EGG PANCAKE
- I hate radishes, yuck.
Although I mostly ate the bean sprouts, bread, and porridge, it was filling enough for a very, very light lunch. Pretty average for a Chinese Vegetarian restaurant so would I come back? Maybe (within the next year), but probably not likely.
Every so often, my family wants to eat a veggie meal and by far.. this is my favorite vegetarian resturant.
The food is decently priced and isn't soaking in msg like most other veg. food. I ordered "vege beef noodle soup" and I was surprised. Its awfully close to the real thing yet it didn't taste like beef, more like very herby soup, but still close. mmm... veggies...
My grandmother is a vegetarian, so by default, each Mothers' Day is celebrated at a vegetarian restaurant. And so are all her birthdays. Meaning, I've been to most vegetarian Chinese restaurants throughout the San Gabriel Valley and beyond.
Gourmet Vegetarian serves delicate dishes in conservative proportions. Vegetables are lightly sauteed in oil (well, at least compared to your average Chinese restaurant) and fake meats are plump and savory, without overwhelming saltiness and sauciness.
Disappointingly, its famous pineapple dish came out in a palm-sized pineapple with missing pineapples and many more peppers instead. Rice is charged per person, and tea is made with tea bags (kinda insulting at a Chinese restaurant, right??). However, its fried and caramelized Shitaki mushrooms sprinkled with sesame seeds were an original hit.
Recommended for all vegetarian palates, especially those seeking Chinese food deviant of oil and sauce overuse.
Wow, one of the best vegetarian chinese restaurant we've been to. This place has a huge selections on their menu and everything is tasty. If you've never been here before, check out the Deep Fried Chicken Nuggets with Basil. Even their simple tea is tasty. But make sure you arrive early for lunch or dinner. Cause this place gets packed fairly quickly.
Happy Eathing!
By San Gabriel Valley standards, this restaurant is exceptionally clean. But I guess time will tell, since it's still pretty new. A vegetarian restaurant doesn't sound like my idea of a good time, but the food here is really great! They even have a pumpkin bisque that comes with a flaky pastry top. I especially liked this bamboo dish served with shredded "meat" (really made of tofu I think). One thing I really liked about all their items was that none were super oily like most Chinese dishes.
The lunch items all come with hot and sour soup and your choice of brown rice, regular rice, fried bread (it's good, but sounds weird), or porridge. Both times I've been there I've had to wait about 10 minutes to be seated. The place is completely packed by 12:30. Parking sucks since it's located in the Focus Plaza. But I'll definitely be back!
The reason I came to this restaurant was because my mom's friend runs this place. That aside, I don't know my mom's friend, so I'm not trying to rake in some business for him.
The restaurant is located in the very Asian 99 Ranch plaza on Del Mar in San Gabriel, on the 2nd floor above the Nubi Yogurt. It is Chinese-style vegetarian food, but the decor is far from the traditional Chinese restaurants--no giant Chinese characters or phoenixes or dragons on the back wall, no swiveling glass centerpieces, padded chairs with embroidered cushions and red carpet. There are booth seats in luscious shades of deep orange and brown (very generous booth seats, too), simple, dark wooden chairs with minute cut-out details; tables spaced evenly as to not stir up a sense of claustrophobia as you dine, a quiet kitchen... plates and bowls all completely white and unadorned.
The menu lists dozens of items, but today my dad and I had:
*Sushi Hand Roll (beautifully served in a wooden hand roll... holder I don't know what they're called, sorry)
*Vege Chawamushi (my dad had that, I don't eat egg. It looked pretty anyhow. I think the waitress gave it to us for free???? My dad said he didn't order it! Whatever. This is one of those instances where you just accept and don't question.)
*Vege Eel with Teriyaki Sauce (YUMMMMM)
*Vege Jelly fish (cold, a bit neon-colored though. I felt they should've added more vinegar. Anyhow...)
*Wheat Gluten with Brown Sauce (YUM. Had these leftovers sauteed with thin noodles)
*Soft Tofu and Eggplant with Basil in Hot Pot (I ordered this as a lunch special, so I got bread [in actuality a steamed bun, then crispy fried to perfection on the outside!!!!!!] and pumpkin porridge)
Note about the lunch special: It really is a lunch special. The prices range from $5.50-$6.95 and you get: 1 entree + (a) bread + pumpkin porridge [as I did], (b) white rice + soup, or (c) brown rice + soup. Note for all you vegans, Chinese people like egg drop soup so ask about the soup. Both times I've been here the soup has egg. So I pass on the soup.
Service is quite attentive here, sometimes the head chef comes out to greet his customers too.
So after all that food my dad and I ordered, our bill was not over $40! (tip + tax included) Plus we had leftovers.
The last time I came here with my non-vegetarian and non-Asian friend and she loved it as well! She ordered the Lotus Root with Sugar Peas, to which she likened to "Fairy food" because it seemed unreal and sounded so.
Haven't had any of the desserts here, they are just your typical Chinese bakery/deli desserts: red bean cake, fried rice balls.... but they have a crispy puff pastry w/ almond tea?! (don't think it's vegan though...)
I'd come here every time I come to San Gabriel and feel like immersing in its intense Asian atmosphere, and also, the menu is quite amusing as my friend questioned a couple of the menu items (as always is the case when Chinese restaurants have to translate):
*O Oh Gen = traditional flat pancake made w/ oysters (in this case, "oysters"). Has egg.
*White Jelly Fungus with Red Date = I know, when you think 'fungus', crusty toenails come to mind. If they didn't, sorry. Inappropriately named but delicious and nutritious, 'fungus' is very thin and curly, with a slightly crunchy texture. The brown ones are used for savory dishes, the white ones are for desserts.
*Sizzling Plate = I think whoever typed up this menu spaced out and didn't type the item as it should be: Mixed Vegetables on a Sizzling Platter
I conclude this long review by stating that if you are tired of that overpriced sushi place on the 2nd floor, the Chinese-style Korean restaurant next to it, and the FOB crowd at Tea Station, come here, stretch your legs out after your long day of shopping and sampling at 99 Ranch (yes, the booth seats are large enough for that) and relish in some healthy Chinese-vegetarian food.
the food here is really good. it has a bit of japanese style to it and they even have vegetarian sushi! (other vegetarian places dont have it, trust me)
i really like this place, compare with those other vegetarian places i've been to. (i've been to a lot of vegetarian places since my mom is a vegetarian) but its a bit pricey.
its not as cheap as those other places, but it is really good. and the place is really pretty and clean too. :)
Yay for clean Chinese restaurants! All of the traditional dishes are great like "shanghainese style tofu" and green beans with "meat." The porridge that they give you is good, and so are the crunchy bread rolls. Also, they have brown rice which is an additional plus! The dishes aren't too greasy like other Chinese restaurants. Go during lunch to get the lunch menu prices! One star off because they only have fried rolls :(
Let me start by saying I love red meat.
I was planning on going to Happy Family but on the drive, using my friendly ipod yelp app, changed my mind and went here instead.
There were 5 of us arriving at 6:30 on a Sunday and it was busy though we were seated immediately. Tea was served and replaced often.
Everything we ordered was very tasty although we all wished we had ordered more "faux" dishes. Somehow we ended up with alot of tofu and straight-up vegetable dishes.
The kung pao "chicken" was delicious but I wish it was spicier. There were red chiles in the dish but they weren't incorporated into the flavor at all, more like decoration.
The waitress suggested a dish with "ham" and tofu. It was pretty much a tofu jello-mold with fake meat bits surrounded by a moat of spinach broth. Weird but tasty.
The owner was very friendly and curious as to how we had found the restaurant (our table accounted for 99% of the non-Asians in the place).
I cant wait to come back and try more dishes.
As a bonus, Nubi yogurt is downstairs.
This place is opened by the guy who opened all the other vegetarian restaurants around here like the Happy Family chains. Guess he decided to open one that wasn't just a vege Chinese restuarant, its a Gourmet one. About that, I wouldn't say it is any more gourmet then the other restaurants of the same fare, except that it "looks" more gourmet because it has a more modern interior. Basically its the contemporary asian fusion style of interior design that makes it gourmet.
Anyway, the food is oily but you can tell the chef to make it less oily, or less spicy, or not spicy, or whatever. They are kind to send you service. Here are some recommendations that are unique to this restaurant....
-the fried rice!!! The one with egg and mustard greens.
-sesame pancake - fried (ask for less oil), its like a green onion pancake but made with sesame (chinese vegetarian restaurant usually dont have onion or garlic - against buddhist principle)
Everything else is rather good also, but so far the above 2 are the ones that i have had that arent at other veggie restaurants in the area AND are good.
But their general tso chicken, bitter vegetable, treasure beancurd ball wraps, are also good.
I dont like their sweet and sour pork though....
Place is clean. Some booths too which is new.
I thought this restaurant was bland and mediocre. I was not impressed with the texture of the fake meat (I had shredded pork), the flavors of the dishes, or the fundamentals of the preparations. Some mistakes with service too. They served brown rice when we ordered white rice, and they assumed, because we're white, that we want to eat with a fork. Though not vegetarian, Shanghai Restaurant next door serves better vegetarian dishes. The interior of Gourmet Vegetarian is very nice, however.
First - kudos to Denise K for the Nubi Yogurt hint - saved lots of time in finding the place once we'd reached to plaza.
After a rainy day at the Norton Simon we decided to try this place out. Naturally, being a round-eye, I didn't realize that blocks of the street were closed for a Chinese New Year street fair. Took forever to get to the place, and forever to find parking! But, enough about that.
This isn't a super-fancy place, but it is definitely presentable and clean. The menu is extensive, the service - not bad, but they could be more attentive.
We had the 3 "chicken" hot pot - mmmmm... dee-lish! We also had the pastry-topped pumpkin bisque - which was good, but seemed somewhat out of character for the cuisine.
They also serve a pot of jasmine tea which goes well with the food.
All in all - a very nice excursion and one of my new favorite veg spots.
This place is a high end version of the normal vegetarian restaurants. The price is also higher than most vegetarian restaurants. When you have less than four people in your party, you may order from the lunch menu that is small volume and lesser price. The waitresses are very friendly. For people who eat vegetarian foods often, I suggest that you order their health special series dishes, like herbal chicken in sesame oil. I also like the Climbing Ants Meatballs dish. I also like the eel over rice dish. The waitress makes good suggestions.
This restaurant is located upstairs in the notoriously-hard-to-find-parking Focus Plaza. My family is not vegetarian but we enjoyed every dish we had here. For lunch they offer lots of dishes (which come with rice, porridge, or brown rice - and soup). Everything was delicious and the service was very friendly and helpful (unlike most places in san gabriel). This will definitely be one of our regular lunch places from now on.
Some advice...Never go there on a weekend where all the Asian people are eating vegetarian on New Moon days. The restaurant is small and there are not a lot of tables. The management does very poorly in managing a crowd. My family and I got there at noon on a Saturday. The place is packed and there are already twenty groups on the waiting list ahead of us. It was going to be a long wait and we knew that. It is one thing for there to be a long wait because there are a lot of people, but it is another to stand there and wait while the owner keeps seating his close friends/regulars ahead of everyone. It is frustrating to see not just one instance of this, but multiple ones. I have been there on a normal weekend and its not so bad. The food is very decent, but can be a bit on the oily side. I would go back only on a normal weekend and stay far away from any weekend near the new moon.
San Gabriel, CA
Category: Vegetarian
Rosemead, CA
Category: Vegetarian
San Gabriel, CA
Category: Chinese
South El Monte, CA
Category: Vegetarian
Arcadia, CA
Category: Chinese
Some of my favorite veg-friendly dining…
