Restaurants
Buddha's Vegetarian
Last night I met up with some friends at Buddha's Vegetarian, a little hole in the wall on Dundas, just East of Bathurst. They had eaten there before and consider it one of Toronto's better kept secrets for cheap and cheerful vegetarian chinese food.
I got there late and by the time I sat down, they were just polishing off a heaping plate of Beancurd Sheets, otherwise know as Imitation Duck ($4.40). I didn't taste it but apparently it's the dish to get on the menu.
We then settled in for mains. I opted for a small Buddha's Special Mixed Vegetables in Soup ($3.70). The photo is above so you can imagine the fun I had locating the soupy portion of the soup.
Talk about a huge mound of the vegetables I always hope not to get when I order "special mixed vegetables". I should know better. I guess I'm just not down with the many varieties of chinese mushrooms and bland bamboo shoots.
I was hungry so I gave it a go but only managed to get through half of it. I imagine the large portion would be suitable for the Argos offensive line.
Elsewhere around the table, my dinner companions dug into a massive plate of Fried E-Fu Noodles with Vegetables ($6.50) and a couple of more soups including the Sweet Corn and Beancurd (Tofu) Soup ($3.20 for a small).
By this time I started to notice how busy the restaurant was. The 5 or 6 tables were full; and about a dozen more customers were waiting by the entrance. It's testament to the popularity of the place. But overall, I'd say Buddha's Vegetarian is more about good value (and huge portions) than great flavours.
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#27 for the win.
I am sure they have good food, but what I got was a huge sloppy mess.
Thanks for nothing Buddha!
The veggies are fresh and plentiful: oh no! I've never seen a reviewer complain of too much veggies before.
The dishes tend to be plainer because there is no garlic and onion in them: it is buddhist food. Duh. I appreciate tasting the true flavours of the veggies and mushrooms, unhindered by spicing except where they use a very mild curry. This is why the Chinese invented soy sauce, oh plentiful soy sauce.
If you want to taste their gourmet creations and see their presentation skills, try one of the dishes featuring bamboo fungus or black moss. For about $15 or so you get an unbelievably large serving of baby bak choi and the delicate moss (or fungus, which is crunchier), prepared perfectly and enough for an entire family. Quite the deal actually, these items are far from inferior and are rather expensive to get.
If you are faulting them for the sloppiness of their incredibly low cost dishes (some as low as $3 for more than one serving worth of food) than remember that these are so low cost it is like they are doing a favour for those of us without deep pockets. When I go there I feel such good karma as I take away box after box of leftovers for the next few days lunches that I know would cost almost as much to prepare at home as you are paying there and from personal experience I can not make a soy duck near as delicious as theirs.
My favorite takeout restaurant in the world. I'm going there tonight to pick up takeout: the mushrooms noodle soup comes with an entire serving worth of veggies, more than that of mushrooms, a whole gigantic load of noodles larger than if you had ordered noodles at a restauarant, because the only difference between a small and a large is the amount of broth they give you! As far as eating in, the chairs are not comfortable and the atmosphere is spare but the good vibes from regular customers are all around.
Also, if you are a greasy fried food fan their spring rolls are massive, crunchy, peppery, bang on.