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The Original Buddha Bodai - Kosher Vegetarian Restaurant
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Friend
Vegetarian
Vegan-friendly
Ovo
Chinese
Delivery
Take-out
Asian
Catering
Kosher
Chinese vegetarian restaurant est. since 2004 and is not affiliated with Buddha Bodai on Mulberry St. Offers vegan dim sum until 4pm, plus a wide range of faux meat dishes. Reported uses egg in a few dishes and mango pudding contains dairy. Kitchen stops 9:30pm. Open Mon-Fri 11:00am-9:00pm, Sat-Sun 10:00am-9:00pm.
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5 Mott St, New York City, New York, USA, 10013
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- Wheelchair accessible
- Accepts credit cards
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Last update on 13 Nov 2024 by hugemittons
Update business info
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114 Reviews
First Review by A.Z.P.
zoedet
Points +140
So delicious - Edit
Everything is amazing . Definitely get the BBQ “meat”. I can’t stop thinking about it!!
Read morePros: Tasty food, Laid back atmosphere , Free green tea
Guest
ingrid.friederike
Points +100
Solid!!! - Edit
As a dairy-free vegetarian, I’ve had to turn down invitations to dim sum before before of lack of options. So this place gets 5 stars alone for providing tasty dim sum that is also fairly priced. Some of their faux meats are better than others, though.
Read morePros: Inexpensive, Large menu
Cons: Inconsistent service
Guest
adalea
Points +1156
Really like this place. - Edit
Cheap and amazing dim sum. One of the best in chinatown
Read moreGuest
ValentinaColaceci
Points +164
Wow - Edit
The BEST vegan Chinese food, located in china town
Read moreUpdated from previous review on 2023-05-27
Pros: All vegan chinese restaurant
Cons: Staff is not the friendliest but was okay
Kallday
Is that sesame chicken?
Read moreValentinaColaceci
Yes :)
Read moreGuest
PastaLana
Points +341
The dim sum my soul needed - Edit
Since going vegan, the only thing I have really missed is dim sum. This place delivers!!!
Read moreI've been dying for a turnip cake recently. Whenever I go out and look for one, they almost always have shrimp in them. Bummer.
I was so jazzed to find that this place has veganized ALL my old dim sum favorites. There are a few (I only noticed two) dishes that are clearly marked as having egg or dairy in them, but everything else on the menu was vegan.
I was absolutely in heaven! Char Siu Bao! Turnip cakes! Shu Mai! Dumplings of all kinds! ALL VEGAN! What a time to be alive!
This was a very wonderful experience for me. The taste transported me back to my old dim sum favorites, but this was much more satisfying than before because my heart was happier knowing that this dim sum had all the flavor without the cruelty.
Pros: amazing variety, good prices, delicious food
Guest
Amanbx
Points +158
Buns and Dumplings!! - Edit
Was taking a friend to visit Chinatown and had to stop by for some steamed and baked Buns and pan fried Dumplings! So tasty and filling! Buns are sweet with a little savory interiors. They come out hot and fresh. We loved it!!
Read moreGuest
MoniqueGS
Points +730
Delicious food in Chinatown - Edit
Great food (soooo many options), fast service & fun atmosphere.
Read moreThey were able to sit us down quickly (party of 6) even though it was rush hour. The waiters were helpful in answering our questions.
We will DEFINITELY come back on our next visit to NYC!
Pros: Lots of options, Prices were fair , Service was quick & attentive
Cons: Gets busy on the weekends , (But that means the food is good 😉)
Guest
jollieduck
Points +3061
Bleh food - Edit
We ordered the pineapple fried rice with “chicken” and the tofu skins with sesame. The sauce was weird and after a few bites I couldn’t get myself to eat more of it. The fried rice was edible but had no memorable flavor. Most meals didn’t come with rice, just mock meat and a small amount of veggies. Several dishes do have egg but they are clearly labeled.
Read moreGuest
SuperSteffi
Points +395
Amazing choice of Chinese food - Edit
There is so much to choose from, the prices are absolutely ok and the taste was top!
Read moreUpdated from previous review on 2023-04-13
Pros: Almost everything is vegan, Not expensive , Big pot of Free green tea
Cons: Can be very crowded
Guest
LillianLee
Points +13
Forces Customers To Pay More Tip (1 star) - Edit
I have been a loyal customer coming here for over 10 years and sadly this establishment has changed. The food is still good but the service has been horrible. Last week when I came here, one of the waiters (a younger guy with glasses) forged my check to automatically put a 25% tip. It is illegal for restaurant staff to put their own tip amount instead of honoring the customer's amount. After I confronted him about it he said "no this is our rule and how our restaurant does things". Then he spoke in Cantonese and called my party and I "Useless and inconvenient" while shaking his head. After dialled the Better Business Bureau (BBB) number on my phone to complain about the forged tip, he finally gave me the real customer check which I can put my own tip. And while i was doing the math and calculating the tip, he kept standing close at me to watch what I was doing. This made my party and I very uncomfortable and created a hostile environment. Lying to customers and scamming them by adding more tips is not kosher nor very Buddhist. I do not recommend anyone to come back here again.
Read morePros: food is good but poor service, Rude and charges for tap water
Cons: HORRIBLE service. Force Customers to Pay 25% tip., Speaks poorly about customers in cantonese, Yells at customers
Guest
JoshSilva
Points +2068
Terrible Service with High Price - Edit
Came here with my wife and the service was awful. We were still ordering while the waiter said “you done” and basically grabbed the menu out of my wife’s hand. We wanted to do lunch menu because it clearly stated M-F 11-4pm and we were there @ 2:45pm. Waiter said sorry no lunch service…. Prices were super high on the regular menu. Food was good tasting. Would not retun
Read morePros: Easily can be vegan
Cons: BAD SERVICE, Expensive
Guest
Mountjoy32
Points +312
Fun Menu - Edit
Lots of fun choices on the menu you don’t see very often, like shark fin soup. Over all I enjoy eating food from here, although a lot of the dishes read a bit sweet. Also I find the mock chicken to be a bit soggy. I really like the hot and sour soup, turnips, and choy sum. To me those are high points, while the regular dumplings and vegetable soup are low points… they’re both bland.
Read moreI’d recommend eating here with a group and getting dim sum and soup to share.
Guest
alinakim
Points +202
huge portions and really tasty - Edit
The portions were so large, you can take leftovers home for another meal or share! The food was very good and came quickly.
Read moreGuest
craigmc
Points +41330
Hot & huge - Edit
First of all the portions are huge, I would recommended two mains between three at most.
Read moreIt was 30c outside which was cold compared to inside, wow it was hot.
The food was good but nothing exceptional. We had a couple of starters which were okay and the mains which were good. The eggplant was probably my favourite but the crispy beef & sweet & sour chicken were both good as well.
A good solid option but hopefully we will find even better on this trip.
Updated from previous review on 2022-07-05
Pros: Portions, Tasty
Cons: Hot
Guest
iloveveganicecream
Points +1054
This is SO good - Edit
Wow. This is one of my favorite meals I’ve ever had. Absolutely delicious. Dim sum is one of my favorite cuisines, and I’ve really missed it. It’s one of the things I would cave over the first few times I tried to transition away from consuming animal products, so it’s amazing to have such a delicious option. ❤️
Read moreCan confirm that the following items do not have eggs: shrimp rice roll, vegetarian steamed buns, orange chicken, sticky rice in lotus leaf, turnip cake.
Some things have eggs, and that is marked on the menu.
Guest
plantbasedddddddd
Points +92
Best vegan Chinese ever! - Edit
I grew up eating allll over chinatown so I’m very familiar with the authentic stuff. This is the best vegan Chinese I’ve ever had. I always keep coming back. And the staff is always so nice. And everything is dirt cheap! Best restaurant in NYC hands down. Get the rice rolls! The meat one is the best but they’re all amazing
Read morePros: Delish, Cheap, Location
Cons: None!!!
Guest
guybraverman
Points +1761
New York’s best dim sum - Edit
Wow, what a find. This was our best meal in NY to date. Very authentic flavors and atmosphere. Good efficient service and reasonably priced
Read morePros: Mostly vegan, Authentic , Great value
Cons: Wish it was 100% vegan, Not organic
Guest
DDesai
Points +212
Best Vegetarian Chinese Food - Edit
Some of the best vegetarian Chinese food I've ever had, if not the best. So many options, tasted great
Read morePros: So many options , Tastes great
Guest
IwaWella
Points +1249
So Good - Edit
Rice roll is the best thing here, def recommended
Read moreGuest
JacquelineViolet
Points +230
Can’t say enough good things about this place - Edit
Buddha Bodai is INCREDIBLE. I literally dream about their pork buns. Dim sum here for vegetarians and vegans is unbeatable. They clearly mark anything that contains egg and have a wide array of vegan options. The dumplings, and buns are my favorite. There is always a wait.
Read morePros: Lots of options , Great spin on traditional DimSum
Guest
longcaredonthair
Points +198
Damn good - Edit
Probably the best orange chicken I had. Well done
Read moreGuest
DanielSherman
Points +32
So so - Edit
Ambiance is what you’d expect in the heart of Chinatown. They were busy but able to seat us pretty quickly. The few non-vegan items are clearly marked. The appetizers were good, but the entrees were all encased in fried dough. Too much mock meat and vegan cheese for my taste. You have to order rice separately (though the chicken fried rice was good). Overall needs much less grease and more vegetables.
Read morePros: Authentic , Good Dim Sum
Cons: Way too oily, Not very flavorful, C rating by department of health
Guest
PaulinaLlamas
Points +206
Excellent!! - Edit
Best DimSum ever! Make sure you try the bbq meat.
Read morePros: Super cheap , Delicious
Guest
Kangarupe
Points +184
Very mediocre…. - Edit
Nice enough place but I can’t recommend for food. Had six different selections. Much of the food came out luke warm and wasn’t particularly tasty. This was on Christmas Day ‘21 so, not sure if that had anything to do with the poor food quality. Lot of great reviews here, don’t know if I was unlucky or other people have super low expectations. 🤷🏼♂️
Read morePros: Very vegan friendly, Friendly wait staff, Price
Cons: Bland food
Guest
Rob_NY
Points +81
Dim sum and fake meat Chinese - Edit
This is my favorite vegan Chinese place after several visits. Dim sum available before 4 pm. We liked beef chow fun, fried turnip cakes, lotus leaf sticky rice, sesame balls, pea shoots in rice noodle wrapper, pork buns.
Read moreGuest
alicelaura
Points +292
So much choice and so tasty! - Edit
There is so much choice at this restaurant. In addition, there is an entire gluten free section of the menu! I had corn and chicken soup, 'beef' and Chinese broccoli, and shared a 'beef' fried rice with my friend. All of it was delicious, the service amazing. It was packed on a Monday night in November so that's when we knew we had picked somewhere good. Huge portions though - so be prepared to take it home (if you have a fridge!!)
Read morePros: Amazing food, So much choice, Big portions, good value.
Guest
MarlonEspitia
Points +515
Es un buen lugar tie,ne muchas opciones y un buen precio - Edit
Es de mis lugares favoritos en nyc
Read moreLas porciones son muy buenas y el sabor está muy muy bien. En cuanto al precio está muy bien recomendado
Pros: Muchas opciones , Buen sabor , Lugar agradable
Guest
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