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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.
newyawkveggie
Points +22
Yesssssss - Edit
I need to hurry and go back cause I'm having Vegan BBQ meat withdrawals. The vegan bbq meat lo mein is sooo good.
Read morePros: Delicious Food, Good Location, Lots of Seating
Guest
Mish
Points +112
fantastic vegan dim sum - Edit
Delicious dim sum. There pork buns and fried eggplant were so tasty. There noodle dishes I found really boring but everything else more than made up for it.
Read morePros: delicious, mostly vegan
Cons: can be crowded, lots of bland greasy noodles
Guest
Kleeblatt
Points +595
Cheap, Delicious Chinese - Mostly Vegan - Edit
We’re strolling thru China Town , and found this place - General Tsao’s Chiken, Beefe BBQ Tereki.
Read moreGuest
ssluchansky
Points +579
Huge variety of Chinese dishes - Edit
An extensive menu is the highlight here. There is a wide variety of soups, the prices of which would seem to indicate that they are not intended for individual diners. But, the kitchen will accommodate single servings. I had the Seaweed Bean Curd Soup, which was quite good but light on the seaweed. I did wait quite awhile to be served and was served the soup and enter at the same time. Nevertheless, this is a good Chinese veg restaurant and worth visiting. The Lunch Specials at $7.50 appear to be a very good deal.
Read morePros: Large variety of dishes, Mostly reasonable prices, especially at lunch, Large Dim Sum menu but only served until 4:00
Cons: Lighting environment a little too bright
Guest
CathyDavid
Points +252
Luncheon following our City Hall wedding - Edit
Food, service and attention was beyond perfect. Family style table of 9 and only the bride & groom were vegan. Everybody LOVED the food, I don't even think they realized or cared that the delicious food had no real meat. It was perfect!
Read morePros: outstanding tasting food, lots of varied options, well prepared and presented
Cons: a bit loud
Guest
NaomiSommer
Points +30
Best vegan Chinese food in Chinatown - Edit
Got here by accident after getting caught up in the rain crossing the Brooklyn Bridge. 90% of what we tried was so good!! All "chicken" products were delicious! Rice, wonton soup, and spring rolls were very good as well. However, I would avoid the steamed "meat" buns, though. Apart from that, great service and super cheap prices. Highly recommended, if you're looking for lunch in Lower Manhattan.
Read moreGuest
Worldvegkitchen
Points +1383
Delicious!!! - Edit
If you follow my reviews, I'm not a gratuitous reviewer. I absolutely loved this restaurant. Good prices and the food was delicious. Note that I'm also not a big fan of Chinese food. We had the vegan bbq (highly recommend!!), spicy laksa soup (amazing) and Buddha delight. I only wish I could go with a huge group to sample everything. Generous portions, left satisfied and with leftovers to boot. Definitely going again.
Read moreGuest
die_erbse7
Points +232
The best asian food - Edit
Throughout my New York travel i came three times to eat at Buddha Bodai. The Food tastes amazing, the fake meat just like real meat and the prices are cheap.
Read morePros: cheap, huge selection
Guest
sglcklch
Points +3547
Tasty and inexpensive - Edit
We came here for a dim sum lunch and it didn't disappoint. Being originally from Hong Kong, I grew up on the stuff and know how they should look/taste. The food here is pretty decent and authentic, although not as good as you can get in HK. A few things were slightly off the mark in terms of flavors and seasoning, but still I'll take it. We paid $20+ for six dishes and left more than full.
Read morePros: decent food
Cons: cheap
Guest
ByronSobe
Points +288
lunch was good!! - Edit
Had general tsos chicken for lunch and it came with tea and hot and sour soup for $7.50. Overall great experience.
Read moreGuest
Nourished
Points +124
JACKPOT! Vegetarian, Chinese, Dim Sum, Kosher and numerous gluten free options! - Edit
The restaurant was clean, the food was delicious, the service was friendly. We ordered almost all the gluten free options and everything was so tasty!
Read moreGuest
warino
Points +154
How much do I love this place? - Edit
Best vegan dim sum in the world. Is that a fair assessment? The bbq meat is alone worth the trip.
Read morePros: Food, Food, Food
Cons: Service, Bathrooms, The other customers stick their noses in your food
Guest
robpaterson
Points +221
One of the Best Asian Veg Places in NYC - Edit
We ate here for the first time in a while, and it was as amazing we we remember it. The atmosphere is calm, and it seems very clean, both the restaurant and the food. We ordered the Steamed Vegetable Buns (wonderful), Ribs with black bean sauce (also great), the BBQ Veg. Meat (more on that in a moment), the Steamed Veg Meal Ball (not our favorite, bot good) and the veg. meat bun very good). The BBQ veg meat is out of this world. You know it must be good, because they sell it in a cooler at the front of the restaurant. We loved it so much we bought two containers and took it home. In fact, we'll be back, just for that dish alone.
Read moreThey have a full non-dim sum menu with tons of really excellent Chinese dishes. Will update review again once I/we visit again and try more dishes.
Pros: Lots of variety, Clean food and atmosphere, Plenty of Seating
Cons: Maybe a little more detail about specific ingredie
Guest
cookiem
Points +5952
Chinese and Asian food - Edit
Not sure why I haven't reviewed this place before as I have dined here many times over many years. It is the biggest variety of vegan Chinese food in Chinatown, and for that, it rocks!
Read moreIt is Kosher, so be aware of what you bring with you. To earn that certification means a lot to the community, so respect it.
They have dim sum here for lunch, vegan versions of classics like bao, dumplings and rice-based deliciousness. I love the sticky rice and shui mai. There are a million dishes with fake meat, as I am pretty sure Buddhists were the originators of fake meat. The beef is always good with anything like Americanized sautéed dishes. There are a good number of noodle choices, salads and sides.
Pan fried noodles rock. Sticky rice, radish cake, shui mai, rice rolls, etc. the fake seafood anything is bad. The vegetables anything is awesome like sautéed watercress, baby bok choy, spinach, Chinese broccoli, pea shoots, etc. Also, anything w taro or cedar sauce is delicious delicious delicious!!
I would give them 5 cows, but I am unhappy with their choice to no longer serve dim sum when you order it... Only at lunch. Grrr!!!
I do love this place though- it is the best choice for vegan dining in Chinatown!
Pros: Dim sum, Chinese greens, Cedar sauce
Cons: Dim sum only at lunch, Seafood is bad texture, Needs more noodle options
Guest
Jenna935
Points +26
fabulous vegan meal! - Edit
I tried this restaurant on the recommendation of an employee of the Chinese American Museum. My family and I were not disappointed. The food was awesome and plentiful. The service staff was friendly, albeit service is not their strength. I have added this restaurant to my favorites and will definitely be back when I return to NYC.
Read moreGuest
Saramste
Points +327
Good Food! - Edit
We did our best to go to several different restaurants during our recent visit to NYC (as there are so many delicious options), but we found ourselves back here a couple of times, as we really enjoy the food! We were not extremely impressed with the service, as some of the servers were dismissive and a bit temperamental. The individual that appeared to be the manager was extremely friendly, but our server left our table to help other customers (and did not return) when we asked too many questions about the menu. We tried a few of the starters, but they seemed to be a bit hit or miss. The Spring Rolls were extremely greasy, the ribs with black bean sauce tasted nothing like a vegan rib, but rather like small balls of tough soy protein in a fairly tasteless sauce. We also did not enjoy the seaweed crab meat roll, which again, tasted nothing like vegan crab meat. On a positive note, we really enjoyed the Cruller Roll, which was a fried bean curd, wrapped in a sticky rice layer similar to mochi (but not sweet). We also really loved the Barbeque meat fried rice, which they described as being very similar to Pork Fried rice (although I've never had Pork fried rice, so I can't verify that). Also tried to Barbeque meat with cabbage, but we found the Barbeque meat fried rice much more enjoyable. Overall, pretty good food!
Read morePros: Good Food, Reasonable Prices; Great Lunch Specials
Cons: Poor Services
Guest
slo0go
Points +2464
Great! - Edit
I have been coming here for years. It's pretty close to the courthouses in downtown Manhattan, further away from the busiest areas of Chinatown. They have a great lunch menu. The lamb lunch special is my favorite. It comes with soup (wonton or hot and sour), and an entree and choice of white or brown rice. This place also has a great dim sum menu between 12-4p (I believe). It's more authentic Chinese food, not the Americanized crap. I recommend any of the rice rolls, the fried eggplant with veg meat, the fake roast pork buns, the bbq veg meat appetizer, the shumai, the lettuce song appetizer, the taro "seafood" bowl, etc etc etc!
Read moreThe food is very heavy and sometimes pretty fried.
The only place that I think has better fake roast pork buns is the Vegetarian Dim Sum House, which is dim sum all day everyday, located on Pell Street a block or so away from Buddha Bodai. Unlike Vegetariann Dim Sum House, though, Buddha Bodai is not cash only.
Buddha Bodai has a sister restaurant in Flushing, Queens with a very similar menu.
Pros: Great food!, Moderately priced!, Dim sum/lunch special!
Cons: Takes credit card
Guest
Babette
Points +2113
Good Lunch Deals - Edit
I like to go to Buddha Bodai for lunch since you can eat very well for a few dollars.
Read moreI recommend :
-wonton and hot n sour soup
-General Tso Veg Chicken
I don't recommend :
Veg Chicken in Black Pepper Sauce
Pros: Good Value
Cons: Atmosphere could be better, Staff not really friendly
Guest
Veganstrength
Points +60
amazing vegan dim sum / Chinese food - Edit
Best in the city. Try the veg pork buns, Chinese broccoli, general tsos, "beechi" mushroom rice roll, hong king noodles...it's all great! Much cheaper during the week for lunch. Gets crowded on weekends after noon
Read moreGuest
SethV
Points +133
Excellent and Inexpensive - Edit
I eat here often when I am in NYC. Kosher and vegan are a great combination. The lunch menu fed us both for about $15! Sweet & Sour soup was excellent and the General Tzou was excellent. Dinners are also great. I have yet to be disappointed. All of my companions have been equally pleased.
Read morePros: Tasty, Inexpensive, Unique
Guest
GPreis
Points +55
Great Menu - Edit
I go here when I can. Some of the dishes are really very delicious. Try the lamb stew, General Tso, or the BBQ rice. Never had anything bad here. It's a large place, sometimes very crowded which tells you something, doesn't it? Prices are good. And it's kosher too!
Read moreUpdated from previous review on Friday June 28, 2013
Pros: Huge menu, Large portions, Kosher
Cons: A little far from the subway
Guest
Winterhunt
Points +24
ugh - Edit
Had high hopes due to reviews and was in southern Chinatown so decided to try it. If you like grease and rude service then this is your place if not walk the 5 blocks or so north and go to Wild Ginger and eat well in a nice space with friendly service. This was pretty awful
Read moreUpdated from previous review on Wednesday March 20, 2013
Pros: umm...
Cons: greasy, rude
Guest
Vegan Vagabond
Points +5580
Good Food. Mostly vegan - Edit
My wife and I tried this place last night. It's a typical decor for a Chinatown restaurant, nothing fancy. They have a large menu with pictures and non vegan items are clearly marked. The service was good, the food was good, and the prices seemed fair.
Read moreGuest
steveveg
Points +2748
My favorite Chinese vegetarian restaurant - Edit
This is my favorite Chinese vegetarian restaurant. I go there frequently. The food is always great. The space is comfortable. There are so many choices, it is hard to choose what to order! Have never been disappointed.
Read morePros: excellent food, friendly staff
Guest
cheroyma
Points +45
Dim Yum! - Edit
Went for lunch, only 6.95 for a delicious General Tso mock chicken. It was sweet and spicy! My friend had veggie dim sum that was yum! I can't wait to go back!
Read morePros: low price, excellent food, good service
Guest
vegified
Points +68
best veg-chinese place in ny! - Edit
i love this place! the faux-meats are really good. the pineapple fried rice comes in a pineapple and is absolutely delicious! the cheese cake is insanely good. the people are nice. it's a veggie oasis in china town!
Read moreGuest
Deer Fields
Points +49
Great restaurant - Edit
We love Buddha Bodai. IT is my dad's favorite restaurant to eat vegan. So twice a year, we go to NYC to visit him and take him there almost every day that we are there! We get only the vegan items on the lunch menu. For dad, my husband and I we order 4-5 lunch dishes and usually end up eating it all! Sometimes a dish will make it to his place! The waiters all know us and for dad's birthday, they give him dessert with a candle. WE love the food. Sometimes we go to the one in Queens where the dragon lady is! The manager there who we call the dragon lady, is a b...but the food is great!
Read morePros: great food, friendly staff except 1 who looks sad
Cons: wish it were wherever we go
Guest
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