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| - I went on Happy Cow desperately looking for a vegan restaurant in east Montreal and saw this restaurant. It is a Buddhist restaurant with vegan temple food. Vegan temple food is the art of making vegan food tasty, not necessarily making it all taste like meat but a lot of effort is put into making mock meats. The food here is of high quality, and really inexpensive with most complete plates coming in at $6.99 each. The Three Rainbow Rice plate was fresh and tasty, the Vermicelles with the Tofu Citronelle made you forget that you would want meat with your meal which is the whole point (You have to order the General Tao tofu dish, way better than the greasy original with chicken!) I have gone there over time and tried all the dishes, some are better than others but all are above par.
There is one particularity about the restaurant, it's the all you can eat buffet. I love it when I am really hungry, but it reminds me of Asian food courts. With the buffet you take a plate on top of the counter, walk behind the counter and choose what you want to eat, then you microwave the food yourself, then open the rice cooker and top off your plate with a scoop of rice. The variety of food is limitless. And it becomes a chance to taste so many different foods. You can do this as many times as you want. All this for $12.00!
The surprising part is how packed it becomes with mostly Asian and Vietnamese people and how you see so many Asian people coming from Halifax, Toronto and New York and eat there. The décor is simple and efficient, the atmosphere is relaxed with many families eating together. The owner is lovely, talking to people and setting a really friendly atmosphere. Personally I am willing to trade in the overly decorated dining room for authentic tasty food experience. The service is very laid back and friendly, and I noticed that people lingerering to talk at the tables and with the staff. I prefer inexpensive relaxed atmosphere of places like this which remind me so much of my trips to Asia. (Eating the best Durian ever, sitting on a red plastic stool next to a tiny van!)
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