Enjoy Pure Lotus Without Spending a Fortune

If you aren’t careful, you could easily spend thousands of RMB at Pure Lotus Vegetarian Restaurant on accident.

This is not the fault of the restaurant, but of the ill-informed/unprepared customer. The restaurant has a giant menu (literally – it weighs a ton and reaches farther than my arms’ length), and it’s easy to be overwhelmed by both its physical size and wide range of dishes that range both in ingredient variety and prices.  A lot of the menu is actually very reasonably priced, but they also have crazy mushroom dishes that will leave your wallet empty.

You shouldn’t enter without being prepped with some useful tips on specialty dishes that are both tasty and affordable. I’ve been to Pure Lotus a handful of times and each time I did some major unexpected damage – I’m talking RMB 300+, which is pretty steep for a vegetarian meal.

This time, I was invited to join a group of foodies and for once, I wasn’t in charge of ordering.  I left it up to the Pure Lotus experts who come regularly for their veggie fixes.

Continue Reading » Enjoy Pure Lotus Without Spending a Fortune

theBeijinger’s 9th Reader Restaurant Awards: Winners, Runner Ups & LDS Picks Announced!

Family Photo Op at theBeijinger’s 9th Annual Reader Restaurant Awards

On Monday, March 19, 2012, theBeijinger just celebrated its 9th Annual Reader Restaurant Awards Ceremony at the Hilton Beijing.

Taking place from 11:30AM-2PM, the restaurant awards got my week off to a great start with a nice break on my mid-day on Monday with more food, sweets and ice cream I could have hoped for.  I was most impressed with the chocolate covered strawberries, chewy cookies and desserts by Sweet Tooth. I’m just thankful I had the self-control to resist drinking from the free flowing beer, wines, cocktails sponsored by Grand Marnier, Chimay, Leffe and Hoegaarden.

Always a grand affair, this year seemed bigger than ever with a very large crowd of both F&B big-heads and die-hard foodies. And it makes sense considering the amount of restaurants that were nominated and the strong readership who submitted ballots (thanks to social media platforms like Weibo, theBeijinger was really successful in reaching a broader audience this year).

Continue Reading » theBeijinger’s 9th Reader Restaurant Awards: Winners, Runner Ups & LDS Picks Announced!

theBeijinger’s 8th Annual Reader Restaurant Awards: Hatsune Wins Best Japanese 7 Years Running

On Monday, March 21, Hatsune took home Best Japanese for the 7th year running at theBeijinger’s Reader Restaurant Awards!

Considering this was theBeijinger’s 8th Annual Reader Restaurant Awards, that’s pretty much a perfect record.

Congratulations to Alan Wong, owner of the Hatsune Empire, for holding it strong and staying on top of the game 7 years straight.  That’s gotta be the longest-running record in town!

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Pure Vegan: Samadhi Restaurant & Teahouse

I have recently taken quite a liking to vegetarian restaurants.  I think the concept of faux-meat is remarkable and in the past year, I have grown more and more aware of the importance of living a healthier, more sustainable lifestyle, which naturally starts with a healthier diet.

As the saying goes, “You are what you eat.”

As a big fan of Pure Lotus, I have put Samadhi Vegetarian Restaurant at the top of my list of restaurants to try after they won Best New Restaurant 2010 by Time Out Magazine. Continue Reading » Pure Vegan: Samadhi Restaurant & Teahouse

LumDimSum Discovery: Pure Lotus’ Happiness Roll

A vegetarian seaweed hand roll wrapped with fresh lettuce, cucumber, carrot, walnuts & strawberry for RMB 10 each, this is worth every last fen.

Located at the Northeast corner of the 3rd Ring Road’s Changhong Bridge (big intersection for Sanlitun at the Tuanjiehu Subway stop), Pure Lotus is a vegetarian restaurant run by Buddhist monks. With beautiful decor and a gigantic picture menu with plenty of philosophical Chinglish jibberish to keep you laughing and joking throughout your meal (ex: Garden of the Peaceful Heart Salad and Tonify the Blood Flour Ball Soup, The Dao Transcends the World Sour Bamboo Shoot Noodles), this really is a perfect dining destination to bring visitors and friends alike for a truly unique dining experience.

While our meal was exceptional to say the least, the happiness roll really was the highlight of our meal. Another highlight was the complimentary shot of plum vinegar on ice (served per person) along with the complimentary fruit at the end of our meal – watermelon served in a giant bowl of dry ice.

Continue Reading » LumDimSum Discovery: Pure Lotus’ Happiness Roll

Veg-ging Out

A friend I met in Beijing two years ago was stopping through for a few days between her 4-month program abroad in Japan on her way back to the UK to continue her studies in Brighton.  Remembering she was a vegetarian, I did my homework and wanted to take her to a restaurant where she could enjoy Chinese cuisine without worrying about everything cooked in animal fat.

Pure Lotus Experience: With raving reviews everywhere, I was eager to check out this vegetarian hub run by genuine Buddhist monks.

Best Part:

• Dining was truly an ‘experience’ – from the moment we walked in, they sprinkle your hands with rose water, the décor is really phenomenal, the menus are giant picture books, the complimentary fruit was served in a basin with dry ice, and they gave us a lotus flower on our way out the door. Really a special experience, perfect to bring a vegetarian tourist. J
• Their Vegetable Hand Roll with Seaweed was fantastic (see photo here).

  Continue Reading » Veg-ging Out