• 4
• GREAT... But Dissapointing

This place is owned by the same people who owned "House of Vegetarian" on Mott. St, which was my FAVORITE RESTAURANT IN THE WORLD. 2 weeks ago it closed for good and had a sign on the door directing us us to the Vegetarian Dim Sum house instead. We ate there twice and both times we were disappointed. The "Steak kew" Gluten and Duck appetizers were as spectacular as ever and the hot and sweet steak Kews are probably still my favorite foods in the world. The sauces and textures are divine. The Iron steak which is made out of deep fried yams with a tangy/unbelievable Chinese BBQ sauce , was still amazing, but the flavor of the sauce was slightly off and instead of the Al Dente Broccoli which always came with it, it came with bok choy, which does not go nearly as well with the tenderness of the "Iron Steak" or the powerful flavor of the sauce. The curry tofu (order it fried!) had a great sauce and was still the best tofu dish I've eaten in 34 years as a vegetarian, but the tofu was not cooked as well and lacked any crunch and there were less veggies in it. I would still highly recommend both, they just didn't quite live up to expectations. While the flavor of the Hot and Sour soup was excellent, the soup itself was thoroughly displeasing as it was just a huge bowl of broth with no content except for crumb sized pieces of silken tofu in it. and the smallest soup was almost 6 bucks. The biggest disappointment was definitely the dim sum. We tried two types: the shrimp and spinach. The shrimp was just a vege shrimp in a dumpling wrapper and was as bland and unimaginative as could be. The spinach had very little spinach in it and was mostly some kind of soft mush which most closely resembled soggy kasha. We both spit it out after one bite. Overall, this place is probably the last link in the chain for those who loved the original Chinatown Vege Mainstays of Vegetarian Paradise I & III, and House of Vegetarian, so for those like myself who grew up eating there, it's a restaurant to be treasured, as they still make the same dishes, despite coming up just short of the greatness of its predecessors. Next time we're in New York we'll definitely give this place another shot, considering that they make some of the most amazing flavors and dishes I've ever had, I;m hoping that cooking-wise they just had a few off nights.