• 5
• The Name Says it All

There is no question; this is culinary Samadhi. If you are lucky enough to find yourself in the beautiful city of Xiamen, then do not miss this restaurant. Of the 25 restaurants I've reviewed for Happy Cow, this might be my favorite. And the restaurant is quite easy to find (unusual in China). It is correctly located on the Happy Cow map. It is located right on Yudang Road, facing South on Yudang Lake. The sign is big and clear. This is an upscale and very attractive area of Xiamen with many non-Chinese restaurants. The bottom floor is a coffee shop. The restaurant occupies the two floors above the coffee shop. It is modern, clean, comfortable, light, spacious, and tastefully decorated. The night I was there, it was packed with Chinese diners (including one monk). There were several large parties celebrating the Chinese New Year. The menu is large and attractive. Things looked so good that I ordered three dishes. I ordered a hand roll, the Japanese Barbecue, and a tofu appetizer (I forget the name). The hand roll was just great. Very tasty combination of vegetables and fruit topped with a bit of mayo. The tofu appetizer was equally excellent. There were two squares of tofu sandwiching a piece of light mock-meat all tied together in a package by a long mushroom. Excellent, slightly spicy ginger sauce with fermented bean. The Japanese Barbecue had mock meat and tofu with vegetables on skewers. It was very light and tasty, in an excellent brown sauce. I hope that I'm managing to convey that this was a truly gourmet experience. My tab came to 66 rmb for the three dishes which I think is a moderate price. This is in line with what I paid at the excellent Da Fang Restaurant in Xiamen, but Samadhi is really a step above Da Fang as an eating experience. Enjoy!!!