Ahimsa Buffet

Management here don't verify everything they offer is vegetarian. They use Anchor cream cheese which from this website seems unlikely to be vegetarian.

https://www.anchor.co.nz/our-products/culinary/

Since they take risks and cut corners here, what others risks do they take with the principles of their customers?



Updated from previous review on 2017-04-10

Just had dinner here. It was a pretty big spread of buffet, including soup, rice, noodles, hot dishes, cold dishes, various dim sum items, etc. Food was heavily traditional Cantonese. If you're unfamiliar, you'll probably have no clue what half the stuff is because nothing is labeled. Dairy/egg is, albeit in Chinese. Tonight all but three were vegan, so that was good.

Despite the variety, the food was nothing to write home about. The place also lacked character and felt more like a school cafeteria than a restaurant. A little décor wouldn't hurt. Now, my biggest gripe—they accept cash only. Seriously? In HK in this day and age?

Have been disappointed by my last visit; though there is a good choice of food, I did really liked what I ate. Too much oil; not very well cooked. Adding to that the busy/noisy environment, I will not go back to this place.

Updated from previous review on 2015-11-13

I got here late and was rewarded with a half price buffet. Lots of vegetable dishes, mix and match dessert, lovely teas. Quite noisy and exciting vibe.

This is a chinese buffet resto. The variety of the food is good and the lunch price is super reasonable. The place is busy and the clientele mostly have ZERO manners and are gross to eat around. The staff is incredibly rude. They yell at you and roll their eyes when you ask them a question or, they pretend they do not speak English if you ask them a question. There are MUCH better vegetarian places in HK!
Updated from previous review on Wednesday April 06, 2016

my friends have not been too keen on trying this new vegetarian buffet due to its time restrictions and their perception that it can get crowded and noisy. i finally got round to trying it on my own yesterday.

i went slightly after noon on a saturday, when it was still not too packed. officially, diners are told that they're restricted to 1 hour for lunch and 1.5 hours for dinner, though how this is enforced i have no idea. as i was alone, i was asked to share a table for four with someone else, and we were later joined by another solo diner.

setting is somewhat industrial chic, with high ceilings, concrete walls and hanging lamps. food trays are placed on tables supported by metal pipes, and blue plastic bread(?) trays are part of the decor.

there were 20-odd metal trays of mainly warm food (including radish cake, pastries, tofu, a good variety of veg, fried rice, noodles, "kwai tiu", red bean cake). there were also some cold appetisers (tofu, eggplant) and staples such as porridge, rice, soup, tea, hot lemon water and plain water. trays were constantly being replenished to keep up with demand.

while nothing stood out in particular, and some dishes were not to my taste (eg the radish cake was a bit hard and the eggplant with pickled veg a tad salty), on the whole it made for a pleasant and varied meal. i enjoyed the simple chinese-style soup and porridge, lightly salted and mixed with bits of tomato and "tau fu pok" (tofu chunks). trays were not labelled, but, from what i remember, there didn't seem to have been mock meats or anything conspicuously "eggy" in the spread.

the crowd started to stream in during my stay there, which necessitated some playing of musical chairs; a couple was asked if they would move and share a table with another couple to make way for a group of four. however, thanks to its comparably large space and high ceilings, it never felt noisy or claustrophobic at any time.

what i found happily surprising was the number of primary-school aged boys and girls accompanying their parents and grandparents - there's probably a school or enrichment centre nearby. that said, the boy next to me didn't seem to have any veggies on his plate!

at hkd58 for lunch, it's a great deal especially if you're a big eater.