CLOSED: Ba Bo Jai Chinese and Vegetarian Cuisine - downtown

I've been here numerous times. The service is friendly, and I love a few of the dishes. But, I can't get over the decor. If you're a fan of sea green, then this is the place for you!! I know for a lot of people the ambiance isn't all that important. So if that's the case, then this place is amazing. I have no complaints. But to me it feels like an old cafeteria. I would probably go far more often if it weren't for this. I prefer to just take it to go.

Use to come here a lot.
Visited again, still the same!

The few items we tried were very good but my main complaint was that they didn't really know what was in the food. I asked if the veggie soy were vegan and they said yes until I asked that to make sure because I was allergic to dairy. They came back and said I couldn't have this and that, leaving me with far less options than was on the menu. The stir fried green beans (sans veggie ham) and rolled tofu sheets with black beans are delicious and are vegan. They may not cook with egg or dairy but their ready-made items do contain them so in the end, it's too much of a bother to explain what we can and cannot eat. The servers are likely not veggie and I heard the owners definitely aren't. I'll skip, thanks.
Updated from previous review on Friday August 03, 2012

I live in Armstrong, land of dairy and chicken barns, so finding a vegan friendly restaurant is difficult (but not impossible).

When I go to Vancouver however, my friend and I head straight to WVR. This time, the place was full, the service friendly and helpful and the food was amazing! We got enough to have for lunch the next day.

Close to the end of our meal, a gentleman came over to make sure all had gone well. It had. My omnivore friend loved the food as well.

Wish I could teleport it up here!

My mom and I come here often. We were frequent patrons of the old Bo Kong and decided to try the new owners. It started off well but with the disappearance of most of the old staff, the experience has steadily declined. The service and overall food value ($20 for pea tips, are you kidding me?) over the last year and especially the last two times we were there is what has prompted me to write this review.

Last weekend, six of us went for dim sum. Not only was the service slow and erratic, but the server that took our order argued with us and told us that one of the items we received is what we ordered. We were shocked that he would argue with us considering we took five minutes to explain to him what we wanted prior to it being brought out and him confirming that he understood what we wanted. I guess that should have been our first clue.

Tonight, my mom and I went for dinner. We ordered an appetizer, a soup, and three entrees. The soup came first, then two of the entrees, then the appy, and finally the last entree. We had the same issue as before. The appy we received was not what we ordered and so we had to argue with another server to get the one we wanted. The service was non-existent except for the occasional removal of an empty dish. The food was average. At the end of the meal, we had to wave down someone to finish clearing our table, to pack our leftovers, and to get the bill. During our whole meal and to the very end, we did not see the same server that took our original order. My mom does not believe in tipping for no service (hence the acronym TIPS). As we were leaving the server that originally took our order came up to us and very aggressively told us to tip. He said that he gave us 30% off (they are having an anniversary special on their food) and that because we got a discount, we need to tip. His voice was raised; he was jabbing at the bill and was overall very confrontational. I must admit that I was caught completely off guard! Then he had the gall to say that every time we come in we never tip! This was the same server that argued with our party the prior weekend and still received a rather healthy tip! My mother politely explained to him that tipping was optional and at her discretion. It is not mandatory and certainly not for poor service.

Needless to say, we were left feeling abused and unsatisfied. We will never go there again nor can we recommend this restaurant to anyone anymore.

I loved the vegan chicken drumsticks. My friend (who is not vegetarian) said they tasted exactly like real chicken and he was really surprised! Their broccoli, tofu and vegan egg noodle stir-fry is really good too, although I can never remember the name of the dish. Mostly everything on the menu is vegan, other than a couple of deserts with honey. They don't use eggs or dairy.

We were regulars when this place was the Bo Kong and were thrilled when it re-opened. We have tried many new dishes since then, but also keep ordering our favourites. A couple of the staff are the same but they also have some new ones. After a visit or two, they all know us now. They're friendly and welcoming, especially Man, the host.

Service is fast and friendly, even when they're busy.

The menu is extensive, as before. The prices are either the same or 50c to $1.00 more, but that's ok -- portions are very big; good value for money.

Some of our old favourites are wonton soup and spinach soup, "sizzling steak", sweet and sour, bean curd skin rolls, eggplant and tofu (we get them to make it with soft tofu, not fried), spicy green beans, and colourful veg. chop suey. The last dish used to come in a taro nest but I don't think they do that anymore. The pieces of veg are a bit bigger -- easier to eat.

A dish new to us is the pea tip, with either enoki mushroom or veg seafood. Pea tip is like spinach but not bitter -- yummy! This is a large dish and best eaten at the restaurant, unlike others which go home well. As per a previous review, we tried the sticky rice and the winter melon soup, which is flavoured with sesame oil (this is why it tastes a bit smoky). They were ok but I wouldn't rush to order them again.

We always use our own take out containers, and often order extra dishes to take home.

When the restaurant was the Bo Kong, it was always very cold, summer or winter. Now the temp. is just right. The atmosphere varies from tranquil to noisy, depending how many large groups are present.

They have free parking accessed from the back lane, with a security camera. Nice touch.

The restaurant is owned by the Whole Vegetarian chain which has stores in BC and Alberta. We visited the store nearby in East Van and bought quite a few items from the freezer, including a big bag of "chicken drumsticks", one of the menu items at the restaurant.

We're thrilled that this mainstay of the Vancouver veg. restaurant is still around. There's something for everyone, even people who eat meat.

Missing Bo Kong our fav veggie food place in Van City. Had to go and give the new one a try, we were all pleasantly surprised. Most of the menu was the same with a few new additions, and apparently the same Chef. We ordered our must have: Bean Curd Skin Rolls in Black Bean Sauce, a definite OMG so good! Also Pan Fried Sticky Rice, Deep Fried Soy Milk, and Whole Veggie Deluxe which was good but will pass next time as there was way too much fungus in it for us. The staff was nice but not as warm and welcoming as the Bo Kong owners and staff...but only the first time can't wait to go back!!

Well, we had been to Bo Kong many times before. I found the food to be WAY too salty not to mention laced with MSG which if you forget to mention to not add any MSG... you find yourself drinking water for hours.

Anyway, the chef is the same, therefore I was expecting the food to be the same as the menu is by-enlarge the same. Well, I was glad that is was not overwhelmingly salty. It was good. We ordered the Winter Melon Soup, which is new to the menu, and it was surprisingly very good with some sort of 'smoky' taste/smell to it. We also got the Fried Sticky Rice. Doesn't sound like much, but my daughter wanted it, and it turned out to be really good, mixed with veggies, sauce, and veggie meat (so much better than the nondescript menu listing).

We where there on the grand opening day (unbeknownst to us, we just saw it and went in) and lots of people stopped by just to talk to the manager to see where the Bo Kong went and were relieved to find that things hadn't changed all that much and their favourite dishes remained on the menu.

Anyway, from the last time I visited, I was thought the food was better. We also got the deepfried soymilk, which was the best I've had since the early 90's at the now defunct Bodhi (5701 Granville) restaurant. I've had deep-fried soy milk before, but yuck, bland. Finally someone has come close to the Bodhi restaurant's deep fried coconut balls by mixing soymilk and coconut milk.