Buddha Bodai

We came here for a dim sum lunch and it didn't disappoint. Being originally from Hong Kong, I grew up on the stuff and know how they should look/taste. The food here is pretty decent and authentic, although not as good as you can get in HK. A few things were slightly off the mark in terms of flavors and seasoning, but still I'll take it. We paid $20+ for six dishes and left more than full.

Had general tsos chicken for lunch and it came with tea and hot and sour soup for $7.50. Overall great experience.

The restaurant was clean, the food was delicious, the service was friendly. We ordered almost all the gluten free options and everything was so tasty!

Best vegan dim sum in the world. Is that a fair assessment? The bbq meat is alone worth the trip.

We ate here for the first time in a while, and it was as amazing we we remember it. The atmosphere is calm, and it seems very clean, both the restaurant and the food. We ordered the Steamed Vegetable Buns (wonderful), Ribs with black bean sauce (also great), the BBQ Veg. Meat (more on that in a moment), the Steamed Veg Meal Ball (not our favorite, bot good) and the veg. meat bun very good). The BBQ veg meat is out of this world. You know it must be good, because they sell it in a cooler at the front of the restaurant. We loved it so much we bought two containers and took it home. In fact, we'll be back, just for that dish alone.

They have a full non-dim sum menu with tons of really excellent Chinese dishes. Will update review again once I/we visit again and try more dishes.

Not sure why I haven't reviewed this place before as I have dined here many times over many years. It is the biggest variety of vegan Chinese food in Chinatown, and for that, it rocks!

It is Kosher, so be aware of what you bring with you. To earn that certification means a lot to the community, so respect it.

They have dim sum here for lunch, vegan versions of classics like bao, dumplings and rice-based deliciousness. I love the sticky rice and shui mai. There are a million dishes with fake meat, as I am pretty sure Buddhists were the originators of fake meat. The beef is always good with anything like Americanized sautéed dishes. There are a good number of noodle choices, salads and sides.

Pan fried noodles rock. Sticky rice, radish cake, shui mai, rice rolls, etc. the fake seafood anything is bad. The vegetables anything is awesome like sautéed watercress, baby bok choy, spinach, Chinese broccoli, pea shoots, etc. Also, anything w taro or cedar sauce is delicious delicious delicious!!

I would give them 5 cows, but I am unhappy with their choice to no longer serve dim sum when you order it... Only at lunch. Grrr!!!

I do love this place though- it is the best choice for vegan dining in Chinatown!

I tried this restaurant on the recommendation of an employee of the Chinese American Museum. My family and I were not disappointed. The food was awesome and plentiful. The service staff was friendly, albeit service is not their strength. I have added this restaurant to my favorites and will definitely be back when I return to NYC.

We did our best to go to several different restaurants during our recent visit to NYC (as there are so many delicious options), but we found ourselves back here a couple of times, as we really enjoy the food! We were not extremely impressed with the service, as some of the servers were dismissive and a bit temperamental. The individual that appeared to be the manager was extremely friendly, but our server left our table to help other customers (and did not return) when we asked too many questions about the menu. We tried a few of the starters, but they seemed to be a bit hit or miss. The Spring Rolls were extremely greasy, the ribs with black bean sauce tasted nothing like a vegan rib, but rather like small balls of tough soy protein in a fairly tasteless sauce. We also did not enjoy the seaweed crab meat roll, which again, tasted nothing like vegan crab meat. On a positive note, we really enjoyed the Cruller Roll, which was a fried bean curd, wrapped in a sticky rice layer similar to mochi (but not sweet). We also really loved the Barbeque meat fried rice, which they described as being very similar to Pork Fried rice (although I've never had Pork fried rice, so I can't verify that). Also tried to Barbeque meat with cabbage, but we found the Barbeque meat fried rice much more enjoyable. Overall, pretty good food!

I have been coming here for years. It's pretty close to the courthouses in downtown Manhattan, further away from the busiest areas of Chinatown. They have a great lunch menu. The lamb lunch special is my favorite. It comes with soup (wonton or hot and sour), and an entree and choice of white or brown rice. This place also has a great dim sum menu between 12-4p (I believe). It's more authentic Chinese food, not the Americanized crap. I recommend any of the rice rolls, the fried eggplant with veg meat, the fake roast pork buns, the bbq veg meat appetizer, the shumai, the lettuce song appetizer, the taro "seafood" bowl, etc etc etc!

The food is very heavy and sometimes pretty fried.

The only place that I think has better fake roast pork buns is the Vegetarian Dim Sum House, which is dim sum all day everyday, located on Pell Street a block or so away from Buddha Bodai. Unlike Vegetariann Dim Sum House, though, Buddha Bodai is not cash only.

Buddha Bodai has a sister restaurant in Flushing, Queens with a very similar menu.

I like to go to Buddha Bodai for lunch since you can eat very well for a few dollars.

I recommend :
-wonton and hot n sour soup
-General Tso Veg Chicken

I don't recommend :
Veg Chicken in Black Pepper Sauce

Best in the city. Try the veg pork buns, Chinese broccoli, general tsos, "beechi" mushroom rice roll, hong king noodles...it's all great! Much cheaper during the week for lunch. Gets crowded on weekends after noon

I eat here often when I am in NYC. Kosher and vegan are a great combination. The lunch menu fed us both for about $15! Sweet & Sour soup was excellent and the General Tzou was excellent. Dinners are also great. I have yet to be disappointed. All of my companions have been equally pleased.

I go here when I can. Some of the dishes are really very delicious. Try the lamb stew, General Tso, or the BBQ rice. Never had anything bad here. It's a large place, sometimes very crowded which tells you something, doesn't it? Prices are good. And it's kosher too!
Updated from previous review on Friday June 28, 2013

Had high hopes due to reviews and was in southern Chinatown so decided to try it. If you like grease and rude service then this is your place if not walk the 5 blocks or so north and go to Wild Ginger and eat well in a nice space with friendly service. This was pretty awful
Updated from previous review on Wednesday March 20, 2013

My wife and I tried this place last night. It's a typical decor for a Chinatown restaurant, nothing fancy. They have a large menu with pictures and non vegan items are clearly marked. The service was good, the food was good, and the prices seemed fair.

This is my favorite Chinese vegetarian restaurant. I go there frequently. The food is always great. The space is comfortable. There are so many choices, it is hard to choose what to order! Have never been disappointed.

Went for lunch, only 6.95 for a delicious General Tso mock chicken. It was sweet and spicy! My friend had veggie dim sum that was yum! I can't wait to go back!

i love this place! the faux-meats are really good. the pineapple fried rice comes in a pineapple and is absolutely delicious! the cheese cake is insanely good. the people are nice. it's a veggie oasis in china town!