Chinese
Non-veg

Serves meat, vegan options available. A separate vegan menu is available on the 2nd floor (ask for it) only which includes 6 or so mains plus rice and sides. Surroundings have a Chinese feel. Open Mon-Sun 11:00am-9:30pm.


Venue map for China Dining Hiten
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71 Reviews

First Review by Kou

nati_rei

Points +104

Vegan
05 May 2025

sehr leckeres Essen

eigene Vegane Karte, 11 Gerichte die vegan sind👌🏻

Winter23

Points +70

Vegan
03 May 2025

Absolutely delicious

They had many vegan dishes and in the heart of Nara !! The vibe was amazing, the food was soooo delicious and well cooked, the service was very polite and friendly, and the food was fast!

Updated from previous review on 2025-05-03

Pros: Well cooked, Fast service, Convenient location

PaigeStrudwick

Points +237

Vegan
23 Apr 2025

Disappointing

Only two vegan options on the menu now and no mention of the so called vegan menu unfortunately. Vegan noodles or dumplings. The noodles were like ramen but unfortunately no tofu or vegetables included. The dumplings were ok. It is self serve for payment so you have to go to the machine at the entrance to get your change.

JosianeTremblay

11 Jun 2025

I think there might have been a mistake because I went twice this week and there are the same 11 vegan choices a than in 2023. There is also no machine at the entrance and you order on your phone and directly to the staff? Maybe you got the wrong spot 😅

a_oliv

Points +98

Vegan
26 Mar 2025

Many vegan options

There are about 10 vegan options, I ordered the soy and cashew stir fry and it was delicious. Perfect place to eat when you are with non-vegans.

Pros: Delicious, Location

Geozza

Points +82

Vegan
23 Mar 2025

It did the job

The food was fine. The noodles were spicy rather than sweet. Silken tofu instead of firm was a let down. The flavours were pretty good, but the service was poor. We felt like they were tapping their feet waiting for us to leave.

Pros: Stir-fry soya pieces with tofu

Cons: Service , Spicy rather than sweet noodles

KyoSara

Points +28

Vegetarian
17 Mar 2025

Reasonably priced, many options

Update: I've added a star! Went here recently and there were many more vegan options than the last time I was there. We did not need to ask for the menu; it was already on the table (Japanese, Chinese, English). The servers were still a little quirky—in a good way. It was cheap, and we got free coffee by using a coupon from their app. The coupon was actually for dessert, which was vegetarian (not vegan), but the details on the coupon say you can substitute coffee. This time I had mabodofu and vegan shumai. All was delicious! I have not tried the soy meat since my first review, but I will probably continue to stick with vegan dishes without soy meat just in case.

Updated from previous review on 2025-03-17

Pros: Cheap with lots of freebies, Kind staff, Rice was really tasty

Cons: Soy meat was truly awful

BrunoHyppolito

Points +16

Vegan
11 Mar 2025

Really good

The fried rice with bean and the sweet soy bean noodles are really good. It's worth it a try.

13stairs

Points +1036

Vegetarian
17 Feb 2025

I’d sell my soul for their fried rice

Located in the Higashimuki shopping street, this restaurant saved our lives because of it’s working hours and affordable prices. They serve meat but have both vegetarian and vegan dishes. The food was excellent, the best vegan food I’ve had anywhere in the world. Their fried rice was so good we ordered a second plate. I want to go back to Nara just so I can eat here. We can’t stop thinking about how good the food was, this restaurant has all my heart. Bonus points for the curtains around the tables for extra privacy. This place deserves 500 stars, not just 5.

Updated from previous review on 2025-02-17

Pros: Delicious amazing food, Affordable prices , Good location and working hours

socalderon

Points +120

Vegan
07 Jan 2025

Perfect for vegan & meat eaters

I struggle a lot finding places that would make my family (meat eaters) and me happy. And this one had an extensive and delicious menu for both of us!! Next to the station, super comfortable, I would 100% recommend!!

ellaclen

Points +211

Vegan
06 Dec 2024

A constant great!

The mapo tofu and fried rice are both amazing.
The mapo tofu has an amazing portion of tofu which I was very thankful for due to a lack of protein in vegan meals in Japan. It was also really delicious and had a satisfying but not overwhelming spice.
The fried rice was super Smokey, charred and sticky. Incredible.
The cashew stir fry was good too.

Thankful for a wide variety of dishes here as it was often the only place open for dinner!!

Pros: Delicious food , Friendly staff , Not bad prices

JahnaviPai

Points +34

Vegetarian
22 Nov 2024

Excellent Chinese food

Limited vegan menu (about 9 dishes) but absolutely delicious!

We tried Stir fry vegetables & yuba and Sweet soybean paste noodles with vegetables. Both were delicious.

Updated from previous review on 2024-11-22

krstndew

Points +30

Vegan
21 Nov 2024

Amazing place

Came here on a daytrip from Kyoto. They have a separate vegan menu (also in English), easy ordering via QRcode and the tables have curtains around them for privacy.
Service is super quick and polite.
We had the mapo tofu and fried soy meat with cashews and the vegan mixed fried rice and everything was absolutely delicious. We’re thinking about coming back here again from our Osaka leg 😁

Pros: Excellent traditional taste, Fast service!, Easy ordering and table privacy

Cons: none!

Parallelsa

Points +39

Vegetarian
18 Nov 2024

Absolutely excellent

Totally delicious food and tea. Highly recommend the sweet and sour. Tasted exactly like how I remember.

Water was bought straight to the table without asking.

The atmosphere is very chilled with each being in your own booth you can enjoy spending time with the person you’re with without distraction.

You order over an app which is English so nice and easy.

Pros: Delicious food , Lovely music and atmosphere, Well priced

Cons: No napkins , Plastic straws

Whocindah

Points +293

Vegan
10 Oct 2024

Decent vegan options

We had the sweet and sour veggies with “soy meat” and the Szechuan tofu, both were decent. The curtained tables is a bit odd but also kind of fun. We used the QR code to order and everything came quickly and was steaming hot.

Pros: Separate vegan menu, Attentive service

Cons: Curtains looked dirty and stained

StJason

Points +269

Vegetarian
22 Sep 2024

Affordable Delicious Veg Menu

A full page of dedicated vegan menu available. Tried the mapo tofu that they can accommodate non-allium request; good taste and mildly spicy. Restaurant is near Nara Station and walkway is sheltered all the way.

Updated from previous review on 2024-09-22

Pros: Non-allium available , Affordable, Near station

Cons: Staples have to order separately , No tea available

MartynaEwaPasek

Points +26

Vegan
17 Sep 2024

:(

The soup tested like a water. Almost no vegetables/ vermicelli… it just was like plain soup.
The second course came without rice what I understand since it’s a common thing. But the taste was… not edible for me. Very salty and sour. Of course I ate it because I’m just a student who tried to eat anything vegan but I felt so sorry that I must pay for it..

GinevraSani

Points +170

Vegan
08 Aug 2024

Loved this place!

They have a vegan menu and everything was very delicious!

TFJENSSEN

Points +102

Vegan
26 Jul 2024

Bwyty Tsieineaidd dymunol gyda bwydlen fegan ar wahân

Bwyty Tsieineaidd dymunol gyda bwydlen fegan ar wahân. Gwasanaeth cyflym, awyrgylch dymunol ger parc Nara o fewn lôn siopa brysur.

enjoythehummus

Points +130

Vegan
03 Jun 2024

Very solid vegan options

There is an entire vegan menu including their definition of vegan (no animals, byproducts, or insect byproducts) with about 8 options to choose from.

Very reasonable price for the serving size, and very tasty.

Each table is surrounded by curtains to give a level of privacy when eating.

Pros: Multiple options, Value for money, Atmosphere

bandzior

Points +58

Vegan
02 Jun 2024

Very nice vegan options.

The restaurant has separate vegan menu. We had two soy chunk and one tofu dish. Everything was Very yummy😄great place to go with a group with different food preferances.

AnyaLatthe

Points +119

Vegetarian
21 May 2024

Good food

Whole vegan menu, good choice of dishes to have with rice. Nice restuarant layout and tables also.

Vegantrvlr

Points +424

Vegan
19 May 2024

A nice option

The sweet and sour vegetables was good. Wish it had more veggies, but nice to have a separate vegan menu.

TachedeRousseur

Points +42

Vegan
08 May 2024

Quick and vegan easy

The separate vegan menu is great and there are many options. We took the soy meat with cashew nuts and the fried rice that were very good. Staff is nice and service is quick. Portions are small and we ended up ordering many dishes so the bulk was higher than expected.

sharnarosexox

Points +106

Vegetarian
23 Apr 2024

Delicious meal, quick service

I got the sweet and sour dish and I side of rice. It was really nice. Served quick. They gave us a hot liquid assumed it was tea and it was broth 🥲. Would go again if we were staying and no queue at lunch

Milenski

Points +44

Vegan
20 Apr 2024

Tolle vegane Optionen!

Sehr schöne und große Auswahl.
Ich hatte den Salat mit Karottendressing und das Gericht mit Tofu. Dazu einmal Reis und eine leckere Yuzu Limonade.
Alles zusammen für umgerechnet 18€. Total gerechtfertigt. Super Option! Super lecker!

Pros: Größe , Auswahl , Preis

2pallas

Points +26

Vegetarian
09 Apr 2024

A Decent Option

This place was a life saver! It is open later than many places in Nara and it doesn't close on Tuesdays. No queue and no reservation needed. The restaurant has a vegan menu with nine dishes. All of them were decent. While I wouldn't go out of my way to seek out this restaurant, it is a solid choice if you're in the area and looking for some vegan food. The stir fried vegetables, the soy 'meat' and cashew nuts and the cocktails were particularly good.

Pros: Stir fried vegetables , Soy 'meat' and cashew nuts, Cocktails

Cons: Szechuan tofu (not spicy enough )

yushieats

Points +44

Vegetarian
17 Mar 2024

Good Food - slow service, high prices

Decent Chinese meal in Nara, they have a separate menu for vegans that is very helpful however I don’t think the portions are worth the prices. However, if you’re craving a decent Chinese meal like I was, this is a great option. I ordered the Mapo Tofu - Level 2 spice (not for the faint of heart, there is a literal danger warning on the menu for anyone ordering above level 1 spice) and the friend rice both were delicious.

Pros: Mapi Tofu, Fried Rice

Cons: Portion Sizes, Prices




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