Vegetarian Lunch in Po Lin Monastery

1 May 2010. Day 3 in Hong Kong.

We decided to explore Lantau Island before going to the city proper. Thus the return ride on Ngong Ping 360, a 25min cable car ride up the hills to see the giantic Tian Tan Buddha.

We had thought the cable car would only open at 10am, and were we glad to have arrived there by that time. Cos the queue by the time we returned in the afternoon was VERY LONG.

I decided to forgo the >250 steps up to the base of the Buddha, so Sam & I had a biscuit & drinks break at the ice cream stall at the bottom of the steps.

After hubby came back from his climb, we went to visit the Po Lin Monastery, and after looking at the yummy vegetarian desserts displayed at one of the stalls there, decided to have our lunch at the monastery's restaurant.

The deluxe set costs HK$100 per person, and we must purchase the meal tickets before we enter the restaurant, which opened at 11:30am. Turns out the meal tickets also included free entry to the little museum halfway up the steps to the Buddha........if we had known, we would have visited the Buddha later after lunch.

Wasn't sure if the air-conditioned restaurant provided baby chairs..........I was too tired by then to check. Was simply happy Sam could fit on the adult chair & use the standard plastic bowl & plate & soup spoon.

The toilets weren't exactly clean though - hubby found out when Sam failed a last minute dash to the Gents, and I ended up having to change Sam's wet wet pants in the middle of the meal. ;P

Still, the 5 course meal was surprisingly good. The Mixed Mushroom soup was large enough to serve 4. Even Sam had no complaints, and that's from a little guy who refused to eat mushrooms.

The Fried Vegetarian Spring Rolls went down well with the rice for Sam, so were the lily bulbs in the Stir-fry Mixed Vegetables. I tried my best to polish off this dish even after I was full, cos the vegetables (red & yellow peppers, asparagus, celery, peas etc) were simply too sweet & crunchy to waste.

Hubby loved the Mushrooms with Cabbage - the fresh mushrooms were meaty, though the cabbage leaves were not cut, making it rather difficult to handle. The Mock Lemon Chicken was surprisingly good. I've never actually enjoyed eating bean curd skin before, but the lemon sauce wasn't too sour, just tangy enough to make the dish enjoyable.

Service was fast. We were about the longest seating table there, thanks to slow-eating Sam. The portions for 2 are really enough for 3, we wasted so much food I feel rather guilty. I now know why a meal at the Monastery is always recommended on the HK travel itinearies, even if the prices aren't exactly cheap. But then, it wasn't expensive either. Definitely recommended.