Quán Chay Huong Sen Vietnamese Restaurant Photos
Recommended Reviews - Quán Chay Huong Sen
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11 years ago
The soup stocks at this Vietnamese Vegetarian / Vegan restaurant are incredibly tasty. The chef lets slip that she makes the stock with over 20 herbs, spices and other ingredients, all vegan of course. What's also interesting is that the restaurant doesn't use any monosodium glutamate (MSG), garlic or onions in the soup stock (or any of the other dishes made in the kitchen). I got some take away Bun Bo Hue for my friends one time and they thought it was one of the best Bun Bo Hue stocks they had ever tasted. I've come back a few times for the Bun Bo Hue and had to write a review. The daily rice with three options appears to be quite popular. It appears that many workers from around the area pop in to get the rice with three dish choice for lunch or on the way home for dinner, which is available eat in or takeaway. My favourite is the vegan faux fish fried with lemon grass and chilli with a touch of curry powder, (called Ca Xao Xa Ot) in Vietnamese, which goes really well with the jasmine rice, but it isn't available everyday so you might want to call ahead to check if they have it or can make it for you. The restaurant has a comfortable decor and you are helped by friendly staff who are also keen supporters of the Vietnamese Buddhist Temple "Chua Vien Giac" way of life. The Restaurant is owned by the Buddhist temple charity and was established to promote healthy and compassionate eating that's also tasty! I do have to declare an interest, my mum works at the Restaurant and my Aunty is one of the Buddhist Nun at the Chua Vien Giac Temple (Not for profit organisation). Despite this, I am quite sure based on my friend's comments about the take away Bun Bo Hue I got them that my experience of the Bun Bo Hue is definitely not in any way biased. read more
9 years ago
I ventured out to Cabramatta to give this place a try. A review on Happycow suggested that this restaurant offers an $11 buffet. My mother and I seated ourselves and were presented with 2 menus that did not indicate a buffet anywhere, but did affirm that this restaurant is 100% vegan. We asked the waitress about the prolific 'buffet' and were shown to a cafeteria-style section where you ask her what you want and she plates it up for you. Odd for a buffet, but for $11 it's a compromise I'll accept. I got her to plate me some noodles and an assortment of different bite-sized tofu appetisers. As I prepare my hands to take the dish from her, she puts it in the microwave. This is not a good sign. One can expect a buffet service to not contain the freshest of food, but this is just mediocre, even for $11. Explains why I saw flies buzzing around that area as I entered the restaurant. Perplexed with my reheated meal, I began eating. The noodles were the flat vermicelli kind, but yellow like egg noodles (God I hope they weren't using egg noodles) and mixed with green beans and strung carrots. The taste was like something you'd expect from a packet of Mi Goreng; that is to say they tasted good enough, but you'd expect more from a restaurant. The tofu appetisers were marginally better, as it's not something most people consume everyday you find it harder to compare. What I can say is though there was variety, all the appetisers tasted very similar; fried, salty and like tofu. Due to the microwaved nature of my plate, the meal was reasonably hot around the outside, and got colder the further into the middle you got. During our meal we were brought a bowl containing a chunk of pumpkin, swimming in clear broth and garnished with a bit of coriander. Like everything else had so far in this restaurant, it was lacklustre. Watery with some mildly sweet tones to complement some mushy pumpkin. To top it all off we were served a bowl of what looked like a rice pudding, a dish I'm very fond of. Just one spoonful in, the pleasant memories of a hot, gooey and sweet rice pudding were not evoked. Instead I was greeted to a room temperature bowl of runny goop with a very grainy texture and not much, if any sweetness at all. Although the food wasn't fantastic, I thought I'd return to the buffet area to try some of the appetisers that I didn't try the first time, and was told I'd have to pay again for another plate, so there's clearly some miscommunication on what defines a 'buffet' in this establishment. I hear this place has some affiliation with a local Buddhist temple, which I'm glad to support as I strongly resonate with Buddhist philosophy. Of course being a vegan establishment also is a big plus, because the world really does need more of them. Eating this food didn't upset me, as I feel very privileged to simply go where I want and eat as I please. But the food simply didn't meet the expectations of even a cheap Asian restaurant. It felt like I was eating last night's leftovers, and so I unfortunately can't give the food or the total experience any merit greater than a 1 star rating. + Vegan + Cheap - NOT A BUFFET as other reviewers and even the staff will indicate - Plain tasting - Hygiene doesn't look great - Food is microwaved read more
More info about Quán Chay Huong Sen
Shop 1
4 Hughes St
Cabramatta New South Wales 2166
Australia
Directions
(02) 9755 0988
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