Hands down one of the best vegetarian restaurants Ive ever been in. Familiar vegetables that I grew up w/. I especially enjoyed the bitter melon and black bean sauce because it is super awesome and if u grew up in a Filipino household, ampalaya wasnt always enjoyable. A lot of folks recommend the bean curd and spinach – and it is also really good! I also appreciate how there were a lot of families from the community dining here. I came around 3pm and got to eat on the table across where the workers were having lunch together family style. Very cool restaurant and staff w/awesome vegetarian food!
Christine L.
Classificação do local: 5 Fullerton, CA
I stopped by here to eat prior to a wedding as I envisioned being super hungry and I didn’t want to be rude DURING the wedding. It was about 4ish PM. All I wanted was some orange chikn with rice and maybe some spring rolls. Their spring rolls were kind of expensive. $ 9.50 for qty 6? The deep-fried type too. They no longer have lunch specials. I think it was probably another $ 10 – 12 for the orange chikn? The taste and texture was good. I gave it to B as orange chikn is his«dish» to determine if a place is good or not. What a beautiful omnivore man who loves orange fakn chikn! He was a big fan and he decided to take it home.
Irene T.
Classificação do local: 4 Huntington Beach, CA
I mostly only come here because my parents want to. The food is always fresh and tasty. I don’t think there is anything on the menu we have ordered that I didn’t like — I’m definitely a carnivore. If you want them to make something extra spicy, they’re just going to add jalapenos to it. If you spend $ 20, they’ll add a stamp to your stamp card. 10 stamps and you get 10% off your next meal.
David L.
Classificação do local: 5 San Marino, CA
This is my go to spot for vegetarian food. Being an omnivore, I can still find plenty of appetizing dishes to help me forget about meats for awhile. My usual order is pumpkin n tofu in clay pot, eggplants, and string beans
Anne R.
Classificação do local: 5 Riverside, CA
I’m a meat lover BUT I also love vegetables. My family got invited to a baby’s 1st birthday celebration here. I’m fascinated how they made some dishes taste like real meat! Love everything they served!
Clis F.
Classificação do local: 4 Los Angeles, CA
I can not stop thinking about the Shiitake Mushroom Chicken. I told my boyfriend I would be willing to work there for free for a few days to learn the recipe, it was that incredible– the stuff dreams are made of. We also tried a few of the Dim Sum specialties — Pork Bun, Lotus Bean pastry and a weird thing that had Chinese Herb that tasted like 70’s men’s cologne; oddly we both agreed on that. They were ok, probably would not order again. We stopped in because Happy Healthy Vegan on YouTube. posted a review. We told the waitresses about it and they were very excited to check it out.
Anne A.
Classificação do local: 4 Los Angeles, CA
I was doing a food tasting tour in this shopping center in San Gabriel and stumbled across this Taiwanese vegan restaurant churning out some interesting dishes. We ordered the Buddha’s Feast(mixed veggies brocolli and lotus root) and the highly recommend soft tofu dish. The Buddah’s Feast was a very simple dish, clean tasting but low on flavor. The tofu dish was presented on heated plate and was a standout with crisp tofu on top. There were so many more vegan dishes I wanted to try but at this point I was eating to taste and was already full. I ordered the almond tea puff pastry. It takes 20 minutes to prepare, so you must order when ordering your mains. I was expecting more inside of it, but it was a puff pastry covering mostly hot almond milk. Recommended healthy eats for vegans and non-vegans alike.
Daisy T.
Classificação do local: 3 Monterey Park, CA
Because of the many rave Unilocal reviews, I gave this restaurant a try. Food overall deserved a 2.5 Star. I am puzzled as to the many positive reviews here. Service was fine; the waitresses were nice and helpful. It’s located in the big plaza along with the 99 Range Market. Because it’s being shared with many stores, parking was annoyingly difficult to find! Lunch Special 11:30 am — 2:50 pm daily except holiday. 1) Vege Fish & Tofu & Hot Bean Sauce — the soft tofu were too small, almost minced; the sauce lacked sweetness.(B-) 2) Vege Sausage & Tofu in Hot Pot — the tofu were big, soft, and fine, but the sausages were overly soft & soggy; the sauce lacked sweetness.(C) 3) Vege Sweet & Sour Chicken — the sauce was too sour and the chicken made from mushroom instead of tofu.(D) 4) Vege Chicken Nuggets & Orange Peel — sauce didn’t taste anything like orange sauce; lacked sweetness, but the chicken nuggets were chewy and good.(B) 5) Crispy Puff Pastry & Almond Tea — not sweet enough.(B+) 6) Hot & Sour Soup — complimentary, but too sour!(F) 7) Pumpkin Porridge — decent.(B+) Conclusion: Most likely not coming back to try other dishes.
Keo N.
Classificação do local: 2 Los Angeles, CA
The food is quite tasty but there are 2 fundamental problems. There is msg in the food, not a lot but enough to cause thirstiness and queasiness after the meal. I give a 4 star rating for taste and 1 star for suitability for healthy consumption. The problem is they are using a lot of fake meats which they have no control over what is in it. In Taiwan, those who eat vegan for health reasons do not eat fake meats. There is msg and flavorings in the fake meat which is not healthy because these are manufactured chemicals and are most likely toxic and can cause bad reactions. In addition we ordered quite a bit of deep fried dishes which will cause queasiness due to the high level of grease.
Vanessa L.
Classificação do local: 4 Los Angeles, CA
It’s been a long time since I’ve been to a vegetarian Chinese restaurant and I was craving some fake meat. Let’s just say that I enjoyed it and my husband(from what he can recall) preferred Vege Paradise to Happy Family. And I might too. To me, Happy Family is known for mushroom chicken, which is good, but I can really eat only so much of it. This place seems to have a larger variety of really good fake meat dishes. Overall, I liked the choices and the textures were right on, but the food really needed more spice. Crispy oyster mushroom– great crispy texture, but by itself, it was bland, even though it was surrounded by basil leaves and jalapenos on the plate. It needed more seasoning. Kung pao chicken– I saw the pepper next to it indicating that it is spicy, and I asked the waitress, just so she would know I wanted it spicy, but it had no heat whatsoever. Luckily, the flavor was pretty good and the fake chicken texture was perfect. It was a little greasy, but not overwhelmingly so. Green beans– these were good but, like the chicken, a bit greasy. I still ate a bunch of them. Sometimes you need some grease. Brown rice– nice and tender, good portion We came for a late lunch on a Saturday(about 3pm), so it was pretty slow in the restaurant and we were seated promptly. Overall service was pretty good except for a little lapse when about four or five servers all saw down to eat at the same time. There were still a couple servers but the attention level decreased. Because the food wasn’t spicy, I got some chili oil, which greatly improved the kung pao chicken and especially the oyster mushrooms. I would really like to come back here and try some of the other menu items, like the puff pastry with pumpkin bisque, the bean curd skin with spinach, or the crispy basil chicken. There is a lot of interesting items on the menu.
Enrique G.
Classificação do local: 4 Los Angeles, CA
Vege Paradise is exactly what it sounds like, strictly vegetarian. In fact I cannot recall if I saw a single meat item on their menu. Met up with a friend who’s a veggie eater. As much as I love meat, sometimes I suck it up and go green. The restaurant is located on the top floor of shopping complex. There is an abundance of parking but beware of the grandmas zig zagging through the lot. As you enter the restaurant, there are several tables in this huge spacious dinning area. It looks fairly new or maybe the owners do a good job maintaining. Fortunately I let my veggie eater friend order our dishes as we did family style. Surprisingly everything was deliciously, especially their fried items(I believe it was mushrooms but I didn’t ask, sometimes it’s better not to know ;)). I was even devouring the tofu and fried egg plant. Perhaps it was the starvation from prior, really their food was savory and dang good. This has to be my favorite non meat restaurant and that’s coming from a carnivore. Highly recommend hitting this spot, can’t go wrong with any of their items.
Priscilla Z.
Classificação do local: 4 Los Angeles, CA
A great Chinese vegan restaurant. You would think Chinese people eat a lot of vegetables and shouldn’t be hard to go vegan, but in fact I barely found any good vegan Chinese food. Most vegan stores serve Thai or Mexican style food. This place is operated by Chinese, food was created based on real Chinese food. So I think it is a big plus. The food is delicious, sometimes certain dishes are very oily if they have deep fried items. But overall, all the food I tried was pretty good taste. Go for their most popular.
Ida C.
Classificação do local: 4 Hacienda Heights, CA
I’ve been here quite a few times because my mom and grandma are vegetarian. Make sure your whole party is there, or else they won’t seat you right away. The menu can be a bit overwhelming for those who aren’t familiar with vegetarian dishes, but there are lots of pictures to help you decide. Most of the dishes are quite flavorful and sometimes you forget that you are eating vegetarian. If you want rice, don’t forget to ask for it. I believe they do charge you for each person. Brown rice is also available. My favorite dish would probably be the spicy bean curd. I also recommend any of the fish or crispy chicken dishes. It is great to share family style because the servings are on the larger side. When it came down to pay, they told us they don’t accept more than one credit card. That part kind of annoyed me a bit because I know they totally can but just didn’t want to go out of their way to do it.
Sylvia C.
Classificação do local: 4 Los Angeles, CA
The name says it all. Definitely a vegetarians paradise! We came after a long strenuous hikes which called for lots of post workout food. We came when there was a lunch special cost and a choice of brown, white or pumpkin congee to go with it… score! Although its still expensive, your truly paying for its vegetarian specialties. Food: wanted to order hot and sour soup, little did i know we each got a mall bowl before our food came, yay! — We got the imitation kidney with basil and it was good. They did so well on the consistency of imitating the kidney it scares me, haha. But im not complaining. — - We also got the traditional mustard greens with beancurd. Same as other places. Cant go wrong but i had better though. –Didnt care much for the sweet and sour chicken(aka mushroom), it wasnt bad but not the best i had. More of sweet side and overload on the pineapple. Unless, you like that, then this is your dish. — The fried pancake i didnt like at all. Too thick and bready. Maybe they should have called it bread then thr pancake because i wouldnt have had the expectation of the tradtional ones i eat. But then again, it was still bland too. Service: was great. All the servers were very nice and attentive. Parking: its a very busy plaza. So parking is horrible. So go early, just for the parking alone. Wait time at restaurant not bad at all especially for a Sunday afternoon when we went. Just the darn parking though… One downfall is its definitely NOT a gluten intolerant persons friend. A lot of items are made with gluten to imitate the meat and its textures. So all you folks with a gluten sensitivity, be aware which items you choose. There are still loads of yummy selections just again be aware which dish has gluten and not.
Becca K.
Classificação do local: 5 Whittier, CA
Let me first declare that I am a flavor-loving omnivore. By no means do I enjoy surviving off of kale and tofu alone. Now that we understand each other, let me tell you that this is one of absolute favorite Asian restaurants: vegetarian or not. And did I mention it is actually really healthy? ***Shhhhh you don’t have to tell anyone though. The cuisine here is purely Asian. You will find many hot pot, stirfry, and steamed dishes in a menu so huge that it is almost exhaustive to go through. They also serve a lot of interesting vegetarian dishes that I have never had anywhere else, like the Coral Seaweed and Gobo Stirfry. While there are a few fried dishes, most of the menu feature very light, not-oily dishes. Surprisingly, everything has a ton of flavor, despite not being drenched in sauce or that nasty cornstarch paste. Compliments to the chef! This is not really a «date» destination. Its interior looks like a typical semi-cheesy dim sum restaurant. However, if you want to impress your vegetarian friends or if your date is a vegetarian, you’ll score a ridiculous amount of points with this place based on the food alone. Even if you eat meat, you can be an adventurous epicure and walk into Vege Paradise. Once you take your first bite, you won’t even miss meat at all.
Cara H.
Classificação do local: 5 Glendale, CA
Not to sound corny, but this place really is vege paradise The fried button mushrooms tasted just like orange chicken, you won’t miss the meat! I love bean curd, so I enjoyed the bean curd with spinach, its an acquired texture so it’s not for everyone but I love it! I wish they had hot mustard but they didn’t, boo. The basil eggplant was also yummy. Nice restaurant with attentive staff. I’ve had jai at Happy Family, their food is amazing also. The only reason I’d say I like that place better is they have a ayce option. Vege paradise is a nicer restaurant tho.
Russell M.
Classificação do local: 5 San Gabriel, CA
This place is pretty awesome, albeit I’m not a vegetarian. Their«orange chicken» is delicious and made from mushrooms but the sauce used almost masks that fact. There’s a wide variety of menu choices to choose from as the other reviews/tips show, and tea is always free of course. Coming during lunch hours provides a couple key benefits: — your price will be lower(the image attached was around $ 24 for everything and we needed a to-go box) — the notoriously packed parking lot will have ample spaces(we found parking in the row closest to the restaurant) Again, I’m a fan of the orange chicken but the green beans and hot and sour soup were both quite good. A dash of white pepper in the soup did the trick. Swing by for a filling yet light meal, with quick service and portions that match the price asked.
Yenny D.
Classificação do local: 5 Culver City, CA
Really really happy with Vege Paradise! Been here twice within a week — once to have lunch and taste test their food, and the second time for an occasion. Our first visit was great — got there on a Thursday around 1:30pm and had some lunch. Our second visit, we reserved two tables and ordered the set meal(B for $ 188) for each table. I wish I had taken pictures of everything but I couldn’t. I like how this place focuses on using vegetables in interesting and tasty ways instead of subbing fake meat for everything. Everything we had on both visits was delicious and beautifully plated. Service is great! Very friendly and helpful. Restaurant itself is rather spacious, they don’t have any small tables so you might end up at a very spacious table with lots of extra chairs. Located on the second floor of Focus Plaza, kinda above the boba place.
Lyly T.
Classificação do local: 5 South El Monte, CA
For a vegetarian restaurant, the food is great! If you can make tofu taste like meat, i’m all for it. My in-laws are vegetarian and Vege Paradise is one of our go-to restaurants for family dinners. They are usually really packed on holidays. //Location// They are located upstairs in Focus Plaza. You pretty much have to stalk someone who is leaving for a spot as this plaza gets really busy or park all the way in the back of the parking lot. //Food// My in-laws generally order so I don’t know the specific names of the dishes but I’ll try my best to describe my favorites. They have a cold dish that comes on a huge boat dish. It has various vegetarian meats, sticky rice, sushi rolls, coral of some sort, etc. Very tasty and amazing presentation. See photo Vegetarian chicken w/brown sauce — Tastes like orange chicken except it’s a mushroom instead of chicken. [My favorite dish here]. Vegetarian pork in a sesame pita bread appetizer(it has chili peppers in it so pick it out if you’re not into spice) Bean curd skin and spinach Crispy oyster mushroom — the flavor reminds me of popcorn chicken at boba shops except it’s made with mushrooms. //Price// I’ve never paid since my in-laws treat us but I believe it’s pretty expensive since it’s vegetarian food.
Matthew T.
Classificação do local: 4 Los Angeles, CA
Actually pretty good and if if vegan/vegetarian food tasted like this I might strongly consider altering the way I eat. Okay, thats not entirely true. Granted, all veggie dishes is a hard sell on anyone used to the meat stuffs. Case in point was when we gathered all our relatives to the banquet area of the restaurant to celebrate my dad’s birthday. The kids, though they scarfed down the food, clearly expressed how much they wanted In-n-Out after. The thing is we have new in-laws and they have dietary restrictions which makes large gatherings like this difficult. Not at Vege Paradise. You get the wonderful blend of a banquet room style Chinese restaurant with Chinese Vegetarian dishes that are incredibly diverse. Thats not easy to find! Plus the presentation is truly top-notch, bar none. We had a large boat shaped dish complete with a beautiful mixture of sliced cucumbers and bean curd items all on top of bountiful green leafy veggies. Equally impressive was the tofu soup which was covered in a dark forest green base topped with a green mushroom. As spinach-y as it looked, it was really pretty good and Popeye himself would have approved. The real winner of the day was the imitation orange chicken or what they called crispy chicken in brown sauce. To me it tasted about 95% like orange chicken but there was that slight twinge of tofu at the end. Nevertheless, all the kids enjoyed it and thats saying something. I was really surprised and impressed with the presentation and execution of the dishes at Vege Paradise. It really is a paradise for vegetarians simply because there menu is so vast and diverse that you aren’t stuck with the usual dish that other restaurants half-heartedly whip up to appease more finicky eaters. Instead, here you’ll find that each dish really brings a lot of flavor and creativity and that is really what I liked. It is a little bit hidden in this plaza(on the 2nd floor) but its worth finding when you want a big healthy meal that will keep all the diners happy.