Last Friday was Wesak (Vesak) Day, and to celebrate, I decided to visit Fo Guang Yuen on Queen Street.

I have been to the branch in Malaysia a few times and my grandmother and Madam Mummy go frequently, so I thought it’d be nice to drop by and have a vegetarian meal and do some quick prayers to Buddha…

Having read a blog review from MEL:HOT or NOT, I approached the tea house cautiously (After it got a big fat NOT)…

Discussing this visit later with Jetsetting Joyce from Mel:HOT or NOT.. we agreed that the service of this place could better especially dealing with Melbourne’s lunchtime crowd

Service wasn’t too bad.. I came right at the lunch hour and there was a huge crowd that Friday… however, I do recommend coming only when you have time to spare (I took half a day off, to give you a perspective, so I wasn’t in a hurry to go anywhere)

At one point, the lady in charge of the gallery (selling CD’s books, and looking after donations) came to help in serving the customers… and when she delivered the food to me, she said in Mandarin (I think)… “Your’s is finally here!”…

For tea, I ordered a single cup of Jasmine Chrysanthemum tea ($3.50; and $7 for a pot)

Out of the 3 noodle dishes (other’s were vegetarian snacks, including dumplings), I ordered a vegetarian mince pork noodle ($9.50) which consisted of bean sprouts, bok choy, vegetarian mince pork, vegetarian bbq pork, salted pickled vegetables and slices of fried bean curd (tofu).

The serving was quite good and the noodles was quite tasty…

Out of curiosity, and because I had a free day… I caved in and ordered the Chocolate Tart from the white board ($4.00)

The chocolate was smooth and bitter (just the way I like it), however, for me, it was marred by the raspberry middle… I’m not a big fan of berries, and having raspberries in a smooth dark chocolate tart, quite ruined it for me.

All in all, like mentioned… come here only if you have time to spare. The food is decent, and the desserts are interestingly out of place (French desserts just don’t mix with a Vegetarian Buddhist menu)…

*Disclaimer: All food ratings are purely based on my own experiences and how I feel about the service, food and quality

Food/ Cuisine: Buddhist Vegetarian (French Desserts)
Dining Style: Tea House
Overall Food Rating (Based on the Dining style): 7/10 (I’m not a big vegetarian and I would rather die than not have meat.. so this is saying quite a bit!)
Restaurant ambiance: 7/10 (It is an art gallery after all)
Service/ Attitude: 5/10
Value for money: 5/10 (For that kind of money spent, give me real MEAT any time of the day… UNLESS I am observing a religious event)

Address:
141 Queen Street
Melbourne VIC 3000

Tel:(03) 9642 2388
Fax: (03) 9642 3288
Email: [email protected]

Website: http://www.ibcv.org.au/FGY_Artgallery/FGY_intro.htm

FGY is open
Monday – Saturday
10.00am – 5.00pm

How to get there:

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