-
CLOSED: Ba Bo Jai Chinese and Vegetarian Cuisine - downtown
-
1
Closed
-
Veg-options
Serves meat, vegan options available. This place added seafood to its menu per report Apr 2013, and changed its name; previously operated as Whole Vegetarian Restaurant. It's at the location as the now defunct Bo Kong Vegetarian. Limited parking to the rear of the building, in the alley, and more on the side streets, and parking meters on Main Street. Makes some Chinese vegetarian food. Reported closed to HappyCow.
-
3068 Main St (at 15th Ave, downtown), Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, V5T 3G5
-
Loading...
-
- Wheelchair accessible
- Accepts credit cards
-
-
Last update on 11 Jul 2013 by Guest
Update business info -
Are you the owner?
Claim this business -
Added by scocasso on 12 Apr 2010
-
-
6 Reviews
First Review by scocasso
Nomeatforme
Points +41
Really good, but.... - Edit
I've been here numerous times. The service is friendly, and I love a few of the dishes. But, I can't get over the decor. If you're a fan of sea green, then this is the place for you!! I know for a lot of people the ambiance isn't all that important. So if that's the case, then this place is amazing. I have no complaints. But to me it feels like an old cafeteria. I would probably go far more often if it weren't for this. I prefer to just take it to go.
Read morePros: Good food, Friendly service
Cons: Decor
Guest
philjdomm
Points +945
Dim Sum - Edit
Use to come here a lot.
Read moreVisited again, still the same!
Pros: dim sum, location, neighbourly
Guest
vegan-d
Points +36
Excellent experience - Edit
I live in Armstrong, land of dairy and chicken barns, so finding a vegan friendly restaurant is difficult (but not impossible).
Read moreWhen I go to Vancouver however, my friend and I head straight to WVR. This time, the place was full, the service friendly and helpful and the food was amazing! We got enough to have for lunch the next day.
Close to the end of our meal, a gentleman came over to make sure all had gone well. It had. My omnivore friend loved the food as well.
Wish I could teleport it up here!
Pros: incredible food, friendly and helpful staff, excellent value
Cons: couldn't think of one
Guest
kimward8
Points +574
Yummy vegan chicken drumsticks - Edit
I loved the vegan chicken drumsticks. My friend (who is not vegetarian) said they tasted exactly like real chicken and he was really surprised! Their broccoli, tofu and vegan egg noodle stir-fry is really good too, although I can never remember the name of the dish. Mostly everything on the menu is vegan, other than a couple of deserts with honey. They don't use eggs or dairy.
Read moreGuest
aquacat
Points +39
Back, better than ever! - Edit
We were regulars when this place was the Bo Kong and were thrilled when it re-opened. We have tried many new dishes since then, but also keep ordering our favourites. A couple of the staff are the same but they also have some new ones. After a visit or two, they all know us now. They're friendly and welcoming, especially Man, the host.
Read moreService is fast and friendly, even when they're busy.
The menu is extensive, as before. The prices are either the same or 50c to $1.00 more, but that's ok -- portions are very big; good value for money.
Some of our old favourites are wonton soup and spinach soup, "sizzling steak", sweet and sour, bean curd skin rolls, eggplant and tofu (we get them to make it with soft tofu, not fried), spicy green beans, and colourful veg. chop suey. The last dish used to come in a taro nest but I don't think they do that anymore. The pieces of veg are a bit bigger -- easier to eat.
A dish new to us is the pea tip, with either enoki mushroom or veg seafood. Pea tip is like spinach but not bitter -- yummy! This is a large dish and best eaten at the restaurant, unlike others which go home well. As per a previous review, we tried the sticky rice and the winter melon soup, which is flavoured with sesame oil (this is why it tastes a bit smoky). They were ok but I wouldn't rush to order them again.
We always use our own take out containers, and often order extra dishes to take home.
When the restaurant was the Bo Kong, it was always very cold, summer or winter. Now the temp. is just right. The atmosphere varies from tranquil to noisy, depending how many large groups are present.
They have free parking accessed from the back lane, with a security camera. Nice touch.
The restaurant is owned by the Whole Vegetarian chain which has stores in BC and Alberta. We visited the store nearby in East Van and bought quite a few items from the freezer, including a big bag of "chicken drumsticks", one of the menu items at the restaurant.
We're thrilled that this mainstay of the Vancouver veg. restaurant is still around. There's something for everyone, even people who eat meat.
Pros: Large portions, good value for money, Fast service, Free parking
Guest
scocasso
Points +300
Grand Re-Opening - Edit
Well, we had been to Bo Kong many times before. I found the food to be WAY too salty not to mention laced with MSG which if you forget to mention to not add any MSG... you find yourself drinking water for hours.
Read moreAnyway, the chef is the same, therefore I was expecting the food to be the same as the menu is by-enlarge the same. Well, I was glad that is was not overwhelmingly salty. It was good. We ordered the Winter Melon Soup, which is new to the menu, and it was surprisingly very good with some sort of 'smoky' taste/smell to it. We also got the Fried Sticky Rice. Doesn't sound like much, but my daughter wanted it, and it turned out to be really good, mixed with veggies, sauce, and veggie meat (so much better than the nondescript menu listing).
We where there on the grand opening day (unbeknownst to us, we just saw it and went in) and lots of people stopped by just to talk to the manager to see where the Bo Kong went and were relieved to find that things hadn't changed all that much and their favourite dishes remained on the menu.
Anyway, from the last time I visited, I was thought the food was better. We also got the deepfried soymilk, which was the best I've had since the early 90's at the now defunct Bodhi (5701 Granville) restaurant. I've had deep-fried soy milk before, but yuck, bland. Finally someone has come close to the Bodhi restaurant's deep fried coconut balls by mixing soymilk and coconut milk.
Pros: tasty, good price, location
Cons: non-descript menu, is it all vegan or not, I have to ask too many questions
Guest
For Members
Why was my review removed? Guidelines for writing a review View our privacy policyFor Business Owners
Claim this business See inaccurate information? Submit an update here Link to this page from your site See an unfair review? View full terms & conditionsThis page has been viewed 1864 times.