Vegan restaurant in Boston Chinatown serving Thai and Chinese food. Menu offers items like pumpkin curry, fried rice, pad thai noodles, tofu chickn fingers, boba milk tea, wonton soup, and spicy curry. Formerly Original Buddha's Delight, same owners with revised menu. Location requires taking stairs up to the 2nd floor. Open Mon-Thu 11:00am-10:00pm, Fri-Sat 11:00am-11:00pm, Sun 11:00am-10:00pm.
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3 Beach St, 2nd floor (at Chinatown), Boston, Massachusetts, USA, 02111
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Last update on 25 Jun 2023 by geometric-noise
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279 Reviews
First Review by tablemoonspoons
BridgetMO
Points +33
delightful =] - Edit
WE LOVE MY THAI!
Read moreThe food is amazing! HALF CHICKEN DISHES ARE UNBELIEVABLE!!!!!
yes the service is iffy, its chinatown. the woman are very nice and seem to always remember a familiar face! Love to support this place, and the staircase is just a part of the adventure!
Pros: GREAT FOOD
Guest
andrea
Points +584
It's a Go. - Edit
As a resident of Boston, and a regular here, I want to try to make sense of these reviews. Yes, the entrance is sketchy looking. Most of Chinatown is a little sketchy looking. Not a deciding factor. Now let's head upstairs.
Read moreThe food is good. It just is. We've eaten countless times here, sometimes with large groups. The half-chicken or duck dishes which cost more, are always really good. So are the noodle dishes and the ones with sliced seitan. Probably a little on the salty side, but really tasty with fresh ingredients.
The service: yes, it can be a problem. I can be a picky eater, but even I won't bother anymore to say "leave out the mushrooms" or whatever. Don't try to make changes to any menu item. If you have questions, try to get someone over to the table who can speak English. Often the service is fine, sometimes it's bad and even though I'm a regular, I speak with my wallet. I've walked out of there having left zero tip.
But rather than support a meat restaurant, and take your chances that they are telling you the truth about what's in the food (I'm talking in Chinatown), I much prefer to eat at My Thai.
Pros: generous portions, tasty food
Cons: the service
Guest
bgoodwin17
Points +47
Sooo Delicious! - Edit
This place is absolutely delicious!! I have been here twice and have LOVED my meals both times.
Read moreThe only reason why I am giving a rating of 4 stars is because of the ambience. The stairs going up to the restaurant are cold and creepy. I got lost the first time I went here because it definitely didn't feel like an entrance to a restaurant. Also, the restaurant itself is big and open (not very warm/welcoming). Lastly, depending where you sit, it can get very chilly. And the service is, many times, subpar.
Now on to the good stuff. THE FOOD!! I have tried both the hot and sour soup (eh..just ok) and the Tom Yum Gai soup (YAHOO). The Tom Yum Gai soup is absolutely delicious. It is full of fresh, yummy vegetables and the "chicken" was a great touch. It will definitely be a staple to my order every time I go back. For main courses, I have had the Asian Sizzling Platter and Tamarind Duck. Both meals were so tasty!! The Sizzling Platter was a plethora of veggies and faux meats that were surprisingly great! I definitely recommend this dish. The Tamarind Duck was equally as good, or maybe better!? Before I became a vegan, I was a big duck fan. I'm not going to lie, I was a little sketched out at the idea of a "veggie duck". Because it has such a unique flavor, I didn't think it was possible to pull off both the texture and flavor of duck. BUT THEY DID IT!! I was so impressed with the meal that I purposely didn't finish it so I could eat more the next day!
Their bubbly teas are also very yummy...I like the pineapple. :-)
If you haven't already...go try this place!
Pros: delicious food, delicious food, delicious food
Cons: weird location/creepy stairs, bad service, cold in the restaurant
Guest
Richard Myers
Points +753
Lots of choice - not a problem - Edit
I came to Boston to watch my wife run the Boston Marathon. In our short stay in Boston we ate at this restaurant 3 times and thought it was great. Despite the unattractive entrance and rather plain interior, it was very tasty food. The items on the menu seemed endless but that made the eating experience more enjoyable.
Read morePros: Good taste, Lots of choice, Generous portions
Cons: Not a pretty place
Guest
feorag
Points +535
Variable, but mostly good. - Edit
I've known this place in its previous incarnation for about 10 years now, and considered it one of the old reliables. Reading some of the more recent reviews left me with some concern - had things really gone that far downhill? So, I got off the plane, checked into my hotel and wandered into Chinatown with the omni partner to see for myself - even if it were terrible, it would be better than the airline food.
Read moreSo, what has changed in the year since my last visit? The stairway has been cleaned up and re-tiled for a start. It's still not a welcoming entrance, but there are handwritten signs on the stairs reassuring you you are heading in the right direction. The loos, too, have had a thorough make-over and are completely tiled and impeccably clean. The place has not been taken over, though, and I was greeted by the same woman who has greeted me over the years.
We were starving, and probably over-ordered. On this first visit, a Monday evening, we shared a portion of fried dumplings - basically fake chicken gyoza; I had the Tom Yum Goong soup, which was mild for a Tom Yum of any kind, and my partner had the Chinese-style hot and sour. This was the right call - it was perfectly and outrageously hot. We went for extravagant mains. I chose the Thai Roast Duck with Red Curry; C had the Green Curry chicken and it was my turn to make the right call. The "duck" was luscious, with a choice of vegetables that perfectly complemented the rich, spicy sauce. The green curry was good, but not as impressive. We left full, and happy that the reviews did not reflect our experience.
The second visit was the following Saturday, Valentine's Day. We had the Chicken Fingers for our appetizer, and both went for the Chinese hot and sour soup. The Fingers were basically tofu in a deep-fried dumpling, and not that exciting. A little over filling for an appetizer. We ordered "lighter" entrees - noodle dishes, and found them enormous, and rather too greasy.
Visit three was the traditional lunch prior to departure, taking advantage of the cheap set menu. This was back to Monday's high standard, though C noted that the "Lemon Chicken" was not what had been expected, but it was still good.
Overall, the place hasn't changed. There was some variation in the standard of the food (two cooks?), and items such as the chicken fingers had been reheated from frozen, but for the price, there's little room for complaint.
Pros: cheap, central, big portions
Cons: grease, variable, inaccessible entrance
Guest
A.Z.P.
Points +623
My (TERRIBLE) Thai Vegan - Edit
This place used to be "Original's Buddha Delight" and I really loved it. When I reviewed it I called it an "Asian Beantown Treat". No More. Those days are over. 2 days in a row recently Ive had absolutely awful dining experiences. First the food. I once wrote "The food leaves you with a very pleasant and distinct flavour without having to hit you over the head with it." Those days are gone. Since their renovation their Vietnamese/Chinese menu is now a Thai/Chinese menu and the flavors are overpowering/horrible. Both tofus we tried were unbearably potent. Sucking on 2 lemons at once wouldve been less sour than the Sweet and Sour Tofu and the Tom Yum Tow-Hoo Tofu tasted like the chef had a party with a spice rack and put it on a plate. Both the Lemongrass beef and hot & sour soup were above average, but this hardly made up for other mistakes, like the Basil chicken had almost no vege chicken in it (5 tiny pieces). The same with the shrimp fried rice (an even smaller and more appalling 4 pieces). But as disappointing as the food was, the rest was much worse. The first day our waiter completely disappeared. The second night, first they screwed up our order and then when we got it, it was cold (we asked them to warm itup, but the english there now is minimal and they struggled to understand our request). Secondly because we ordered alot there wasnt enough room on the table. When the waiter came with our food instead of putting it on an empty table and then connecting it to ours (and there were many empty tables) he decided to stand over us like the statue of liberty and glare at us for not having enough room (eventually myself and a friend had to get up and do it ourselves while the waiter looked on angrily at what took us so long). Lastly, at the end the waiter literally threw the check at our table. No "would you like a dessert" or even a "thank you". Theservice wasnt bad, it was laughably bad. As for the enviroment formerly a big complaint here was that it wasnt very classy. The changes they made are spurious like forks with 3 prongs instead of 4 and of course the prices have increase so for that 1less prong you pay 3 dollars more a dish. Lastly the orange Juice (which was half ice) was the worst orange juice ive had anywhere. (Hawaaiin punch has more fruit in it than this did). But in general the state of this restaurantis deplorable. It is a sad day in boston as one of the best vegetarian asian restaurants on the east coast has gone down the drain.
Read morePros: 1 of only veg options in central boston
Cons: Awful nasty service, Overpowering bad flavors, Higher prices/smaller portions
Guest
Merciless666
Points +195
I was so amazed!!! - Edit
We went there in 2001 while traveling the States and visiting friends in Boston. they went with us to the Buddha's. back then i was so amazed about all this fake meat options it toke us forever to make a decision what to order. i think you still can't find a place like that in Europe, even though it changed a lot over here as well.
Read moreI LOVED IT LIKE CRAZY!!!
Pros: incredible fake meat options, cheap
Cons: to far from home!
Guest
cookiem
Points +5871
Vietnamese style cuisine - Edit
This restaurant is located near the edges of Chinatown in Boston, but is worth the trip if one is seeking vegan Vietnamese-style food. Don't be fooled by the exterior, the restaurant is located up a set of wooden stairs. Whenever dining in an establishment with Vietnamese influence, it is always delightful to order a rice vermicelli dish or any noodle dish for that matter! The same would be recommended for this establishment, as they are quite tasty! The prices are very reasonable for such ample portion sizes. The fake meat is alright, but nothing to rave about. Overall a satisfying meal. Don't expect a 5-star dining experience! This establishment is more like a 3-star expereience, and it is likely to please the palate.
Read morePros: Vegan, Friendly staff, Noodles/vermicelli
Cons: Fake meat, Decor, Fast-food-esque
Tea343546578
Thai*
Read moreGuest
tablemoonspoons
Points +135
pretty good. - Edit
they used to have a midweek lunch buffet, but i am not sure if they do anymore, that was great! if not the lunch special prices are pretty good. decent variety on the menu. i have never gone to a random vegan restaurant expecting it to be classy and spotless and the bathrooms or general cleanliness may not be perfect, but i have never found this place to be dirty at all. this place is your best bet if you are in straight up downtown.
Read moreGuest
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