When it came to restaurants serving Chinese food it seemed one had 2 choices, either one got healthy food minus the taste or tasty food minus the health advantage. Then 2 weeks back my friend suggested we try ‘Zen Gardens – a vegetarian restaurant’ as her friends had given it great reviews. I was game to check out the place and thus we landed up there on a Friday evening for dinner. The restaurant was kind of empty which to me was a sign of it not being popular/ serving good food/ lacking in customer service etc. However, as we were already there we decided to go in and check out the place for ourselves.
As almost all the menu items were unfamiliar to us, we took a long time going over the menu as each item looked interesting. In addition my friend and I kept getting distracted by all the yummy food that was being served on other tables :-). The more time we spent browsing through the menu, the more confused we got and then finally we had to ask our waitress for suggestions. She patiently explained the various dishes that we were contemplating on getting and also made recommendations after checking with us regarding our likes and dislikes. Based on her suggestions and recommendations we both ordered a Bento box as our main course and Dumplings for appetizers.
The dumplings had a filling of finely chopped mixed vegetables, steamed for the right amount of time as they weren’t chewy or undercooked and served with a peanut sauce. We devoured them as they were yummy and we were hungry. Then we were served soup which is part of the Bento box, the soup seemed to be a mix of wonton and sweet corn. It had 2 wontons floating in a clear broth along with sweet corn and green onions. It was lightly flavored and piping hot which made us feel warm and fuzzy on the cold winter night. That was followed by a small steamer which contained a piece of steamed dumpling and a tofu roll which was also steamed and they were served with a sweet sauce. The main course (Bento box) was presented in compartmentalized container and included a green salad with a sweet, orange flavored dressing, Kung Po Soy Fritters, purple rice, spring roll and tofu cakes. The tofu cakes were deep fried as was the vegetable spring roll and they were perfect, not too crispy and not too soft. The Kung po soy fritters were cooked in a brown sauce along with bell peppers, onions, and tofu and green onions. The purple rice was cooked to al-dente and serve with a shaving of dried onions on top. All the dishes were delicious, though I had to add some red chilli sauce to make them spicier to suit my taste buds.
Our waitress came in 1-2 times to check in with us to ensure our food was what we expected and if we wanted to order anything else. By the time we finished our meal and left the restaurant it was 9.30pm, which we didn’t realize was beyond their hours of operation. Even though the restaurant had closed, the wait staff didn’t once show impatience or get rude or pushy with us in order to get us to leave early. My friend and I loved the experience so much that we went back the following weekend on a Saturday and the amazing experience of lip smacking food and great hospitality was repeated once again.
So folks, if you want a place to enjoy healthy and delicious food and outstanding customer service head on over to Zen Gardens, located at 6980 Maritz Drive, unit 6, Mississauga, ON L5W 1Z3, Telephone # 905-461-2498. They have plenty of parking and also offer take out services. Ambience is serene and casual and quiet (I guess everyone is too busy enjoying the food to be talking). They have other locations too and you can get the details at http://www.zen-garden.ca/. Zen Gardens receives 5 STARS in my book.
Veggie Love Notes 