While we’re on the subject of tea, I want to take a trip back to the Greater Boston Buddhist Cultural Center. A while back, I tried to visit the teahouse to sample some of the Buddhist cuisine. However, it turned out that the teahouse was closed for the winter. It reopened this March and I got a chance to visit a few weeks ago. After my experience, I intend to become a regular. The teahouse, though quiet, is a welcoming place with really high quality tea and some of the best Chinese food I’ve ever eaten. Not to mention that the four entrees served with rice and a soup are a steal at less than $7. I started my meal with a seasonal Matcha milk tea – it was smooth, floral and extremely well balanced. Then came a simple soup with tofu, tomato, mushrooms and cilantro. It was delightfully warming on a cold day and the mushrooms in the soup were especially savory.
Next came the main course – four items paired with brown rice. Upon first look, the heaping plate looked colorful though perhaps bland. But my first bite was anything but boring. A serving of tofu was dressed in a delightfully spicy sauce while green peas balanced out the heat with a hint of sweetness. A happy mound of Napa cabbage also had some spice to it (I think I detected some ginger). An interesting item made with mushroom and some greens wrapped in what felt like phyllo dough – though it was probably layers of soft and crispy tofu skins – was my favorite. Each bite was juicy and mouth-watering. It literally made me salivate as I ate. I’ve never had anything like that before. A side of steamed spinach was kept simple – a welcome contrast to all the other flavors going on. The arrangement of food around a neat mound of brown rice was not only healthy and a joy to my taste buds, but it was definitely beautiful to look at. If you are a meat eater, vegetarian or a vegan, you will definitely enjoy this meal and leave feeling satisfied, full and happy!
Greater Boston Buddhist Cultural Center
950 Massachusetts Aveunue
Cambridge, MA
617-547-6670
Currently based out of Boston, Jesal is a blogger, freelance writer, yoga enthusiast and lifelong vegetarian who spent four years eating her way through New York City and various other cities around the globe. After answering hundreds of emails and phone calls answering the question, "Where's a cool place I can take my vegetarian friend out to eat" she started Veggiewala to efficiently share her knowledge of the vegetarian food scene with curious carnivores, flexitarians and other vegetarians.