Korean Job Discussion Forums

Rteacher · Joined: 23 May 2005 Location: Western MA, USA

... Vegetarian Restaurant? Cool

- Maybe it's this one, located in Juhu Beach, Mumbai (Bombay) India. Their buffets (described elaborately in the following news article) cost in the $4.00 to $5.00 range:

Govinda's Restaurant: Food for the Soul
by BusyBeeForEver.com

Posted January 16, 2006

Today, forget cooking at home. Take the family and head for Juhu, to Govinda's Restaurant at the Harerama Harekrishna Temple complex, for a 56 (repeat 56) course meal, pure vegetarian and blessed by Lord Krishna. And the 56 (chappan bhog) items do not include papads and chutneys as some restaurants do. That's cheating, and there is no cheating in this ethereal restaurant where waiters smile benignly and the soft music played over the public address system is bhajans.

Sundays, they serve 56 items, lunch and dinner, weekdays 35 to 36. Service is buffet and there is no limit, eat as much as you like, anything, everything. The meal costs Rs. 175 on weekdays, Rs. 225 on Sundays, no extras. Lunch is 12.30 to 3.30 , dinner 7.30 to 10.45. But the restaurant does not call them lunch and dinner, they call them prasadam.

I was there earlier in the week, past Centaur, past Holiday Inn, round a sharp bend, and there I was at the gates of ISKCON. A signboard said: "Welcome. Chant and be happy." Govinda, the restaurant is in the main building. A large glass wall shows the temple in the background, silent lifts take the guest rooms upstairs. The restaurant is off the foyer, a large air-conditioned room with wood paneling and Gujarati lacquered chairs and tables. The maitre d'hotel takes you to a vacant table. The extensive buffet is spread out at one end, the dishes neatly labeled. The music is playing 'Hare Rama, Hare Krishna', taking you back to Dev Anand's most successful film. Also Zeenat's. A notice on the wall states: "Krishna Prasadam is not different from Krishna. Please do not waste Krishna Prasadam." Eat heartily, but don't over-serve yourself and waste the food. Sensible. So there I was sitting, very comfortable, tapping my foot to the music, the manager's young son, next to me. The cooks and the waiter were, of course paid. But there were strict rules about them, no smoking, no drinking, no drugs, vegetarians. No, they were not devotees, but slowly they got inculcated into becoming devotees of the temple. There were some foreigners sitting around at other tables and eating. Foreigners undoubtedly, but because of the Hare Rama clothes they were wearing, I could not make out their nationality. There were some Indians also in the large 80-seat restaurant, plus mezzanine. Anybody can visit the restaurant, you don't have to be a devotee, you don't have to be Krishna conscious. And everybody does. Sundays, with all Juhu crowding in, you have to wait for a table. Other days it is easier.

Yes, the food. Bisleri water is served, free. And juices, butter-milk, as welcome drinks, but no cola drinks. No Coke, no Pepsi, sorry Shah Rukh, sorry Sachin. Tea is served during the snack hours, but only herbal tea, no coffee. And instead of chocolate in the pudding, they use carrots. You would know the difference. And no onions and garlic in your food. But make no mistake, the food is tasty, and even spicy, better than most vegetarian food I have eaten. The variety is amazing, and the cuisine is Indian, Chinese, Thai, Italian and Mexican. Naturally, all the cuisine are available at the same meal, you help yourself to a little of this and a little of that. And the menu changes every day. But first, there was the welcome drink. A waiter came with a tray with glasses of buttermilk, lichee, pineapple and watermelon. I selected buttermilk, seasoned with jeera and pepper a nice little tang to it.

We then moved to the buffet area. Instead of thalis, there were large porcelain plates, and each one had three porcelain bowls. Then we made a slow tour of the buffet. Every day there are three types of rice available, pulaos, biryanis, Chinese fried rice, Thai pineapple rice, spinach biryani, Mexican pepper rice, Italian capsicum rice, risotto, rice with cheese balls, plain steamed rice. On Sundays, there are eight to ten rice dishes, which include pasta such as flat noodles. And everyday there are three dals, which range from tur and moong to dahi kadi, dal makhani and dal bati churna. Plus, ten vegetables. Govinda makes its own bread, and there are rotis, parathas, bhakri cheese naan, croissant. Everything is, of course, cooked in pure ghee.

I had a Thai salad (cabbage, capsicum, baby corn, dry whole chilies, vinegar, salt and sugar) and a little bit of Chinese spicy vegetable fruit salad. There were several other salads, but I was paying heed to the notice saying waste not. And I had basket chaat, which was canap?, shaped like baskets and filled with potatoes, paneer, peas. They were small, each one a mouthful, and disappeared fast. They were starters, along with the Gujarati dhoklas, made with besan and black rye, my favourites, soft and yielding, and matka samosas, rounder than the normal samosas, plus spring rolls, crisp, and thankfully without onion, and cream corn, as good as our much harassed Nelson Wang makes.

There was a table filled with chaats: dahiwada, an aromatic pudhina raita, leaving an after-taste of the pudhina, which I had never eaten before and would like to eat again, sev puri. I understand they make a strawberry raita also, in season. Unfortunately, it was not my day or season. All possible vegetables were on display, in a happy marriage of Italian spinach dumpling, Hyderabadi bhindi, the bhindis long and juicy, and Kashmiri dum aloo. Desserts included caramel custard and Thai jelly, plus ice-creams and kulfis.

ISKCON, I am told, has 80 such restaurants spread across the world, and in India there is one at Brindavan and another opening in Delhi. The cooks, led by Dinesh Pujari, the head cook, are all the time experimenting and exchanging recipes with other restaurants. And they cook with a great deal of love and devotion. The music, bhajans, etc., which we were listening to in the restaurant, was also playing in the kitchen to put them in the right frame of mind, I have no doubt about that.

And the most important aspect, I almost forgot. A portion of each dish that is cooked, twice a day, is placed in separate dishes, then taken into a room where there is an altar to Lord Krishna and placed in front of him. It is covered and kept there for20 to 30 minutes, while a pujari chants mantras. Then it is brought back and replaced in the main vessels. Thus all the food gets blessed and becomes a prasad. I returned home, stomach full, soul holy.
BusyBeeForEver.com News Article

Rteacher · Joined: 23 May 2005 Location: Western MA, USA

I posted this while at work, thinking that I would be allowed to go home early since I had no classes scheduled for the afternoon. Since I didn't bring my lunch, I'm now getting hungry because it's getting close to 3 pm, and I only ate a bowl of cereal for breakfast. (OK, I can not tell a lie - I also had a cheese-hummus sandwich on whole-wheat bread and a mixture of sprouts... Rolling Eyes

)

Swiss James · Joined: 26 Nov 2003 Location: Shanghai

Dan The Chainsawman · Joined: 05 May 2005

Sorry but you made me hungry also.

The evil penguin · Posted: Tue Jan 17, 2006 4:23 am Post subject:

laogaiguk · Joined: 06 Dec 2005 Location: somewhere in Korea

Look what you have made me do, defend RTeacher. Rolling Eyes

All he did was give info to a restaurant some people might be interested in and he is being attacked for his vegetarianism. I don't really agree with vegans, but they don't harm anybody (or any animals either Wink

)

Rteacher · Joined: 23 May 2005 Location: Western MA, USA

Thanks "laogaiguk", but it's OK. It's not easy to give up ingrained bad habits - especially when there's so much marketing of how much people are "lovin' it. I'm just glad they at least skimmed the article, and I'm hopeful that at some point they may realize how unnecessary and unmerciful the mass slaughtering of animals is...

The evil penguin · Posted: Tue Jan 17, 2006 7:34 am Post subject:

Dan The Chainsawman · Joined: 05 May 2005

Hey I said I was sorry! I just pointed out that reading about all the good food from Mr. Roger's Happy Tofu House made me hanker for a pork chop or two.

SHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESH!

Now I am for the humane slaughter of animals. I believe we should let them have a last meal and the comfort of a priest of their own kind before we march them down the feed chute and biff them on the head with a hammer.

You know some of my most enlightening moments as a child were slaughtering animals. I learned that living on a farm sucks and I really needed to get a college education. This came about when I had blood up to my elbows and a piece of cow intestine was in my hair.

Still I do agree with one basic basic premise that Rteacher put out in his rants and raves. I do not like the way animals are treated. Hence why I have reduced the amount of meat I eat in my own little way of protesting. Instead I get a high powered rifle and plug forest creatures in the heart from about 500 yards away. Fresh meat on the hoof, and if I am lucky I can get them to run a few hundred yards to the parking lot and bleed out before croaking. Saves me a lot of work later.

sillywilly · Joined: 20 Jan 2003 Location: Canada.

I am no vegetarian but that piece of meat looks like its covered in fat! YUCK! I love vegetarian food, though. never got a chance to go to a vegetarian restaurant, in either Canada or korea. How do they compare?

Rteacher · Joined: 23 May 2005 Location: Western MA, USA

The best listing of vegetarian restaurants in Korea is provided by forum member skinsk05 - http://www.freewebs.com/vegetariankorea/index.htm
She has listed over 100 vegetarian, vegan and vegetarian-friendly restaurants all over Korea.

The ones that I personally go to the most around Seoul are the Sanchon and So-sim in Insa-dong, and the SM Ching Hai near Gangnam ( Yangjae station 342 - exit 5 - then 5 minute bus ride from stop in front of Nike store... 02-576-9637) The Sanchon is the best for atmosphere, and the SM Ching Hai is best for varieties of vegetarian food in its excellent buffet, featuring many kinds of mock meats. And, you can also buy whole wheat bread and cookies and other vegetarian supplies there. There are also several "Country Life" restaurants run by the Seventh Day Adventists, and they also run their own bakery with health-oriented products.

Rteacher · Joined: 23 May 2005 Location: Western MA, USA

Here's a rating of the top vegetarian cities in the U.S.:

Vegetarian-Restaurants.net
2005 Top 16 Best Vegetarian Cities in the USA

1. San Francisco

2. New York City

3. Seattle

4. Portland

5. Los Angeles

6. Eugene

7. Washington DC

8. Honolulu

9. Denver

10. Philadelphia

11. Atlanta

12. Chicago

13. Austin

14. Houston

15. Asheville

16. Orlando
http://www.vegetarian-restaurants.net/Newsletter/BestUSArest2004.htm

Here are the top Canadian cities for vegetarians:

#1 Vancouver, British Columbia

#2 Victoria, British Columbia

#3 Toronto Ontario

#4 Ottawa, Ontario

#5 Winnipeg, Manitoba

#6 Montreal Quebec

#7 Calgary, Alberta
http://www.vegetarian-restaurants.net/Canada/Canada-Best-Vegetarian-Cities.htm

peppermint · Posted: Wed Jan 18, 2006 5:28 am Post subject:

Rteacher · Joined: 23 May 2005 Location: Western MA, USA

At all Hare Krishna (ISKCON) temples there are weekly Sunday Vegetarian Feasts featuring great vegetarian meals, transcendental chanting, and Bhagavad-gita classes. Here's a listing for the U.S. and Canada:

* Indicates vegetarian restaurant in temple.

Canada
Ashcroft, BC - Saranagati Dhama, Box 99, Ashcroft, BC 250-453-2397
Email: [email protected]
Calgary, Alberta - 313 Fourth Street NE
403-265-3302
Edmonton, Alberta - 9353 35th Avenue
403-439-9999;
Email: [email protected]
Montreal, Quebec - 1626 Pie IX Boulevard
514-521-1301
email: [email protected])
*Ottawa, Ontario - 212 Somerset St, E
613-233-1884;
[email protected])
Regina, Saskatchewan -1279 Retallack St
306-525-1640)
*Toronto, Ontario - 243 Avenue Rd
416-922-5415
Email: [email protected]
*Vancouver, B.C. - 5462 S.E. Marine Drive, Burnaby; 604-433-9728
Email: [email protected];
Govinda's Restaurant: 604-433-2428
Email: [email protected]

USA
Alachua, Florida - PO Box 819
904 462-2017; Email: [email protected]
Atlanta, Georgia - 1287 Ponce de Leon Ave, NE 404-378-9234
Email: [email protected]
Austin, Texas - Austin Hare Krishna Center
10700 Jonwood Way, Austin, Texas 78753,
email: [email protected], Phone 512-835-2121.
Baltimore, Maryland - 200 Bloomsbury Ave, Catonsville; 410-744-4069
Berkeley, California - 2334 Stuart St
510-540-9215; Email: [email protected]
Boise, Idaho - 1615 Martha St
208-344-4274
Boston, Massachusetts - 72 Commonwealth Ave 617-247-8611; Email: [email protected]
Carriere, Mississippi (New Talavan) -
ISKCON New Talavan Community, Temple President: His Grace Yogindra Vandana das Adhikari
31492 Anner Rd. • Carriere MS 39426 • 601 749-946
Web Site: http://www.newtalavana.org/
Chicago, Illinois - 1716 W Lunt Ave
773-973-0900; Email: [email protected]
*Dallas, Texas - 5430 Gurley Ave
214-827-6330; email: [email protected]
*Denver, Colorado - 1400 Cherry St
303-333-5461; Email: [email protected]
Detroit, Michigan - 383 Lennox Ave
313-824-6000; Email: [email protected]
Gainsville, Florida - 214 NW 14th
352-336-4183; Email: [email protected]
Gurabo, Puerto Rica - Rte 181
PO Box 1338, Bo. Sta., Rita
787-737-3917
Hartford, Connecticut -
1683 Main St, East Hartford
860-289-7252; Email: [email protected]
Hillsborough, North Carolina -
1032 Dimmocks Mill Rd
919-732-6492
Email: [email protected]
*Honolulu, Hawaii - 51 Coelho Way
808-595-3947
Email: [email protected]
Houston, Texas - 1320 W 34 St
713-686-4482; Email: [email protected]
Kansas City, Missouri - Rupanuga Vedic College, 5201 The Paseo
816-361-6167, 800 340-5286
Email: [email protected]
*Laguna Beach, California - 285 Legion St
949-494-7029; Email: [email protected]
Long Island, New York - 197 S Ocean Ave, Freeport
516-223-4909; Email: [email protected]
*Los Angeles, California - 3764 Watseka Ave 310-836-2676; Email: [email protected]
*Miami Beach, Florida - 2445 Collins Ave
305-442-7218; Email; [email protected]
Moundsville, West Virginia (New Vrindavan) - RD No 1, Box 319, Hare Krishna Ridge
304-843-1600; Email: [email protected]
Mulberry, Tennessee - Murari Project, Rt. No 1, Box 146-A
615-759-6888
Email: [email protected])
New Orleans, Louisiana - 2936 Esplanade Ave 504-486-3583; Email: [email protected]
New York, New York - 305 Schermerhorn St, Brooklyn
718-855-6714; Email: [email protected]
New York, New York - 26 Second Avenue
212-420-1130; Email: [email protected]
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania - 51 W Allens Lane 215-247-4600; Email: [email protected]
*Philadelphia, Pennsylvania - 1408 South St 215-985-9335
Email: [email protected]
Port Royal, Pennsylvania - RD No 1, Box 839 717-527-4101; Email: [email protected]
Phoenix, Arizona - 100 S Weber Dr, Chandler 602-705-4900
Email: [email protected]
Portland, Oregan - 3766 SE Division, Portland, OR 97202, 503.236.6734. Web Site: http://www.iskconpdx.com; Email: [email protected], [email protected]
Queens, New York - 114-37 Lefferts Blvd
848-9010; Email: [email protected])
San Diego, California - 1030 Grand Ave, Pacific Beach
858-483-2500; Email: [email protected]
San Jose, California - 2990 Union Ave
408-559-3197
Seattle, Washington - 1420 228th Ave, SE, Issaquah
425-391-3293; Email; [email protected]
Spanish Fork, Utah - 8628 S State Rd
801-798-3559; Email: [email protected]
St Louis, Missouri - 3926 Lindell Blvd
314-535-8085; Email: [email protected]
Tallahassee, Florida - 1323 Nylic St
850-224-3803
Email: [email protected]
Topanga, California - 20395 Callon Drive
Towaco, New Jersey - PO Box 109
973-299-0970
Email; [email protected]
*Tuscon, Arizona - 711 E Blacklidge Drive
520-792-0630
Email: [email protected]
Washington DC - 10310 Oaklyn Drive, Potomac, Maryland
301-299-2100; Email: [email protected]

* Indicates Vegetarian Restaurant in the temple. For more details see section under state and city in this book.

Hare Krishna Restaurants
Alachua, Florida - Govinda's 14603 Main St
904-462-450
Eugene, Oregon - Govinda's Vegetarian Buffet, 270 W 8th
503-686-3531
Gainesville, Florida - Vegetarian Palace, 2106 SW 34th St
353-378-2955
Greensboro, North Carolina - Govinda's 332 South Tate St
336-373-8809
San Juan, Puerto Rico - Gopal, 201B Calle Teuan, Viejo, San Juan
787-724-0229