Journey to Hong Kong - INDULGING IN HONG KONG: Po Lin Monastery (宝莲禅寺), Lantau Island

The skies were overcast. Rain fell gently. Our plans were thwarted. We had wanted to take the Ngong Ping cable car up to Ngong Ping, Lantau Island to visit the Tian Tan Buddha Statue. Unfortunately, it was closed for maintenance when we were there. *Groan*.

We took the next alternative, a coach ride up. It was a long ride. We circled the island, going up, dipping low. Forests, lakes, houses, sea, flashed past us. You could also catch glimpses of the massive statue, its back, its sides, the front, and then it was obscured by foliage and greenery again. I slept, I stared aimlessly out the bus window, I took pictures, I listened to my iPod, I played games on my iPod. By my estimation, it took about an hour and a half to reach Ngong Ping. The rain had stopped, but it was still cloudy and strong gusts of wind blew. I don’t mind the weather though. I’m agreeable with the cold.

We gave Ngong Ping village a miss and headed straight for the statue, which is situated 268 steps from where we were. Before making the climb, we purchased tickets for a vegetarian meal at Po Lin Monastery. It is akin to going to a vegetarian restaurant for a meal, but you have no choice in the dishes. The only way that you can exercise your choosing rights is to select between VIP or normal seats (cheap thrill). I believe they serve the same dishes. We voted VIP, which does not cost much more.

I will not describe the view or my impressions of Tian Tan Buddha simply because, (1) you really have to go see it for yourself, and (2) this post is really about the food.

Before I delve into an account of the meal, I have to inform you that my knowledge and experience with vegetarian food has been touch-and-go at best. I probably ate two full-fledged vegetarian meals in my entire life (discounting the times I had vegetarian bee-hoon). Full-fledged vegetarian meal is one with a bowl of rice complemented by a few dishes to eat with, only that the dishes are vegetarian. The two meals I had consist of not only vegetables, but mock meat as well. It is truly baffling. Why eat mock meat if you want to go vegetarian? However, I do concede that mock meat comes in handy when a new convert is still in the process of ‘adapting’ to his/her new diet. For example, a mock meat burger will satisfy a new vegetarian who has a sudden hankering for a non-vegetarian cheeseburger.

Po Lin Monastery.

Anyway, the vegetarian meal I had at Po Lin Monastery altered my mindset about vegetarian food! There is no mock meat whatsoever, just glorious renditions of well thought-out dishes of vegetables. The dishes are well seasoned (I highly doubt they use MSG) and very tasty, comparable to an expensive meal in a non-vegetarian Chinese restaurant. It is really good!

Soup.

There were four dishes plus one soup paired with a bowl of rice. I am useless when it comes to making food sound good but I will try. I supposed the soup is a mock shark’s fin soup but there is no mock shark’s fin in it. Just strips of crunchy vegetables swimming in flavourful broth. You can add extra seasoning (pepper and vinegar) if you wish.

Fried bean curd skin drenched in lemon sauce.

One is a dish made out of overlapping bean curd skin to form a thick chewy ‘pastry’ cut into square bite-sized pieces and deep-fried. It is served with a thick semi-sweet semi-sour lemon sauce that lends some zing to the fried pieces of bean curd ‘squares’. I assume that it is a replication of the ‘lemon sauce chicken’ dish. But like I said, no mock meat is served in this meal.

Crunchy crunchy veg.

The second dish is a plate of simple stir-fried vegetables. The dish consists of sweet snow pea, celery, red and yellow capsicum, mushroom (I could not identify what variety these are), and cashew nut to add flavour. If you noticed, every component is crunchy, imparting a wonderful texture to the dish. It is delicious.

Stir-fry lettuce with shitake mushrooms.

The third dish is the unfussy stir-fried lettuce topped with black shitake mushrooms in a semi-viscous sauce (oyster sauce?). This is a mixture of texture, chewy mushrooms and slightly crunchy lettuce.

Fried spring roll.

The last dish is a little unremarkable but no less tasty. It is deep-fried spring roll with shredded carrots and turnips. It is also a tad too oily, but hey, all veggie dishes for the meal, what could be healthier?

We really enjoyed our meal. Everything is fresh and well made. Overall, a satisfying meal! You should really go have a taste when you’re at Lantau Island.

For more info on the meal: http://www.plm.org.hk/eng/food.php