I recently tried out being vegetarian after watching a Netflix documentary. To my surprise, very little restaurants cater for Vegetarians/Vegans and if they say they do… what they mean is that it is just fries or a side dish.
Waterdrop Cafe is by far one of the most talked-about places in Auckland for those interested in reducing their meat intake. To have the ability to enjoy Chinese food that isn’t full of pork and meat is a real treat as they managed to preserve the flavour and experience.
Taking this a step further, to enter the cafe, one must enter the Fo Guang Shan Buddist temple which is one of New Zealand’s biggest Buddhist temples and definitely adds to the experience. I would suggest taking a tour/walk around the temple, you are able to understand the history, values and beliefs of these settlors and how they see the world.
Examples of what you can experience are learning single-brush caligraphy, sending messages of peace and love and visit the various gardens they look after.
To my surprise, I learnt about this restaurant from my non-vegetarian friends who all said they couldn’t taste the difference but also really enjoyed their meals. As a vegetarian, it did not disappoint and even better, I learnt a thing or two about Buddhist traditions.
We tried Shumai which is normally a pork/shrimp filled item, this one and many other items on the menu use a soybean alternative which provides a unique experience to meat.
Definitely aiming to visit again and edit this post with more photos and activities available!
Thanks for sharing this. Do you have a photo of the place you went to? Maybe you can link the Google Maps location as well so other Local Guides can also take a look.
How long have you tried being without meat? How is this experience for you? There are many benefits from being a vegetarian not only for the human body but also for our nature. I’ve been a vegetarian for almost 18 years now and I don’t really think about it, but it’s hard sometimes when you’re eating at restaurants as not many have cool dishes to offer.
Edited the post according to your suggestion! Was definitely just testing the waters for this forum as it is my first post
I initially started only five months ago in November 2019, it started off as a trial to see if I’d notice anything but turned out being a lot better then I expected (and trust me, I was a very heavy meat-eater!). Only bad thing is that I miss out on some of the meals that I use to love but instead, this diet has me exploring new foods and flavours I wouldn’t have discovered otherwise!
I have felt more awake and energetic throughout the day which I’d never expect and also less hungry Wonder if this was similar/the same for you?
@HashtagBing Thanks! Looks absolutely great now and it’s nice to see the place you’re talking about as well. Maybe some Local Guides have also visited.
About the diet, absolutely got the same feelings. I used to be really tired and I had digestive problems, and when I cut it off, I noticed all these changes within a week almost. I was much more energetic and didn’t feel tired. Also my skin cleared out. But it’s different with everyone. You can be healthy eating meat as well. People just need to pay more attention and eat less processed food in general.
