My eldest daughter and I were visiting the Hsi Lai Temple a couple weekends ago. We spent a few hours at this Buddhist temple. It's free to get in. Parking is free, too. When it was close to noonish, we decided to eat at its Dining Hall. They offer an All-You-Can-Eat (AYCE) vegetarian lunch buffet for $10 per person. Wow, what a deal of a meal! Love it. Open times may vary either at 11:30 AM or 12:00 PM depending on the day. Closing time varies, too, at 1:30 PM or 2:00 PM. Please be mindful... no photos or videos are allowed inside the dining hall. Hence, I only took one picture of the front door from the outside. It's a huge dining hall with lots of tables and chairs. It's very bright and super clean. Sanitizers were available on the tables for use. The buffet station had some good vegetarian food choices like white rice, chow mein noodles, bean curd with veggies, baby bok choy, fried taro, a variety of different soups, and various fruits like star fruits, apples, grapefruits, etc. Water to drink. Everything and I mean everything was so delicious and light. I went back for seconds. I was informed that the food choices are not always the same every time, but similar. A good reason to come back here to eat again and again. Staff was very friendly and nice. There is a donation box inside the dining hall if you choose to contribute and give thanks. Btw, they sell AYCE vegetarian buffet vouchers at $10 each. I plan to return here to buy some of the lunch vouchers as gifts to family and friends. I highly recommend anyone who is visiting this temple to come try their AYCE vegetarian lunch buffet. It's very very good! Trust me on this one. See you here!!

Delicious food and good hospitality. Our university student group had a wonderful time visiting the temple and enjoyed the lunch. Would definitely come back!

My bf and I visited Hsi Lai Temple for lunch on a Saturday at 11:30 am. I checked the website to review the visitor rules, which include a modest dress code: no sleeveless shirts, bare legs, or open-toed shoes. Onsite parking was free. Credit card was accepted at the payment register. For $10 per person, we each received a raffle ticket to be placed in a container at the end of the buffet line. I don't think the buffet is AYCE since the ticket acts as your proof of purchase. In any case, I only asked for the amount that I planned to eat so that I didn't waste any food. You can ask for more or less of each dish. In general, the textures on my plate consisted of dry carbs soaking up the saucy or stewed entrees. Except for the fried snack, the buffet food was not as oily as I remembered. - Chow mein was good. - Braised burdock root. OMG! This was the best burdock root I've ever had in my LIFE! With the skin removed, the root tasted more delicate. I never knew that such a fibrous root could be so TENDER and JUICY and umami. It fully absorbed the soy sauce braising liquid, which had a hint of spiciness that could have come from doubanjiang (fermented bean paste). - Braised daikon radish. This was also very good. I tasted the sweet notes of daikon without any of the fart smell (it's cruciferous)! - Stir fry bell pepper with vegetarian meat. The peppers were crisp and contrasted with the fake meat, which had a good chewy texture. - Taiwanese A Vegetable(?). The vegetable was cooked like a wetter stir fry and on the bland side. - Fried snack. They reminded me of chicharrones de harina. They were covered in oil and trapped even more grease in the middle. - Soup was just okay. The ingredients were similar to hot and sour soup, but the taste was mostly tangy and not spicy. Outside the dining hall, I saw a wheel cake stall selling red bean and custard cakes for about $2-3 each (cash only). I tried the custard version; it was alright. The batter was undercooked for my liking, and the custard was too sweet.

I truly enjoy every moment I get to spend at Hsi Lai Temple, and even more so, their vegetarian lunch buffet. I recently satisfied my cravings by going with my kiddo. We both enjoyed their braised tofu dish. There was lotus root, wood ear, carrots, stir fry greens, chow mein, brown/white rice, different savory soups, fruits, etc. I enjoy the ambiance the dining hall creates. It encourages mindfulness of the meal we are consuming, and it's just soooo serene and joyful. I highly recommend this place!

I am only in my 2nd year of being a vegetarian so this was my first experience with a vegan/vegetarian Buffett. I found the food to be seasonless and bland for $10 but healthy to eat. Not too many choices to pick from. I really loved the plant version of meat and wished I had gotten a bigger portion of that on rice. There were no desserts except slices of oranges and mangoes which were tough to eat. I didn't like the very crowded seating arrangements. I was practically touching arms with a complete stranger next to me. I went into the tea room next door which was very nice and had separate tables after my meal and had a nice experience there ordering a pot of tea for my son and I for only $6 and there were free refills.

Very good vegan buffet food. The right price. The temple grounds are beautiful. Close parking. On a clear day, you can see the San Gabriel Valley.

It's been so long since I had Hsi Lai temple food. I missed great delicious vegetarian food. This is a great place to grab inexpensive lunch before CNY ends.

All you can eat for $10. Opens at 11:30am to 1:30pm. It was an interesting experience, no doubt. This place is super clean and does not believe in wasting any leftover food. Every food item you placed on your plate, you eat it. They believe in hygiene. There's a sanitizer bottle on every table. The food was good. It was a lot of veggies. Just look at my plate. They emserve whatever they have on hand. I think most of the food was from donations. So there were donuts, oranges, apples, soups, different veggies, and the one I liked most was the meatless flat noodles. It was tasty. I didn't go back for seconds. I was stuffed. Not only do you get to enjoy the food but also the beautiful scenery as you walk up the temple. The parking is free. Go early if you can to get a parking space. If not, then park on the residential street. Great experience. Go check this place out.

Amazing decor as you walk in to see the Temple If you can get up the stairs there is an elevator on the right hand side of the stairs. The Food is amazing absolutely delicious for 10$ on weekdays they close at 130 and weekend 230. Stop by here for an all you can eat buffet especially when times are tough and need to save some money