In Singapore, there is also a Foguangshan Temple and there is a cafe called Dishuifang in the temple. They have a branch in Seoul too and they also opened a cafe that is also called Dishuifang. (Note: this is listed as "Di Shuei Restaurant" in Happy Cow)
After spending a morning at Bonguensha, I decided to head to Dishuifang for lunch. The temple is literally a stone throw away from the Dongguk University station. Once I step out of the station exit, I saw the sign to the temple.
 |
| You can see the sign pointing to Dishuifang once you come out of exit 2 of Dongguk Universitry. Just turn into the alley the sign points to. Unfortunately the signs are in Korean and Chinese only. The English words "Tea House" in small letters under the Chinese words "di shui fang" (滴水坊). I hope this picture helps. |
The temple looked closed and I hesitated a while before I pushed through the door. There was no body around. But I saw the sign that the tea house was in the basement level. As I was about to go down the stairs a nun came out the office. She was very friendly and spoke something in Korean, before asking in English if I was here to eat. She told me the cafe was down the the stairs.
Being a Buddhist, I went into the shrine hall and paid respects to the Buddha before heading to the cafeteria. The cafeteria was quite busy the first day I was there.
I wasn't sure if the staff were Koreans or Taiwanese, so I spoke English at first and they had some problem understanding. Then they spoke to each other in Mandarin, I realized that they are from Taiwan. That solved the language problem!
They had an all-you-can-eat lunch buffet that can be had for 6000W. There was also a menu from which I can order main courses like noodles. The buffet spread looked good so I decided to have the buffet. But then I got greedy and order pot stickers too (5000W).
The food here is Taiwanese Chinese food, home-cooked style. There were 5 to 6 simple but delicious dishes. There was also soup and fruits.
 |
| Inside the restaurant. Cozy environment. The dishes are laid out on the table and you help yourself to what you like. |
 |
| Mix grain rice with various dishes home-cooked style. The soup was the best. It had lots of stuff in it: barley, lotus seeds, TVP, and various Chinese herbs. |
The only Korean dish was a bowl of daikon kimchi that appear to be still fermenting as it was fizzling with bubbles.
I thoroughly enjoyed the meal. The best of all the spread was really the soup. I keep going back for more. I must have had 4 or 5 bowls of the soup.
 |
| Pot stickers (10 per order) 5000W. The filling is a mixture of mock ham and cabbage and other vegies. Nothing really fantastic about the filling. But the skin is good. The underside is crispy and the top side is chewy (QQ according to the Taiwanese). It was served hot and will make a very good snack. |
I was back again on the day of my departure. It was very quiet and I was the only guest there. The other table was the nun and the temple staff. So the buffet spread was also the meal for the temple staff. The dishes were all different this time. There was a stewed peanut which I overhead that it had been stewed for two days.
I must say 6000W for all-you-eat buffet is a real steal. While the dishes are simple, they are really good and with home-cooked goodness. However, I do find the dishes tend to be a little bit salty.
The down side is that it mainly Chinese food. So while you are in Korean, you do want to try Korean food right?
For Chinese Buddhist, the good thing is that the temple serves strict Buddhist vegetarian fare, i.e. no eggs, no garlic/onion/chives/leek. Milk products is acceptable in Chinese Buddhist vegetarianism, but not common. I was talking to someone at Dishuifang and they were tell me that the Korean Temple food may contain garlic/onion/chives/leek. So far, I have found chives in the Temple food. Haven't encountered garlic and onion yet.
They are open from 11:30am to 7pm daily except Sunday. They had started a lunch buffet earlier this year. The lunch buffet is served from 11:30 - 2pm. You can order from the menu if you come at other time. Unfortunately, they close quite early for dinner.
No comments:
Post a Comment