Splendid Essence Restaurant — Restaurant in Charlottetown

In Charlottetown for a night and we were looking for some good options for a vegetarian and a vegan and much to our surprise we found this little gem. I was not expecting a vegetarian or a vegan friendly place in Maritimes and definitely not in PEI.

Were seated quickly and the place wasn't busy, but tables were filled in which was as a good indicator. Disappointed that green tea is not offered complimentary. Ordered a steamed dumplings to start with and Udon Noodles with mixed veggies, Mushrooms with Bok Choy, Spicy Soy Nuggets with mixed veggies.

The dumpling were freshly made and good. The filling needed some more seasonings and were bit smaller than the ones we have added. The Chilli Sauce requested did the trick. The Steamed Rice provided with the two dishes was also smaller than anticipated and glad that we ordered the Noodles dish. After traveling for days and not having proper food, this food was a welcome relief.

The udon noodles was perfect in every way except I think one of the mushroom or wood ears had a stronger flavour which over powered the entire dish. It was almost bitter. Not overly, but it still took away all the rest of the flavours.

Mushrooms with Bok Choy was perfect. The flavours and crispness of Bok Choy was 5/5*. The Soy Nuggets with mixed veggies was amazing as well. The Soy nuggets small and veggie still crisp. Could have used a bit more spice though

All in all a good spot. What was most amazing to me was that in the land of sea food that there was this place.

Also as we were in PEI, it would have been nice if at least one dish was made with PEI potatoes and some Soy Sea Food dishes that...

This was honestly a pleasant surprise.

It's vegetarian chinese food.

We ordered a tofu dish, a potato croquettes stew, radish cake and radish pastry.

All of it was superb.

The tofu dish had a rich flavor and awesome texture. The portion was generous (easily enough for 2)

The potato croquettes were great as well they were crispy outside and soft inside the cabbage base was tasty and sweet.

The radish cake and pastry were perfectly cooked and the texture was superb for both. With the cake being my favorite, the texture was mildly crispy and really consistent and smooth inside and not overly salty, just right.

The location is good, fairly central.

Staff were good and courteous, service was a bit slow but it was during dinner hours.

Price was good as well considering the size of the mains.

Interior was well done and well lit.

Overall...

This was a horrible experience. In total we waited over 1 hour and 15 minutes to receive our order.

As soon as we arrived we decided what we would order, and we ordered it. About 15-20 minutes later a party with reservations arrived. We were treated like we were less important. After about an hour we realized they were receiving the same stuff we had previously ordered. We confronted the server and she was very rude to us about it. The server and other workers didn’t have a good attitide. We were treated as LESS important as the others. We were never told that they wouldn’t even begin to make our food until like 50 minutes later. We were not Impressed by the portions. It was OVERPRICED and you received hardly enough food to fill a toddler. We did NOT tip the rude, moody, and ignorant staff. I will NEVER go again, unless they improve...