Sino Vegetarian Restaurant — Restaurant in Kowloon

Went here tonight for some dinner.. originally wanted to go to Lotus restaurant down the street but it was jam-packed so decided on Sino.

Sino isn't as clean or fancy as Lotus, not as cosy and felt kinda cold. The set-up was very basic, wooden table and chairs, tiled floor, walls looked old.. also the waiters were not friendly, no greeting when we walked in compared to Lotus. They threw a pot of tea and the plates, cups down on our table and then walked away.. no choice on what tea you want. There is also no free starters or snacks here.. definitely a big letdown. Not a very welcoming place.

The food itself is okay, less stuff on their menu compared to other places, and the price is little bit higher than average, plus there is a 10% service charge. Food on the menu is really for main courses only, the type you would have for dinner.. not much choice for snacks or smaller portions. The meal we ordered is filling, but quite expensive. They only gave sesame soup at the end. We only ordered 3 dishes and the total was $225. Don't recommend coming here.. Lotus down the block offers more stuff for cheaper price, quality is better, plus free starters/snacks and also dessert. The staff over there are nicer than the ones here. Not surprised Sino restaurant was half empty and Lotus was packed...

We had a decent afternoon meal at Sino up until we got the check. It was supposed to be half-off food for tea time yet our server charged us in full. I reminded her that it’s half-off (there’s a sign outside) then she left and came back with an adjusted check. We paid the check and I headed to the bathroom and she was signaling me that the way out is the other way, which is weird because I have asked her earlier where the restroom was and clearly, there was only one entrance/exit so it seems like she was just trying to kick me out. Anyways, I said I am gonna use the bathroom but she was still signaling out but then the other server saw and signaled me to the bathroom.

After I got out of the bathroom (with no toilet paper), I washed my hands and as I was leaving the restroom area, the other server splashed water on my legs. Though accidentally (I think), it was odd that they were just throwing water towards the toilets?!

Anyways, we will definitely not be...

Pretty good place, nice ambience and vibe.

I ordered the rice noodle hotpot and it was quite nice - one of the better ones I’ve had. However, I felt the soya-sauce taste was a bit too much in the “mince” part but there was a nice sharp vegetal flavor from some kind of grass which was nice.

I also got some Japanese tea - genmaicha…it was my first time having this tea and it tasted a little weird. More like a grain tea rather than leaf tea. The service was very nice!

DO NOT attempt to use the washroom.

I shall be back to try...