CLOSED - Blossom Vegetarian (Chinese)

Update 2019-Nov-29: Unfortunately Blossom is no more, as per both Yelp and Google Maps (we were planning on returning.) I called and confirmed they are indeed gone.

Blossom Vegetarian Cuisine is located at 9425 Leslie Street in Richmond Hill, the municipality that borders Toronto in the central-north, just northwest of Hwy. 404's 16th Ave. exit. We went for weekday lunch. Blossom is vegetarian in the Chinese Buddhist tradition; it appeared that only two customers there other than us weren't of Chinese background. Blossom has a pay-first policy; there is a back exit to the adjoining mall so they may have had problems with "dine-and-dash." It was very full when we arrived and there was a twenty minute wait for a table. Blossom has a nice interior with very high ceilings and artwork on the walls. Reusable chopsticks are available at the sushi bar. Pop is $2 per can, not AYCD. Soy sauce at the sushi station was very salty but fresh. However there is a filtered water station with ice at the front which sufficed nicely; this is a good idea as it prevents wasting the servers' time bringing water.

Spring rolls were good but a bit dry. Mishy loved the noodles with their smoky flavor. She did not like the wood ear fungus (due to the spicing) but I'm used to it and did. Hot and sour soup was good although neither hot or sour though, however it was just starting to go burnt. Mishy loved the mock salmon maki roll, and said it was just like salmon. Pickle roll was very good, yam roll excellent and delicious, cucumber roll very good, unknown marbled square roll was very good, mock salmon roll was amazing.

Noodle wrap and mock sweet-and-sour pork were excellent and we both loved them. French fries were good, did not expect them here. Asian quinoa salad was very good, the cilantro stood out. Arrowood soup was very good, like a bean soup with mushroom notes. Soy noodle wrap was excellent, nice smokey flavor as Mishy noted. Stir-fry noodle with ham and egg were good, nice flavor and texture of the mock meat. I also loved the mock pork chop although it unfortunately ran out so I was only able to have a tiny portion. I noted that the trays are not filled through lunch if they run out a few sat empty with over an hour left for lunch.

Stir-fry black pepper sauce vegetables were very good also with tasty mock meat (probably sangkan.) Vegetable rice was good and fragrant, especially with a little soy sauce added. Tulip pudding (radish, flour and curry) was excellent. Szechuan eggplant was very good, at least for eggplant, in a nice sauce. Seasonal vegetables and bean slices were very good with sankan slices or soybean. Braised radish with mock meat slices were excellent; the five-spice seasoning and mock meat were again very good  touches. Golden dumplings were delicious with a subtle plum-like flavor. Red bean paste was excellent, with a wonderful flavor from the bean paste like the best red bean ice cream that is hard to find. Vegetable dumplings were excellent with plenty of shiitake mushroom which was delicious.  Taro stew was good and rather exotic, tasted also of coconut. Curried mock fish balls were quite good in their curry sauce.

For dessert, guava jelly was excellent as well as lychee jelly; both are unique to Blossom, as well as chia seed pudding with peanut butter and almond milk, which was a fantastic, excellent flavor combination that became chocolaty. Also, pineapple, grapes and peach slices are available. I didn't get a chance to try the DIY noodle bar unfortunately, but hoping to in a future visit. We both had a fantastic lunch at Blossom and the lunch price of $12.88 is amazingly good… excellent value. The food all seems to be very healthy and we would be delighted to return.

Rating: 9-9.5/10