Square Lotus, Bellevue WA

After running a few errands in Bellevue one day we decided to go back to Square Lotus for dinner since we enjoyed it so much the last time. We started with the shredded tofu rolls - Rice paper wrapped with shredded fried tofu, lettuce, rice noodles, and potatoes. Served with peanut sauce and topped with ground peanut. They were delicious, and if you read any of my other posts you know I love fresh rolls and it is hard to go wrong there.


Then we decided to try the sesame beef since it was soo delicious at Blossom Vegetarian in Renton. This one was alright, not as good as Blossom's version. The mock meat was good, and the flavors were nice but....I think if we wouldn't have had the other one I would have enjoyed it a lot more.


And finally we tried the yellow curry -  fried tofu cooked in yellow curry paste and coconut milk with broccoli, carrots, potatoes, and white onions. This was also good, but I think I like the square lotus curry we tried last time better. This was tasty and I really enjoyed it, I just like more veggies in my curry.

Overall - Square Lotus is a great option if you are in Bellevue and need somewhere to eat. It is in a strip mall and you can very easily miss it if you do not know it is there, but give it a try if you are in the area. 

Zen Yai Noodles, Bellevue WA

We had a coupon for Zen Yai Noodles in Bellevue so we decided to go check it out. They do not have a large vegetarian menu, but there are a few options. We tried the Royal Tofu Noodles - steamed small rice noodles, vegetables, fresh tofu and fried tofu topped with peanut sauce. This was better than I had expected. The peanut sauce was not the best I have ever had, but ti was good. The veggies crisp and I like that they have fresh and fried tofu in all of the dishes instead of just fried tofu.


We also tried the veggie udon - vegetables, fresh tofu, fried tofu and udon noodles in a clear broth. I've never had an udon noodle soup before, and I rarely have udon noodles themselves, so I wanted to try something different.


We were sharing so they gave us some small bowls. This was really light. The broth was not really flavorful, but had a really light flavor. The veggies were crisp still and the noodles tasty. It felt really healthy - healthier than most noodle dishes we get.

Overall - Zen Yai seems to try and make healthier Asian food than you normally get while eating out. It was tasty, but had light flavors.

Square Lotus, Bellevue Wa

From Vegan Gastrobot

We don't often venture over to Bellevue, but we had an event to go to so we decided to find someplace to eat close by. While looking for options I found Square Lotus and decided to try it out since it reminded me of Moonlight Cafe. I was hoping it would be just as good and... it was much better! We ordered some veggie summer rolls which had tofu, carrots, jicima and rice noodles served with a peanut sauce. These were really good, but fresh rolls usually are (they are one of my favorite foods).

From Vegan Gastrobot

We also ordered the square lotus veggie curry - veggie chicken in green curry with bell peppers, eggplants, green beans, and basil served with brown rice. I like most curries - most of them taste similar and are quite good. This one was amazing! They use the same mock meats as Moonlight Cafe and I have no idea what they did different, but whatever it is it works. It was super creamy and so so good. I would definitely recommend this.

From Vegan Gastrobot

We also tried the Vietnamese rice noodles. I know the photo doesn't look very good, but again this was amazing! The flavor was light, but it was probably one of my favorite rice noodle dishes I have ever had. Everything was cooked perfectly.

Overall - Square Lotus doesn't look like much from the outside. It is in the corner of a strip mall, but the food is fantastic! Highly recommend dining here if you are in the area. Everything we had was unbelievably good.