Wednesday 2 April 2008

Earth



With Tibet in the news, I had a brainstorm and headed to the Manchester Buddhist Centre in search of sustenance, if not enlightenment. I know Tibet is not a country but it is 'an ethnic autonomous region' and that's close enough, as is the Buddhist Centre being its representative in Manchester. The attached cafe is called 'Earth' and sells reasonable vegetarian food at reasonable prices. Not being of the Buddhist or vegetarian faith, I felt like the Devil taking Mass and ordered the Lentil and Veg stew.

If the Chinese Authorities recently described the protesting monks as 'the scum of Buddhism', then the stew could equally be described as 'the gruel of Buddhism'. If I had to eat this everyday, I would protest too. It was as bland as Kundun. No wonder I once witnessed a Buddhist monk, in his full robes, tuck into a hearty plateful of roast beef and yorkshire pud.

1 comment:

Paul said...

Well, if you choose a bland dish, it's going to be... bland!

I've eaten there loads of times and always enjoyed the food. A bit less flavour than 8th Day I think (but there are other dishes that are spicier), but it's also a bit cheaper. Cheapest veggie food I know is Burlington Rooms near John Rylands, but I think you'd find that bland too. Plus they're not country-themed, so you wouldn't eat there anyway (I still think Sand Bar was cheating :-P ).

Anyway, it's not about the food. It's about the Karma. Ommmm.

Hope to see you soon, I've been busy recently but hopefully will once again soon be frequenting cornerhouse of an early evening