Happy Buddah (CLOSED)

Flushing has long been hailed as a major destination for authentic Chinese cuisine. Happy Buddha, specializing in vegetarian and organic creations, attempts to give the old formula a modern spin with a snazzy silver juice bar and bamboo plants. We started off with the chef’s signature platter, a mix-and-match appetizer that included a standout taro cake and an ordinary vegetable bun and fried dumpling. The organic items, we learned, are oddly hidden at the bottom of the back of the menu. The Happy Buddha nori roll sounded like one of the best of the bunch, but it turned out to be a bland mess of brown rice, avocado, carrot and shiitake mushrooms oozing with a mayonnaise-like sauce. Entrées fared better: Sweet sesame bites of faux chicken were nice and crunchy, while the zhi zhi “beef,” slathered in homemade barbecue sauce, looked like a juicy pot roast and had a surprisingly meaty texture—two dishes that must have been what made the Buddha so happy.