The Wheel Of Life

Food is great with a good amount of variety and excellent prices. I just had the lunch buffet, everything tasted delicious and full of flavor. Very efficient friendly service. Will be back.

It was my first time here yesterday and my boyfriend and I ordered take out on the way home from the beach. He got the pad see you and I got the pad Thai. We also got a small tom kha gai soup. I’m probably butchering all these words, sorry in advance. Everything was good. I really recommend the pad Thai. I wasn’t a fan of the tofu that came in it. It was a bit bland. But the soy chicken was delicious. At first bite, I thought it was real meat. I would definitely come back to try other things on the menu. Next time we’ll dine in :)

I’m giving this place a 5 star cuz I honestly didn’t eat anything that wasn’t delicious. I’m not vegan and this is my fist vegan restaurant I’ve eaten at. So much flavor in their dishes. The spicy crispy chicken was my favorite. Definitely coming back.

Great vegan Thai food. Period. Great fried rice, curries. Only complaint– Went early on Saturday night when owners weren’t there & the Asian woman covering literally talked non stop the entire time to her coworker having personal conversation in the back booth super loud. Very distracting & ruined any atmosphere.

Came here with my friend who eats only Kosher dishes so i wasn’t too sure what too expect.
Not too bad for a thai restaurant that does not serve meat in any of its dishes. I ordered from the buffet selection which included a variety of non meat kosher dishes including beef and brocolli, orange chicken and a large selection of vegetables.
Make no mistake if your looking for real meat, I assure you, you won’t find it here. What you will find is orange chicken that if you weren’t told its not chicken, you’ll think your eating at Panda Express.
Great variety of food and portion sizes are ok. A little on the pricey side but i imagine that would be due to the preparation and quality you get. Plus thier aren’t many vegetarian Kosher thai restaurants close by so they’ve cornered the market.
Great service and good tasting quality food that tastes like the real thing.

Really enjoyed the food here. Pad Thai tasted flavorful and the soups are amazing. The eggplant basil was recommended by many Unilocalers but it was incredibly bland.

This is an inexpensive restaurant and the décor is old, but the food tastes great.
We often get take out here, and sometimes eat in.
Our favorites: roti, meatball Tom Kah noodle soup and the Pad Thai. The latter is nothing like what you get elsewhere but still great.
Good food even if you are not vegan, and a rare Jen if you are.

Today happened to be Buddhist day (I somewhat follow Buddhist principles, but don’t call myself a Buddhist) and since I and some friends were going to visit a Buddhist Temple later today, I figured out of respect I should eat vegetarian today. Hmmm… I’m so used to my Panera and El Pollo Loco, so where to find good vegetarian food in Irvine eh? I Unilocal’d suggestions and came up with this place. Reviews were not bad, their online menu looked interesting, and the prices reasonable… so there I headed.
I was rather familiar with this strip mall as I’d dined at a few other outlets here, so it was convenient… the parking lot can get full, but so far I’ve always been able to find a few within minutes.
Upon entering the restaurant I was pleasantly surprised that this place was kind of cute, clean, and cozy… kind of got a country diner type ambiance to it… kind of. I was immediately greeted by a nice young man who seated me right away, brought me the menu, and took my drink order. I’d already browsed their menu online so had an idea of what I wanted to order. I went ahead and played safe and ordered the cashew «chicken» and an order of the pan fried spinach buns.
I was pleasantly surprised that everything tasted very yummy! Yes, it was fake chicken likely made from soya bean, but the dish as a whole was probably as tasty as you’d get at any other decent Chinese restaurant. The spinach buns were actually very good… light and fluffy bun with a brown light crisp at the bottom, fresh and steaming hot on the inside. Ok, it could have had a bit more of the spinach filling, but overall it was still good. And yes, I finished everything!
Because of the buns, my bill came out to a bit more than I had expected, but that’s the way vegetarian places usually are because of the extra work involved in preparing the vegetarian food… no, vegetarian does not just mean stir fried chopped vegetables!
Anyway, I didn’t expect too much from this vegetarian lunch, but turned out I really quite enjoyed it.

I don’t usually give mediocre scores to vegan restaurants… but this one deserves nothing more than 3 stars. And that 3^rd star they earned only due to the friendliness of the staff. Servers are incredibly nice.
Now…the food. Why in the world would anyone hope to see an array of fake meat alternatives at a vegan restaurant? What’s the point; just serve actual meat, at least it will be less processed than the soy alternatives in the offering. Another remark on the menu — food here is extremely oily and salty. It tastes good, no doubt about that… but this is not a vegan restaurant I will be recommending to anyone. You know what? Forget that 3^rd star, 2 is fitting. 2 stars, I say.

The food is pretty nice
Tastes are typical thai tastes, you wouldn’t make out any difference
An old couple maintains this place, they cud really use some help but the place is dng well so far
Go for the combo and try all the curries
Come back and grab what u loved

The service here is great! The portions are small for a Thai place and the prices are pretty high, but considering it is all vegan, that’s not surprising.
I had the pad thai and the fresh spring rolls. The pad thai was pretty spicy and it was only a small plate, but it was pretty good — the «chicken» tasted awesome!
The spring rolls were all right. Kind of dry since they were packed full of veggies. Four of them came out to like 8 or 9 dollars, I believe :/​Pretty expensive.
I would come back only once in a while. It’s decent food and good service, but the prices (considering the portion sizes) don’t seem worth it.

Okayish place. Maybe could have spiced up a few things for vegans. Need not have food so bland

Ordered take out.
Orange chicken was tasty, texture is just like chicken. Pad see ew was delicious. The «beef» again had great texture. The hot sauce provided went well with the entrée.
I will definitely come back to try the other dishes. Maybe curry!

I’m from SD so I always love trying fusion vegan restaurants. Happy that there’s one in Irvine since I go to school here. Great to eat for lunch! I had the pad Thai and it tasted pretty good! The protein to noodle portion was on point. The spice level was perfect (even though I did add more spice). If they added a slice of like for me it would’ve been great! The staff was friendly. Restaurant located next to daiso. Will be back to try different dishes (:

Buddhist Vegetarians BEWARE!
This place is vegan, but not pure vegetarian by Buddhist standards as the front window sign proclaims.
Food portions are small, flavor is alright and the price is high for what you get. Menu says daily lunch special, but it’s only T-​F. Entrees do not come with rice, $ 2.30 for a tiny bowl. If you’re not hungry two people can get by with one bowl.
Will not be returning.

Vegan Thai and Chinese food. I love having options like this for when I feel like indulging. It’s not the healthiest, and some dishes are more successful than others in imitating their non-​vegan counterparts, but this place is worth a try. My favorites are the orange chicken and the pad see ew (which comes with fake beef and the most delicious broccoli you’ve ever tasted). The pad thai is also tasty, if you like spicy food.

Food:
BBQ spare ribs — 2 stars. I do NOT recommend… it was very thin and the consistency of the «meat» was squishy and unpleasant. It kind of tasted like bad bbq pork?
House fried rice — 3.5 stars. I really liked the crunchy «meat» they added, I don’t know what it was supposed to taste like, I think maybe chicken? But it tasted really good and it went very well with the fried rice they served. I didn’t like the «shrimp» on it however. The portions of everything were a little on the small side though.
Pad see ew — 3 stars. Not bad not that great. Tasted like a less salty pad see ew I normally get at other Thai restaurants. The beef tasted like real beef though.
Chocolate cheesecake — 5 stars. OMG I can’t believe I was able to find a vegan cheesecake that was actually good! I admit the first bite wasn’t that great because it was a little soggy, but after that initial tip of the cheesecake the rest of it was absolutely delectable! The texture, the creaminess, the chocolate goo, literally EVERYTHING was amazing. If I ever come back this would be the only thing I’d order.

My coworker and I came here craving a tofu vegan lunch one day and ordered a few things to share. Service here is friendly — I don’t believe the owners are Thai but our waitress was and she was attentive and helpful.
My coworker ordered a hot Jasmine tea while I ordered a Thai iced tea (3.5÷5 — slightly too sweet for me). Together we shared:
Panang curry (⁴⁄₅) — flavorful, had a good curry kick to it
Tom kha gai (3.5÷5) — pretty good but not super outstanding
Pad Thai (⁵⁄₅) — probably the best item off this menu that we had — flavor was great and tasted authentic and the fake beef had a good consistency without being too chewy
I think I’ll definitely be back. During lunch they also have a quick to go area where you can order what’s similarly a boxed lunch. I wish this place was a little more modern looking because the food is good but I guess I’d recommend not coming here for the ambiance.

The Wheel of Life is a vegetarian Thai restaurant that is located on Culver Drive (near Daiso and Mitsuwa Marketplace). All of their food is 100% vegan and does not contain any MSG. They use soy meat and do not use any type of animal products in their recipes.
Appetizers (that I’ve tried):
Thai Egg Rolls — it is served with sweet and sour sauce. There are 3 egg rolls total. Super crunchy and yummy!
The Wheel Fresh Spring Rolls — made with fresh vegetables and vegetarian meat. Wow! Right here. The vegetarian meat is very flavorful.
Fried Tofu — which is served with sweet and sour sauce, peanuts, and cucumbers. The tofu isn’t as crunchy and more on the soft side.
Noodles (that I’ve had):
Pad Thai — made with vegetarian chicken and rice noodles. The dish is topped with bean sprouts, fried tofu, and peanuts. It’s okay because you can tell that this dish is missing one of the most important ingredient (which is the egg), but of course no meat products are used in their recipes.
Pad See You — stir fried flat noodles with vegetarian meat. It is mixed with broccoli and sweet sour sauce. This dish is not flavorful and more on the bland side.
If you are on your veggie day and craving for some Thai food then this place will do you justice for the time being. The staff here are super friendly and the restaurant/​atmosphere makes you feel at home. So go ahead and wheel on by to the Wheel of Life!
AS ALWAYS, NOM FOR LIFE!

Vegetarian Asian Style cuisines?! Oh-​my-​vegan…
As much as I stop by this shopping center l never knew this place existed. Really?! a place called «The Wheel of Life» should’ve caught my eye a long time ago. But we were told that this place has been sitting here for years, god damn I gotta open my chinky eye.
Anyways, the food here contains no msg and our orders were very tasty.
Their Pad Thai was awesome! Its chicken with rice noodles, fried tofu, topped with peanuts and bean spouts. The golden brown noodles were enjoyable to eat, the sauce flavor tasted pretty good and with all the toppings everything was well put together.
The Pepper Steak was an interesting choice. They looked like grilled beef patties but it’s actually made of mushrooms and tofu. I did request a bottle of soy sauce for this one but after a few bites they were already tasty, so there was no need for them. Also, on this plate it came with greens beens, chopped carrots, chopped cabbage and slices of cucumber along with a vinaigrette dressing.
We were satisfied with our meals and decided to try out their slice of vegan tiramisu cake. Even though it contains organic ingredients I didn’t like it this one too much, it crumbles and tasted dry.
Friendly service here and they explain what their about.
If you’re in for something different especially this type of vegan alternative take a chance and spin The Wheel of Life.