Great chinese food for < $10 a plate - Tons of vegetarian options

Mandarin Dynasty
1458 University Ave
San Diego, CA 92103

My wife and I are both vegetarian. We struggle with Asian food as many of the wait staff don't consider fish to be meat (we do). They also generally don't have a lot of vegetarian options. That's why when we want Chinese, we always head to Mandarin Dynasty.

Basically, anything on the menu, you can get as a vegetarian option. Their meat substitute is a fried dough and varies based on the dish. If you want something salt and dark, go with the Mongolian Beef. If you want something sweet and tangy, the Sweet and Sour Pork is a sure bet. Others worth trying are the Lemon Chicken, Salt and Pepper Chicken and Honey Chicken.

The wait staff is very friendly and they proudly hang a signed vintage picture of Sarah Michelle Gellar near the door (in which she raves about the place).