My fascination for temples has been growing. Wat Sovannkiri will be the third I have visited and it…read morehas been my favorite so far in regards to design and detail. Driving down on University St. towards 52nd St., the temple stood out from the hill. I am not familiar with the area and from photos, there was no mistake that I had found what I was looking for. There was plenty of non-metered street parking. The temple is located in a residential area. There is a parking lot but it has 3 - 4 spaces. Upon arriving, I was a little timid since there were a handful of people walking in and out of the property. I am not Buddhist and I did not want intrude. As I crossed the street towards the gate, I saw a woman with a bag full of vegetables. There were booths of fresh produce, cooked meals and used clothing for sale. I walked inside and was greeted. The vendors were very nice. I did not purchase anything due to having a hardy meal prior to my arrival. The Temple is amazing! The details and color are bright and inviting. I did my best not to disturb the prayer while I was exploring. The entire property is gated and angles of the temple can be limited. The location of the temple is in an area that has a lot to offer. Just down the street is The Tower Bar and there are was a lot of eateries that I've noticed driving around. Wat Sovannkiri is gorgeous, pay a visit!

I came here with my dad on the first day of the Lunar New Year to burn incense and make offerings…read moreto welcome the Year of the Snake 2025. The temple was beautifully decorated with New Year decor with beautiful backdrops.

A buddhist temple nestled within a busy street off a f 43rd street…read more Visited it by recommendation of a friend. Not sure if free vegetarian food is offered every Sunday but the day I went, it did. It was delicious and people are so nice & kind and keep offering me more. A must visit if you want to try out their delicious vegetarian food & a place to pray and find peace. I have heard they have also started monthly meditation sessions. Will check it out one of these days.

I came here today with my dad and uncle to visit my mom's urn that has been placed in this temple…read morefor almost 2 years. When my mom was still with us, we visited this temple every Lunar New Year. Now that she's gone, we still keep the tradition. My parents were devout worshippers who dedicated every Sunday towards volunteering here, rain or shine, year round. Parking here is a bit challenging since the city converted all of the nearby street parking into bike lanes on either side of the road. Honestly, I do not see the point in this because I have yet to see a biker in the many times I've visited this temple! You have to be creative and find parking along other streets. This temple is known for its excellent vegetarian food at a very reasonable price. Even Phuong Trang restaurant orders vegetarian egg rolls from them in bulk. You have to try their egg rolls, it's pretty amazing! On Sundays, there is complimentary food at noon for fellow worshippers. They really go all out and the food is great! Definitely check it out!

Small temple, nice decor for the new year. Not open any other time besides April.read more

November 26 is now officially recognized as an Indochinese Association Holiday in San Diego. We…read moreattended the unveiling ceremony of the auspicious Quan Yin statute. The San Diego Police Captain and his team were special guests at the ceremony, as were the City Council members. To celebrate, there were fireworks, a lion dance, singers from Westminster, and food for all. My dad used to be the Treasurer for this association, so he was really happy to spend the afternoon with his long time buddies. If you get a chance, stop by, light an incense or two, and visit the new beautiful Quan Yin statue.

The San Diego midnight lion dance show was performed here at the temple. The dancers and drummers…read moredid so well. The inside of the temple is beautiful. Where you are able to light incense and pray.

Wonderful and welcoming people here. We had never been to a Buddhist temple of any kind before…read more(sadly) and this was our first experience. I had wanted to visit this place many times before but I was too "scared" to go alone. FINALLY the husband had a Sunday off where he doesn't have to work and they're having their service. When we arrived we parked in the back parking lot, which had plenty of space, and we kinda just followed another couple inside hoping they knew where they were going. We lost track of them however and asked a nice lady in the office where to go for the service. She actually walked us upstairs and introduced us to a gentleman who gave us a tour and explained what the service was like. I really appreciated this since I had no clue what sect of Buddhism this was; spoilers it's the Jodo Shinshu sect of pure land Buddhism (very common in Japan). My knowledge on Buddhism is really more for another sect so his explanation of the service and the book went a long way. The service I would describe exactly how he said to us "very Americanized with some traditional elements thrown in there". I was weirdly reminded of a Christian worship service with the pews and the layout of the temple; although obviously no cross at the end of the pews. They also have a Sunday school (Dharma School) portion and on this Sunday they had a lady read a children's book to everyone. For me I wasn't really a fan of this, I found it silly and took that opportunity to read the book more. After the children were excused to the Dharma class they had the "adult" portion of the service which was lots of chanting and lessons from the book. The singing and what not again reminded me of a Christian service. I'm not saying this like it is a negative thing, just "warning" you in the event you're expecting more of a sitting on the floor sort of experience. After service was over we had the opportunity to burn incense and give thanks. A few people gave us warm welcomes and we spoke to a few for a good while. Another thing you will notice is the members of the temple range greatly in age and race. If you're afraid to come here because you'll stick out; don't be. Everyone was welcoming (well except a few snotty tweens but that's kinda common anywhere lol!) We also came back for the mochituski weekend to get delicious mochi and help support the temple. The neighborhood is a bit rough I won't lie but their parking lot seems safe (parking in the neighborhood was a bit harder). They do allow you to take photos after the service but I felt out of respect I would forego that this time. :) I will be back and I recommend you check it out too if for no other reason than to learn about other cultures and beliefs. Make sure you go on their website to double check they're having a service that Sunday however. They often have special events or fundraisers going on and do not have normal service.

Not really a review on the temple itself. Sunday they had a Japanese cultural bazaar, which…read moreapparently they hold every year. It's basically a fund raiser for the church. All kinds of cool stuff goin on. There was a Taiko drum group there along with a Okinawan group singing traditional songs. An anime workshop with local Neko Press artist Billy Martinez. Folk Dancing, Kenpo demonstation, local traditional art and crafts. Okay, let's get down to brass tax. The food was great! They had teriyaki chicken which they were being generous for six bucks. A grip o chicken. The chow mein was recommended and that came in a mini bucket! I had the Tofu tacos. I know, I know...tofu tacos! They actually weren't all that bad. But If you had to go there for one thing it has to be the strawberry mochi. The best mochi I've ever had! Seriously! The great thing out of all this was that there was no one trying to recruit you into the church or trying to pawn off some religous pamphlets or books. Kinda like those Hairy Krishna's at the airport. They ask you for what ever you can give and they'll give you their book. Then they get all pissy if you give em 65 cents. Yes, I got suckered into givin them money and listening to their spiel. Hey bud that's all I got, now go away. Well there's none of that here. This was a church fund raiser though, and there was an introduction to Buddhism class, but like I said it wasn't forced on you. I guess your Dharmic path will lead you to the Hondo prayer pavillion if that's your higher truth. My Dharma led me to the tofu tacos.