Vegetarian Cuisine in Shanghai

There are a handful of vegetarian restaurants in Shanghai. Temples such as the Jade Buddha Temple, Jing'an Si Temple, and Long Hua Temple all have their own vegetarian restaurants and Chengxiang Ge near the City God Temple has a vegetarian restaurant called Songyue Lou. Aside from these temple affiliated establishments, you can also find vegetarian food in other parts of town. We have listed some of the more notable establishments below.

Gongdelin Vegetarian Restaurant(功德林蔬食处)

Located at 445 Nanjing Xilu; to get there, take the subway to the People's Square station; telephone: 021-63270218; hours of operation: 6:30am to 9:30 am and 11 am to 10 pm.

Established in 1922, this is China's oldest Buddhist Vegetarian Restaurant. The restaurant's founder, Zhao Yunshao, was the pupil of Master Gao Weijun, one of the main Buddhist monks at Hangzhou Chenghuang Shan Mountian's Changji Si Temple.

Recommendations: Gongde Sausage, vegetarian duck, vegetable steamed buns, five flavors wheat gluten, buttered minced crab meat, jadeite fish slices, shredded eel with sesame oil, olive seeds with chicken slices and mixed vegetables, shiitake mushroom and vegetable steamed buns. All of these dishes are made of vegetables or bean products such as tofu. Be warned that some dishes incorporate real eggs.

Zao Zi Shu(枣子树)

Locations: 1) 77 Songshan Lu; tel-ephone: 021-63848000; 2) Located in the Gubei District at 848 Huang Jian Cheng Dao; telephone: 021-62751798; Expect to pay 40 to 60 RMB per person.

This is a strict vegetarian restaurant that allows no smoking or alcohol, and uses no MSG, eggs, or dairy products. Zaozishu serves organics teas, fruit plates, vegetable and mushroom dishes, and of course, meat dishes simulated with bean and wheat products.

Jue Lin Vegetarian Restaurant (觉林素菜处)

Located at 250 Jinling Donglu (Henan Nanlu); telephone: 021-63260115; hours of operation: 6:30am to 7:30pm.

Jue Lin serves vegetarian fare made with no eggs, dairy products or MSG. This is a smoke free liquor free establishment. Ex-pect to pay 30 RMB to 50 RMB per person.

The Tiffin Vegetarian Cafe(人文美学素食咖啡)

Locations: 111 Huaihai Zhonglu on the third floor of the Shanghai Times Square; telephone: 021-63910639; hours of opera-tion: 11:30am to 9:30pm.

You will find strict vegetarian fare at The Tiffin Vegetarian Cafe. As with most veg-etarian restaurants, you will find no eggs, meat, MSG, alcohol, or cigarettes here. Tif-fin Vegetarian Cafe does carry good food, coffee, and a relaxing atmosphere. Expect to pay about 50 RMB per person.

L' Arbre de Provence (普罗旺斯的树)

Located in the Xujiahui District at 1111 Zhaojiabang Lu in the Metro City; to get there take the subway number one line to the Xujiahui Station; telephone: 021-64267698; hours of operation: 10am to 10:30pm.

With European decor and a mix of Chi-nese and Western cuisines, inspiration for this restaurant comes from southern France. Still, the food here is all vegetarian with no eggs, meat, cigarettes, alcohol, or MSG. L'Arbre de Provence uses only purified water and serves vegetable and fruit dishes from all over the world. From Monday to Friday you can enjoy an economical set lunch for 19 RMB per person. There is also a Chinese-Western buffet for 39 RMB per person.

New Age Veggie(新素代餐厅)

Located in the Pudong District at 168 Lujiazui Xilu on the fifth floor of the Super Brand Mall; to get there, take the subway line number two to the Lujiazui Station; telephone 021-50471880; hours of opera-tion: 10am to 10pm; tea time is from 2pm to 5pm.

Recommendations: five color Chinese yam, racked abalone, roasted vegetarian ribs, and lucky raw vegetable stuffed buns. New Age Veggie also has plenty of spicy options on the menu. As usual, there are no eggs, alcohol, or dairy, and no smoking allowed. Only organic vegetables are used. Expect to pay 50 RMB to 70 RMB per person.

Miaoxiangyuan Of Long Hua Hotel (龙华迎宾馆妙香苑)

Located at 2787 Longhua Lu; you can get here on bus lines 44, 864, 933, 41, 104, 73, 733,732, and 871; hours of operation: 1 lam to 2 pm and 5pm to 8:30pm; telephone: 021-64570570-1133.

Recommendations: Longhua vegetarian duck, sausage, vegetarian stuffed buns, peony crab, and other imitation meat dishes. No meat or fish is served, but some dishes use egg.

Deling Fang Vegetarian Res-taurant (德林坊素食餐厅)

Located at 259 Baolin Lu; you can get here on bus lines 53IB, 116, 90, 848, 849, 53, 541, the Wusong Warf special line, 813, 53, and 728; hours of operation 6am-8pm; telephone: 021-56106029.

DelingFang sticks to the strict vegetarian and health standards — no eggs, alcohol, cigarettes, or MSG. Breakfast is served daily, and there is a small shop selling Shenzhen's Qishan series of food items as well as their own home made vegetable stuffed buns and cakes.

King Guo Pure Vegetarian Restaurant(郭大王净素坊)

Located at 151 Haimen Lu (near Tang-shan Lu); you can get here on bus lines 19, 13, 22, and 922; telephone: 021-65371763; hours of operation: 6am to 8 pm.

King Guo serves a soup-pot series of vegetarian cuisine and observes the usual taboos against eggs, alcohol, and cigarettes. King Guo also does not cook with onions or garlic. Fast food runs about 6 RMB per person, and if you order five portions or more, they can deliver. Breakfast begins at 6 am.

Natural Healthy Vegetable Restaurant (天然健康蔬食馆)

Located at 390 Shaanxi Nanlu (at the intersection of Fuxing Lu); telephone: 021-64370632; hours of operation: 6am to 10pm.

Recommendations: the vegetable wrapped (fake) meats, deep fried strong-smelling tofu, three cup monarch mushrooms, and herbal medicine hot pot. No eggs, meat or alcohol. Expect to pay 20 RMB to 40 RMB per person.