Herbivores in China

China has a well-deserved reputation for being difficult for vegetarians. The words for "meat" and "seafood" seem to mean different things in different parts of the country. And even when language isn't a barrier, not everyone understands how strict we are about the "no animals" rule.

Before my first visit to China, I resigned myself to the fact that I would probably have to eat Western/Indian food the entire time and miss out on this particular aspect of travel. But when I arrived, I found that it wasn't as difficult to eat vegetarian as I had feared!

Here are the strategies that worked for me...

1. Go for the street food!

As a vegetarian, it is actually easier to eat street food than restaurant food because you can see exactly what goes into your meal, communication is more direct and it's easier to avoid cross contamination with meat.

When a street vendor is making your food, you can just point and ask if you don't know what something is. Our phrasebook had a lot of pictures, so this process was pretty quick and easy.

If you're not sure about a particular ingredient or sauce, it's also easy to ask them to omit it. In a restaurant, the cooking happens behind closed doors and you can't be sure of what has gone into your dish.

Street vendors are also pretty small and many only sell one or two items. So if cross-contamination with meat is a concern, you can pick a vendor who just doesn't have any.
Not only was it cheaper and easier to eat the street food, but the variety was amazing. We had everything from deep fried lotus root (stuffed with mushrooms!) to rose petal cakes. The street food experience is also just plain fun. We did a lot of amazing things in China, but one of my favourite experiences was a rest day in Xi'an where we just snacked our way through the Muslim Quarter!

Flower Pastries in Lijiang Old Town


2. If you do go to a restaurant, find a Chinese Vegetarian one.

I didn't know this until I actually got there, but apparently China has a long history of vegetarian restaurants that specialize in fake meats. It's almost an art form at these places. I was blown away (and sometimes a little unnerved) by how realistic the "meat" looked. I had to get my meat-eating coworkers to verify that some dishes were really tofu before I felt comfortable eating them!

Finding these kinds of restaurants in big cities like Shanghai and Beijing should be a breeze. Here are two that I can recommend,


• New Age Veggie in Shanghai

I went to the New Age Veggie that was in the Super Brand Mall at the time and was very impressed by the extensive menu. This place was even egg-free, which was an unexpected bonus!

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g308272-d2195487-Reviews-New_Age_Veggie-Shanghai.html
• Xu Xiang Zhai in Beijing
  
  We liked this place so much we ate here twice. The buffet in particular was amazing because we could try a little bit of everything.  Here's an example of how much effort is put into making tofu look like real sushi,
  
  Fake Sushi = Faux-shi?
  
  http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g294212-d1009374-Reviews-Xu_Xiang_Zhai-Beijing.html


3. Find Buddhist Temples
   
   Many buddhist temples have restaurants or cafes right next to the temple. Even if the whole cafe isn't vegetarian, there should be at least one vegetarian dish on the menu. And since many temples are also tourist attractions, they may even have English menus!
   
   When I went to Shanghai, I had a really nice meal at the Jade Buddha Temple: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jade_Buddha_Temple