Vegging out in Shanghai

Meats of all varieties in winter are usually top of these extra-rich festive menus. So how about sampling some vegetarian fare this holiday season? There are a number of dining options in Shanghai, all of which offer healthy and tasty food.

Kush

In Sanskrit, the word "kush" means "mercy" and "benevolence," which chimes well with this Yanping Road eatery's environmental-friendly, vegetarian concept. Next door to Japanese restaurant Sushi Abuse, Kush is located in the downtown 98 Innovation Zone in Jing'an district. Labeling itself as Shanghai's first "international" vegetarian restaurant, the eatery offers a menu of Western dishes from starters to entrees and desserts, with English-language menu and service. With only four tables, the tiny area is decked out in shades of dark green, that helps create a natural and warm atmosphere.

Fresh spring rolls are wrapped in semi-transparent skin made from rice and containing sliced cucumber, carrot, tofu, rice noodles and basil. A small plate of specially prepared sauce goes along with the rolls, adding some sweet-and-sour flavor to the dish. The lentil burger is another must-try. The smashed lentils are mixed with corn niblets and broccoli, and laid over a basil sauce, giving meat-lovers some consolation - if only for the texture. The meal is served with crisp slices of bread. Green Goddess is the restaurant's signature smoothie, and includes the juice of various vegetables and fruits such as spinach, banana, celery, parsley, avocado, all mixed with soy milk, nut milk, or coconut juice. The restaurant also provides various kinds of salads and wraps, as well as a delivery service so that you can "go veggie" in your own home.

Add: 98 Yanping Road 延平路98号

Tel: 5175-9822

New Age Veggie

The Buddhist sentences and phrases emblazoned across the entrance to this restaurant reveal the concept of vegetarianism as an important religious belief. Many of the meals here resemble the flavor and taste of regular meat dishes. The kitchen uses "mock-meat" ingredients such as tofu and different kinds of fungi. For example, hedgehog mushroom is used to imitate chicken meat because of its similar texture, and "fish" dishes are cooked with tofu skins, sea sedge and fungi. It is also surprising to see "sashimi" on the menu. It is, in fact prepared with konjac, a type of vegetable that can pass for the raw salmon in sashimi dishes. It fools not only the eyes, but also the tongue, so similar is the taste. While the Global Times was visiting, a customer surnamed Wu, ordered a plate of hongshaorou (red braised pork) which was prepared with dried tofu standing in for lean meat and fungus standing in for the fat. "At first bite, it is really hard to tell whether it's meat or not," Wu said. "If you think of it as meat, then it really is quite similar." In order to intensify the meat flavor, the dishes are usually drenched in oily and heavy-tasting sauces that give it that "greasy" quality so peculiar to meat.

Add: 5/F, 988 Huaihai Road Middle 淮海中路988号5楼

Tel: 5403-3980