Vegging out in Shanghai(2)

Vegetarian Lifestyle

Hidden in a side street off busy Nanjing Road West, Vegetarian Lifestyle is one of the most prestigious non-meat destinations in the city. Famous for its mock-meat dishes, Vegetarian Lifestyle's Chinese name Zaozi Shu, means "jujube tree." The eatery adopts a "non-smoking, non-alcohol, non-egg and non-meat" concept.

Evoking a nostalgic atmosphere, replete with traditional Chinese wooden tables and chairs and shikumen-styled decorations, the restaurant is popular with white-collar workers who enjoy a refreshing break from an otherwise smoky, polluted city.

Chang Xiang Si, a sausage-like dish, is one of the most popular orders at Vegetarian Lifestyle. It not only looks like sausage, with "fat" made from lotus root, but it also tastes like meat, making it ideal for the less committed of vegetarians among us.

Their delicious spinach dumplings, black pepper "steaks" and shredded "pork" in sweet sauce are also popular among local foodies.

However, after ordering such appetite-whetting dishes, you may be slightly disappointed with the rather mean portions on offer. So, if you want to have a truly memorable vegetarian experience here, we would suggest filling up on some quick dim sum before the main course.

Add: 258 Fengxian Road 奉贤路258号

Tel: 6215-7566

Long-reputed Chinese vegetarian restaurants

Godly 功德林

Originally founded in Shanghai in 1922, Godly is considered the "founding father" of Chinese veggie restaurants, and is still popular today for its diverse, Huaiyang-cuisine menu. At important festivals, for example on Mid-autumn day every year, people are seen lining up outside to purchase the eatery's veggie mooncakes to take away. (445 Nanjing Road West 南京西路445号, 6327-0218. More chain shops and restaurants are dotted around the city.)

Veggie restaurant at Jade Buddha Temple 玉佛寺素斋

The restaurant is not only popular among adherents of Buddhism, but with a whole range of the city's food lovers. Apart from veggie "ham," "chicken" and "duck" that are cooked with tofu skin, other big sellers are veggie noodles and wontons. (999 Jiangning Road 江宁路999号, 6266-5596)

Wuguantang 五观堂素食

Unlike most Chinese veggie restaurants, Wuguantang refuses to cook veggie food in order that it simply resembles meat. They aim to create an original take on fresh, high-quality vegetarian cuisine. The eatery's decor is traditional and simple, somewhat akin to the mild and light taste of most of its dishes. (349 Xinhua Road 新华路349号, 6281-3695)