SPRING brings forth new buds and shoots and the birth of many animals' young, all growing in the warmer weather.

And according to traditional Chinese medicine, all this springtime growth extends to qi (energy) in the liver, which weakens the work of the spleen and stomach.

To address this excess qi, TCM recommends light, easily digested food for springtime - especially vegetables.

A move toward a less meat-based diet in spring also has origins in merciful behavior. "The Inner Canon of the Yellow Emperor," an ancient Chinese medical text treated as the fundamental doctrinal source for more than two millennia, urges against meat-eating when young animals are striving to grow.

Hangzhou has a long history of vegetarian restaurants, for the city once dubbed a Buddhist City in southeast China for boasts several famed temples.

'Fake meat' foods

Many restaurants around temples offer "fake meat foods" to intrigue and please temple visitors.

Fake meat foods are vegetable and bean dishes that look, and even taste, like meat. For instances, diners can order "steak" made from tofu, "abalone" from mushroom and "fish balls" formed out of konjac, a starchy Asian plant used in jelly snacks and added to milk tea.

Oil and additives are used to make basic ingredients more meat-like.

For centuries these eye-catching fakes were staples in Hangzhou's vegetarian restaurants.

However, these are no longer the only choice for vegetarians, since more organic and other veggie outlets have appeared.

"Eating organic vegetarian food is now a fashion, it has nothing to do with religion," says Lu Qixiang, a vegetarian chef at Roots Resort, a health-themed hotel with a veggie restaurant.

Lu has worked as a chef in vegetarian restaurants all over Zhejiang Province for the past six years, and has noticed in the past two or three years more "pure vegetarian" restaurants appear in Hangzhou.

"Customers of vegetarian restaurants have changed from middle-aged Buddhists to young hipsters," he says.

But the new breed of vegetarians are still drawn by a spiritual dimension, claims Gao Wei, manager of Fu Quan Academy, a vegetarian restaurant and academy that provides free classes in Chinese culture.

"People are taking the steps from eating fake meat food to a healthy diet to spiritual improvement," claims Gao.

Many new vegetarian restaurants in the city are not simply eateries. Fu Quan Academy has its classes and Roots Resort is a high-end hotel focusing on health.

Another city establishment, He Cha Guan, is first and foremost a teahouse, its vegetarian meals mostly for monks from nearby Yongfu Temple.

Insiders say diversification is wise, as running a vegetarian eatery can be a precarious business.

Around a decade ago, a high-end vegetarian restaurant opened in Hangzhou. But even though it received widespread media coverage, it closed four years ago.

"Running a vegetarian restaurant is costly, because making vegetarian food is demanding," says Pang Yin, owner of He Cha Guan.

Pang gives the example of something as simple as soup stock - gao tang. To make a meat gao tang, a cook only needs to simmer pork or chicken for hours, says Pang.

But to make vegetarian gao tang, takes 12 hours simmering, during which the cook must keep the soup clear by accurately controlling the time required for different vegetables.

"A real cook should maximize the flavor of foods themselves, not by adding seasonings, and that's the requirement of a pure vegetarian restaurant," says Pang.

Roots Resort owner Lin Ping agrees. "We make vegetables taste like vegetables, a thing that's been forgotten for many years."

But there remains a long way to go in developing the market for pure vegetarian restaurants in China, say restaurateurs.

"Chinese people believe a feast cannot be called as feast if there's no meat or alcohol," says Pang.

"There are already some high-end vegetarian restaurants, but I believe vegetarian eateries will only be truly accepted when there also many low and middle-end ones," she adds.

With early spring vegetables now tender and delicate, what better time to try some mouth-watering dishes? Here are three vegetarian restaurants in Hangzhou, aiming to offer meals as refreshing as the city's spring scenery.

Fu Quan Academy (福泉书院)

Run by Yongfu Temple, Fu Quan Academy aims to promote traditional Chinese culture.

Lectures on Confucianism, the tea ceremony and health maintenance are offered at weekends.

Its vegetarian restaurant follows strict Buddhist principles and ginger, garlic, shallots (those stimulating foods are believed erotic), milk, eggs and alcohol are forbidden.

But nonetheless, the chefs are good at making their meat-free dishes tasty.

Shiitake mushrooms are simmered in soy sauce and sugar for a long time so tender mushrooms absorb the savory juice.

And enokitake (golden needle mushrooms) - the long, pale ones - are rolled in tofu sheets and cooked in a light, home-made curry.

Address: 5/F, A Section, Zijin Plaza, 701 Gudun Rd

Tel: (0571) 8973-9977

Average price: 100 yuan (US$16) per person

Roots Resort (热图养生庄园)

The resort at Jiuxi - nine streams - is more like a Xanadu than a hotel, with cascading water features, gardens, fields of vegetables and villas.

Roots, which officially opens next week, has already attracted several gastronomes to try fusion vegetarian cuisine at the French-windowed restaurant.

"Chinese fried dishes, Mexican tapas, Vietnamese spring rolls and Italian pizzas, they all can be interpreted through vegetables, which results in a variety of dishes," says general manager Antonia Pao.

The restaurant's principle is "less salt, oil and sugar and no SMG."

Chefs seldom fry leaf vegetables, instead having them raw or lightly boiled and sprinkled with olive oil.

It's not a Buddhist restaurant, so ginger, garlic, shallot, milk, egg and alcohol feature.

Address: No. 47, Xu Village, Jiuxi

Tel: (0571) 8659-9399

Average price: 300 yuan per person

He Cha Guan (和茶馆)

This teahouse in picturesque Fayun Village is a neighbor of Lingyin Temple, Yongfu Temple and prestigious five-star resort Aman Fayun.

Situated so close to temples, most diners are monks and ordinary Buddhists. Following Buddhist principles, alcohol is forbidden.

Owner Pang Ying sticks to cooking without MSG and other seasonings.

Pang also selects food materials strictly. The bamboo shoots are transported from Yellow Mountain, Anhui Province, while sweet potato starch is from Chaozhou in Guangdong Province.

"We do our best to buy organic food from around China," says Pang.

Address: No. 22, Fayun Lane

Tel: (0571) 8797-9556

Average price: 150 yuan per person