Meatless meals put accent on health
Print Edition
For the Chinese, Spring Festival wouldn’t be Spring Festival without feasting. But all the elaborate family dinners and outside banquets can lead to weight gain and even health problems.
If the recent holiday has left you feeling uncomfortable and you are seeking a healthy diet to get your body back in shape, vegetarian restaurants provide an ideal option to sitting home eating salads.
Shanghai Daily has explored some of the best vegetarian restaurants in Minhang.
Aizhisu Creative Cuisine
At first glance, this doesn’t look like a vegetarian restaurant at all. The menu features simulated meat dishes that really look and taste like the real thing, including many not commonly found in other vegetarian restaurants.
The menus cover a wide variety of styles, including Shanghai, Sichuan, Taiwan, Southeastern Asian and Japanese cuisines.
Sautéed “prawns” with almond chips is a signature dish here. The prawns are made from mushrooms and bean products and are nicely chewy. The faint fragrance of almond chips makes a perfect accompanying sauce.
Beijing-style “pork ribs” is another popular dish. Also made from bean products, the “ribs” are quite soft.
A seasoned soybean sauce gives the dish a savory flavor but is not too salty.
For those who don’t like the idea of beans masquerading as meat, the restaurant also offers more orthodox vegetarian choices. Its vegetable curry is a popular dish, with steamed carrots, potatoes, tomatoes and celery enveloped in a spicy sauce. The dish is not hot in the traditional Indian curry sense, but rather retains the original flavor of the vegetables.
“The best thing about this restaurant is that the dishes are quite light,” said a patron identifying himself as Yunqishouheng on dianping.com, a restaurant review website. “I’ve tried very greasy, meat-imitating dishes in other restaurants, and I’d say this one avoids that problem.”
Address: 207, Chengjiaqiaozhi RdTel: 3460-0780
579 Vegetarian Restaurant
The menu here is relatively traditional but that doesn’t make it boring. The vegetarian minced “crabmeat,” vegetarian “duck” and spring rolls are all versions of home-cooked meals in Shanghai. That similarity is what draws so many people to this restaurant.
The minced “crabmeat” is among the most popular of dishes. It is made from potato and carrots, seasoned with the key ingredient of vinegar. The color, shape and taste resemble real minced crab.
Vegetarian “duck” is actually bean curd shin roll. The dish is a tricky one to pull off. Too little oil, and the roll is dry as paper; too much oil and it becomes overly greasy.
“The quality of the dish is not always consistent,” said Ray Pei, who has been to the restaurant several times. “Sometimes it’s just fine, but sometimes the very greasy juices seep through the bean curd shin, making it too heavy.”
The spring rolls here are deep-fried, so they are probably best avoided by people seeking post-holiday healthy eating. Instead, try the mashed yam as an after-dinner snack.
Yam has great nutritious value and is said to be good for the lungs, kidneys and the spleen. The mashed yam is served with ground nuts, giving the dish a taste that is natural with just a hint of sweetness.
Address: 5/F, Shanghai Sky Mall, 5001, Dushi RdTell: 400-888-0597
Chan Cha Su
The name of the restaurant is translated as “zen, tea and a vegetarian diet.” Run by a Buddhist, the eatery feels more like a Buddhism center than a restaurant. There is a prayer room behind the dining hall, where Sarira is worshiped.
This is a favorite place to eat for monks, nuns and people who are interested in Buddhism, but everyone is welcome.
The food is simple but delicate. Tofu soup with green vegetable, braised black poplar mushrooms and noodles are quite popular. The price is also very down to earth. Customers can enjoy a full meal for only 25 yuan (US$4).
On the first and 15th of every month of the lunar calendar, the restaurant provides vegetarian bento, with no fixed price. People just pay whatever they want. It’s a ploy to persuade more people to try a vegetarian diet and feel virtuous in the bargain.
Address: 719, Lianhua Rd S.
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