What can you eat in China if you are a vegetarian?

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Ich liebe Tokio Hotel

China in general is not exactly vegetarian friendly. In fact, many Chinese think the concept of vegetarianism is a bit strange. Eating meat is a bit of a social status thing and a show of prosperity, because not so long ago, eating meat was a luxury for most people here. In some poor parts of the countryside, it still is.

However, like I said, it is still possible to keep a vegetarian diet here. Restaurants often have a good mix of both meat and vegetable (or tofu) dishes. So if you are ordering for yourself, its not too bad. The problem comes in if you are attending some kind of banquet. Then you are likely to encounter a lot of meat. If that happens, I would just politely inform the host that you don't eat meat.

I would recommend picking up a Lonely Planet guidebook. I believe it lists restaurants in each city by food type, vegetarian being one of the categories. There are even some restaurants that specialize in making fake meat dishes from tofu.

Also a rule of thumb when looking for vegetarian food is to look for Indian Restaurants. There are quite a few in Beijing and Shanghai. Although they may serve both vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes but they will suit your purpose just fine.

http://www.china.org.cn/archive/2008-03/18/content_12962113.htm
http://www.travelchinaguide.com/cityguides/beijing/dinning/indian.htm
http://www.indianembassy.org.cn/Indian_Restaurants_in_china.asp

Sam the Man

You could eat noodles with stir-fry vegetables that is nice!

Mike S

When I went to Beijing, they had lots of vegetarian dishes. Actually the Chinese don't waste anything. They have a dish for every part of an animal and a dish for almost every vegetables. The only problem is that, if you're a pure vegetarian then you might not like the way they prepare their vegetarian dishes. They usually stir fry them in the same left over juices as their meat dishes. It brings out the flavor but pure vegetarians might not like eating meat juice along with their vegetables.

WHO am i?

rice n noodles..

Elena S

when you come to the restaurant you just show a waiter a special paper where it's written in Chinese "I'm a vegetarian, what vegetable dishes do you have?"...
if you want, you may also add phrases like "no eggs" and "no fish oil"...

there are many yummy dishes made of plants and beans, for example tofu with something so it's very easy to please your stomach and to keep your diet principles...

Lily B

Rice and vegetables :)

matt543

vegetables

Freeeeezing !

Im sure they will have loads of variety..and most restaurants will have some vegetarian dishes... maybe rich and vegetable curry or spring rolls....

Im sure you will be fine...

But just in case...i would pack some super noodles or packs of soup...just in case , there would be nothing that day.

look at this website : has all vegetarian shops in china and food !

http://www.goodfood.sg/vegetarian_chinese

Have a nice trip !!!!!

dymondQueen83

noodles, rice and veggies

disckoala

Actually many Chinese, whether they are Buddhist or not, are vegetarian... so you just need to ask for a good vegetarian restaurants... vegetarian is called 'su cai' (pronounced like su chai) in chinese character is 'ç´ èœ' and vegetarian restaurants are called 'su cai guan' - ç´ èœé¦†... and in the way of cooking, beancurd and mushroom are very commonly used... hope you enjoy it.

Aman

See this link
http://www.indianembassy.org.cn/Indian_Restaurants_in_china.asp

Kal-El

Although most "Chinese food" you find in the US is heavy in meats like Chicken, Pork and Beef, this is not actually the case in China itself. In China meat is more expensive (no farms) so most meals are made entierly of veggies and pastas. In most cases, you actually have to ask for meat on your meal if you want it!

witolia

Yes, it is easy to be vegetarian in China. I have lived here for 2.5 years and there are many restaurants that serve great veggie, tofu, rice, and noodle dishes. if you are unsure of the dish, make sure you have a few phrases with you in both Chinese character and pinyin (character written in English alphabet) saying you don't eat meat, that you are a vegetarian, or to ask if a certain dish has meat. I use Lonely Planet's Mandarin language phrasebook, 6th edition when I eat out. It covers vegetarian questions and phrases.

Masta Baiter

Get over your label of 'vegetarian' and enjoy the food that China has to offer..............

Daniel v 8.33

Great answer by Ich liebe Tokio Hotel.
Actually I too asked this question a while ago because my bro was going to Shanghai and he is a veggie.

Jonathan W

There are many websites offering dining tips in China. Here are couple links.

http://www.amlinkint.com/English/travel-to-china/china-travel-tips.html
http://www.amlinkint.com/English/travel-to-china/cityguide/beijing-city-guide.html

I am sure you can find vegetarian restaurants in China, especially in Beijing.

littlehaba

A lot of chinese dishes are vegetables. That's all I eat at Chinese restaurants. Lots of brocolli. And they eat a lot of bean curd too. x

Chris H

there are lots of choices. Chinese food does not contain as much meat as western. lots of Chinese food are vegetarian. you don't need to worry. go to any restaurant and there's always vegetarian food.

cutwoodday

everything and dogs

Angus

Restaurants serve vegetable dishes, the thing is, Chinese cooking often involves using pork fat for taste.

fallibledragon

Spring rolls are obvious choice. I had "buddhist hotpot" at a chinese restaurant once. Egg-drop soup should be fine too. Just learn the phrases for "no meat please" and "vegetarian", and use them often. Any big hotel or restaurant will likely have lots of english food and vegetarian menus anyway.

silver biker

Most of the hotels serve english style breakfasts etc. A large proportion of the daily menu is fish and/or veg.

dave

walkers new "panda and soy" flavoured crisps