Shanghai vegetarian restaurants: 4 of the best

It once was notoriously difficult to be a vegetarian in Shanghai, often limited to fish-flavored eggplant, tofu, vegetable stir-fries or expensive Western cuisine. Luckily, the city now boasts a formidable list of vegetarian and vegan restaurants to spice up your routine -- ones even meat-loving friends would like. Our four favorites below.

For Zen vegetarians

A veritable institution among locals, Wu Guan Tang overlooks the relatively peaceful (for Shanghai anyways) Xinhua Lu so it's impossible not to relax over your meal. 

The handwritten menu -- written weekly as the availability of vegetables changes -- concentrates on uncomplicated vegetarian dishes that highlight the natural taste of ingredients, and there is almost no use of faux meat. A plus for many who can't stand the stuff. 

Wu Guan Tang makes its own noodles, breads and blended teas. We never miss the hand-cut mala mushroom noodles or almond and osmanthus flower tea -- although in line with their healthy lifestyle, no alcohol is served. That might be something you miss, but the food makes up for it. 

The venue specialty on every table when you go will be the the faux crab roe -- a puree of seasoned carrot and potato served in a lobotomized red pepper. “I can eat two by myself, no problem at all,” says long-time patron Anita Quek.

When the weather is nice, go for afternoon tea on the third-floor terrace garden for a rooftop view of the traditional Shanghai houses. This mini vacation will set you back RMB 100-150 per person.
Wu Guan Tang (五观堂素食), 349 Xinhua Lu, near Dingxi Lu 新华路349号, 近定西路, +86 21 6281 3695

For faux meat lovers

“Vegetarian Lifestyle is a staple in Shanghai,” explains diner Melissa Nguyen. And there's a good reason -- there's the nice environment, free fruit and tea to start off your meal and a menu that is seemingly endless. The dishes on offer are mostly vegetarian versions of traditional Chinese dishes, but there also a few fusion attempts tossed in too. 

Faux meat is in almost everything, but they do get the texture right at Vegetarian Lifestyle, especially in the delicious black pepper “beef” and the Turkish eggplant (fried eggplant rounds in a sweet tomato sauce, faux mince pork and a splash of pesto). Most diners will appreciate the dining room's no-smoking rule.

Expect to pay less than RMB 100 per person. 
Vegetarian Lifestyle (枣子树), multiple locations, 77 Songshan Lu, near Huaihai Lu 嵩山路77号, 近淮海路, +86 21 6384 8000, Dianping addresses

For posh sucai eaters

Lucky Zen has exchanged its Hongqiao store for a new address near Xintiandi, where it has been happily received by vegans and vegetarians. “It's also one of the few places where you can eat vegan in this area,” explains vegan and full-time mom Lesley Leung. Plus, you can eat here for RMB 100 or less a person -- hard to find in many of the upscale veggie-centric locales. 

The setting is ‘rustic-chic’, think cube lights and sprigs of orchids adorning long, wood tables. The vegan menu offers a selection of home-cooked, colorful Chinese food, with a few mock meats thrown in. Try the five-vegetable cold noodles or the well-done faux dongpo rou. 

Like Vegetarian Lifestyle, Lucky Zen has a non-smoking policy.
Lucky Zen (吉祥草), 428 Madang Lu, near Hefei Lu 马当路428号2楼, 近合肥路, +86 21 6373 0288

For Shanghai vegetarians who hang out with meat eaters

Where to go when you're vegetarian and dining companion dreams about filet mignon? Try a compromise by ordering from Organic Kitchen Shanghai, whose menu offers just about anything you both are craving including organic vegetarian salads, sandwiches and pasta options in addition to dishes with meat and seafood (for the pescaterians among us).

According to Organic Kitchen Shanghai’s website, 50 different kinds of pesticides were found in 90 percent of fruits and vegetables from Chinese supermarkets and wet markets (source is a 2009 Greenpeace report) giving vegetarians in Shanghai a good reason to eat organic.

Our picks? For us a salad can’t be crunchy water with dressing, and the flavorful spinach, walnut and pine nut fusilli pasta or Organic Kitchen is anything but tasteless. It's nutty and full of olive oil flavor. Equally good is the organic chocolate mud cake. Prices: RMB 100-150 per person.
Organic Kitchen Shanghai, order through MealBay