Hi everybody!

I dont eat meat on Fridays but all of my friends do. And eating alone is boring and even lame in China...

So if you have similar problems or you are just kind enough to help me please write me and you will find an excellent european partner for luch/dinner on Firdays! :)

Matyas 24/B @ Hungary

hi,u know any good vegetarian reaturant in kunming?

I'm definitely interested in starting a vegetarian or vegan group. I'm fairly new so i havent found any vegetarian restaurants but i think it'd be nice to meet somewhere in a park or something and bring some vegetarian snacks/dishes

There's a vegetarian restaurant near the big temple with the gigantic Chinese medicine place across the street. If you stand on the sidewalk looking in through the temple gate, it's to your right, about a block down. Sorry I can't remember the name of anything right now...I've been up in shangri-la for 5 months.

A lot of the dishes are tofu molded into the shape of an animal, which I personally find sorta creepy. All the dishes have animal names, but they are veg. My fave was the one claiming to be eel. It was actually mushrooms and the sauce was fantastic.

Sometimes I`d like to go to the special vegetarian "restaurant " facing to the Provinced hospital of women and kids in qingyun street where isnt far from wenling road. By the way, it`s hard to find that place without friends help because of that doesnt looke on the qingyun street.

There are always five or six kinds of dishes(in most of time) with 30yuan per people. If you would taste more kinds,you coulde pay more for it like 6-7 dishes with 40yuan,or take more with 50,and so on.But in my opinion I would like to choose the lowest consumption of 30yuan is good.I`m not vegertarian as it`s not worthy of taking more. A lot of The special boss who is embrace buddism cannot speak English but he is very nice man and a lot of buddistic bruochues there to develop a liking for others who`s also embrace buddism.

If you hope the environment of that place very nice,you`d better to get in another one though they pay more attention to environmental hygiene.

I think Elise is referring to the restaurant on 圆通街, which serves the fake meat, as well as having one of the largest menus I've seen. That said, although the service is excellent i.e. warm and efficient, the food is quite average in terms of being a little bland, and too oily.

The place that Mayya_happy is referring to is a very small restaurant, in someone's converted home that is opposite the hospital on 华山西路； it's a very small place - holding at most 3 to 4 tables, but is worth going.

I'm a vegetarian, but I don't go to exclusively vegetarian places, but rather places that are vegetarian friendly i.e. understand the concept, and have more dishes rather than just presenting a really limp salad or 青菜。 That said, I've not been impressed with Kunmingese food; finding it quite bland and oily in comparison with other provinces. Decidedly average.

The one on Yuan Tong Jie 圆通街 going away from the Yuan Tong Temple towards Qing Nian Lu 青年路 on the left. The prices are around 20RMB per dish i think. Urban and whoever else wants to join me is welcome.

i think putonghua73 is onto something with "I'm a vegetarian, but I don't go to exclusively vegetarian places, but rather places that are vegetarian friendly"... vegetarianism and Buddhism are all too often conflated in China (e.g. you sometimes see phrasebooks with something like "i don't eat meat, please cook my food as if i were a monk")

here's where the blandness may come in, as a strict Buddhist (correct me if i'm wrong, as i'm no Buddhist, and no vegetarian) will not eat garlic, chilli, ginger etc. so if you're using the 'monk gambit' to get your veggie eats, it's possible you're doing away with flavour at the same time.

i personally find yunnan cai very edible and very tasty, and i've found my meat consumption has reached all-time lows here due (in part) to the various and flavoursome veggie options.

In my opinion a freegan approach is the most neutral, but thats just me. If i'm going to a friends house and they've gone to the effort to cook a meal and we're all eating together i'll eat it. I think the idea of being together when eating and they have already paid for the meat.

Of course i'd much rather prefer a vegan picnic anyday but you can't always get what you want.

As for Buddhism, I know 2 of the cooks at the south Shaolin Temple and and they have dishes with ginger, chilli and a bit of oil. Not sure about garlic. Their food was great but then again i enjoy blandness/simplicity at times.

Usually when i eat at places i'll order either rice or noodles with vegetables (shu cai) and when they ask what kind i usually say whatever (wu si wei) and i find you can get interesting dishes that way.

I hope this helps and doesnt sound like an elitest rant.

"圆通寺大光明酒店二楼鱼泉斎"

"圆通寺对面四季酒席"
"青年路经贸宾馆一楼福禄寿餐厅"
"青年路北延长线滨江大厦三楼"
"五一路156号兴杰大厦二楼中农有机生态素食馆"
A friend sent this message to me withou having phone numbers. I went to the fifth restaurant with friends. Every dishes price is almost 30yuan.