I'm vegan as well and just sent you an email @ thread starter :)

meat makes you strong, like a viking!

Ask that they do no put ji jing or zhu you (chicken stock or pork oil) into the food when you order veggie dishes. Also, if you say su cai (vegetarian) you might still get fish and brine shrimp in the food. I have on occasion. If you cover all the bases, you may get something decent. Most Chinese will respect your religious requirements (even if you fake them) to accommodate you. If you say you are a Buddhist, fo jiao and say a mi tou fo, they will get the idea you do not want any animal products in your food.

I think individuals here do not know what is a veggie, I even observed some Hui people eat at a han restaurant, what they say is just no pork. No felony, just some fact. So I think maybe the restaurants here even do not know what is a vegan.

A friend told me that if you say you're vegetarian they won't take you seriously but if you say you're Buddhist they will definitely give you vegetarian/vegan food.

Hi,

i am interested in finding out where these Buddhist temples are as I enjoy eating vegetarian food. Can anyone give me addresses or a website of such places?

Yuan Tong Temple has vegetarian restaurants nearby.

Not a temple, but there's a Buddhist restaurant right between the new French Cafe and McDonald's on Hongshan DongLu.

There are a couple of buffet, all you can eat vegetarian restaurants in the city centre. One charges 12 yuan per person, the other 20 yuan per person. They are Buddhist in some way or other (owners Buddhist?) and there are signs strictly prohibiting meat (and alcohol and smoking and wasting food) in the restaurant, so I imagine they must be strict with food preparation, although of course I don't actually know.

One is on the second floor of the 昆明走廊 (Kunming Hillance) building, near the Golden Eagle mall. The other is nearby, I forget the street name, but it is around the corner from 威远街 Weiyuan Street. The street leads from 人民中路 Renmin Middle Rd to the back of Carrefour. There might be more like these around the city perhaps.

Just remember, they are serve yourself/buffets, so get there early for fresher food.

There's a Buddhist all you can eat buffet in Lianhua Chi (lotus pond park) I haven't eaten there, but friends say it's very good. 12 yuan per person I think.