Hi everyone,
My boyfriend and I are vegetarians and we are looking for new dishes to order at restaurants. It seems like we always order the same things!
The pinyin/chinese characters would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks for your help

dried eggplant w/shredded potato - qiezizha yangyusi - 茄子(zha is second tone, the character is not in most dictionaries but is a combination of 酒 and 乍) 洋芋丝... it's hard to find, despite being quite tasty

bitter melon and egg - kugua chao jidan - 苦瓜炒鸡蛋... most foreigners don't seem to like bitter melon, but if you can acquire the taste this is a good way to have it (if you eat eggs)

garlic fried pumpkin leaves - suanchao nangua jian - 蒜炒南瓜尖... never ate pumpkin leaves before coming to KM, don't let the 'hairiness' of the leaves scare you, these greens have an interesting flavor all their own

yunnan style 'er si' - ersi - 饵丝 ... er si is shredded er kuai, which is a thick and glutinous cakelike staple made of rice, the best place to get it veggie/vegan in Kunming is Yuquanzhai (玉泉斋), aka Buddha Noodle, next to Yuantong Temple a little bit east of Cuihu Park, here's more about it: www.chinacitylistings.com/en/item/yuq_287/

a couple of suggestions:

1. try Dai food, there are many Dai restaurants in Kunming, all of whom have Dai veggie dishes and Dai versions of Yunnan dishes like laonai yangyu. here is a list of some Dai restaurants in Kunming: www.chinacitylistings.com/en/listings/kunming/dai/, personally I find Huatongqun to be the best I've tried in the city, they're located just north of Cuihu Park and are also available via Lazy Bones delivery (www.lazybones.asia)

2. Go into kitchens, if the staff let you, and just look at the veggies on offer and point out what looks good/interesting and how they would make a veggie version of it... this is a great way to stumble on to new dishes regardless of if you are a vegetarian or not

I don't know what dishes you've already tried, but here are a few good ones that we often have. You can find these in most restaurants.

小葱豆腐 xiao2 cong1 dou4 fu3 (tofu fried with green onions)

松仁豆腐 song1 ren2 dou4 fu3 (tofu and pine nuts in a light sauce)

番茄炒豆腐 fan1 qie2 chao3 dou4 fu3 (tofu fried with tomatoes)

腌菜炒红豆 yan1 cai2 chao3 hong2 dou4 (red beans fried with pickled cabbage)

苦菜酥红豆 ku3 cai4 su1 hong2 dou4 (red beans fried with a kind of green leafy vegetable)

两亩地 liang3 mu3 di4 (green beans and corn)

老奶洋芋 lao3 nai1 yang2 yu4 (Chinese mashed potatoes)

饵块 er3 kuai4 (a kind of glutinous "rice tofu." Hard to describe. Chewier than tofu.)

虎皮青椒 hu3 pi2 qing1 jiao1 (bell peppers fried with soy sauce and chili powder)

西芹炒百合 xi1 qin2 chao3 bai3 he (Lily petals and celery)

My wife and I are vegans, so we know it can sometimes be hard to find variety. We mostly cook at home. But we find it's pretty easy to be vegetarian in Kunming (much easier than in northern China, anyway). But you often have to tell the waiter 别放肉 (bie2 fang4 rou4, "don't add meat"). This usually works, but a few times to get my point across I've had to tell them I'm Buddhist.

We've got a lot of recipes for making western-style vegetarian dishes (i.e. not fried in oil) with ingredients available at markets here. Feel free to email me.

Ryan