NANJINGNOW

When I arrived last year November in Nanjing, one of the first activities in the hotel was to see the Concierge and ask him for a good vegetarian restaurant in the city. The Concierge as well as the staff he finally asked for support looked at me with astonishment and finally admitted to have no clue about such a restaurant existing in Nanjing. Guess it was just too far fetched for them that a Lao Wei non-monk is asking for vegetarian food. Some 6 month ago I started changing my diet more and more to vegetarian food, not because of any theoretical concept, but just I felt like it. And was confirmed by feeling more energetic and healthy doing so, not missing meat which I had cherished so much and extensively in the past.

So, here I was, no clue where to go in Nanjing, keeping myself going with Tuna Pizza, salad and the like.Some day I was scanning through the Nanjing Map Magazine and found the advertisement of the Shi Li Heng Feng Vegetarian Restaurant in the Huju Nan Lu. There it was. The advertisement closed with “Bring health to your body and spirit!”. Sounds good and actually I really like my body and my spirit, so why not trying that. Turning the thought to action I asked some of my carnivore friends to join me for dinner. They were not really enthusiastic about vegetarian food but finally they agreed not really convinced.

We finally met in the restaurant. My first impression was a cave like entrance and pillars in the shape of trees supporting the ceiling. The table and chairs made from good solid bright wood, clean. The English speaking waiter directed us politely to a table and poured us some tea. Some of the guests were monks in their traditional clothing. Most of the tables occupied. A good sign. The menu was available in English. Good, lets get started. Wow, what a selection, it took us quite a while to choose from the rich variety of dishes offered.

We got served pretty soon after having made our order. There it was looking delicious, nicely arranged and tasty smelling. Different kind of soups, crispy rice dishes, mushroom dishes, yam with olives, bean curd…We ate with good appetite and had our fun during this gourmet adventure. The dishes were all delicious and my carnivore friends were surprised how tasty and exciting vegetarian food can be. We all admitted this being a very positive experience and that the restaurant is certainly added to our favorite places for dinner. The slogan “Bring health to your body and spirit!” had proven rightly chosen.

- Written by Roger from Germany.

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Telephone Number: 8650-1212 (The people here speak mandarin, and are not as clued in to foreign visitors as some of the other restaurants)

Address: 2-12 Huju South Road

Huh? If you’re walking on Huju South Road from Hanzhong Gate toward Shuixi Gate, it’ll be on your right.