This is a little post for any vegetarians that are going to study at the Beijing Language and Culture University. Perhaps you're wondering if there's any vegetarian eateries in the area? Well, prateeksha in the comments section kindly pointed me to a thread over on Chinese-Forums. In it I read that there are in fact two vegetarian restaurants behind the Microsoft building in Wudaokou. However, having never been to either of them, I am not in a position to further comment. Be sure to check them out for yourself though if you're interested!
Even though during my one year stay at BLCU I never personally came across any strictly vegetarian restaurants in the area, I want to make something clear: Chinese cuisine is famous for its great vegetable dishes. They do wonderful things with them. An example that I loved is sweet and sour eggplant, but you will find hundreds and hundreds of vegetable dishes.
Even though during my one year stay at BLCU I never personally came across any strictly vegetarian restaurants in the area, I want to make something clear: Chinese cuisine is famous for its great vegetable dishes. They do wonderful things with them. An example that I loved is sweet and sour eggplant, but you will find hundreds and hundreds of vegetable dishes.
Most menus in Chinese restaurants will have a section exclusively for vegetable dishes, just as they will for meats, noodles, rice, etc. Chances are good that you will also see pictures on the menus in restaurants around BLCU along with English translations.
So don't worry if you're vegetarian and going to BLCU. You will have plenty of choice in China and most likely fall in love with the food. Because it's so cheap, you can try a lot of different vegetables dishes too.
One problem raised by prateeksha in the comments section of my post 5 Restaurants Near BLCU You Might Not Know About is that vegetables can still be cooked in animal fat. Although I don't know how common this is, I suppose it is sometimes done. If you're a vegan (don't eat any animal products) then this might be hard to get around.
I will point out, though, that from my research I believe the most commonly used cooking oils in China are rapeseed and soy. Peanut oil's popularity has diminished over the last 15 years due to price increases. As such, you will probably not come across many vegetable dishes which have been cooked in animal fat. One way to tell is whether or not the fat/oil solidifies as the food cools down. If it does, it's a sure sign of animal fat or saturated oils (such as palm oil) which are not good for you and best avoided anyway.
If you end up renting an apartment off-campus (see my post 5 Advantages Of Living Off-Campus At BLCU) you will be able to buy fresh vegetables of your choice from local markets and cook them at home. This is something we often did when we felt like a healthy vegetable meal. It also means you know exactly what's going into the dish as you have total control over preparing it.
The canteens on campus always offer a lot of vegetable options too. It is also a very cheap place to eat with portions only costing a few yuan each. So really, if you're a vegetarian or vegan, I don't think you're going to have any real problems at BLCU. If anything, you'll probably be pleasantly surprised with just how much choice there is.
One problem raised by prateeksha in the comments section of my post 5 Restaurants Near BLCU You Might Not Know About is that vegetables can still be cooked in animal fat. Although I don't know how common this is, I suppose it is sometimes done. If you're a vegan (don't eat any animal products) then this might be hard to get around.
I will point out, though, that from my research I believe the most commonly used cooking oils in China are rapeseed and soy. Peanut oil's popularity has diminished over the last 15 years due to price increases. As such, you will probably not come across many vegetable dishes which have been cooked in animal fat. One way to tell is whether or not the fat/oil solidifies as the food cools down. If it does, it's a sure sign of animal fat or saturated oils (such as palm oil) which are not good for you and best avoided anyway.
If you end up renting an apartment off-campus (see my post 5 Advantages Of Living Off-Campus At BLCU) you will be able to buy fresh vegetables of your choice from local markets and cook them at home. This is something we often did when we felt like a healthy vegetable meal. It also means you know exactly what's going into the dish as you have total control over preparing it.
The canteens on campus always offer a lot of vegetable options too. It is also a very cheap place to eat with portions only costing a few yuan each. So really, if you're a vegetarian or vegan, I don't think you're going to have any real problems at BLCU. If anything, you'll probably be pleasantly surprised with just how much choice there is.
One last thing...
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Awww this post is so sweet of you Michael!
ReplyDeleteI have my fair share of concerns. Actually it's more because of the image that has been created in my mind by the Indians who have been to China. I discussed this with a native friend of mine who rubbished this notion that vegetarian food is hard to find in China. He said that Buddhism has a huge influence on the Chinese society, so there is a large variety of vegetarian food in China.
There is an entire topic on the chinese-forums about this: http://www.chinese-forums.com/index.php?/topic/4415-vegetarian-restaurants-in-beijing/
Let's see how I fare. I really intend to do my cooking. Nothing too eloquent. Just a simple meal of rice and pulses. What do you say, is that possible while living in a campus dorm?
Thanks for the link to that thread, prateeksha. I've updated the introduction to this post as a result.
ReplyDeleteRegards to your question, rice and pulses should be no problem to cook in the campus dorms. You will just need to pick up a pan from one of the supermarkets and then you can cook with it on the hotplates provided.
I imagine the pan will cost between 50-100 RMB depending on the quality you go for. It's a good investment though if you're going to be doing your own cooking.
Thanks again.
I liked this information. The canteens on campus always offer a lot of vegetable options too. It is also a very cheap place to eat with portions only costing a few yuan each. So really, if you're a vegetarian or vegan, I don't think you're going to have any real problems at BLCU. If anything, you'll probably be pleasantly surprised with just how much choice there is. Thanks for this sharing.
ReplyDeleteBehind Lotus supermarket (if u are from BLCU to Zhongguancun) on chen fu lu, u just turn right on the corner and there are many restaurants there: Kfc, some KTV and a vegetarian restaurante (vegetarian tiger )
ReplyDeletethis is a very nice website..i found the restaurant before checking this site but there are many places u can try in BJ!
http://www.happycow.net/asia/china/beijing/