😋 A Day of Gourmet Vegan Food in Shanghai

Last Sunday (August 25), I (your humble club advisor) and some members of Plant Futures DKU took a trip to Shanghai for a music and vegan afternoon buffet event at Fortunate Cafe. Despite the intense heat (this summer has been 🥵), and Shanghai being a bit far, we enjoyed some amazing food and had a fantastic time.

Lunch at GongDeLin

My friend Tivadar and I arrived a bit early to explore the Shanghai City History Museum. As it turned out, GongDeLin (功德林), a vegetarian restaurant with over 100 years of history (since 1922), was nearby. Even though we had plans for the buffet later, we couldn’t resist having a light lunch at GongDeLin.

The restaurant has the charm of an old venue. To reach the dining hall, you need to climb a steep flight of stairs, and when you get there, you’ll find it packed with grandmas and grandpas. They even have a thick menu book, which feels so last century in a country where mobile phone ordering has become the norm.

Having lunch there turned out to be a great idea. The food was delicious, and the portions were small. So we left feeling satisfied but still had room for the buffet.

We enjoyed two very refreshing cold dishes—Vegetarian Duck and Green Bamboo Shoots. For the hot dish, we had one that resembled a bird’s nest: a piece of pastry filled with beans and pine nuts in a spicy sauce. We also tried a tofu dish that tasted surprisingly like crab-flavored soup. It even came in a bowl shaped like a 🦀!

One funny thing about this place is that they don’t provide paper tissues! Probably this is to reduce waste. However, you can purchase a disinfected napkin for 2 yuan, which comes in plastic packaging. So, while you save on paper, you end up creating plastic waste! I’m not sure if that’s an improvement. 🤔

Buffet at Fortunate Cafe

When we arrived at Fortunate Cafe, we were surprised to find it perched on the top floor of an eight-story building, offering a fantastic view of the city. The cafe even has a large window that doubles as the face of a giant clock. There’s also a rooftop terrace where you can sit and have a drink, but given the intense heat, it was a bit too 🔥 to enjoy.

I was amused to find a large placard featuring a joyful 🐶 with the word “Joyful” on it. Naturally, Tivadar and I couldn’t resist taking a selfie with it.

Joy, or happiness, turned out to be the main theme of the music performance that took place an hour before the food arrived. The employees performed songs and dances with exuberant smiles. It’s been a while since I’ve seen such a cheerful crowd.

As part of the audience, we were encouraged to join in the merriment. At one point, we waved the placards with the 🐶 and other cheerful designs and joined the staff in singing a very happy song.

When I first arrived, I noticed a curious clock on the wall. Instead of numbers, the twelve hours were replaced by twelve positive words. At one point, the host gave us specific times and asked us to match them to the words on the clock to win some prizes. It was fun, but I felt like I was back in elementary school. 😅

Finally, the food arrived, and any remnants of my light lunch at GongDeLin were quickly forgotten. What can I say? It was the best vegan meal I’ve had in China! Check out the photos below.

What I found even more interesting was meeting so many vegetarians from Shanghai. They hailed from all over the world— the U.S., Australia, Hong Kong, and of course, Shanghai! We even met the owners of one of the most popular vegan restaurants in Shanghai, and they invited us for tea. (This might just be the destination of our next trip.) We also met an international student who works at the cafe because it offers them a community of fellow vegetarians. The chef at the cafe even generously shared their cake recipes with us.

It was a delightful day trip, filled with music, great food, and friendly company.

I hope you’ll join us on our next adventure!