pure lotus vegetarian restaurant

Before I came to China I was a vegetarian, but I never intended to keep that up during my travels.  Food is culture and I didn’t want to miss out on anything, not to mention having to question everything before I ate it.  That could be the best decision I’ve ever made.  But if I was a vegetarian in Beijing, Pure Lotus restaurant where I had dinner last night would have been my haven.  The place is Buddhist in theme so there is no alcohol and no meat, but there are plenty of teas and fortified juices to choose from and it is amazing what they can do with soy products to make them both look and taste like meat.  Here are just some of the dishes we had:

yummy “sausages”

the best eggplant I’ve ever had

“steak” and potatoes, my favorite dish of the night

pumpkin ball things that sounded really good on the menu but were actually pretty gross

fake Peking Duck that was absolutely delicious

complimentary dessert, oranges complete with dry ice presentation

Yes, I know it looks pricey and it is, but if you go in a big group it isn’t bad at all.  Total cost for the ten of us was 1113 kuai (about $162 US dollars) and all our stomachs and taste buds were satisfied.