November 1, 2008
Vegetarian restaurant in Beijing
In 2000, I wrote about Gong Di Lin, a fake-meat veggie restaurant. I went back tonight. It’s moved a few blocks. The place is now bright rather than dingy. But it’s still delicious, with a huge menu of foods, from chicken to jellyfish to intestines to “man-made horse feet.” I had Szichuan “chicken,” fried rice with “pork” and a very big bottle of beer. (80 yuan, or about US$12.) The man at the table next to me struck up a conversation — very friendly witha beautiful young teenage son. (I noticed many fathers with sons as I walked for 6 hours today. Maybe that’s only because I brought our son to Beijing when he was about that boy’s age.)
I can’t find the address of its new venue, so ask someone. But, if you walk down Wangfujing St., the big pedestrian shopping mall with all the fancy shops, and if you cross Quianmen East St. going south, it’s just a few buildings down. Unfortunately for us Westerners, the sign is Chinese-only. So, like I say, ask someone. You’ll be glad.
