Tips and Tricks for being Vegan in Xi’an

Article By Sammy Pryse

Being vegan can be challenging at times in new places. I found Xi’an to be a particularly difficult city for veganism until I set up my support network. To spare you the trouble, I’d like to share some knowledge I’ve picked up over the years for practicing veganism in Xi’an.

Eating Out

天龙宝严素食馆
Tiān Lóng Bǎo Yán
Address:1-C, Cien West Rd, Yanta District
Phone Number:(029) 8526 7880
Operating Hours:Mon-Sun 11:00am-9:30pm
This is a Buddhist restaurant located close to the Dayanta. The food served here is predominately Chinese-style cuisine with an array of soy-based “meats”. The English spoken by the staff in this restaurant is limited, but don’t let a lack of putonghua sway you from these amazing meals! The menu comes complete with pictures. The food is delicious, the menu is varied and even my non-vegan friends commented on the quality and flavor of these incredible dishes. The location is perfect, allowing you the opportunity to take a stroll in the Dayanta park after dinner or a stroll down to the elegant Xi’an Brewery for a drink. The atmosphere is a typically Chinese style restaurant with round tables and some smaller eating rooms for banquets or family parties.

荷·上乘舒食空间 Lotus
Address:2nd Floor, He Sheng Jing T11 Plaza, Fenglin Road, Yanta District
Phone Number:(029) 8881 0325
Operating Hours:
This is a fine dining restaurant—but definitely not to be confused with the other fine dining restaurant named Lotus, which serves steaks. The atmosphere is romantically charming with dimmed lights, candles, exquisite music and secluded tables and chairs perfect for date nights or a beautiful evening with close friends. The meals are all vegan in petit carefully crafted serving sizes. This restaurant is a definite recommendation for couples, special occasions, birthdays and anniversaries. The meals will set you back quite a bit, but the experience is totally worth it.

乐班 Leban
Address:G/F Block B, Chang’an Metropolis center, No.88 Nanguan Zheng Street Beilin District
Phone Number:(029) 8765 1617
Operating Hours:9:00am- 11:00pm
There are two or three Leban cafes located in various locations around Xi’an. This cafe is upbeat and funky. They have a couple meals available that are vegan friendly. The coffee shop however, does not provide vegan milk so you need to bring your own. The music is fun and the atmosphere is perfect for meeting up with friends or enjoying some alone time.

红堡 RedFort
Address:118 Laodong South Road
Phone Number:187-0159-0786
Operating Hours:Mon-Sun 11:00am- 9:30pm
This is a fancy Bollywood style Indian restaurant located at the West Tang Market. It is gorgeously decorated with secluded booths of soft comfy chairs and tables with an additional outside eating area. The menu has many vegetarian meals available that can be modified to be vegan. The manager is familiar with the term “vegan” and speaks English. When ordering from the vegetarian menu request vegetarian meals without paneer, ghee or butter. The atmosphere is romantic and the food is sumptuous. Definitely recommended for a deliciously spicy Indian curry.

Coffee Shops

Pacific Coffee
Pacific Coffee offers Oatly milk for vegans. You can find Pacific shops around Xi’an in a lot of different areas.

Starbucks
Starbucks offers soy milk for their patrons. You can find Starbucks coffee shops in numerous locations around the city. Just ask for dou nai.

Cruelty Free
Bags and Shoes

Charles and Keith
Charles and Keith is an exclusive up-market boutique store for the vegan fashionphile specializing in faux leather bags and shoes. The brand is now recognized for selling 95% “Vegan Leather” products. Make sure the purchases you make are definitely cruelty free before committing. They have a range of modern designs with collection updates each season. I know G-Park has a Charles and Keith store as does Wanda in Beilin District, and I am sure there are other stores in other venues.

Vegan Online

GoVegan
A virtual store that ships products across China, or if you are lucky, the real deal store in Guangzhou (by the way they even deliver to the airport if you are stuck in transit). This is the perfect go-to store for all of your seeds, nuts, tempeh, yoghurt and nutritional yeast needs. You can order from GoVegan and they will deliver to your home in Xi’an. GoVegan has been a life saver with delicious dips, cheeses and even vegan beauty products. This is one virtual world you need in your cruelty-free life!

 

Vegan Meats

Xiu Zi Vegetarian Restaurant
This is my favorite Vegan meat store on Taobao. I’m not a big fan of meat, but the chicken nuggets, hams and sausages I purchase through this store please everyone else in my family. They are tasty and the texture is very meaty. This has been the best store I have found on Taobao selling vegan meats and I thoroughly recommended it to help with moving your favorite people over to a vegan diet.

Vegan Soaps and Shampoo Bars

Yin Tu Mo Mo Handmade Soap
This is a wonderful store for purchasing vegan soaps and shampoo bars which are not just cruelty free, but environmentally beneficial. The store delivers to Xi’an and you can make a big impact on the sustainability of the environment by reducing the amount of plastic bottles you purchase for shampoos, conditioners and soaps.

7-1

7-2

7-3

7-4