*picture taken from guoli web*The last of my shanghai stint was at Song Yue Lou Vegetarian restaurant. This restaurant has been in operations since 1910 and is still seeing brisk business to date. I guess its also because of its strategic location where it is the only veg place available for tourists in that vincinity. Anyway, it is located along the old streets of Yu yuan and the old buildings of the Cheng Huang temple which is a famous tourist attraction.
A pretty normal dish that can hardly go wrong. As mentioned in my previous china posts, I love how fresh vegetables are in China perhaps due to the fact that they are cooked at most 1-2 days late. We will never get such freshness in SG.
Spicy sauce Fish
Was looking for some spice but was truely shocked by how spicy this was! Totally suited my taste but may not be good for the weak stomach. If you refer to the green little things in this dish, they are not green peas, but little green chili, and there were tons of them in this dish alone. The sauce was special with this spicy sichuan flavour. Fish wise, nothing much, as it was the usual beancurd sheet-made fishes that we can get in most suppliers' stores. Great to go with rice.
A total disappointment, as I was not able to make out what the orangey spread was. Doesnt taste like carrot or mock floss. This dish was soaked in oil and was tasteless. Perhaps its a local dish which I was not able to appreciate. Xun was telling me that the crab roe at Gong De Lin was much better, a pity a didnt get a chance to taste it.
Price wise, I couldnt recall each individual rate, but it was around RMB 30 per dish. They also do sell economical dishes like noodle soup at RMB 25 per bowl. Do note that a lot of dishes are done using gluten. Famous Dish: Vegetarian Bun
Location: 老城隍庙百翎路23号, Near Yu Yuan
Tel:021-63553630
Opening Hrs: 6am - 8pm
I've always liked it that the USP is selling the vegetarian notion as a "lifestyle". In addition, this was the only place I visited that does not take in reservations (unless you have more than 10 pax) and you would have to queue if the place is full. I went to the "Huai Hai" (淮海) outlet and perhaps due to its strategic location, it is always fully occupied even on a weekday.
I was so glad to be able to sample when I was in 
This is also one of my favourite dish. The Pork Rib is made of mock meat wrapped with lotus roots. It is chewy and once you bite into it, the lotus roots has a crunchy sticky taste.
I was craving for spicy dishes but this wasn't spicy enough, but appealing. A pity I didn't realise that this picture doesn't show the "fish". Anyway, the fish is made of beancurd sheets and seaweed (the usual ones you can find in SG), and served with a uniquely not too spicy chili sauce. The sauce is made of fermented beans, crushed tofu, chili, capcicums and perhaps other unknown ingredients which I was not able to make out. A good gravy to go with rice and definitely not spicy.
Price is comparable to Singapore standard. However, this is one of the better dumplings I've sampled. The dumpling skin is really smooth and chewy which is totally translucent when served. This is comparable to the "har kow" we can find in most dim sum places. I was really happy to try it as the fillings within is really interesting - comprises of mixed veg and mock veg prawns (which is made from soy protein). Tastes like the "real" one esp with the red vinegar.
Cindy was telling me this dish was not bad as the rice is really fragrant. I find it kind of interesting, as the waitress poured a special sauce into the really hot stone pot and started mixing the ingredients into the rice. A pity i didnt get to take the waitress's face as she was camera shy. Anyway, the above pic shows the "end result". Not exactly a korean style bibimbap, but its similar, as everything is mixed together like fried rice. There are many ingredients in this pot which includes mushrooms, veg ham, green chopped veg and some mock meats.
