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Well worth a visit

4 Posted on 04 / 16 / 2013

We had a lovely dinner here a few weeks ago. Two of the three things we tried to order were unavailable, but it may have been our fault for not getting there early enough. We ended up eating a "chicken" hotpot, a grilled cauliflower dish with "pork" strips, and some Chinese broccoli. It was all very tasty. Service was very friendly, although there's next to no English being spoken. Just be aware this place shuts really early - 9.30pm, I think. That is when they are closing the restaurant for the night, not when the kitchen closes. So aim to get there by 8 at the latest, I reckon. Otherwise, no complaints about this place.

Pros: Wide range of dishes, Tasty food, Friendly service
Cons: Closes kind of early

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Superb

5 Posted on 04 / 01 / 2013

I ate here many times when I was in Shanghai, and it was always fresh and delicious. The food is healthy, not oily and uses many organic ingredients. There are always lots of people, but the atmosphere is peaceful. I tried the traditional tofu skin rolls, and the tofu rolls wrapped around veggies and pine nuts. Also the '8 types of veggies', the noodle soup, and a stir-fried vegetables and tofu dish. Everything was delectable. Prices are reasonable - most dishes are between 20 and 40 rmb.

Pros: Fresh, Healthy, Delicious

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Fine

4 Posted on 11 / 09 / 2012

This is really a fine restaurant. They serve you tea with your meal, the dishes are fine,guests nice. Recommended.
October 2012

Pros: good food , nice guests, tea included

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long time favorite with consistent quality

4 Posted on 11 / 17 / 2011

Zao Zi Shu - the Chinese name of Vegetarian Lifestyle, meaning 'jujube tree' - on Fengxian Road is my all time fall back on place that never disappoints. They serve vegetarian Chinese food, and if you tell them you want your dishes less or more oily, they will gladly comply with your request - sth that is almost impossible to get across in most Chinese restaurants as cooking in a wok requires more oil than western cooking.
There are a few staples like their wonderful jiaozi that are almost always filled with minced meat in other places and thus this is a special treat and they do have a great Taiwanese style mock chicken that is fantastic - however, what I truly love is their consistent but not too frequent menu changes and additions. It makes for seasonal variety as well as for pleasant new discoveries every now and then. Also, this was one of the very few places in Shanghai that was smoke free before the general policy hit town in 2010!

Pros: smoke-free, nice setting, close to metro line 2
Cons: no heating in winter

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Generous portions but rather oily

4 Posted on 03 / 19 / 2010

We ate here for dinner during a trip to Shanghai. Clean place with good service. I looked around and found that many of the hot dishes seemed rather oily, so we ordered a couple of cold appetizers and just one main dish. Food came in generous portions and was quite tasty, but apparently not too healthy with all that grease. All in all, this is a decent restaurant that I will visit again when in town next time. Just avoid the potentially greasy dishes and it'll be fine.

Pros: large portions, reasonably priced, clean
Cons: rather oily

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worth going back for

5 Posted on 01 / 04 / 2010

very popular place for excellent food. large standard menu + seasonal dishes! have to admit i haven't been there in a long time as i haven't been to shanghai in a long time, but my mouth waters just by the thought of it. love the dumplings! they even have a small section of dried veg food for home cooking.

Pros: good value , friendly and efficient staff , super yummy

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Superb food

5 Posted on 07 / 17 / 2009

We ate here a couple of times when we recently visited Shanghai and fell in love with the place.

The food was amazing. I enjoyed the "Meatballs" and sweet and sour "chicken" but everything was truly delicious.

The serves are really big - we found that 2 dishes between us was actually too much food and I hate to leave food on the plate, but it was super good value.

Staff were friendly, menus were in English/Chinese and the place was clean, well-run and had great service.

I'd highly recommend you make the effort to visit any oneo f their restaurants in Shanghai.

Pros: Amazing food, Friendly staff, Great value
Cons: none

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Yum!

5 Posted on 02 / 08 / 2009

Went to VL yesterday and the food was delicious! Ordered the mock duck, eggplant with basil, some simple tofu szehucan styel and these fantastic mushrooms. Sorry, wish I could remember the exact names! It as all wonderful, and I have to mention the pearl brown rice which I really loved. A must visit!

Pros: Delicious, Large portions, Very affordable

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Excellent place

4 Posted on 12 / 21 / 2008

This is also one of my favourite "veg-temples" in Shanghai. Food is great and such a variety that we never know what to order first... Pretty hip place, too. Nice style.

Pros: excellent food, stylish, really nice toilets
Cons: orders take a while, Western prices