They say you fall in love when you least expect it, and so it happened with our new favorite restaurant in Shenzhen: He Futang Vegan Tea Cafe. A Buddhist restaurant in Longhua that opened two months ago, it has a sizeable menu of Chinese and Western favorites, all free of meat and dairy.
He Futang is about a 15-minute walk from Minzhi station in Longhua, the transition point where red taxis disappear and green taxis can’t take passengers into certain parts of Shenzhen. The adventurous will love it: every part of the walk from the subway bustles with busy middle-class life – until the turn into He Futang’s alley.
Serenity envelops the loose confluence of buildings surrounding it, and patrons walk on elevated wooden boardwalks under beautiful red Chinese lanterns. The restaurant is in an area called 1980 Cultural Park, a Buddhist-themed development.
The owner and staff are very serious about Buddhism. A large TV plays Buddhist teachings over the main table in the restaurant, and the staff will offer you literature and instructional DVDs.
He Futang itself is hidden on the second floor, with the stairs directly to the right of the lantern-adorned entrance.
Meat lovers may not love this spot as much as we do. The chef is from up north (Dongbei), with dumplings being his specialty. Watch as staff roll the wrappers out by hand in the open kitchen, then order the mushroom (RMB28) or corn (RMB26) options. For those who want to learn how to make these nutritious and delicious morsels, they even offer classes, though instructions are all in Chinese.
Other amazing dishes here include a huge mixed salad with nuts (RMB38), marinated tofu skin salad (RMB15), hand-rolled spicy noodles with cabbage (RMB28), fried potatoes (RMB18) and spicy Sichuan soup (RMB43).
However, our favorite thing here is a drink: warm rice milk with walnuts (RMB38/pitcher, RMB18/cup). It may sound strange, but it tastes like an amazing peanut butter dessert, and three cups of it go down easily.
The owner is a Guangdong native who used to be a very successful tea salesman. He often sits at a gorgeous tea table and offers customers delicious brews after performing an elaborate tea ceremony.
The owner and staff are very serious about Buddhism. A large TV plays Buddhist teachings over the main table in the restaurant, and the staff will offer you literature and instructional DVDs. If you’ve never had a chance to meet extremely devout Buddhists, you should stop in here to experience the real thing and get some great food while you’re at it.
Price: Approx. RMB60
Who’s going: Vegans, Buddhists, adventurous expats
Good for: Alternative milks, tea ceremonies
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