November 1 is World Vegan Day, a time to reflect on our diets and perhaps try something new, something a bit more sustainable for the planet? Yes, we are speaking of a vegan lifestyle, and here are just a few ways for you to see if it might fit into your life!

KFC expands plant-based menu items in Beijing

Fresh on the heels of what was apparently a successful trial run back in June, KFC has announced that they will be permanently adding plant-based chicken nuggets and hamburgers to the menu at 210 of their restaurants across six cities in China, including Beijing. The move has been in the works since April when the US-based fried chicken purveyors released the alt-nuggets in Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen.

It may be plant-based, but it’s still unapologetically KFC

At RMB 35, the burger – which uses a patty from a global faux-meat juggernaut, Beyond Meat – is roughly twice the price of KFC’s standalone chicken sandwich, however, the nuggets, which are made by the much less hipster-friendly food/agricultural/financial/industrial/quintessential-evil-US-conglomerate, Cargill have a much more reasonable RMB 11 price tag.

For vegan fast foodies, barring any sort of localized difference in bun recipes, the burger could be made vegan if you forgo the cheese and any mayo dressing. Meanwhile, the nuggets are certifiably vegan as-is.

21 Day Vegan Challenge

If you’re looking for an excuse to gorge yourself on KFC burgers and nuggets (we wouldn’t advise it, but hey, you do you), as well as all of the other meatless goodies that have been popping up lately, sign up for Beijing Vegan Community’s 21 Day Vegan Challenge. The event kicks off Nov 1 – World Vegan Day, as we mentioned before – and is a great opportunity for anyone who has ever considered going vegan but isn’t entirely sure how to get started.

For RMB 100, participants have access to a team of nutritionists, health consultants, and mentors who will help guide them on the first steps of their plant-based journey, as well as special deals and discounts from participating restaurants and vendors. If you happen to be vegan already, the price drops to RMB 60 and provides valuable insights into the lifestyle you’ve already adopted. While we wouldn’t encourage anyone to lie, it’s not entirely clear what proof, if any, you have to provide to get the “already vegan discount.”

Despite being held online and through WeChat, the 21 Day Vegan Challenge nutritionists will be hosting health and cooking workshops throughout the month and sharing some of their favorite plant-based recipes to make the entire process as stress-free and straightforward as possible. As an added bonus, if you share photos of your vegan meals three times a day for the duration of the challenge, you’ll get your RMB 100 back! For more information and to register, click here.

 Plant-based Thanksgiving by Chef Brandon

If you want to test how your favorite indulgences would taste in the vegan lifestyle, book a plant-based Thanksgiving for the ultimate challenge! Maybe you’ll find it isn’t as hard as you think!

KEEP READING: No Meat, No Problem: Beijing’s Best Vegan Hotspots

Photos: Unsplash 

MooMoo Week? What’s that?

MooMoo Week is a challenge where you completely cut out meat from your diet for a week and go vegan or vegetarian. It is a new annual initiative that encourages the reduction of your carbon footprint through decreased meat intake. This year I participated in the challenge at my school and went vegetarian for a week. In fact, I tried tofu for the first time and absolutely loved it.

I chose to participate in the challenge this year to try something new, and because reducing my meat intake is one of the most efficient ways to reduce my carbon footprint. MooMoo week was rewarding, and it has pushed me to eat a minimum of one vegan/vegetarian meal a day.

Initially, cutting out meat from my diet took a toll on my body; I became tired quite easily and felt slightly weaker. I eventually realized that due to the lack of meat, I wasn’t getting any protein. Therefore, I began to eat larger servings of other protein-based foods like beans and tried out new ones such as tofu to regain my strength. Overall the change in diet was not very drastic. I didn’t crave meat nor felt as if I couldn’t survive without it. However, I will admit that I got jealous of those surrounding me eating meat, such as fried bacon and ham from time to time. In truth, the hardest part of the challenge was finding something to eat in my school canteen. I would often have to compromise and purchase a meal containing meat, and I’d set it aside for a friend.

 
Effects of cutting out meat from your diet

Vegetables vs. Meat

Reducing meat intake can have a significant impact on your health and the health of our planet. Eating less meat and more plant-based products helps solve livestock production issues, such as climate change, air pollution, and soil pollution. The land usage of meat and greenhouse gas emissions created from meat production has a detrimental effect on our environment. Globally, animal agriculture produces approximately 15% to 20% of greenhouse gases. One of the most efficient ways to reduce our carbon footprint is by reducing our meat and dairy consumption. Moreover, if just one person gave up their burgers, bacon, and nuggets, that single person would save 162,486 gallons of water annually. 

Cutting out meat does not only make our planet greener, but it also offers health benefits, and you save more money in the long run. Foods such as red meat are the largest source of saturated fats in a diet. Cutting down on meat or eliminating it reduces multiple health risks such as heart disease.

However, I strongly advise those with previous dietary and health conditions to take precautions or consult with their doctor before cutting out meat. Reducing or eliminating your meat intake is only healthy if you gain enough sustenance from other nutritious foods.

What do the organizers have to say about MooMoo Week?

The organizers of MooMoo Week 2020 are named Isaac Lim and Zoe Nai. The two sixteen-year-olds held the challenge for the first time last year with their peers and decided to do it again this year. I reached out to them and asked them about this year’s success.

What motivated you to create MooMoo Week?

Nai: MooMoo week started off as a small global perspectives project. We knew we wanted to do something related to sustainability and our carbon footprints, so we thought, what could WE do in our community. So we decided to focus on food waste, something we were able to try to make a difference in our community.

Lim: MooMoo Week was created, actually, for a small scale school project. Our idea was simple: how best could we help reduce the carbon footprint of the school? Our answer to this question was MooMoo week- a simple, seven – day challenge in which you attempt to go vegan or vegetarian.

What are some of the benefits to Moo Moo Week?

Nai: MooMoo Week is actually a very simple task, but it requires a lot of commitment. It helps others notice how much meat they consume, and could also lead to better awareness of what you eat.

Lim: MooMoo Week is about a lot more than this one week. After the week, our participants carry on taking the cost of environmental destruction into account not just when eating, but also in all of their purchases and decisions. We have to recognize our incredible economic privilege, the luxury we have of being able to pick and choose lower-carbon products. Not everyone can go vegan for a week, but we can, and maybe we should.

How successful was Moo Moo Week this year?

Nai: MooMooWeek was really successful this year, better than what we had expected. We got way more participants and way more people that made it to the end.

Lim: We were blown away by the support this movement gathered this year- we doubled our goals, with students and teachers from every grade at school pledging to go vegan or vegetarian. This action seems small, but when you consider the number of people who signed up and how they’re going to carry on thinking about carbon footprint, you see the huge impact.

KEEP READING: Pushing the Bun-velope: Some of Burger Fest’s Most Unique Creations in The Beijinger

Photos: Pexels, Unsplash

The interruptions of food supply chains following the closure of the XingFaDi market in Fengtai district, the city’s biggest fresh produce, meat, and fish supplier in Beijing, has left us all with a bad taste in our mouths. Okay, maybe not bad, but a strange taste for sure. For a few days this past week, some of our favorite restaurants were unable to plate our favorite meat dishes, and we had to contend with mostly veg dishes instead. 

In an ideal world, we would put down our serrated knives and forks, flood the streets, and demand delicious vegan alternatives for everything. But the world is not ideal, and frankly, it is too hot to move a muscle. So instead, we might choose to do what we do best – Taobao and chill. Only this time, we will be exploring the mysterious world of faux-meat.

While by no means a new invention (Buddhists have been creating mock-meat alternatives for ages), in the last couple of years, plant-based meat substitutes have gained enormous popularity the world over, in a trend that is tied to growing concerns over greenhouse gasses emitted by animals raised for meat and milk and how they continue to affect the environment. But beyond all that, many meat substitutes are actually delicious sources of high levels of plant-based protein and at the very least, a guilt-free dinner.

Let’s dive into some of the best options available on Taobao right now. 

Beyond Meat

This American brand began making waves in the mainstream foodie community in the mid-2000s with its revolutionary top quality products. It has since gained support from the A-list vegan celebrities such as actor and comedian Kevin Hart. It is also available on Taobao at fairly competitive price-points, offering a variety of products, from beyond meat ‘beef’, beyond meat ‘burgers’, beyond meat ‘sausage’ and beyond meat ‘pork’. They even offer fishless filets and chickenless nuggets. Whereas a 500-gram slab of premium imported Angus beef steak could set you back RMB 300, the beyond meat steak stands at a reasonable RMB 140. And if you’re concerned with the ingredients, rest assured. All protein is plant-sourced from fava bean, mung bean, peas, and brown rice. All oils and fats included are coconut oil, cocoa butter, sunflower, and canola oil. For your troubles, you also get rewarded with as much as 20 grams of protein per serving. Not bad.

To find it, search: Beyond Meat

Qishan Food Factory Store

Offering a variety of prepared faux-meats, this store specializes in offering a Chinese cuisine inspired meats, from Sichuan-flavored sausage, to prime lamb pieces and plain Beijing roast duck, all made from a soy-based mixture. And to sweeten the deal, the Taobao store offers an assorted pack of 16 types of meat for RMB 169.

To find it, search: 齐善食品工厂店 (Qí shàn shípǐn gōngchǎng diàn)

Tian Yue Ming Fang Su Life

If you’ve ever been to a typical 麻辣烫 (málà tang) eatery then you might recognize some of what’s on offer in this Taobao store. They specialize in a variety of ‘breakfast meats’, with mushroom meatballs, soybean ‘ham’ sausage, and even salted soy protein fish. They also offer a variety of condiments, relishes such a mushroom and olive pickle relish and oils you might never have thought to try. My eye is currently on a bottle of Porcini oil. This shop definitely shows a fondness for mushroom, which is a great source of protein and might be a good break from the usual soy-meat substitute we have all grown accustomed to.

To find it, search:  天悦名坊素生活 (Tiān yuè míng fāng sù shēnghuó)

Omnipork

Much like Beyond Meat, Omnipork combines the innovation of plant-based protein with a meat particularly favored this side of the world – pork.  The meat on offer is made entirely of Shiitake mushroom, pea, non-GMO soy, and rice, and free of added antibiotics or hormones found in real animal meats. It also has the added benefit of being Halal certified. And for those who are allergic to nuts, then you are in luck since Omnipork contains zero percent nuts. These products are available in the Greencommon Taobao store, which happens to be Omnipork’s parent company. So you are assured of a factory to plate safety guarantee. Less glamorous but you catch my drift.

To find it, search: 新猪肉 (Xīn zhūròu)

KEEP READING: Beijing’s Vegan Community on Challenging Stereotypes

Photos: beyondmeat.com, Mark Allan Karanja

The first weekend of 2020 is upon us, and whether you’ve settled into a resolution or not, it’s the perfect time to try something new. You don’t have to completely overhaul your life, of course, but why not change up those routines you’ve unwittingly fallen into over the last couple years? Likewise, you can encourage your kids to try something new as well. After all, variety is the spice of life.

So where better to start than with your family’s first breakfast of 2020!

Not only eating together, but cooking together, is an awesome activity for the whole family. It teaches safety, creativity, nutrition, and wellness.

As beijingkids‘ resident vegetarian, I’m always sharing tasty recipes with my colleagues, eager to spread the joy and versatility of a meat-free diet. And with more and more folks either going completely veg, or at least being mindful of the impact their dietary choices have on the planet — working challenges like Veganuary or Meatless Monday into their schedules — I thought it might be helpful to share some recipes with our readers as well.

Tofu Scramble

One of my favorite things to prepare on a Saturday morning is my famous tofu scramble. At least it’s famous in my house. It’s an incredibly easy dish to prepare, and with just the right amount of cumin, you can capture that smoky egg flavor we all remember digging into while we sat on the couch watching cartoons.

Though this recipe is pretty standard fare for a tofu scramble, don’t be afraid to get creative and add your own flourishes to it. Perhaps you’d like to throw in some broccoli, a side of potatoes, or melt some cheese on top. The choice is yours, and the possibilities are endless.

Ingredients:

• 1 Bell pepper
• 1/2 Onion
• 2 tbsp cumin
• 5 cloves garlic
• 2 blocks tofu
• 2.5 tbsp oil

Serving Size:

• Family of four

Directions:

1) Press your tofu to remove moisture, set aside

     — To do this, simply wrap your tofu in a paper towel or cheese cloth, set it on a plate, and place another plate on top. Set some heavy objects on top, such as pans or books, and leave for at least 15 minutes, or until your tofu becomes dry to the touch.

2) Dice your veggies and set aside

     — Meanwhile, dice your veggies and garlic, and prepare your cumin.

3) Cube your tofu — don’t worry about scrambling yet, you can do that once it’s in the pan

     — Once your veggies are diced, cut your tofu into small cubes by slicing the tofu block lengthwise down the middle, followed by four to five cuts from top to bottom, and the same from left to right.

4) Once everything is chopped and ready, add oil and tofu to pan

     — As your tofu cooks, use your spatula to scramble it up, much like you would if you were cooking eggs.

5) Continue cooking tofu on medium-high 5 to 7 minutes, or until it begins to brown

     — This will help your tofu get a nice firm and crispy texture.

6) Reduce heat to medium-low and add garlic and cumin. Cook for 3 to 5 minutes

     — Once your tofu is browned, add the garlic and cumin and mix well. Let this cook for another couple minutes, or until the garlic and cumin become fragrant. Don’t leave your burner on too high, or else you’ll char these precious flavors.

7) Add onion and bell pepper

     — Continue cooking the entire dish until your onions and bell pepper begin to soften.

8) Serve immediately with a side of toast or fruit

     — If you want to get real fun with it, you can wrap everything up in a tortilla for a delicious breakfast burrito!

 Photos: Drew Pittock

Let’s be real, New Year’s resolutions are notoriously difficult to keep up. Maybe it’s because of the capricious and arbitrary nature by which we decide to take them seriously — do you really need the start of a new year to overhaul some part of yourself that you’re unhappy with? Or maybe it’s because implementing a lifestyle change sounds all well and good when we’re enjoying the freedom of a holiday break, but becomes increasingly difficult to stick to as the drudgery of everyday life swallows up our routines, leaving little to no room for self-care and wellness.

Either way, it’s safe to say that we begin each year with the best of intentions (New Year, New You!), and come February, we’ve slipped back into our old habits and ways of being.

Luckily, it doesn’t have to be that way.

And with plant-based diets ever on the rise, many of you may be considering vegan or vegetarian diets as your resolution this year. After all, 2020 marks the peak of a predicted 17 percent growth in China’s vegan market, and we’re but a scant ten years away from a goal laid out in China’s 2016 Health Ministry Dietary Guidelines, which calls for a 50 percent reduction in meat consumption, nationwide, by 2030.

Statistics and figures notwithstanding, if you’re flirting with the idea of making 2020 the year you cut animal products from your repertoire, or if you’ve already made this change, then Moka Bros’ Veganuary promotion is for you.

During January and February, customers can get a Veganuary Punch Card from any Moka Bros location. Every vegan or vegetarian meal ordered earns you a punch on the card, and once you’ve accumulated ten punches, you’ll get a vegan or vegetarian Power Bowl on the house. It’s a pretty sweet deal, and the requisite incentive some of us need to successfully conquer our seemingly lofty resolutions.

Spicy Cauliflower Quinoa

According to Rocky Liu, a marketing manager at Moka Bros, the reasons for doing a promotion like this are two-fold. For one, a plant-based diet is in line with Moka Bros’ mission and vision. As Liu explained to beijingkids, “A healthy lifestyle begins with great food. Fresh, wholesome goodness prepared with love! The result; balance, flavor, and guilt-free goodness.”

Buddha Bowl

Similarly, Moka Bros’ head chef Daniel Urdanata states that “Leading a healthier lifestyle means something different to everyone. We believe in variety and balance. To us it’s about using the freshest produce we can get our hands on, and preparing it with health in mind.”

The second tenet of Moka Bros’ Veganuary promotion is steeped in their strong connection to the community and love of cooking. “We have good connections with our guests and some of them are vegan or vegetarian,” says Liu. “We share ideas and we work together to make things happen.”

Perhaps most importantly though, as Liu proudly states, and as many of their customers will attest to, “We are good at cooking, and we make plant-based food tasty for everyone.”

Moka Bros has three locations across Beijing. To find one near you, click here.

Photos: YHouse.com, Moka Bros

It’s pretty hard to ignore the fact that plant-based lifestyles are quickly taking root all over the world, with fast-food giants such as KFC, Subway, and McDonald’s adding vegan and vegetarian items to their menus in a frenzied attempt to keep up with the growing demand for cruelty-free ingredients. The current concerns about global warming and a sustainable future have caused people to stop and seriously consider where their food is coming from, what resources it requires to produce, and which populations, both human and animal, are the most vulnerable as we plow through the natural world filling our bellies.

Whereas historically, in the West, vegetarian and vegan diets have largely been a response to animal welfare advocated for by wacky hippies, in China the tradition of plant-based living is much longer and richer. In fact, that staple of all meat-free diets, tofu, appeared in China during the Han Dynasty roughly 2,000 years ago, forever changing the landscape of Chinese and plant-based cuisine.

Ancient tofu makers

So it’s welcome news that Beijing will finally host its first trade fair for a plant-based lifestyle in cooperation with German-based group VeggieWorld. Held at the Beijing International Convention Center from Nov 8-10 (which incidentally coincides with World Vegan Month), VeggieWorld Beijing will bring together more than 50 vendors and purveyors of plant-based products including clothing and shoes, cosmetics, superfoods and supplements, as well as faux meats, cheeses, and eggs.

While Early Early Bird ticket sales have closed, Early Bird tickets can still be purchased using the QR code on the flyer below from now until November 3 for RMB 48 for one person or RMB 80 for two people, with tickets rising to RMB 58 per person if purchased at the box office on the day of the event.

In addition to the public expo, industry leaders will also be participating in the second Future Food Summit Forum, which will tackle such issues as the future of alternative proteins in China, innovation and technological responses to meat alternatives, and entrepreneurship and investment opportunities in the next generation of food.

Beginning in Wiesbaden, Germany in 2011, VeggieWorld expos have since found homes in 19 cities across ten countries. As the platform continues to grow, so too does the diversity of products and industries represented, proving that plant-based lifestyles aren’t just about diets anymore, and that the sky is the limit for renewable resources and a greener, healthier future.

For more information, click here.

Photos: VeggieWorld, ltl-school.com, theworldlink.com

Beijing is not exactly bursting with vegan and vegetarian restaurants, but you can still find a fair few decent options scattered throughout the city, especially if you know where to look. Enter: Veg Restaurant Guide.

Created by 素食雷达 (sùshí léidá), Veg Restaurant Guide is a Beijing-based platform that promotes vegetarianism by helping users easily locate vegan and vegetarian dining options in the city via a user-friendly interactive map. If you’re traveling, the app also covers over 200 other Chinese cities, making it a godsend for tourists and option-strapped vegetarians.

You can access the guide either via their website, or their handy WeChat mini-program, which you can find by searching 素食餐厅指南 (sùshí cāntīng zhǐnán). The app will automatically appear in either English or Chinese depending on your WeChat language settings but you can also change language in the app’s settings menu. From there, allow the program to access your location information and it will show you all of the plant-based restaurants in your neighborhood.

The map view makes finding vegan and vegetarian restaurants in your area very easy

The featured restaurants appear as pins on the map; click through to access detailed address, how to get there by public transport, contact information, and a tag for whether it is vegetarian or vegan. Each venue is also color-coded depending on price-per-head: blue represents under RMB 100, orange is RMB 100-299, and pink is the most expensive at RMB 300 and up.

Many of the functions of the app are accessible without needing to create an account: you can access information about all the restaurants, share them with friends, submit a new restaurant you’ve found via ‘Add a Restaurant,’ and report errors (such as if a restaurant is now closed). Create an account, and you can save favorite restaurants via the ‘collect’ button, and leave reviews and tips for other users. There is also a sign-in option for Restaurant owners, which presumably allows them to update and edit information about their own venues.

Another fun feature is that if you press the icon of the two figures in the bottom left corner, you can access a ‘dine together’ function. Once enabled, this will show the location of other users in the vicinity, making for a handy way to find dining pals when you’re out and about or some kind of vegan Tinder, depending on what you’re looking for.

Click on a restaurant pin for detailed address and contact information, as well as pictures and reviews by other users

The Veg Restaurant Guide launched over a year ago but there are still some bugs that we’d like to see ironed out. For example, the search function doesn’t work terribly well, failing to list any restaurant options when we typed in ‘Dongcheng Lama Temple’ area, despite there being numerous options pinned on the map view. Secondly, as we all know, Beijing is in constant flux, with restaurants and venues opening and shutting in the blink of an eye, so it’s best to be a bit skeptical about the accuracy of the information and we suggest you call the number listed to check that the restaurant is indeed open before you make the trek.

Despite these kinks, we’re delighted to see this program on the market, a promising indication that more and more individuals and businesses are welcoming the ways of vegetarianism. As well as increased awareness regarding the physical and environmental benefits that a meat-free diet can bring, with the help of more apps like the Veg Restaurant Guide, we hope that China will soon become a place where people of all gastronomic persuasions feel at home.

Now you know where to go, read our tips on how to avoid meat and animal products elsewhere in Beijing.

Photos: pixabay, giphy.com, Veg Restaurant Guide

This post comes courtesy of UnTour Food Tours, who have been taking guests off the beaten path to eat shoulder-to-shoulder with locals since 2010.

Visiting Beijing as a vegetarian or vegan can be frustrating and rewarding in equal measure, depending on your outlook. While Beijing can be a fantastic city for vegetarian and vegan dining, a little knowledge and some key phrases go a long way when it comes to tracking down veggie treasures and avoiding unwittingly eating meat.

Here are a few pros and cons of Beijing for meat-free foodies.

Pros:

• Variety: Local Chinese restaurants of all kinds often have just as many vegetable dishes as meat dishes, representing a wider selection of vegetable varieties than you may find overseas.
• Dedicated Restaurants: Vegetarian restaurants are relatively plentiful in Beijing. You won’t find one on every street corner, but you’re likely to find one at least one within half an hour’s walking distance wherever you are in central Beijing.
• Accommodating Waitstaff: While staff in restaurants overseas are becoming increasingly accustomed to and welcoming of meat-free diners, the willingness of many of your average Western restaurateurs to accommodate meat-free guests is yet to compare to their counterparts in Beijing. Special orders and special requests are the norm here, and staff at many restaurants will ask if you have any special dietary requirements at the time you order. If you hear a member of staff ask “yǒu jì kǒu ma?” they’re asking if you have any dietary restrictions. Read on below to find out how to answer.

Cons:

• What Constitutes Meat: There’s only one real challenge to getting your hands on authentic Beijing food while avoiding animal products. It is, however, a significant one that will take some patience and persistence to overcome. While Beijing’s restaurant staff may be eager to meet your dietary requirements, differing ideas regarding the meaning of the word meat can make ordering difficult, especially for visitors with limited Chinese language skills. The term ‘meat’ (肉 ròu), is usually taken literally in Beijing to mean the muscle tissue of land animals and birds, so learning to avoid other animal parts, parts of other animals, and the derivatives of both requires a far more specific and explicit approach (see handy phrases below). Additionally, understanding of vegetarianism and veganism is often limited, meaning that telling restaurant staff you’re vegetarian may be insufficient. Check out these phrases below to help successfully navigate the meat minefield.

General Phrases:

我是素食主义者。 Wǒ shì sù shí zhǔ yì zhě. I’m a vegetarian.
我不吃肉。 Wǒ bù chī ròu. I don’t eat meat.
我不吃海鲜。 Wǒ  bù chī hǎixiān. I don’t eat seafood.
鸡蛋可以／不可以。 Jīdàn kěyǐ / bù kěyǐ. Eggs are okay / not okay.
我对…鸡蛋／海鲜／ 花生／乳制品／麸质…忌口／过敏。 Wǒ duì… jīdàn / hǎixiān / huāshēng / rǔzhìpǐn / fūzhì… jìkǒu / guòmǐn. I am allergic to…eggs / seafood / peanuts / dairy / gluten.
你能不能做饭没有肉？Nǐ néng bùnéng zuófān méiyǒu ròu? Can you make this dish without meat?

These phrases will help you avoid most meat dishes, but on their own will not help you totally avoid meat. Pitfalls include added fish, seafood, vegetables cooked in animal oils, oyster sauce, chicken stock powder, bone broth, offal, or small pieces of meat added to vegetable dishes only for flavor. “Oh, no that’s just in there for flavor” or “That’s not meat, that’s fat” are common responses from staff when vegetarians point out the small chunks of pork fat in their vegetables.

我是纯素主义者。 Wǒ shì chī chún sù zhǔ yì zhě. I’m a vegan.

This phrase is likely to raise some quizzical eyebrows as veganism isn’t widely known or understood in Beijing. Try the key phrases below to help communicate your specific dietary requirements.

Key Phrases:

These sentences may be cumbersome for beginning Chinese users, however, they really are your best bet for avoiding animal products with confidence. Consider saving the phrases, or this page, to show to restaurant staff in Beijing.

您好！我是素食主义者。我不吃任何来自肉的食品，请麻烦不要在菜里添加任何含肉制品，海鲜，羊油，猪油，鸡精和耗油。谢谢！

Nín hǎo! Wǒ shì sùshí zhǔyì zhě. Wǒ bù chī rènhé láizì ròu de shípǐn, qǐng máfan bùyào zài cài lǐ tiānjiā rènhé hán ròu zhìpǐn, hǎixiān, yáng yóu, zhū yóu, jījīng hé hào yóu. Xièxiè!

Hello! I’m a vegetarian. I don’t any meat products. Please do not use any meat products, including seafood, animal oils or fats, chicken stock powder, and oyster sauce. Thank you!

您好！我是纯素主义者。我不吃任何来自动物的食品， 请麻烦不要在菜里添加任何含肉制品，海鲜，羊油，猪油，鸡精，耗油，鸡蛋，蜂蜜和奶制品。谢谢！

Nín hǎo! Wǒ shì chún sù zhǔyì zhě. Wǒ bù chī rènhé láizì dòngwù de shípǐn, qǐng máfan bùyào zài cài lǐ tiānjiā rènhé hán ròu zhìpǐn, hǎixiān, yáng yóu, zhū yóu, jījīng, hào yóu, jīdàn, fēngmì hé nǎi zhìpǐn. Xièxiè!

Hello! I’m a vegan. I don’t eat any products that come from animals. Please do not use any animal products, including seafood, animal oils and fats, chicken stock powder, oyster sauce, eggs, honey, and dairy products. Thank you!

This article originally appeared on UnTour Food Tours’ official WeChat account (ID: UnTourFoodTours). Join UnTour in Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu, and Hong Kong to discover China’s delicious food, explore authentic neighborhoods and learn the fascinating stories that make up 5,000 years of culinary history.

Images courtesy of UnTours

Time to start counting down to this year’s Beijing Burger Festival, the juiciest weekend of the summer! It’s also your opportunity to guarantee a place at China’s biggest burger-related event ahead of time. That’s right, early bird tickets for the Jun 22-23 festival are now on sale which are not only much cheaper but will also get you some awesome burger loot!

This year, we’re offering early birders two options:

• Pay RMB 50 now and get yourself a ticket, Beijing Burger Festival T-shirt, and bandana (this package will cost RMB 120 on the day) or…
• Pay RMB 20 for a ticket and a bandana (this package will cost RMB 60 on the day)

To buy your early bird tickets right now, click here.

This year’s festival will be bigger and better than ever, with 15,000 burger fiends scouring 50 booths for the best burgers, booze, and bites as well as two full days of music, entertainment, and competitions. This year’s Burger Festival will also be our most vegan and vegetarian-friendly yet so that you can come a gorge on burgers no matter your dietary persuasion.

Our trendy bandanas come in handy as headscarf… or as a napkin should you need it

Watch out for a full rundown of who will attend this year’s festival, but for now get your juices flowing with a look at some of last year’s highlights:

Excited? Grab your tickets now!

Photos: Uni You