Eating vegan was actually pretty easy in China, and I am not just referring to the suitcase full of Clif bars I had in my hotel room.

The ease of eating in the city was made possible by the Happy Cow app on my mobile that lets me pinpoint vegan (or vegan friendly) locations near me, regardless of where I am.

So I decided to browse HC for a lunch meeting with coworkers, and it led me to Fu Hui Ci Yuan.

The air was pretty polluted on the day we decided to walk down Wanfujing Street to find this spot, but it was a relatively short walk.  I grew slightly uneasy when we turned down a dirty, narrow hutong, as I hoped this place wasn’t a reflection of the area.

Sure enough, I was greeted by a big restaurant facade of concrete and wood, proudly proclaiming “Vegetarian” on the side.  I was comfortable with the veg part, not so much the dirty, gray outside.

But, never judge a book by its cover.

Once inside, we stepped down a few stairs into a large great room surrounded by tea pots and teas for sale.  The room was beautifully laid out and was very clean.

We all sat at a large table and began to review the expansive menu.

We decided on the following options:

Fried Rice (aka “Man’s Food”)

Turnip Tofu soup

Mock chicken with Bamboo Shoots

“Meatballs”

Mashed potatoes (I know, totally random)

An eggplant mock eel

Frozen, mashed yam with blueberry drizzle on sliced yaw berry.

The service was phenomenal (typical for my experiences in China) – prompt and courteous.

The price was also reasonable as seven people had this gourmet lunch for around $30 USD.