How do I order vegetarian or halal food in China?
Halal: look for 清真 on the sign. Vegetarian: ask about stock, lard and sauces, not just meat.
What it depends on
- IfVegetarian, eggs and dairy are fine→ thenShow the vegetarian card and ask about stock, lard, dried shrimp and oyster sauce. A Buddhist vegetarian restaurant is the easy default.
- IfVegan→ thenShow both the vegetarian and vegan cards. Even in a vegetarian restaurant, ask about egg and milk; plant-based (蔬食) places may use them.
- IfBuddhist diet: no garlic, scallions or alcohol→ thenShow the Buddhist diet card. A Buddhist vegetarian restaurant already leaves out the five pungent plants; a plant-based (蔬食) place may not, so ask.
- IfHalal→ thenEat where the sign shows 清真 and the official plate hangs inside. Do not bring pork or other non-halal food into a halal restaurant.
- IfNo pork only→ thenA halal restaurant is the simplest choice. Elsewhere, show the no-pork card and ask about lard and pork-bone stock as well as the meat.
Saying "no meat" is not enough. A dish that looks like vegetables only can be cooked in lard, finished with meat stock or topped with dried shrimp, and the menu will not say so. In Shanghai, scallion oil often contains lard and savoury soy milk is made with dried shrimp: see where lard and dried shrimp hide in Shanghai dishes.
Two everyday seasonings are animal products by definition. China's national standard for oyster sauce (GB/T 21999-2008) defines it as made from the cooking liquid of oysters or from hydrolysed oyster meat. China's national standard for chicken powder seasoning (鸡粉), GB/T 48080-2026, has been issued and takes effect from March 2028; the standard's project page lists chicken meat or bone powder, or its concentrated extract, among the ingredients. Chicken bouillon (鸡精) has its own national standard. Ask about oyster sauce, chicken powder and chicken bouillon, along with the stock.
In a Buddhist kitchen, 素 (vegetarian) is stricter than "no meat". Hangzhou's Lingyin Temple explains that Buddhist vegetarian food also leaves out the five pungent plants, such as garlic and scallions, and alcohol; 纯素 (strict vegan) also leaves out milk and eggs. That makes a Buddhist vegetarian restaurant the safest default for a meat-free meal. The temple also points out that a modern plant-based (蔬食) restaurant is not the same thing: it may serve eggs and dairy, though most also offer egg-and-dairy and fully vegan options, so say what you avoid.
Shanghai's municipal English site keeps a list of vegetarian restaurants compiled from Dazhong Dianping and cityhui, including Godly (功德林), founded in 1922, at 441-445 Nanjing West Road. Elsewhere, search 素食 (vegetarian) or 清真 (halal) in a map or review app such as Dianping and read the photos of the shop sign.
Halal (清真) restaurants follow city rules, and we checked two. In Shanghai a business must obtain a halal sign plate (清真标志牌) from the ethnic-affairs authority before it sells halal food, hang it in a prominent place, and show the characters 清真 on its shop name or signboard; without the plate it may not use 清真 or halal symbols. Its vehicles, scales, containers and premises must be kept for halal use only, and nobody may bring foods that are taboo for Muslims into a halal-only venue. Beijing's rules likewise require registration with the district ethnic-affairs office and a halal sign issued by the city. The practical check: 清真 on the sign, and the official plate inside. If you follow a particular certifying body, ask the restaurant directly.
Some long-running halal names are listed in the Ministry of Commerce's time-honoured brand museum: Donglaishun (东来顺, Beijing, 1903, lamb hotpot), Hongchangxing (洪长兴, Shanghai, 1891) and Lao Sun Jia (老孙家, Xi'an, 1898, beef and lamb paomo).
Show the card that fits you. These are suggested phrases; a kitchen may still say it cannot do it, and that answer is useful too.
Vegetarian card: 我吃素：不吃肉、鱼、海鲜，也不要用肉汤、猪油、虾米、蚝油、鸡精。 English: I am vegetarian. No meat, fish or seafood, and no meat stock, lard, dried shrimp, oyster sauce or chicken bouillon.
Vegan card: 我吃纯素：除了上面这些，也不吃鸡蛋、牛奶和奶制品。 English: I am vegan. As above, and also no eggs, milk or dairy.
Buddhist diet card: 我吃斋，不吃葱、蒜、韭菜，也不喝酒。 English: I keep a Buddhist vegetarian diet. No scallions, garlic, chives or alcohol.
Halal card: 我是穆斯林，只吃清真食品。请问这里是清真餐厅吗？ English: I am Muslim and eat only halal food. Is this a halal restaurant?
No-pork card: 我不吃猪肉，也不要用猪油或猪骨汤。 English: I do not eat pork. No lard and no pork-bone stock, please.
Separate-wok card: 请用干净的锅单独做。 English: Please cook my dish separately in a clean wok.
Sources
- 上海市清真食品管理条例 (Shanghai Halal Food Management Regulations)Official
Static HTML on the Shanghai ethnic and religious affairs bureau site. Art. 9: '生产、经营清真食品的，应当事先向市或者区、县民族事务行政主管部门申领清真标志牌。未取得清真标志牌的，不得生产、经营清真食品。' Art. 13: '应当在生产、经营场所的醒目位置悬挂清真标志牌。' Art. 17: vehicles, scales, containers and premises '应当保证专用'. Art. 18: '应当在其字号、招牌和食品的名称、包装上显著标明“清真”两字'; para. 2: '未取得清真标志牌的，不得在其字号、招牌和食品的名称、包装上使用"清真"两字或者标有清真含义的符号。' Art. 20: '禁止携带清真禁忌食品、物品进入清真食品的专营场所。'
Open source ↗ - 北京市少数民族权益保障条例 (Beijing Regulations on Protecting the Rights of Ethnic Minorities)Official
2016 amended text on beijing.gov.cn. Art. 29: '清真食品生产、加工、经营场所必须经区民族事务行政部门登记、审验后，悬挂由市民族事务行政部门统一制发的清真专用标志。…经营非清真食品不得使用清真标志。'
Open source ↗ - 杭州灵隐寺 — 新春福慧｜植物也有生命，吃素为何不算杀生？ (Lingyin Temple, Hangzhou: Buddhist vegetarian food explained)Official
Temple's own site, article dated 2021-03-01: '素食者除了不食用肉类，也不能食用含有葱、蒜一类五辛和酒精成分的餐食，纯素者则连含有奶、蛋成分的餐饮也不食用。因此，蔬食餐厅并不等同于素食餐厅'.
Open source ↗ - Shanghai municipal English site — Where can I find vegetarian restaurants in Shanghai?Official
Dated 2024-02-26; the page credits 'Sources: cityhui.com, Dazhong Dianping', so its content is platform-sourced. 'Godly (Gong De Lin) Vegetarian … Founded in 1922 … Address: No 441-445 Nanjing West Road'.
Open source ↗ - 科普中国（澎湃号·政务）— 价格相差 50 倍的蚝油，到底有何不同？ (Science popularisation article quoting the oyster sauce standard GB/T 21999-2008)Press
2024-05-06. Quotes the GB/T 21999-2008 definition: '利用牡蛎蒸、煮后的汁液进行浓缩或直接用牡蛎肉酶解，再加入食糖、食盐、淀粉或改性淀粉等原料…制成的调味品。'
Open source ↗ - 全国标准信息公共服务平台 — GB/T 21999-2008 蚝油 (National standards platform: GB/T 21999-2008, oyster sauce)Official
Static HTML. Status 现行 (in force since 2009-03-01); reviewed 2025-07-01 with a revision planned. The definition is quoted from the article above.
Open source ↗ - 全国标准信息公共服务平台 — GB/T 48080-2026 鸡粉调味料质量通则 (National standards platform: GB/T 48080-2026, chicken powder seasoning)Official
Static HTML. '标准号 GB/T 48080-2026 发布日期 2026-08-28 实施日期 2028-03-01'; issued, not yet in force. The page does not show the definition text.
Open source ↗ - 全国标准信息公共服务平台 — GB/T 45352-2025 鸡精调味料质量通则 (National standards platform: GB/T 45352-2025, chicken bouillon seasoning)Official
Static HTML. Issued 2025-02-28, in force 2026-03-01, status 现行. Definition text not shown on the page, so the body only says 鸡精 has its own standard.
Open source ↗ - 全国标准信息公共服务平台 — 鸡粉调味料质量通则（标准项目页） (National standards platform: chicken powder seasoning (standard project page))Official
Project page (plan 20220702-T-601), kept for the definition text, which the issued standard's page does not show: '以食用盐、味精、鸡肉/鸡骨的粉末或其浓缩抽提物、呈味核苷酸二钠及其它辅料为原料…具有鸡的浓郁香味和鲜美滋味的复合调味料。'
Open source ↗ - 商务部老字号数字博物馆 — 东来顺 (MOFCOM time-honoured brand museum: Donglaishun)Official
'东来顺起源于北京，创建于1903年…从享誉京城的清真餐饮老字号…' '东来顺涮羊肉是最具有清真特色和北京地域特色的美食。'
Open source ↗ - 商务部老字号数字博物馆 — 洪长兴 (MOFCOM time-honoured brand museum: Hongchangxing)Official
'上海清真洪长兴餐饮食品有限公司…由著名京剧表演艺术家马连良的伯父马春桥创始于1891年'.
Open source ↗ - 商务部老字号数字博物馆 — 老孙家 (MOFCOM time-honoured brand museum: Lao Sun Jia)Official
'老孙家饭庄创建于 1898年…集餐饮服务、清真牛羊肉工业化制品为一体的民族餐饮企业之一'.
Open source ↗