Gongde Lin

Gongde Lin is a vegetarian restaurant in Shanghai, one of China's oldest and most famous brands.

Founded by Zhao Yunshao and others, the restaurant opened for business on the eighth day of the fourth month on the lunar calendar in 1922. It specializes in Huaiyang-style vegetarian cuisine, with signature dishes being “Stewed Gluten with the Five Spices (Wuxiang Kaofu)”, “Gongde Ham (Gongde Huotui)”, “Vegetarian Style Crab (Su Xiefen)”, “Asparagus with White Sauce (Baizhi Lusun)”, “Buddha's Delight (Luohan Cai)” and many others. The name of the restaurant "Gongde Lin" (meaning “a forest of merits and virtues”) derives from the Buddhist doctrine, which requires disciples to amass merits and virtues for the benefit of the whole world by being a vegetarian.

On every eighth day of lunar April in the past, the restaurant especially bought fishes, sparrows and tortoises and set them free, thus giving a boost to the business. And the restaurant used to cater group birthday parties, at which the names of the birthday holders were written on red paper for celebration. After the ceremony, all people had a vegetarian meal. This type of party quickly caught on. The vegetarian dishes of Gongde Lin attracted celebrities and influential figures. Distinguished guests from Japan, Pakistan and other countries also dined in the restaurant.

The vegetarian dishes of Gongde Lin are characterized by vivid imitation of meat or fish by using vegetables, choice materials and elaborate design of each dish. As the vegetable dishes are cooked in meat styles, they could pass for meat or fish delicacies. The major materials are various types of mushrooms, Jew’s-ears, fresh vegetables, edible fungi and beans. The dishes are tender, with diverse flavors. Although the dishes are vegetables, they have the taste of meat or fish. At the same time, they are nutritious, easy to digest and good for health. In addition, Gongde Lin has invited western chefs to help create western style vegetarian dishes like cream cakes, salads and thick broth etc, adding new items to the usual menu of 100-plus dishes. The western style cuisine has also proved popular with guests at home and abroad.