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Vegan-friendly
Chinese
Take-out
功德林 brand was originally established in 1922. Offers extensive menu with a variety of mock meats. Serves noodles on the first floor and the full menu on the second floor. Some menu items are in English. Air-conditioned. Reported to close earlier than stated times. Open Mon-Sun 6:30am-9:00am, 11:00am-2:00pm, 5:00pm-8:00pm.
62 Reviews
First Review by tofutodd
flamekat
Points +409
On the shortlist - Edit
This place is good and if we lived closer, we'd probably go more often. The atmosphere is really nice and the service is usually friendly. Just don't go in close to closing time!
Read moreMy favorite dish is the tofu with fake crab roe (which is actually something carroty). Yum. The eggplant in a clay pot and fried noodles are also very good. Last time we were there, we had a really nice seitan dish, but I can't remember the name.
The servers make good suggestions and will tell you when you're trying to order too much food. Sometimes they won't let you order something they think you won't like, so you either have to push for it or agree that they might know better. They do use a lot of mushrooms, but that's okay with me.
I'd stay away from the set menus, as it's actually better value for money to order a la carte. I haven't found this place to be any smokier than other restaurants in Shanghai. There are very few smoke-free places here. The attached shop sells some take-away food and sweets. I think this place is good to bring a group of friends as it's centrally-located and they serve beer, unlike many of the other veggie restaurants here. On the whole, I think there are tastier and healthier veg restaurants in Shanghai (Veggie Lifestyle and Lucky Zen Veg pop to mind), but Godly is definitely worth a visit.
Pros: good value, mock crab roe, beer
Cons: not the BEST, allows smoking
Guest
swestrich
Points +90
eat noodles here - Edit
the food here was ok, but I must admit the chicken I had really looked a little too much like chicken for me to appreciate, I could tell it wasn't, but the lengths they went through to get it to look like that kinda put me off, however I found the noodles to be really good, and I think a few other people have the same experience I had, I would actually have to say that the noodles I had were almost the best I had in a while, BUT that may be because I disliked the rest of the food.
Read morePros: Good noodles, Good value
Cons: mediocre food, menu is disturbing
Guest
nausicaa
Points +96
convenient location, mediocre food - Edit
If you don't read Chinese, the place has the word "Godly" on the door. The dining area is split between one that serves dishes, and one that serves soup noodles. I've only been on the half with dishes, but the noodle half was more crowded. The food is fine, but the flavoring is uneven, either too salty or too bland, and they have a predilection for using mushrooms to excess, even for a mushroom lover. A veg fish with wine sauce dish turned out to be two kinds of mushrooms in a wine sauce. Come for the history of the location, but don't judge the quality of vegetarian Chinese food in Shanghai by this restaurant.
Read morePros: good location, reasonable prices
Cons: mediocre food, a lot of mushroom
Guest
Red Willow
Points +20
Favorite dish at Gong De Lin - Edit
I was directed to this restaurant by two very enthusiastic Chinese women who were delighted that a foreigner was interested in vegan food. I went to the West Nanjing road site, though there are many others, including small take-home- portion stores. The best dish I've had there is the "tofu and fake crab meat". I find this extremely addicting. But, alas, it is the only really good thing I've discovered so far. I find most of the "meat" dishes leave something to be desired- not the right consistancy or flavor. But an order of tofu and a plate of stir-fried veggies along with a huge 4 RMB pot of tea is worth stopping for.
Read morePros: large portions, many locations, good atmosphere
Cons: inconsistant quality
Guest
blackcat
Points +33
Very Disappointing - Edit
We walked miles to this restaurant expecting a treat. Instead what we got was a quite possibly the worst vegetarian food we've ever experienced. The choice was huge, and although we knew it was mock meat we really didn't expect the hideous descriptions of the food, I can't remember the wording exactly but it mentioned sparrows and it put us off. The food looked unappetising and tasted extremely bland. The staff were verging on being rude.
Read morePros: Nice decor, easy to find
Cons: expensive, tasteless food, slightly unfriendly
Guest
craigmc
Points +42476
nice restaurant - Edit
better than expected, and nice to get to somewhere that does not feel part of a chain.
Read moreas a previous review mentioned, the food was a bit salty. haowever it was still nice. very good staff, and felt very looked after. mixed menu of mock meat and veggie dishes, also has a takeaway deli counter next door.
Pros: good location, good service
Guest
humch
Points +17
Extremely salty - Edit
Staff wasnt helpful, food is extremely salty and full of MSG.
Read moreSmoking allowed in aircon environment!
Shame for this century old vegetarian restaurant.....
Cons: Extremely Salty, Everyone is Smoking, Food too oily
Guest
tofutodd
Points +94
Good food, atmosphere, location, and price!! - Edit
Ate lunch here 10/31/05. House was packed, so I was sat with another single westerner. He finished a Chinese family of 3 was seated with me. This didn't bother me but could others. Resturant is modern and clean, with excellent prices and an english menu. I had a beef dish because they were out of chicken. The beef was the typical veg beef, not great but not terrible. Prices are great as long as you know what to order and don't go overboard (their noodle bowl is 12rmb)
Read morePros: Good food, Great location, Cheap!
Cons: Busy, Staff don't know english, Fake beef was the usual
Guest
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