Are you a vegetarian or vegan but still want to try some authentic Cantonese food rather than eating a salad or Indian food in Guangzhou? Little do people know, although Cantonese cuisine is famous for its exotic ingredients, Cantonese are as serious when it comes to vegetarian cuisine and they excel in it. Chinese vegetarianism stemmed from its Buddhism roots.  Whilst Monks and Nuns are vegetarians for the full year, people who believe in Buddhism has long practised eating vegetarian food only on the 1st and 15th day of the lunar month.  They believe the desire to kill and eat animals brings negativity and having vegetarian meals on a regular basis will cleanse one’s soul and heart. There are over 100 vegetarian restaurants in Guangzhou. The Eating Adventures team has put together this list of some of the best vegetarian restaurants on offer in Guangzhou.Chan Yi Tea House and Vegetarian Restaurant 禅意茶素Next to Xiao Gang Park main gate on Qian Jing Road, Haizhu District海珠区前进路晓港公园正门旁边020-8440 0079 “Chan Yi” means Zen Buddhism.  The restaurant is set next to the tranquil Xiao Gang Park.  Once you step inside, you will instantly forget that you are in the middle of a mega city with a population of 13 million.  Their dishes are created based on the Zen Buddhism principles and hence there is a strong emphasis on nature, healthy and cleansing.  Their menu covers dim sum, soups with different health remedies, some traditional vegetarian dishes as well as very creative dishes.  Run by the well-rated Bing Sheng Group, it is not surprised that everything is done to perfection and the food is simply divine.Recommended dishes –Chinese yam and bamboo fungus in Maggie sauce – Thinly sliced yam and bamboo fungus are deep-fried and sprinkled with Maggie sauce, red and green pepper strips.  Simply delicious.Salt and pepper mushrooms – Mushrooms are cut into long strips, coated with a thin batter before deep-frying.  They are so crunchy and a bit spicy yet taste so clean and healthy.Sweet and sour mushrooms – This tastes better than the meat version and the sauce is great to go with rice. Fo Shi Jie Vegetarian Restaurant 佛世界素食馆2-8 Niu Nai Chang Street, Tong Fu Middle Road, Haizhu District海珠区同福中路牛奶厂街二圣宫前2-8号020-8424 4376This down to earth vegetarian restaurant has a very long history.  The building was once housed by a group of Chinese nuns before converted into a five storey restaurant.  On every 1st and 15th day of the lunar month, the place is packed with local patrons. Ground floor is a canteen style hall which pumps out cheap vegetarian dishes for local elderly people.  Upstairs serve exquisite dim sum in the mornings and amazing main dishes in the evening.  The price is very reasonable too.Some of the popular dishes include crispy fish in sweet and sour sauce, bean curd roll, vegetarian goose meat and vegetarian Char Siu.  Despite their names, they are all made from vegetables but even the biggest meat-eater would not complain about the food.  In order to keep the food interesting, the chefs have created some vegetarian dishes where the texture resembles meat.  Most of these are made from food with high gluten content. So the vegetarian Buddhists do not have to worry about the temptation of meat!Shui Mu Sheng Vegetarian Restaurant 水木苼蔬食料理Room 405, 4/F, Dongshan Jinxuan Modern City, 6 Nonglin Down Road, Yuexiu District越秀区农林下路东山锦轩现代城4楼405室（东山口地铁站C出口）020-2988 0336This is an upmarket vegetarian restaurant located in Yuexiu district.  The two owners have had strong interests in vegetarian cuisine since they were young.  The careful combination of ingredients give the dishes a complexity of flavours and textures.  The award-winning interior has a bird cage theme which is the final touch for a really memorable meal.Signature dishes –Mushrooms wrapped in vegetarian bacon – Bacon? Did I read wrong? No.  These vegetarian bacon has the same texture as real bacon! The mushrooms are slowly pan-fried to ensure the juice is kept inside. Bean curd roll with seaweed, white raddish and other green vegetables.Golden lotus root slices stuffed with taro – The lotus root is crispy with the soft taro that melts in the month. Other vegetarian restaurants worth mentioning:Tian Shui Delicate Vegetarian Cuisine 天水精致素食料理Dong Fang Hong Creative Park, 313 Gong Ye Middle Road, Haizhu District海珠区工业大道中313号东方红创意园里（纸厂对面）13580470717This restaurant changes its menu every month and only uses ingredients in season and has a strong emphasis on presentation.Su Le Yun Hai 素乐云海87 Liurong Road, next to Liurong Temple六蓉路87号，六榕寺旁020-83521495The owner is determined to excel in vegetarian cuisine and over two years he slowly closed down his chain of seafood restaurants to concentrate his efforts on Su Le Yun Hai inside the famous Liu Rong Temple.  Since the restaurant locates within the temple, it is under the strict supervision of the Head Monks there making sure all ingredients meet the criteria of “no killing”.Yi Xing Vegetarian Restaurant 怡新素食4/F, 161 Lin He West Road, Tian He District天河区林和西路161号中泰国际广场四楼020-3831 0703This restaurant specialises in soy based dishes.  The menu lists for each dish the ingredients, heath remedies and nutritious values.Su He Jing Su Vegetarian Restaurant素和敬素食餐厅3/F Guang Lian Building, 750 Dong Feng Dong Road, Yuexiu District越秀区东风东路750号广联大厦3楼020-8761 8853Want to try something different? How about Thai-styled vegetarian hotpot? Vegetarian tom yum and vegetarian satay soups would definitely satisfy your taste buds.If you are open to carnivorous options, you can also always join one of our great Guangzhou Food Tours, Hong Kong Food Tours or Shanghai Food Tours. Some tours in Hong Kong can be customised for vegetarians!

Guangzhou may be the ultimate travel destination for those of you seeking to expand your culinary horizons with unusual exotic food. Weird food, does not necessarily mean bugs and strange furry animals. The people of Guangzhou have a love for food, and there is a huge diversity of fresh produce available. A simple trip to the market in Guangzhou can present a wide range of fresh food that would be more than enough for an episode of Bizarre Foods. Chickens with black meat, goose eggs, pigeons, scorpions, crocodiles, more varieties of mushrooms than you have ever seen before, and that is before you check out the seafood.  Any of you that are lucky enough to visit Guangzhou can see these exotic wonders and a lot more on our Guangzhou Food Tours.Our focus in this list is bizzare or unusual foods that are readily accessible to try in Guangzhou, the things that are part of everyday life for local Cantonese people. Remember, what is weird to you, is normal to us!Weird Foods of Guangzhou - No 1. Black Chicken (Wu Gai)In English this chicken is called a Silkie. They have beautiful soft white feathers, and amazingly black meat and bones. If you go to a market in Guangzhou, you will see the black meat on display at any chicken stall. The meat is commonly used to make chicken soup and is has been prized for its medicinal qualities in China for hundreds of years. The soup is a clear soup boiled with goji berries, dried yam, dried orange peel and ginger.Another unusual fact about this chicken is that is has 5 toes instead of 4 toes like most other chickens.In addition to chicken soup, the eggs from Silkie's are blue / black colour, fragrant and delicious. They run at about double to cost of normal chicken eggs.Black chicken is so common that we will not recommend an individual restaurant. Almost every neighbourhood has a soup shop that will sell Wu Gai soup. Most large restaurants will also serve the soup. Ask your concierge for a suggestion, or any Cantonese local!Weird Foods of Guangzhou No 2 - Scorpion If you are reading this, you have probably already come across the common images of people selling scorpion skewers in Beijings night markets. Unlike in Beijing, this is not a tourist novelty. In Guangzhou if you go to most wet markets, you can find someone selling a variety of different scorpions. In Chinese medicine, scorpions are known for their detoxification purpose.  It is often used to treat arthritis.  Normally used in soups, locals think male scorpions with small bellies and thick legs are the best. If you are interested in trying some scorpion soup, there is a 35 year old restaurant called Dun Ping Huang on Tong Fu Dong Road, Haizhu. They specialise in slow cooked soups and serve a wide variety of medicinal soups including scorpion soup, cow penis soup and turtle soup. Weird Foods of Guangzhou No 3 - Goose EggsGoose eggs, exotic, delicious and sure to give you high cholesterol. One of the more tame exotic foods that you can try in Guangzhou, these jumbo eggs are around 3 times the size of a normal chicken egg, and at least double the price per gram of a chicken egg. We like our goose eggs pan fried and have it as a common breakfast treat. You probably won't find this on many restaurant menu's, but you can buy it at any wet market. Goose eggs are high in protein content and full of minerals and vitamins.  It is said to help improve one’s memory. Weird Foods of Guangzhou No 4 - PigeonThere is a Chinese proverb that one pigeon is worth nine chickens. Pigeon is a delicious treat available in many restaurants across Guangzhou and also fresh in all wet markets. Common ways to eat pigeon are roasted, similar to duck or goose, or in a soup or hot pot. The meat is darker than chicken, more like duck, flavoursome but not fatty. There is not much meat on a pigeon, so either order a few to share, or have it as part of your main meal. Pigeon soup is particularly delicious. Where to try it?You can try good roast pigeon all over Guangzhou, ask a Cantonese concierge for a recommendation. For pigeon soup, my favourite is from a small restaurant in Liwan district. Nothing fancy, but authentic and delicious.Wang jin ge on Jiang Yi Road, Haizhu specialises in pigeon and is one of our favourite restaurants.  You can have your pigeons cooked in four different ways plus treat yourself with one of their medicinal pigeon hotpots. Weird Foods of Guangzhou No 5 - DonkeyDonkey is not a Cantonese speciality, but it is available in Guangzhou. Originating from Northern China, Donkey can be prepared in a variety of ways. Hot pot is one of the most common. The meat is similar to beef, but with a more subtle flavour and is considered a delicacy.  If you are living in Guangzhou, you can buy fresh donkey meat in Liwan near the Lamb wholesalers. There is a Chinese saying “There is dragon meat in heaven and there is donkey meat on earth.” It is meant to be excellent for people with bad back.Weird Foods of Guangzhou No 6 - Geoduck Geoduck (pronounced Goo-ey-duck) its the largest burrowing clam in the world. They originate from the west coast of Canada and the USA and are sold live in markets across Guangzhou, as well as neighbouring Hong Kong. Geoducks take 6 years to reach maturity and can live for an amazing 140 years, although life expectancy is considerably shorter for those in Guangzhou Restaurants! A single Geoduck can weigh around 1.5 pounds.Lots of high end seafood restaurants in Guangzhou will have live Geoduck on display. Alternatively for the very freshest and widest choice, head to the Huang Sha Seafood markets and be amazed. Expect to pay around 300 RMB per kilo for this rare delicacy. The best way to prepare geoduck is to quickly boil them in hot water then dip into ice cold water.  Sprinkle with shallot, ginger and chilli, drizzle with soy and cooked oil.