Zaozi Tree is one of the earliest vegetarian restaurants in Shanghai, and its first store opened on Huaihai Road in 2001. The founder of the restaurant, Song Yuanbo, is a well-known figure in Shanghai's vegetarian circles and the founder of the high-end vegetarian brand Da Vegetable Wujie.
After more than ten years of development, although the founder has long since withdrawn from the operation of the restaurant, the new restaurant group has also changed the positioning of "early vegetarian" to "early vegetarian", but Zaozi Tree has always been one of the most popular vegetarian restaurants in Shanghai, and currently has a total of 8 branches across the country, of which 5 are located in Shanghai. In recent years, the restaurant has not only won the honor of "Best Vegan Restaurant" by City Weekend, but also been recognized as one of the "Top 10 Vegan Restaurants in Asia" by the International Organization for the Treatment of Animals (PETA).
The restaurant claims that all dishes are "smoke-free, alcohol-free, egg-free, and meat-free", and that most of the ingredients are of good quality from organic or green agricultural products. Unlike the Vegetable Unbounded, which changes its menu every quarter, Jujube Tree's dishes are relatively fixed, and many of the dishes are classics that have been retained over the years, including vegetarian original dishes that are full of authentic colors, as well as imitation meat meals that are popular in the market.
Fei Leng Cui Cold and Homemade Hand Roll are representative dishes of the cold dish series. Fei Leng Cui Leng is composed of mung bean puree and yam puree, the rough and grainy mung bean puree and the delicate and soft yam puree complement each other, and the taste is refreshing; Homemade hand-rolls are wrapped in carrots, vegetarian ham and buckwheat sprouts, and topped with a sweet mustard sauce for an extra fresh taste. Black pepper steak and dry-braised Neptune roll are the two most popular hot dishes, the steak imitated by soy products can almost be real, and the brushed texture of meat food is not much different from the taste of steak; The dry-braised sea emperor rolls are made from seaweed and a variety of mushrooms, and the neatly arranged rolls are topped with a large spoonful of sauce, and the bean paste has a pronounced flavor, which is suitable for heavy diners. On the whole, although the whole series of dishes is not as high-end and exquisite as Fuhehui and Big Vegetables, and there are no humane vegetarian options to choose from, but fortunately, the production is stable and the taste of the meals is also remarkable, and it is still the best choice for Shanghai Vegetarian Restaurant.
Several branches of Jujube Tree are located in the downtown area, but entering the restaurant is a different quaint atmosphere. The Chinese tables and chairs full of age are well placed, and each chair is placed with cushions, which shows the humanized service of the restaurant, and the unified pothos on the table makes the whole space a lot fresher. The service staff in the white dress is easy-going and gentle, but the service level is only an average level, the water is not timely enough, the situation of not knowing enough about the ingredients is frequent, there will be certain difficulties in English ordering, and the professionalism needs to be strengthened. In addition to the lobby dining area, several restaurants also have private rooms, suitable for banquets or gatherings, and there is little difference in dishes and services between restaurants, with Huaihai Road store and Nanjing West Road store being the most popular. It should be noted that the number of customers in the restaurant will increase sharply on the 15th day of the Lunar New Year, so if you arrive on these two days, it is recommended to book in advance.
