Jujube Tree (枣子树) – Vegetarian Lifestyle is a chain of vegetarian restaurants with several outlets in Shanghai, two in Ningbo, and one in Chengdu. I think that good vegetarian cuisine is a must-do food experience in China.
The visit
I went to the newly-opened (January 2019) outlet in Ningbo neart the Moon Lake park.
It is a relatively small restaurant. On a random weekday, it was half full by the time I left at around 7pm. The venue has some nice tables for groups:
The menu was available on a tablet device and every dish was pictured and the name was provided both in Chinese and English (with quality translations). I ordered and the first three dishes arrived after a couple of minutes including complimentary nibbles (pictured above). I guess they were “ready-made” in the kitchen.
This is one of those vegetarian restaurants with dishes resembling meat. One of the first dishes I got was a “vegetarian sausage”. It was really close to a real sausage both in terms of look and texture. It was good.
Another dish was tangerine-flavored king oyster mushrooms. I did not know this kind of mushroom and I did not like it because it was too gummy.
The third “appetizer” was mashed Chinese yam with green pea paste on top. The texture resembled mashed potatoes and the combination between yam and green peas was quite good.
A very good dish was skewers of deep-fried lion’s mane mushrooms with hot peppers. It was a nicely spicy dish, that reminded lamb skewers. (Four pieces pictured, but it was five.)
I also had a double-boiled matsutake soup with bamboo fungus. Despite being one of the most expensive dishes of my dinner, it was quite bland and I could not distinguish the matsutake flavor.
The check
Total check was 214 RMB or 32 USD (prices on the menu were net, with no service charge). Most dishes that I had were suitable for sharing between two people.
While not cheap by Chinese standards, I would classify the restaurant as mid-range, as opposed to fine vegetarian dining like Wujie and Fu He Hui.
My impression on the dishes I had was mixed, but they have a very extensive menu and I would not mind trying more.
Where in Ningbo:
1F, block A, Xinhuitiandi, 568 Zheming Road, Haishu district
In Chinese: 宁波市海曙区镇明路568号新荟天地A座1楼(星巴克旁)
Check their website for a list of locations: http://www.jujubetree.com/shop.aspx