Wenshu Monastery is one of the more authentic spots on the tourist trail in this city. It is the best preserved Buddhist temple in Chengdu, and walking through the grounds actually feels quite tranquil (a rare feeling). The different pavilions host a multitude of artwork, calligraphy, paintings, and cultural relics that date back hundreds of years. We’ve explored the monastery before but this past Sunday we ventured over there exclusively for the food – just inside the entrance to the monastery there is a vegetarian restaurant that is acclaimed to be the best in Chengdu. I have nothing to compare it to because, like tranquility, vegetarian restaurants are few and far between in this city, but my brother (an avid vegetarian) and mom are coming to visit in 2 weeks so I’ve been trying to scope out the spots I won’t have to use my bad Chinese to make sure there is no meat in the vegetable dishes.
The restaurant was packed on a Sunday afternoon, and we waited a solid half hour to sit down, which was well worth it. The menu is extensive and includes pictures and english captions – most of the dishes are reminiscent of what you’d find on any Sichuan menu only here the “diced rabbit,” “hamburger meat,” and even “sea cucumber” are just imitations made with some vegetable-bean curd-gluten product. There was also a lot on the menu that I’d never seen or heard of before – like sliced lotus soaked in orange juice which I will definitely be trying when I return. We ordered 5 dishes between the two of us and it was more than enough food but still cost just under 100 kuai ($15). We picked at random knowing we’ll be back soon to try another round. The dishes not shown below that we also ordered were: tiny potatoes and vegetables cooked with fake hot dogs in a not-spicy sauce (decent), chewy sesame-covered pumpkin cakes, and spears of raw cucumber in a vinegar sauce with sea kelp, which was so.refreshingly.delicious. The meal was worth the trip, the cost, and the wait. I was pleasantly surprised with how effortlessly they turned out authentic tasting Sichuan dishes with no traces of meat. A +.
battered and fried mushrooms cooked with chillies
fresh walnuts with greens
spicy, cold buckwheat noodles
Outside the gates of the monastery the “folk cultural experiencing zone” is much cooler than it’s name suggests. There are tons of vendors with the standard trinkets, jewelry, and “antiques” as well as a wide array of street food. We did get milk tea and sugar cane juice (Jeff’s crack) but we were too full to properly sample all the Chengdu snacks, which are incredibly spelled out for you here.
