When one picks up the menu in a Chinese Buddhist vegetarian restaurant, one may wonder if the menu is misprinted. One will find the menu listing dishes such as chicken, duck, beef, lamb, pork, fish etc in addition to the obligatory vegetable dishes. All these meat dishes are made of imitation meat. Some of these really taste like the real thing.

Due to religious beliefs, Chinese Buddhists do not eat animal products because they don't believe in killing.

There are numerous Buddhist believers (these are lay persons who are not Buddhist monks) in China who don't eat meat. In order to cater to those Buddhist customers who have missed the meat dishes, Buddhist vegetarian chefs have been extremely creative in imitating meat using gluten, tofu, agar and other plant products. Gluten and tofu are very versatile material, because they can be manufactured into various consistency and texture. With the proper seasoning and favour, they can mimic various kinds of meat quite closely. Many soy (mainly those fermented) products provide the meaty favour. Pure vegatable dishes in these salacious restaurants are not different from those offered in regular Chinese restaurant, perhaps with the only exception that lard will never be used in Buddhist cooking. Occasional customers to a Buddhist restaurant tend to forget about the pure veggi dishes and order a table full of imitation meat dishes due to the novelty.

Buddhist vegatarian restaurants are in good business because the material cost is much cheaper than meat, but the dishes are priced as if they are made of real meat.  Besides Buddhism is so popular in China that there is never a shortage of customers.