Keeping It Simple: Shangri-La Vegetarian Restaurant
December 29, 2007
The clamorous Irving Street strip of San Francisco’s Outer Sunset neighborhood has long been a destination to indulge in an outstanding selection of businesses. Here, one will find Vietnamese phô, Irish pubs, Hong Kong movies, and tapioca drink joints, just to name a few. Then, there’s Shangri-La Vegetarian Restaurant — a humble eating establishment that has been around since 1978, offering an array of vegetarian and vegan-friendly Chinese dishes.
What sets Shangri-La apart is that they are possibly the only Chinese restaurant in the Bay Area certified as kosher by a Jewish rabbi or rabbinical organization. This makes Shangri-La a preferred establishment for many in the Jewish community who “traditionally” dine out at Chinese restaurants during the Christmas season.
To be kosher means the establishment has met the requirements according to Jewish dietary law, which has its origins in Leviticus, the third book of the Torah. These strict regulations include the way the food is prepared, as well as the implements used to make them.
According to Shangri-La’s owner, William Sang, the restaurant’s kosher status brings in a large Jewish clientele from near and far. “I’ve had people call up, who just arrived from Israel,” Sang said. “They will take a cab and come directly from the airport to the restaurant.”
Howard Freedman, reader services librarian at the BJE Jewish Community Library in San Francisco, concurs: “In addition to being just a good restaurant, Shangri-La gives me the opportunity to try some great Chinese dishes that I never would have because of ritual dietary restrictions. In this way, it sort of performs a public service to observant Jews—both local and those who come to visit.”
“We are what we eat” reads the motto on Shangri-La’s menu, which boasts a robust selection of vegetarian, Taiwan- and Shanghai-style dishes, tonic soups and herbal entrees. Derived from recipes of a Shanghai university professor who advocated healthy eating, the tonics consist of things like vegetarian chicken boiled in a nutritious broth of wolfberry and lotus seeds. The herbal entrees are like culinary acupuncture targeting certain organs, such as one touted for “liver cleansing, nourishing eyes, and energizing mental clarity” and made with a concoction of wolfberry lycium fried with sliced vegetarian meat.
Shangri-La turned kosher when Sang, who was born in Shanghai and spent time in Taiwan, heeded the suggestions of Jewish clients after he became the sole proprietor in 1999. He sees the restaurant as a culmination of history and location.
“Here in the Sunset District, there are a lot of Jewish people who suffered in World War II,” Sang said. “Many fled [Nazi Europe] to Shanghai, and from there, eventually emigrated to San Francisco. Sometimes they would have reunion parties here — many of them were very old. One day, they suggested I turn Shangri-La into a kosher restaurant.” The rest is history.
Shangri-La Chinese Vegetarian Restaurant, 2026 Irving Street, San Francisco, (415) 731-2548.
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[…] Keeping It Simple: Shangri-La Vegetarian RestaurantAsian Week, CA - Dec 29, 2007… professor who advocated healthy eating, the tonics consist of things like vegetarian chicken boiled in a nutritious broth of wolfberry and lotus seeds. … […]
The last and only time I ate at Shangri-La was a year ago with two friends. All of us had oily tasteless dishes that we were unable to finish. My two friends got food poisoning, but fortunately I was ok. Obviously I will never go back.
The Cheap Bastard SF family went to Shangri-La yesterday and were pleased with our meal. Good veggie Chinese food served by nice people while we listened to a neighboring table discuss Abrahamic religions.