Restaurant in Chengdu, China
Chengdu's Michelin-starred vegetarian, at ¥¥ pricing.
Mi Xun Teahouse is Chengdu's only Michelin-starred vegetarian restaurant — and at ¥¥ pricing, it is also one of the city's best-value fine-dining bookings. The conservation set menu, built around ingredients sourced from farms near panda habitats, is the reason to return after a first visit. Book through your hotel concierge; this is a hard reservation.
Yes — book Mi Xun Teahouse if you want the most thoughtfully constructed vegetarian meal in Chengdu, backed by a 2024 Michelin star. At ¥¥ pricing, it sits in a category of one: the only fine-dining vegetarian table in the city with that credential, and one of the few anywhere in China that connects its sourcing directly to panda-habitat conservation farming. If you are returning after a first visit and wondering what to explore next, the set menu built around Mianyang porcini and Ya'an radish is the answer. If you are comparing it against Chengdu's broader Michelin scene, nothing else at this price point delivers the same combination of refined technique and environmental intent.
Mi Xun Teahouse sits inside a courtyard house next to Daci Temple in Chengdu's Qingyang District, and the setting is doing real work before a single dish arrives. The kitchen is open, which keeps the room airy and lets the scent of simmering broths and earthy fungi move through the space — the porcini from Mianyang is the dominant aromatic register you will notice on approach, particularly when the kitchen is running the conservation set menu. This is not a venue that masks its ingredients. The smells are clean, ingredient-forward, and calibrated: closer to a high-end Japanese kitchen than to the chile-oil intensity of the broader Sichuan dining scene outside the door.
The courtyard structure gives the room historical texture without leaning on nostalgia as a selling point. You are eating in a space that rewards attention , the architecture is the backdrop, not the pitch. For a returning visitor, this means the room feels more settled on a second visit than it did on the first, when the novelty of the setting competes with the food for your attention.
This is the most practical question for a returning visitor, and the answer is dinner if your goal is the full conservation set menu. The set menu, which features ingredients like Mianyang porcini and Ya'an radish sourced from farms near panda habitats, is the kitchen's most considered work and is better suited to an unhurried evening pace. Lunch at a courtyard venue next to Daci Temple in Qingyang also has a specific character , natural light through the open kitchen, a quieter room, and a more contemplative mood , which suits the teahouse format well if you are after a lighter, less structured meal.
At ¥¥ pricing, the cost difference between lunch and dinner is unlikely to be the deciding factor. What should decide it is intent: come at lunch for the setting and a more relaxed pace; come at dinner for the full set menu and the kitchen's most technical output. If this is a special occasion, dinner is the clearer call. If you visited at dinner on your first trip, lunch gives you a genuinely different experience of the same space.
The kitchen works with hand-picked local produce and builds its vegetarian dishes around precision rather than substitution. The vegan mapo tofu with chanterelles is the most-cited dish in available records , it reframes one of Sichuan's most recognisable preparations without the lamb fat or beef that define the original, and does so through textural and umami substitution rather than reduction. For a returning visitor, the conservation set menu is the next level: it is designed around ingredients from small farms in the panda habitat zone, which gives the sourcing a specific, verifiable logic rather than a generic farm-to-table framing.
The menu's restraint is deliberate. This is not a kitchen trying to replicate meat-based dishes across the board , it is working with the full flavour architecture of Sichuan vegetable and fungi cookery on its own terms. That distinction matters when you are deciding whether to bring non-vegetarian guests. The food is confident enough to satisfy a mixed table; it is not asking carnivores to make a concession.
Booking difficulty is rated hard. With Michelin recognition since 2024 and a small courtyard setting, demand reliably outpaces walk-in availability. No online booking portal or phone number is listed in current records, which means the most reliable route is to ask your hotel concierge to call ahead, particularly if you are staying in central Chengdu. Booking at least two to three weeks out is advisable, and further in advance for weekend dinners or the conservation set menu.
The address is on Citang Street in Qingyang District, next to Daci Temple and close to People's Park , a low-traffic, historically textured part of the city that rewards arriving slightly early to walk the surrounding streets. Dress expectations are not formally stated, but the Michelin-starred setting and courtyard-house character suggest smart casual is appropriate. The venue is not a place to arrive rushed.
Quick reference: ¥¥ pricing, Michelin 1 Star (2024), Qingyang District, hard to book , concierge booking recommended 2–3 weeks in advance.
See the comparison section below.
| Venue | Cuisine | Price | Awards | Booking Difficulty | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mi Xun Teahouse | Vegetarian | ¥¥ | Nestled in a quiet hotel next to Daci Temple, this restaurant is an oasis of calm. The courtyard house exudes historical charm, with the open kitchen lending an airy feel. Hand-picked local produce is used to create light, refined and inspired vegetarian dishes, such as vegan mapo tofu with chanterelles. There is also a set menu that supports small local farms near panda habitats, featuring ingredients like Mianyang porcini and Ya'an radish.; Michelin 1 Star (2024) | Hard | — |
| Xin Rong Ji | Taizhou | ¥¥¥¥ | Michelin 2 Star, World's 50 Best | Unknown | — |
| Yu Zhi Lan | Sichuan | ¥¥¥¥ | Michelin 2 Star | Unknown | — |
| Chen Mapo Tofu (Qinghua Road) | Sichuan | ¥ | Unknown | — | |
| Co- | Innovative | ¥¥¥¥ | Unknown | — | |
| Dumpling & Drinks (Lanchao Road) | Dumplings | ¥ | Unknown | — |
What to weigh when choosing between Mi Xun Teahouse and alternatives.
Dinner is the stronger booking if you want the full conservation set menu, which features produce like Mianyang porcini and Ya'an radish sourced near panda habitats. Lunch is a reasonable option if your priority is the courtyard setting and lighter plates without committing to the full menu format. Given the Michelin 1 Star recognition since 2024, either service requires advance planning.
Yes, for the right diner. The set menu is built around a specific conservation brief — supporting small local farms near panda habitats — which gives it a coherent logic that standalone à la carte dishes don't replicate. At ¥¥ pricing, it delivers Michelin-level construction at a price point that makes the format accessible by Chengdu fine dining standards.
Yu Zhi Lan is the natural comparison for serious tasting-menu dining in Chengdu, though it sits at a higher price point and focuses on Sichuan haute cuisine rather than vegetarian. Chen Mapo Tofu on Qinghua Road is the reference point for the city's most famous dish in its traditional, meat-inclusive form. Mi Xun is the only Michelin-recognised vegetarian option in this peer group.
Yes, particularly for couples or small groups where vegetarian cooking is a shared preference or requirement. The courtyard house setting next to Daci Temple provides genuine atmosphere without the noise of a larger restaurant. The Michelin 1 Star (2024) gives it the credibility to anchor a special-occasion dinner, and the ¥¥ price range means it won't require the financial commitment of Chengdu's priciest fine dining rooms.
Booking difficulty is rated hard: the courtyard setting is small and Michelin recognition since 2024 means demand consistently exceeds walk-in capacity. The kitchen's approach is precision vegetarian, not a meat-substitute operation — dishes like vegan mapo tofu with chanterelles show how the menu works. Come expecting refined and restrained cooking, not the chile-forward intensity of a traditional Sichuan meal.
The venue data doesn't specify a dress code, but the combination of a Michelin 1 Star (2024), a historic courtyard house setting, and a set menu format suggests that neat, presentable clothing is appropriate. Avoid overly casual attire; treat it as you would any single-star restaurant in the region.
The entire menu is vegetarian, with confirmed vegan options on the menu — the vegan mapo tofu with chanterelles is a documented dish. This makes it one of the few Michelin-recognised restaurants in Chengdu where plant-based diners don't need to negotiate around a predominantly meat-based kitchen. Specific allergen handling is not documented in available venue data, so confirm directly when booking.
Location
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