Cruelty-Free Dinner at Milan's Best Chinese Restaurant

I have a soft spot for ethnic food, and I especially love all things Asian. So you can imagine how happy I was when I found out that I had just moved in right above what an Italian newspaper called Milan's best Chinese restaurant, Lan Cheng.

I've been experimenting with vegan dining out, as I find that to be the hardest part of going vegan, especially in Italy, where restaurant menu variety consists in choosing between meat and fish. I've been eating fish for almost my entire life, and I only cut it out recently, so this dinner was kind of an experiment. As you may know, I'm loving Alicia Silverstone's book The Kind Diet at the moment and I'm having a great time getting into this lifestyle. Alicia is a self-proclaimed expert on dining out, so I've been taking a cue from her (although I rest my case: it's easier for Americans. There are just so many more options), as dining out is a huge pleasure of mine and I don't intend to give that up to spend Saturday night eating lentils in my kitchen. No way!

I have to say, the Chinese make it easy on wannabe vegans. The vegetable ravioli were just as yummy as the shrimp ones and the soy noodles with veggies was a choice that I make all the time already. Delicious.

The dessert presented a bigger problem. I've never really liked whipped cream (unless it's on top of hot chocolate) and I was quite happy to be rid of everything fried. So what was left?

A fresh fruit dark-chocolate fondue! Yum.

I felt light and elated after my dinner - a much better feeling than what I usually feel after a Chinese meal, which is "so full I might burst". Definitely a good dinner!

If any of you have tips on cruelty-free dining out, I'd be happy to know them!