It's not easy being a vegetarian: a glimpse at most fine dining menus, especially ones from European restaurants, will reveal that they are separated into appetisers, meat, fish, sides and dessert. It is slightly easier in Chinese restaurants, where chefs can use beancurd, mushrooms and vegetables such as eggplant, bamboo piths and lotus roots to create fairly substantial dishes. In a bid to make it easier for vegetarians deciding on which fine dining restaurants to splurge on, we highlight the restaurants who have gone out of their way to create special vegetarian menus that show much care and thought, making them the best vegetarian menus in Hong Kong. Please note that the menus listed below are suitable for ovo-lacto vegetarians, not vegans, and may include dairy products and eggs. Some menus may be updated on a regular or seasonal basis.

Gaddi's

When one thinks of old-fashioned, traditional French cuisine, offal such as sweetbreads, liver and marrow may come to mind. Which is why it is such a pleasant surprise to find that Gaddi's at The Peninsula in Tsim Sha Tsui, one of Hong Kong's oldest and most well-respected restaurants, has an entire menu dedicated to vegetarian dishes. We asked executive chef David Goodridge for his particular recommendations from the vegetarian menu and he lists one of his favourites as an appetiser of carnaroli risotto with mascarpone, wild mushrooms and black truffles. We recently tried a similar dish of wild mushroom ravioli and the paper thin pasta encasing robustly flavoured mushrooms and black truffle, sprinkled with parmesan and thyme cream foam, is both light yet satisfying. For mains, chef Goodridge has three recommendations: a puff pastry tart with confit cherry tomatoes (pictured below), basil and mozzarella with Provencal vegetables; a homemade tagliatelle with rosemary cream and black truffles; and a braised artichoke heart filled with wild mushrooms baked in puff pastry with a chive butter sauce.

The Peninsula Hong Kong, Salisbury Rd., Tsim Sha Tsui. Tel: +852 2315-3171.

Petrus

Gaddi's is not the only French restaurant offering haute cuisine that caters to vegetarians. Petrus at the Island Shangri-la offers a similarly enticing menu. Starter options include a warm green bean salad with spinach and organic burrata or a green pea soup with yoghurt chaud-froid. Mains include a spring vegetables and black truffle fricassee; oven-baked potatoes with spring onions and mushrooms; or macaroni gratin with celery root and wild herbs. Your entire table is devouring a multi-course degustation menu? Not to worry, Petrus even offers a vegetarian seven-course tasting menu priced at HK$880.

Level 56, Island Shangri-la, Admiralty. Tel: +852 2820-8590.

Nadaman

Also located in the Island Shangri-la in Admiralty is a branch of Nadaman, the famous Japanese restaurant first opened in Osaka in 1830. The restaurant is famous for its kaiseki – a traditional multi-course tasting menu that incorporates the best of the season's produce and the restaurant has a range of kaiseki menus focusing on steak, tempura, sushi and surprisingly, vegetables. The vegetarian kaiseki menu (priced at HK$580 per head and pictured here) follows the usual order of appetiser, soup, sushi, simmered dish, broiled dish, rice and desserts, except all courses are made with vegetables.

If ordering a la carte, vegetarian appetisers include the restaurant's homemade cold beancurd in soya sauce, boiled seasonal vegetables, or fine seaweed in vinegar. Mains include tempura or teppanyaki vegetables, tofu steak with mushroom sauce, deep-fried eggplant with soya bean paste while vegetarian rice dishes include vegetable sushi, sushi rice wrapped with fried soya bean or Inaniwa noodles with vegetables.

Level 1, Island Shangri-la, Admiralty. Tel: +852 2820-8570.

Harvey Nichols Fourth Floor Restaurant

This modern European restaurant, tucked away next to the men's department on the top floor of Harvey Nichols department store in Central, is headed by executive chef Giggs Lo, whose previous experience includes stints at Amber, L'Atelier de Robuchon and Robuchon a Galera in Macau. An initial impression may suggest his comfort zone lies primarily in lobsters and foie gras, as these luxury items appear throughout the menu with regularity. But a look at the vegetarian menu and it seems that chef Lo is equally happy working with greens. Starters include a grilled vegetable and mozzarella salad; a citrus and avocado salad with mandarin, parmesan, boiled egg and crispy walnut; or a more substantial mango ravioli with sautéed artichokes, pear and green bean sauce. A middle course of soup includes vegetable broth with herbs or pumpkin and carrot soup with croutons. Mains include two risottos, the ubiquitous mushroom risotto familiar to vegetarians everywhere, as well as a risotto with braised carrots, sautéed mushrooms, olive, French beans and tomato confit. Ratatouille makes an appearance twice: either as a dish on its own with baked eggplant, cheese, mixed mushrooms and lentil beans; or as a side to a pimento ravioli alongside stuffed artichoke and asparagus.

4/F, Harvey Nichols The Landmark, 15 Queen's Road Central, Central. Tel: +852 3695-3389.

Sevva

It makes sense that the stylish and fashion-conscious crowd that frequents Sevva – the restaurant and bar perched on top of Prince's Building in Central – would appreciate a large vegetarian section. And large it is, taking up a double page of the restaurant's extensive menu. Sevva offers cuisine from different spots around the globe and the vegetarian selection is no different. A good example is the Swami plate pictured below, a combination platter of different vegetarian goodies around the world including braised artichokes with mushrooms, ratatouille, Mexican chilli rice and guacamole, and Saigon spring rolls.

Italian offerings include a Caprese salad made with burrata, tri-coloured tomatoes and aged white balsamic; baked vegetarian lasagne with truffle shavings and a risotto of wilted spinach, baby peas and mushrooms. Other favourites include the famous Sevva macaroni and triple cheese bake with truffles, club sandwich and south Indian dosas with a choice of four vegetarian fillings.

25/F, Prince's Building, 10 Chater Rd., Central. Tel: +852 2537-1388.