IT'S not easy to find a quiet restaurant in the Xujiahui Area with its large shopping malls full of energetic customers. When we finally found the graceful and tranquil vegetarian L'Arbre de Provence restaurant, it was like a mint working to soothe a sore throat.

Maybe because its name was that of the romantic French region known for its lavender, the theme colour of the restaurant was purple. Entering the eatery was like walking into a world of plants, natural and full of fragrance, keeping the world of meat outside the door and helping to cleanse our bodies.

Compared to the family-style dishes of the Jujube Tree, the most celebrated vegetarian restaurant in town, L'Arbre de Provence specializes in "new-concept" vegetarian food.

The thick menu provided both Chinese and Western dishes. Our "fusion" lunch started with garlic bread toasted with the acclaimed house special olive oil, which was exceptionally good.

Then came a Chinese cold dish, honey aloe, which turned out to be a failure. The dish was too bland, lacking flavour, and the aloe seemed not entirely fresh. Although my dining companiona all believed that aloe was good for the skin, we could not summon up the enthusiasm required to finish the dish.

The "paper hot pot" dishes listed on the menu attracted our attention. A waitress told us that the paper was made from asbestos so it could safely hold the soup on fire. We ordered Japanese Miso hot pot with veggie lobster balls, deep-fried beancurd, mushroom, white radish and seaweed. It did not have as much flavour as authentic miso soup but the veggie lobster balls were spongy and tasty.

Since I am not a strict vegetarian, I always associate vegetarian food with fake meat and seafood that is not as delicious as the real thing. The next course - mushroom cream rice - confirmed my belief. The Western-style steamed rice in cream and herbs with asparagus and mushroom was savoury, but if it had been cooked with real rich cream, it could have been "perfect."

L'Arbre de Provence

4F, 1111 Zhaojiabang Lu

Tel: 6426-7698

Average cost: 80 yuan (US$8) per person