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yodetta · Joined: 29 Aug 2004 Posts: 68 Location: California, USA

This may sound really trivial and/or naive to more experienced travellers, but what countries/cities have the best food markets and restaurants for vegetarians? I'm quite concerned about this, as I hear some places (like Poland) are real heavy meat-starch servers....I want as much fresh food(organic?) as possible, and I want to enjoy healthy cuisine and cafe culture.

Any reflections, recommendations? Give it to me straight if I just need to "adjust" or have outdated ideas about what's available.

Y

Larry Parnell · Joined: 06 Jun 2004 Posts: 172

I should give China a wide berth.

Seth · Joined: 05 Feb 2003 Posts: 575 Location: in exile

bi, and a veggie...and from california. well then. Team_P, what do you honestly think of this situation?

china isn't so bad. i knew 2 buddhists who were vegetarians. it's actually somewhat easy to vegetarian in china, as tofu is very available everywhere. i'm not vegetarian by a long shot but i learned to love tofu whe i lived there. mostly because i didn't have to spit any bones out.

i would assume most asian countries are big on tofu but i've only been to china. since the vast majority of chinese are peasants, fresh produce is readily available everywhere. if you're a foreigner, the peasants will come to you first for the freshest of veggies as you will most likely pay the most.

Celeste · Posted: Sat Sep 04, 2004 8:28 am Post subject:

While most Asian countries have plenty of tofu available, I would hardly call in a vegetarian's paradise. I have lived in 2 Asian countries now and vacationed in a third. From what I have seen, vegetarianism is not widely practiced. Here in Japan, I have a couple of Japanese friends who are vegetarians, but in their dietary regime, salami seems to be a vegetable, and soups made from meat stock are vegetarian (as long as they don't contain chunks of meat at the time they are consumed).

When I lived in Korea, many people had never heard of vegetarianism. An american girl I knew there was a full blown Vegan. While she didn't starve to death, she had a really hard time in restaurants.

I am not an expert on Thailand, but having Vacationed there a number of times, I have experienced a lot of restaurants there. From what I could tell when I was there, while not meat heavy, most dishes did contain some kind of animal product.

If you plan to cook your own food, I think you will be fine in any country you visit. If you don't want to cook for yourself, you may find very little that you feel you can eat. As for "organic" vegetables Laughing

I saw some vegetables marked organic once in Japan. THey were expensive. (1200 yen-about 12 american dollars- for 2 tomatoes) They were in a department store. I suspect they might not have been truly organic.

Seth · Joined: 05 Feb 2003 Posts: 575 Location: in exile

there are plenty of 'organic' vegetables in china, as they use human waste as fertilizer. no artificial pesticides here, no sir!

Roger · Joined: 19 Jan 2003 Posts: 9138

denise · Joined: 23 Apr 2003 Posts: 3419 Location: finally home-ish

I'm vegan, and I've done OK pretty much everywhere, with occasional screw-ups caused by not being able to read labels... Even though a country might not be vegetarian-friendly, and may even scoff at or be offended by it, it's doable. When I was in Prague, I found a couple of very nice exclusively-vegetarian restaurants, and most places had vegetarian options (with some of the problems that Celeste mentioned, though!). I think Japan is less vegetarian-friendly than the CR was, but even here I'm doing OK.

A couple of problems that you might face are having to turn down invitations (particularly awkward if they come from students!) and only being able to eat one thing on a menu--in my case, it's often french fries! And reading labels on food packages, but I've gotten lots of help from friends/colleagues translating things.

I had a lot of people telling me that I wouldn't be able to eat anything--don't let those comments, if you hear them, get you down! With a little resourcefulness, you can do it.

d

Larry Parnell · Joined: 06 Jun 2004 Posts: 172

I don't think it's so much a case of whether you can buy vegetables - you can do that in every country I've been to. I'd say China was by far the hardest Asian country to be a vegetarian in of the 5 I've visited. Probably 50% of the times I go out for a meal with people I have to ask for something not on the menu and most of the time I'm dubious whether it's vegetarian anyway. In Beijing and Shanghai you fare a bit better though.

yodetta · Joined: 29 Aug 2004 Posts: 68 Location: California, USA

thanks for the replies. it was funny to see myself stereotyped [bi, veggie, and from CA...ha ha!]. Guess I invited that by referring to those terms. (I'm actually FROM Pennsylvania, usually date men, eat fish and can handle chicken & dairy in social situations that require it)....and no, I don't have tattoos or body piercings either, sorry!

I ask the question cause I'd like to stay as healthy as possible, and want to hear about foods...

I'm surprised to hear that CZ was actually more Veg-friendly than Japan...I had had the opposite impression, only cause I'm ok with fish and often eat sea-vegetables. While Prague has a few veg restaurants since it's a popular city, what about the more remote areas?

And I understand that other countries may not have "organic" standards, but it is helpful to know about sludge and sprays.

Y

denise · Joined: 23 Apr 2003 Posts: 3419 Location: finally home-ish

Other cities in the CR will still have vegetarian fare, if only fried vegetables/fried cheese, and pasta restaurants are everywhere. I never had problems getting pasta with no cheese/meat. (My cheeseless pizza requests occasionally raised eyebrows, though.) I say that it is easier than in Japan because most people (at least those that I encountered in Prague, which isn't necessarily representative of other places), while they may think it strange, have at least heard of it, and menus will often have a "vegetable" section.

In Japan it is still possible, and I've never had problems with special requests, but it seems like it's a completely alien concept. If the topic comes up in class, I will explain it to my students, but if I'm in a restaurant it's much easier to just say that I'm allergic.

One thing that I try not to let bother me is the knowledge that, although I do my best and always ask for vegetables/tofu only when I go out here, there is probably a bit of fish sauce or something else that I don't know about. There's only so much that you can do (and that's true even in the States), and personally I feel that playing dumb every now and then is justified--and maybe necessary in some situations.

d

patchwork · Joined: 23 Aug 2004 Posts: 55 Location: in transit

yodetta,

thanks for posting this question!

I'm leaving next month and was wondering the exact same thing as my girlfriend and I are vegetarians, though we do eat eggs and cheese and we cheat by eating fish.

Denise, thanks for the info on Prague. That's where we're going to do our Trinity course, and then we're off to Asia. In Prague, can you get by with just English and French, no Czech language skills for food? I was told many resto's have english menu's but I assume those are the tourist ones that are expensive. Or am I wrong?

thanks,
Ravi.

denise · Joined: 23 Apr 2003 Posts: 3419 Location: finally home-ish

Patchwork--

Many places do have bilingual menus--not just the touristy restaurants.

For good veggie food, check out Country Life (sort of buffet-style, and you pay by weight) and Lotus. Both are right in the center, and obviously specialized, so more expensive than your neighborhood Czech place. Still, they're reasonable (maybe $5? I don't really remember) and good.

d

Ludwig · Posted: Mon Sep 06, 2004 2:55 pm Post subject:

That would have to be Brighton, UK.

Stephen Jones · Joined: 21 Feb 2003 Posts: 4124

If you eat fish and thus are a non-meat eater as opposed to a vegetarian, then just make sure you're near the coast somewhere in Asia (the meat will be vile anyway so you won't lose much).

South India or Sri Lanka are predominantly vegetarian, and those that aren't eat fish rather than meat, but there is little work. I would thiink you would be all right on the coast of Thailand or Indonesia. The problem with China is that when you go out there will be lots of shared plates.

AsiaTraveller · Posted: Mon Sep 06, 2004 8:46 pm Post subject:

In most major Asian cities with large Chinese populations (KL, Singapore, Bangkok, HK and of course cities in China), there are local Chinese Buddhists who are scrupulously vegetarian.

You'll find that they have their own restaurants, which might be difficult to find. You should know too that they often dispense with onion and garlic as well as with meat... making for sometimes very bland dishes.

San Francisco also has a number of these Chinese Buddhist veggie restaurants, and not just in Chinatown.