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[Ferfichkin]

Hi there. Now I know there are a lot of vegetarian restaurants in Taiwan, but what about Western style vegetarian food from supermarkets. Is it possible to buy veggieburgers, or veggiehotdogs, or veggiepizza, or veggielasagna, or things like that. I know I'm going to a totally different culture and that I should try to embrace their cusine, and I intend to, but at the same time it would be nice to know that I can have a veggieburger at my apartment now and then. I don't know what's available over there and I just don't want to wind up eating pasta, rice, vegetables, and tofu all the time. Frozen foods are great if you've had a long day, you come home, throw your veggielasanga in the oven, and in 30 minutes you've got a fairly nutritious dinner. I've kind of grow to rely on frozen vegetarian food. I've been a vegetarian for 12 years but I'm just not one of those hippie types of guys that makes these elaborate meals with a thousand ingredients every day. Im going to level with you, I'm a bit lazy when it comes to cooking, and I really like Western style meals. I like meat and potato type meals, and I like veggiedogs and things like that. More importantly though, I understand them. I know how to maintain a heathy diet living in the West, and my biggest fear is that I'll get to Taiwan and I'll be eating the same two meals everyday for a year, or that I'll be forced to eat in restaurants all the time. Basically it comes down to this, I want to eat most of my meals at home, while at the same time maintaining a heathy diet, with a decent level of diversity. That's what the West offers in terms of cooking at home; diversity. As a vegetarian you'll go crazy if you have to eat the same meals all the time.
Anyways, sorry this post is so long, I start writing and I can't stop, it's a problem, I'm working on it. Any information you could give me would be really appreciated though.
fich

[wix]

I can't answer all your questions but some of the links on this page might be helpful: Vegetarian food in Taiwan

[Aristotle]

Vegetarians are some of the few people that find Taiwan an improvement over their home countries in terms of food.
Nearly all of the products you mentioned above are available on Taiwan and a whole lot more. They may not be exactly the same as you get back home but many of those products originated in Asia. Besides if you want things to be exactly like they are back home, why leave?
Good luck!
A.

[Henry_Cowell]

You'll find plenty of "meat substitutes" made from soy and from wheat gluten. Ask around at Buddhist temples and at Buddhist vegetarian restaurants to find your own supplies of these ingredients.

[go_lightly]

Veg food in Taiwan is varied & can be very creative. People who aren't vegetarians will dine at veg restaurants for a taste of inventive cuisine. You'll never find this much variety of faux meat & seafood in the U.S. Ever had veg fish or shrimp? You'll be wowed. Also, I must add that the vegetarian options in many U.S. communities are not so great themselves...& believe me global veg food can elevate your fare from the standard veggie burger & soy dog. So yeah, while you won't be able to rely on Gardenburgers in your local supermarket, you'll definitely find other choices in the freezer aisle & beyond...

[Chefintaipei]

You might be surprised that in my experience it's almost unheard of for foreigners to eat at home! All of the people I've met so far never cook at home because A: they can't be bothered and B: it's just as cheap to eat in restaurants anyway. If you're after veggie burgers and dogs etc, make sure you can read Chinese and if you go to a restaurant, be careful to check there definately isn't any meat in whatever dish you order. I had a "vegetarian wrap" once with a huge slice of ham in it!! To conclude, I'm sure the products you're after are available, it's just a case of being able to identify them! If you can't read any Chinese there are international supermarkets (the one in the basement of Taipei 101 is pretty good), but the only problem with that is the expense. Good luck!

[wood]

There are vegetarian restaurants all over Taipei. There are also shops which stock plenty of vegetarian products which appeal to the local population. Veggie hot dogs and burgers may be found at the larger stores like Costco, Tesco, perhaps Carrefour. In the local supermarkets, you're more likely to find vegetarian duck and chicken. I haven't seen veggie burgers at any of the local supermarkets. If I'm wrong on this, please correct me. Thanks