Job Discussion Forums

[Jojo]

I was wondering how possible it is to be a Vegetarian in Taiwan? I know there are a some vegetarian Chinese foods although not that many that I can think of. I would like to hear from any vegetarians that are in Taiwan and how they are getting along. I hear about animals(such as dogs) that are served up as delicacies in Taiwan and wonder if it is possible to get some veggie fare easily;)

Thanks
Jojo

[MissusFish]

It's very easy. Many Buddhists are vegetarian and so there are a lot of restaurants, noodle stands, bakeries, etc. for them. Also, when shopping, you can just look for packages with a Buddhists symbol on them and they will be vegetarian. Fresh fruits and veggies are cheap and varried at outside markets.
In my town, in addition to many vegetarian restaurants, we have a vegan buffet, vegan bakery, and two organic veg restaurants. There's also Orange Mart(not sure if this is an island wide chain) which has a lot of organic produce, flavored soy milk, pasta, and beans.
In a regular restaurant I usually order some kind of tofu, rice, and vegetables(but often they put meat or fish in the veggies, so you have to let them know-same for soup). And there are always Italian, Mexican(few), Indian, ect. restaurants around.
Get someone to teach you how to read & say the word for "vegetarian" and it will help you out a ton. I think you will find local vegetarians eager to help you.

[Aristotle]

Taiwan has some of the best vegetarian food on the planet.

[taiwan boy]

I was a vegetarian when I first arrived in Taiwan (although I am not any more). You might find it a little difficult in the first few weeks that you arrive, but once you find a few places with food that meets your needs you will have no trouble.

Even though I speak Chinese I still often had difficulty communicating exactly what I wanted in restaurants that weren't specifically vegetarian. It seems that many Taiwanese either don't understand what vegetarianism is or they think you need the type of vegetarian food that Taiwanese Buddhists eat which specifically prohibits onions and garlic.

the Chinese for I am vegetarian is wo chi su which translates literally as 'I eat vegetables'. Often people literally interpret this as 'I want to eat some vegetables' and you will be be served just vegetables and rice! Also there is often misunderstanding about soup when people think you can drink the soup as long as it has no pieces of meat in it! Similarly fish is often not considered as meat.

To make your life simple at least learn the following phrase: wo chi su. wo bu chi rou = I am vegetarian. I don't eat meat. When you learn a bit more Chinese you might add. wo bu chi yu/haixian = I don't eat fish/seafood.

Ask a Taiwanese person to write the following for you in Chinese characters on a piece of paper that you can take into a restaurant and show the waiter or cook. It will save a lot of confusion and trouble.

[Jojo]

Thanks for the tips guys and gals. I look forward to the food. Yumm!!

[pratyeka]

yes, taiwan rocks. i've been veggie 10 years.

i was in taiwan 2 months last year, had also been there previously for a couple of weeks on business (old job).

both times i looooooooved the food. most neighbourhoods have a vegetarian restaurant, with kickass food, pretty damn cheap. compared to mainland china, taiwan is vegetarian heaven .. and i really mean it. it's sooooooo easy to find vegetarian food in taiwan compared to the mainland!

ok, this didn't come out in preview, but it could just work when posting. it's unicode chinese.

我吃素 = wo chi su = i am vegetarian (lit: i eat vegetables)
我不吃肉 = wo bu chi rou = i dont eat meat
我不吃鱼 = wo bu chi yu = i dont eat fish
我不吃鸡蛋 = wo bu chi ji dan = i dont eat eggs

很好吃！ = hen hao chi = very good eatin'! (say this after to make friends )

rock on!

[wix]

I can't see Pratyeka's Chinese that he typed, but I put the information on a web page for everybody to see and print out. You will need to set the encoding on your browser to Big5 Traditional Chinese to see the Chinese characters. I suggest you print it out for use and use the pinyin to learn the phrases. (Thanks to Pratyeka and Taiwan Boy for this idea).

Vegetarian in Taiwan
http://taiwan.8m.net/vegetarian.html

[ophion]

I just wanted to agree with the other posters. My wife and I were pleasantly surprised by the quality and availability of vegetarian meals in Taiwan. We are not vegetarians, but we eat as if we were most of the time.

[Imagine8]

Hey Everyone

I'm glad to read that it is pretty easy to be veg in Taiwan. My question is - is there a particular place that is best? In most places, I'd assume it'd be the urban areas...Is Taipei better than Taichung for living a vegan lifestyle? No difference? Any input would be appreciated.

Thanks

[superemma]

Because of the Buddhist-vegetarian tradition in Taiwan, it's actually about as easy in the rural / semi-urban areas as in the big cities. There would probably be more choices of western vegetarian food in Taipei and Taichung, but you can still find stuff to eat with a little perseverance.

Another note: Don't assume that seeing tofu in a food means it is vegetarian. Unlike in the west, where tofu is a vegetarian food and not usually mixed up with meat, here they do it all the time.

[Imagine8]

[lou_la]

It annoys the hell out of me that they put meat in tofu dishes - lunch at school today was curry tofu, yummy yummy! Until i saw the 'secret fish' - those horrid tiny little prawn things. Ugh, too many legs for something to put in my mouth...

As for where to be veggie, most towns have buddhist restaurants, and it's fairly easy to get veggie food at normal buffet shops - you take a box, fill it with what you want and pay for it. Also, most big supermarkets have a veggie section in the freezer with burgers, nuggets, meals etc. So, I don't really think it'll make too much of a difference.

[BigWally]

the buddhist temple in foguanshan had some pretty sweet vegetarian food...they even gave us a meal for free (although we donated a couple hundred), and it was sweet food!!

[Imagine8]

Here's a link that some may find helpful. I use this website to find vegan restaurants in the US, so I checked it out for Taiwan - 122 vegan/vegetarian/veg-friendly restaurants on the island!

http://www.happycow.net/asia/taiwan/index.html

Hope this is helpful!