Korean Job Discussion Forums

pet lover · Joined: 02 Jan 2004 Location: not in Seoul

I have to spend two entire days in Japan on my stupid visa run. What can I eat while there? (I'm a vegan, for those not familiar with me.) I plan to bring as much of my own food as possible, but one DOES get tired of eating just nuts, seeds, and dried fruit for every meal. What's the Japanese equivalent to Bibimbap and what do I say to keep them from adding fish sauce, meat, eggs, caviar, etc.?

Hope · Joined: 22 Nov 2003

I'd try the basement floor of the department stores. There are tons of food stands in them. You can get some really yummy fried tofu, veggie sushi and probably yaki soba (quick fired noodles)just ask them to not put meat in it...they'll probably cook it in front of you so you can just point out what you don't want in it. The bakeries in Japan also have some nice things that you may be abe to eat. Good luck.

If you're really brave....try natto!!

huffdaddy · Joined: 25 Nov 2005

check out theses links:

http://www.vegietokyo.com/info4vegie/articles/article2.html

http://www.geocities.com/outoftowntoby/

HTH. HAND.

oni · Joined: 15 Jun 2004 Location: Seoul

Where are u going for ur visa run??
If it's Osaka i know a really good veg restaurant like 2 subway stops from the korean embassy area, it's called Green restaurant and they have excellent set lunch menu and speak english too! I'll try find the card.
I have to think about Fukuoka i went to a macrobiotic place but it wasn't totally veg but they did have veg lunch set.
And there's a bagel place that does veg sandwiches minus the cream cheese spread.

laogaiguk · Joined: 06 Dec 2005 Location: somewhere in Korea

I_Am_Wrong · Joined: 14 Sep 2004 Location: whatever

Just a question: but are you sure you're still Vegan after being in Korea? I mean...what do you do about animal fats?

pet lover · Joined: 02 Jan 2004 Location: not in Seoul

I_Am_Wrong, Yes, I'm sure I'm still vegan. I turned vegan while in Korea. I make all my own food...I don't eat out. Unfortunately, my kitchen doesn't travel well, hence the panic about what to eat for two days in a foreign country. What do I do about animal fats? Um, not eat them?

laogaiguk, thanks for the warning. That is exactly the kind of thing I'm worried about. It's amazing what people don't consider to be an animal product. I'll never forget the bibimbap I ordered that came covered in caviar after my strict instructions to have no meat, no ham, no beef, no pork, and no egg. When I protested the caviar saying that I had said no eggs, the cook's reaction was, "What? They're fish eggs, not chicken eggs." (but in Korean) ArrrgggghhHhhh~!

oni, I'm going next week. It's not Osaka...it's Fukuoka. I didn't care before, but now that I know there is a veggie restaurant in such a great location in Osaka, I wish I was going there. Unfortunately, a veg lunch set is not something that would work for me. Vegetarian is often not at all vegan.

huffdaddy, thanks for the links...going to check them out as soon as I finish typing this post.

Hope, haahahaha...ask them not to put meat in it....um, I don't speak Japanese! That's part of my worry. And, I don't trust noodles because I don't know if there are eggs in them. And I wouldn't have a clue how to ask if milk, whey, eggs, or butter was used in any of the bakery items. What is natto?

RokofKangnam · Posted: Fri Aug 25, 2006 9:29 pm Post subject:

Forget about eating in Japan. You will never know what they are giving you to eat. DANGER DANGER DANGER

Best bet is to get your visa and quickly return to your comfort zone.

twoofus · Joined: 19 Nov 2005

I was just in Tokyo with my husband and it was really hard - we didn't know how to ask for veg food and as a result, had some difficulties.

You can always go to any 7-11 - they have a lot of prepared food and you can get a good look at it - they have inari and buckwheat noodles, that kind of thing. There are also a few veggie restaurants in and around Tokyo that will definitely be safe (assuming they have vegan options, but they will Very Happy

)

In Korea, besides bibimbap (when it doesn't come with caviar!!) and dolsot bikimbap, you can also order jap chae, gogi baego (stirfried noodles without the pork or beef), bokkeumbap, gogi baego (Chinese fried rice without the meat!), maguksu from that restaurant with the yellow sign and brown stencil of an adjumma on it - you'll have to ask for it without the hard boiled egg (karan baego)

Smile

laogaiguk · Joined: 06 Dec 2005 Location: somewhere in Korea

numazawa · Joined: 20 Mar 2005 Location: The Concrete Barnyard

Well, I'm not a vegetarian myself, so I never faced that particular problem, but anyway "vegetarian" in Japanese would be "saishoku" ( 菜食). For example, you could try asking for a "vegetarian set" (supposing there were such a thing, I dunno...): "saishoku no teishoku" ( 菜食の定食 ). However, there's always the risk they might surmise you're from a different planet. In other words, business as usual. Razz

red dog · Joined: 31 Oct 2004

Sorry, I've never been to Fukuoka but I think it's a good idea to be very careful, as others have said ... I always try to be as careful as possible, but unfortunately I know I've made mistakes here in Japan. Embarassed

I think it's actually less veg-friendly here than in Korea, and I haven't found an equivalent of bibimbap (although I'm sure you can get bibimbap if you can find a Korean restaurant). Fresh fruit from the supermarket (in a department store basement) would be the safest choice, but if you want something more filling, I'd try an Indian restaurant. They usually have some vegan options and there's usually an English speaker who can answer your questions.

Of course, if you were moving here, it would be really easy to order a lot of delicious vegan goodies through the mail and make your own soba, stews, etc., but eating out in regular restaurants can be tricky. If you do have to go to a regular restaurant, I think kappa maki (cucumber sushi) or cold soba without dashi would be the safest choices -- I've had them and I think they're probably OK, but there's a slight chance I could be wrong. Also, if you can't read Japanese you might have trouble distinguishing regular soy sauce (shouyu) from a very similar sauce that contains a fish product.

Other questions that might be helpful:

Tamago haitte masuka? (Does it contain eggs?)
Mochi (a rice-based treat similar to Korean tteok) should probably be safe if the answer is no.

Katsuobushi haitte masuka? (Does it contain bonito flakes?)

Sakana no dashi haitte masuka? (Does it contain fish stock?)

red dog · Joined: 31 Oct 2004

Does "abura" refer to vegetable oil, animal fat, or both? I know animal is "doubutsu" -- does anyone know the correct way of saying "animal product" and "vegetable product"? (In Korean I think it's dongmul-seong vs. singmul-seong.) What about meat stock (from land animals)? Does anyone know what the second half of the milk Kanji means on a label, in combination with a bunch of other characters that I don't recognize? I can recognize the Kanji for dairy milk and soy milk, but sometimes the same character that appears in both is part of some sort of food additive; can I assume it's dairy-derived? Thanks to anyone who has more information.

Pet Lover, I'm doing most of my own cooking these days too, but there are a couple of places I'd recommend in Kyoto or Tokyo if you were going there. (You know, this whole discussion really makes me want to go raw ... but not today.)

red dog · Joined: 31 Oct 2004

oni · Joined: 15 Jun 2004 Location: Seoul

You could go to the tourist info office when u arrive I went to one in the centre of the city and they were quite helpful when I asked about vegetarian restaurants.
I did go to an indian place and the owner spoke English so i could ask questions if they used ghee etc.......... That would prob be ur safest bet. There was also a mexican place on same street.