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Some
of the world's best coffee comes from Southeast Asia |
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| Food
and Drink > Eating Veggie Please note
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Bangkok
is a food lover's dream, but can be an animal lover's nightmare. In
street stalls all over the city, entrails and whole chickens hang
from hooks while dead fish and mollusks are on display alongside cubes
of pig blood. It's enough to drive anyone to tofu.
Compared to many other cities in the region, Bangkok vegetarians don't
have it easy. Even smaller Chiang Mai seems to have more veg outlets
than Bangkok - a restaurant owner there once explained the disparity
to me: Thais in both cities are Buddhists, but people in Bangkok "are
busy and they don't have time for religion". Whatever the reason for
the relative scarcity of veggie outlets, you can make do in Bangkok.
While eating vegetarian in Bangkok isn't always convenient, it is
possible. Knowledge is power, and will help ensure that your food
is indeed meatless. The first Thai words vegetarians should learn
are gin (eat) and jay (vegetarian). Don't worry about grammar or pronouns,
simply saying "gin jay" should be enough to elicit understanding and
often admiration. To ask for a vegetarian restaurant, saying "lan
ahan jay", should be enough to get the point across and get you pointed
in the right direction.
While you can probably find at least one meatless dish in just about
any restaurant, the best way enjoy a vegetarian meal is to go to a
vegetarian or so called vegetarian-friendly establishment - the latter
loosely defined as a place with a section of the menu or specific
dishes clearly demarcated as vegetarian. Since Indian and backpacker
cultures have strong elements of vegetarianism, it's Indian and backpacker-oriented
restaurants that tend to have a good selection of vegetarian dishes.
Of course, the best way to ensure the karmic purity of your meal is
to go to a restaurant where there is no meat or lard in the kitchen
to make its way into your food. Thai veg outlets are the most numerous
and most accessible in terms of price. Purely veg Thai food tends
to be sold in informal restaurants or market stalls or food courts
around the city. There are exceptions to this, notably Khun Churn
on Sathon Soi 10, which combines a lovely garden setting and great
food of a good restaurant with the casual, friendly atmosphere and
prices of shophouse.
Bangkok's sizable Chinese community contributes to the vegetarian
scene as well. Chinese cuisine specializes in "mock meat" - creating
traditionally meat-heavy Chinese dishes out of meat substitutes; it
can be quite a shock to glance at a vegetarian menu and see items
such as "chicken soup" and "abalone". Chinese vegetarian places are
generally a bit more upscale than purely Thai outlets, with perks
such as air conditioning, but are still a terrific value with prices
in the 40-80 baht range.
The farang presence in Bangkok is newer and smaller than the Chinese,
but meatless western food is also available. Govinda looks like any
other Italian ristorante, except that there is no meat on the premises.
The Vegetarian Cottage is, of all things, a vegetarian steakhouse
with such western delights as roast beef and grilled pork all fashioned
out of mock meat.
A general rule for veg food in Bangkok is that the cheaper the venue,
the earlier it closes. The incredibly inexpensive (10-15 baht for
most dishes) Vegetarian Society food court near Chatuchak wraps up
by 2:00 pm on weekdays, market stalls often close around 4:00, and
shophouses around 7:00. The more expensive places tend to stay open
until later - for example, Suki You Jing until 10:00 pm and Govinda
until midnight. Veg stalls in food courts are an exception, often
serving until late evening. The low-budget-vegetarian-night-owl award
goes to the veg stall at Robinson Ratchada for providing sustenance
until about 10:00 pm - perfect for those wanting to fuel up on some
easy-on-the-digestive-system veg food before a night out partying.
With a bit of digging and some help from TryItAsia, those who want
meatless meals should be able to satisfy their hunger and their wallet,
whether it's the all-veg cafeteria at Mission Hospital or the fancy
buffet at the Ambassador Hotel. It's certainly possible to gin jay
to your heart's content in Bangkok.
By Amit Gilboa |
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| Click
here for Try It's list of vegetarian
restaurants |
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