anu

Hi..

If you go to Thong Lor a lot you may want to check out a little restaurant "Tieng Yang Jay"...it is my favourite place in BKK. Go down to thong lor soi 9...you will see a wedding studio on the corner and Tieng Yang is next to that. You can at well for 30-40 baht and it is all vegan or "jay" Thai style

I missed this thread....would like to add two places in Bangkok that I frequent, as I am a longtime vegan and have stayed that way for the 4 years I've been here. Two of my staple restaurants are Chijuya in 55th plaza on Thonglor and Govinda (veg Italian) on Suk 22. Veg and vegan japanese food (including sushi). Can't say enough about the orange chicken and the hanna sushi (ask for it without mayo). Govinda is a vegetarian paradise. My wife is Italian and loves it. Authentic and sooo good. Something I get everytime I'm in there is a special order. Try it and you'll love it. Ask for the margherita pizza, no cheese, with the pollo picante on top. AMAZING!! I've eaten there every week for the past 3 years I've been in Bangkok (1st year was in Chiang Mai) and I never get sick of it.

It's great to hear of a success story. Chiang Mai seems to be the best bet for vegetarians. However, my take is it would be quite difficult to be a vegetarian in Thailand. Matter of fact I can't think of any place that would be harder. I have met hundreds of Thai's, and just 1 vegetarian, bless her. Food is the centerpiece of thai living and always comes up when socializing whether the group orders it or someone arrives with it. Food is also eaten family style. So you find yourself in all of these spontaneous situations where in front of you is a feast of....all dishes that have one meat or another. Realistically, eliminating fish & oyster sauces from your diet is out of the question unless you only go to really progressive places. Thai's just don't understand what it really means. If an order comes with meat and you remind them you ordered vegetarian, they will be confused why you don't like the fact all they did is pick the meat out and return the plate to you. And the other thing is many signature thai dishes have some type of meat. You'll never get to experience yam plaa duk foo or many other out of this world creations and have to settle for the 3rd or 4th best dishes an establishment might specialize in. The vegetarian restaurant density is very low in Bangkok. It's the type thing where you can walk to 20 restaurants or take a half hour to get to the nearest vegetarian one. And vegetarian substitutes at the grocery store have not caught on here and are difficult to impossible to get. I have yet to see so much as a vegetarian hotdog or burger at any super market. During buddhist lent some Thai oriented things vegetarian substitutes appear which is kind of cool though. Vegetarian can be done. But I think it is good to be prepared mentally for the challenges you will face.

It's great to hear of a success story. Chiang Mai seems to be the best bet for vegetarians. However, my take is it would be quite difficult to be a vegetarian in Thailand. Matter of fact I can't think of any place that would be harder. I have met hundreds of Thai's, and just 1 vegetarian, bless her. Food is the centerpiece of thai living and always comes up when socializing whether the group orders it or someone arrives with it. Food is also eaten family style. So you find yourself in all of these spontaneous situations where in front of you is a feast of....all dishes that have one meat or another. Realistically, eliminating fish & oyster sauces from your diet is out of the question unless you only go to really progressive places. Thai's just don't understand what it really means. If an order comes with meat and you remind them you ordered vegetarian, they will be confused why you don't like the fact all they did is pick the meat out and return the plate to you. And the other thing is many signature thai dishes have some type of meat. You'll never get to experience yam plaa duk foo or many other out of this world creations and have to settle for the 3rd or 4th best dishes an establishment might specialize in. The vegetarian restaurant density is very low in Bangkok. It's the type thing where you can walk to 20 restaurants or take a half hour to get to the nearest vegetarian one. And vegetarian substitutes at the grocery store have not caught on here and are difficult to impossible to get. I have yet to see so much as a vegetarian hotdog or burger at any super market. During buddhist lent some Thai oriented things vegetarian substitutes appear which is kind of cool though. Vegetarian can be done. But I think it is good to be prepared mentally for the challenges you will face.

It's great to hear of a success story. Chiang Mai seems to be the best bet for vegetarians. However, my take is it would be quite difficult to be a vegetarian in Thailand. Matter of fact I can't think of any place that would be harder. I have met hundreds of Thai's, and just 1 vegetarian, bless her. Food is the centerpiece of thai living and always comes up when socializing whether the group orders it or someone arrives with it. Food is also eaten family style. So you find yourself in all of these spontaneous situations where in front of you is a feast of....all dishes that have one meat or another. Realistically, eliminating fish & oyster sauces from your diet is out of the question unless you only go to really progressive places. Thai's just don't understand what it really means. If an order comes with meat and you remind them you ordered vegetarian, they will be confused why you don't like the fact all they did is pick the meat out and return the plate to you. And the other thing is many signature thai dishes have some type of meat. You'll never get to experience yam plaa duk foo or many other out of this world creations and have to settle for the 3rd or 4th best dishes an establishment might specialize in. The vegetarian restaurant density is very low in Bangkok. It's the type thing where you can walk to 20 restaurants or take a half hour to get to the nearest vegetarian one. And vegetarian substitutes at the grocery store have not caught on here and are difficult to impossible to get. I have yet to see so much as a vegetarian hotdog or burger at any super market. During buddhist lent some Thai oriented things vegetarian substitutes appear which is kind of cool though. Vegetarian can be done. But I think it is good to be prepared mentally for the challenges you will face.

Does anybody know what it's like being a vegetarian/vegan in Thailand? Are there some vegetarian restaurants and health food stores? How common is it?

Thanks!

Hi !

I have a web site about how to survive as a vegetarian in Thailand.

http://lovesthailand.googlepages.com

The vegatarian pages are on the left side of my home page.

My site has info on shopping, eating out in BKK and how to order food etc.

I just discovered a new place on Sukhumvit soi 24 ( not on my website yet) which does western style vegetarian food such as veggie burritos, sandwichs cakes etc.... It is roughly a third of the way down soi 24 from the Sukhumvit end and is amongst a brand new complex of shops in front of Asa Garden Apartment. Get of at Prom Pong Sky train station and just ask the motorbike drivers on the corner to go to Asa Gardens, it's usually a 10 baht ride. I think the name is "Vsi's" or something like that. It's the only restaurant/cafe there as far as I know and it has bright red decor. There is no indication that it is vegetarian but it is! Although not so much vegan stuff.

Anybody have suggestions for healthy vege food? Lentil burgers, that sort of thing.

I've heard of Whole Earth on Sukumvit 26, I think? Does anyone know exactly where?

Hey..

I have just finished putting together a vegetarian survival guide for Thailand which also includes a guide to my favourite veggie restaurants in Bangkok which may help...

http://lovesthailand.googlepages.com

Please check it out!!

Bye for now

Anu