Meat-free travel: vegetarian hits and misses

Apr 29, 2011 5:21:41 AM

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Here’s our pick of the perfect destinations for the best food without a face – and three for vegetarians to avoid…

Singapore: heaven

From hectic hawkers’ markets to sophisticated specialist restaurants, the Southeast Asian island state harbours a huge number of vegetarian eateries – well over 100, according to www.happycow.net. In Singapore you’ll munch on the best of Asia’s great cuisines – Malaysian, South Indian, the varied flavours of China – and specifically that blissful blend of Nyonya (or Peranakan) cooking, rich with lemongrass, tamarind, galangal and coconut milk. Though the cuisine isn’t specifically vegie, meat-free mains are nigh unbeatable – order a vegie laksa lemak (spicy coconut noodle soup) to reach Nyonya nirvana.

India: heaven

Two words: thali and dosa – South India’s great gifts to the world. The first is an ubiquitous all-you-can-eat feast: a thali can range from a few simple of curry, dhal (lentils) and rice on a banana leaf to a half-dozen-plus chilli-tinged treats in special dimpled trays. The dosa is the king of southern snacks, a rice-flour-and-lentil pancake that comes in countless varieties: paper-thin and crispy, laced with onion, packed with spiced veg and dipped in soupy lentil sambar. In South India, carnivores are the weirdos.

San Francisco: heaven

This is the city that has hosted the World Vegetarian Festival each year for over a decade, a fantastic destination for discerning vegetarians. Partly it’s the result of the embedded counterculture ethos that’s simmered here for years, and partly the efforts of gastronomic pioneers such as Alice Waters in promoting respect for fresh produce. What it means for vegies is that you can tuck into anything from a vast Mission burrito to a five-course vegan ‘Aphrodisiac Dinner’ at stylish, inventive Millennium – all without a whiff of meat.

Morocco: heaven

Wander the narrow alleys of any souk and you’ll realise why Moroccan food is so tongue-tingling: the carefully shaped, rainbow-hued piles of spices are dazzling. Be warned, however: not all ‘vegetable’ dishes are necessarily meat-free, and the occasional bland number crops up, but when it hits the mark dishes such as vegie tajine (fruit-sweetened stew slow-baked in a conical earthenware pot) or couscous can be sensational. Add spicy harira soup for kick, olives to snack on and hummus to dip, and you’re almost there. The test of a destination’s culinary credentials is bread – and in Morocco, khubz is king.

Italy: heaven

Sure, it’s the spiritual home of pizza and pasta, but to discover Italy’s true culinary genius plan a picnic. First, pick up bread – soft focaccia or thin, crispy Sardinian pane fresa. Market-stall-hop for antipasto: olives, sun-dried tomatoes, marinated artichokes and peppers. Add a lump of pecorino, taleggio or dolcelatte cheese, toss in a bottle of local red, and away you go. And the best bit? Each region boasts divine local specialities – try truffles (black in Umbria, white in Piedmont), asparagus from the Veneto and Sicilian capers.

Lebanon: heaven

Mezze magic! Why be limited to only one or two dishes when you can load a table with scores of finger-food portions? This admirable philosophy reaches its apotheosis in Lebanon. Dips, grains, marinated and cooked vegetables, stuffed leaves, fried pastries and salads…grab some flat bread and start dunking and scooping. Our pick is baba ghanoush, humble eggplant roasted and miraculously transformed with tahini, garlic and olive oil – voila: dipping delight.

Thailand: heaven

Like San Francisco, Thailand has a vegetarian festival. Unlike San Francisco, during the vegetarian festival on Phuket – here called Kin Jay – devotees stick sharp spikes through their cheeks. Quite what that has to do with vegetarianism is debatable, but the festival is also a chance for ethnic Chinese Thais (and lucky visitors) to munch a dizzying array of faux-meat dishes. The rest of the year, specifying that you’d like your meal jay (vegan) or mangasawirat (vegetarian) gets you your favourite pad thai noodles, red curry or spicy papaya salad sans animal.

Central Asia: hell

This little-travelled region may represent the global nadir for herbivores. As a rule, dishes on the Asian steppes and mountains feature mutton or horse. You might happen on Kazakh manti (steamed dumplings filled with meat), Kyrgyz besh barmak (boiled horsemeat with noodles), lagman (noodles cooked in meat broth) or regional favourite plov (mutton, horsemeat or beef fried with rice and carrots – in fat). If you’re vegan, forget it – chances are if it’s not meat, it’s dairy. Is it worth it? Explore ancient Silk Road cities, roam vast steppes, trace the Pamir Highway, then make up your own mind.

Argentina: hell

Meat rules across South America, so picking the least veg-friendly country is tricky. Argentina gets the nod partly because of its prodigious meat consumption – a whopping 70kg per person each year. In Buenos Aires and larger cities you can dodge the ubiquitous parrillas (grill houses) and unearth some excellent vegetarian restaurants. But if you want to fall off the wagon, this is the place for it. Pick a sharp knife, douse your carne de vaca (beef) with chimichurri (olive oil with parsley and garlic) and get stuck in.

Germany: hell

Eating flesh-free in Europe is easy…in theory. In practice, you’ll need to stay sharp; many chefs still seem to believe that chicken and ham sprout in vegetable patches. But it really pays to be alert in Germany. Yes, Berlin boasts a wide selection of excellent vegetarian options in a range of international cuisines, but all too often that pink dumpling in your soup is, yes, bacon. Conversely, Teutonic food doesn’t get the acclaim it deserves, and for carnivores it’s a treat. Wurst isn’t just sausage – it’s 1500 sausages, an almost infinite variety.

Every vegetarian traveller has a horror story to tell – what’s yours? Or do you belong in the ‘if it moves, eat it’ category, whereby overseas travel frequently involves sampling extreme cuisine? Go on, spill the beans (or should that be brains?)…

Further reading: Chef Alice Waters’ culinary tour of California

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Comments

27 November 2009 9:28PM icantfindone Report this comment
Morocco's bread is fantastic, but Man does not live on bread (and olives) alone. The reality in Morocco is that a vegetarian will live on salads, french fries, and bread. Outside of places that see tourists, Morocco is far from a vegetarian's paradise. The concept is totally foreign. Vegetarian dishes often mean that the bits of meat are picked out for you.
28 November 2009 11:23AM giuri Report this comment
I'm not a vegetarian, but I think basically the whole American continent is hell for them south of the Rio Grande
28 November 2009 11:59AM martin2008 Report this comment
I agree with the first ones, yes South India is a vegetarian area of the world (whether Western / Chinese vegetarians like local South Indian depends on their tastes as South Indian food is sort of like monk food, religious and free from garlic too)
I disagree with Germany being on the Hell list...the reason being I went to Hamburg and they have a lot more vegetarian snacks in the streets /railwaystration (such as brie cheese sandwiches and spinach pizza slices) than in most other European countries. Germany also has quite a few frozen veggie products in their supermarkets compared with the Scandinavian countries up north of Germany....but of course England is the Vegetarian strongold of Europe with tons of soya-meat products and ethnic restaurants hehe
29 November 2009 6:36AM mj42 Report this comment
Switzerland and Poland both have some very good veggie restaurants, and Spanish restaurants often do all-you-can-eat buffets with plenty of vegetarian choices. Norway and Sweden are pretty bad - fish with everything - but the worst of the lot has got to be France. I know of one very good veggie restaurant there (Poeles de Carottes in Strasbourg) and one fairly good one (Le Petit Legume in Paris) but it pretty much the whole of the rest of the country the concept of vegetarianism is completely alien.
Best veggie restaurant I've ever been to, though, is Harmonija in Skopje. It's tucked away in the basement of a nondescript shopping centre in a quiet side street and if it hadn't been mentioned in LP I'd never have found it, but it's a fantastic place.
29 November 2009 10:14AM rlissner Report this comment
Being a vegetarian in Israel is extremely easy and I am surprised it's not on this list (although Lebanon is close enough). Because of religious reasons, a good chunk of restaurants serve only meat or no meat at all, make it quite easy to find a strictly vegetarian restaurant. Plus Levantine food in general (a la Lebanon) is often vegetarian.
I'd say Iceland is one of the more difficult places to be vegetarian, at least economically speaking. Since they have to import all of their produce, buying some vegetarian snacks to compensate for meals still adds up quite quickly. It is possible to have a completely vegetarian experience in Reykjavik because there is a surprising amount of vegetarian places there.
And since you singled out San Francisco, I'd definitely say to consider Toronto. The cuisine is as diverse as imaginable and there is an annual vegetarian festival, too. You can easily get Singaporean, Thai, Moroccan, Indian, Italian, and Lebanese food here with no problem.
29 November 2009 12:04PM mia_in_london Report this comment
I'd list Thailand as 'hell' unless you're ok with fish sauce in everything.
You can get amazing shojin ryori meals in Japan - two of the best (vegetarian) meals of my life were in Tokyo. People may prepare special meals for you - but remind them not to garnish the dish with fish as the habit is hard to break.
Vietnam is brilliant for vegetarians. Laos was also surprisingly good. I've only spent a few days in Cambodia but it was a bit meh.
Germany - well, I've eaten an awful lot of Italian, Turkish and Indian meals in Germany. East African restaurants are also good. To be fair, most of Europe can be pretty hard going for vegetarians.
I found Morocco quite frustrating. It's really difficult to be sure that a dish doesn't contain meat, and options are so limited that I quickly got bored.
Azerbaijan restaurants can be a lifesaver in places like Russia, with super tasty vegetarian options.
I think Melbourne and Sydney are at least as good as San Francisco for vegetarians.
29 November 2009 1:55PM yukitan Report this comment
Another vote against Morocco, the "veggie" tajine is often prepared with bones as a base for the stock.
Cambodia had quite a few veg options and some of the best green curry I've ever had.
Do be careful in Japan, besides the ever present bonito flakes, you should specify that your food be prepared with no meat or fish stock (dashi) as well as list the varieties of meat you'd like to do without. Bacon is often considered a garnish, not a meat.
30 November 2009 6:27AM talesfromthehaolife Report this comment
Trying to find vegetarian food in airports in the USA is by far the worst time I've had as a veggie on the go. Even in places like L.A., where veggie food abounds in the city, the airport was a sea of meat-products.
30 November 2009 12:40PM emmamcm Report this comment
Outback Australia: Hell Unless you know bushtucker plants and/or can survive on chips alone. Chiko Roll anyone?
1 December 2009 5:26AM bd081098 Report this comment
I traveled to Spain last year and it was a challenge. Noticed a lot of restaurants advertising jamon (ham). I've been a vegan for over nine years but had to conceded to eating things I'm pretty sure were not when there. I didn't eat meat, dairy or eggs per se; but did eat things like croissants that most likely had some dairy. This probably explains why I returned to the U.S. a few pounds lighter. I did find an actual salad bar in Madrid but the vegetables were a bit on the wilted side.
1 December 2009 11:45AM rose_m Report this comment
Spain is really hard. Jamon with everything. I spent weeks surviving on chips and asparagus. When I got to Barcelona I went to the Mercat de la Bouqeria and there was a stall heaped with fresh rocket and I almost fell on my knees in front of it.
3 December 2009 4:08AM hercules Report this comment
Who comes up with these lists? They must not be vegetarian. I nearly starved to death in Thailand, they are NOT veg friendly, apart from the once yearly festival mentioned. Cambodia was much easier.
Argentina was extremely easy to find veg food, as is Germany (as long as you stay in the cities). Spain isn't that easy, nor is Italy. Unless you know for certain that the cheese they use is rennet-free, then pizza, etc. is useless. For those of you not in the know, rennet is a by-product they use in cheese, which comes from animal stomachs. Unless the cheese specifically states that they use microbial (vegetarian) rennet, then you are eating corpse.
7 December 2009 4:41AM owerram Report this comment
If anyone visits Trivandrum, Kerala you should visit the Arya Nivas near to the railway station for super Masala Dosha, you will love it.
8 December 2009 11:57PM colino Report this comment
At home I am a strict vegetarian but on my travels I have to admit to letting my standards slip. I don't transform into a carnivorous beast stuffing the first bacon buttie that passes my radar, it's just that I have to be a little bit pragmatic about the food and its veggie credentials.
At first I used to get stressed out about finding 100% veggie restaurants in the middle of nowhere. I now relax a lot more and will eat some thing that is "meat-free" without interrogating the poor waiter about its hidden ingredients.
Whilst it works most of the time the mishaps do happen. For example the delicious tomato soup we had in Cambrils, Spain where lurking in the bottom like a deep sea creature was a lump of Black Pudding (or Blood Pudding). I obviously stopped eating and politely left it saying I was full.
At the end of the day life's too short to worry about it. We can only do our best.
We didn't have to try too hard in India though. It's certainly the Number One Vegetarian Heaven.
30 December 2009 4:43PM reviewers10 Report this comment
indian vegan food is much much more than only south indian dishes, for eg : the sheer inventiveness of bengali/marathi/rajasthani/gujrati ( and i am sure elsewhere in the country) vegan food is a revelation if only you know what to look for ....vegan food is linked to our religion and other ancient traditions and isnt a life style fad therefore its long and enduring and very evolved and not limited to any specific region only....
2 January 2010 6:16PM fuzzyturtle11 Report this comment
I am surprised that Indonesia did not make this list. Tofu, tempeh, and veggie dishes were some of the cheapest and most delicious i've had. Since i usually cooked my dinner at hostels while i was traveling in europe, i was pleasantly surprised by the amount of organic, non-gmo soya products available in grocery stores in south-west germany, northern italy, and slovakia (bratislava specifically). If i did eat at a restaurant, most 'vegetarian' options consisted of cheese or were totally drowning in cheese. I am usually vegan at home, but my european diet was basically cheese, bread, fruit, yogourt, and chocolate. I am going to have to agree with Colino; if you are veggie/vegan you might want to relax your standards a little bit and not obsess about every hidden animal product in order to have a more pleasant holiday. I should also add that vancouver is an excellent veggie city and restaurants are very accomodating to vegan requests!
27 January 2010 4:09PM ore0cookies Report this comment
Philippines is very hard for veggies, the staple is bbq meat (oh yes) and white rice. There are a couple of gems (check out happycow.com) and a fantastic vegan kebab with spicy roast potatoes in Dumaguete's "Boston Cafe". These places however, are few and very far between.
If you can find accommodation with a kitchen (Citadel Alona Inn in Pangloa is a brilliant cheap, clean option) stock up on fresh veg from the market or local "surry surry" store and get cooking - it really is the best way to eat in Philippines (even the bread here has lard in it!).
Alternatively stay with a Philippino family...we've enjoyed a multitude of vegan delights the past couple of days..."adobo" made with green beans and "magic meat" (Philippino TVP/Soya chunks), "lumpia" spring rolls and "puncit" fried noodles . Eat this stuff anywhere else without doubt you'll find bits of meat and fish lurking around especially as most local meals are pre-cooked.
31 January 2010 4:09PM namyangjubadger Report this comment
South Korea = hell
There is no word for vegetarian in the Korean language. All dishes center around meat. Try to order something without meat and it will show up with some other kind of meat in it. I've also ordered a veggie dish and had a waitress refuse to serve it to me b/c she didn't think it was any good and gave me a pot of beef instead.
Absolute veggie hell. Perhaps the few Buddhist restaurants saved it from this list.
2 February 2010 9:30PM cianjb Report this comment
Ethiopia is heaven for veggies. For Ethiopian Christians (about half the population, depending on who you ask) fasting means abstaining from animal products, and Wednesday, Friday and a whole host of feast days are all compulsory fasting days. For vegetarians, just say you're fasting every time you order - they'll be impressed at your devoutness, and you'll be stuffed!
2 February 2010 11:23PM durvasi Report this comment
Morocco is certainly not a vegetarian's paradise! I was eating bread and olives, tomatoes and avocado most of the time. Cous-cous is always cooked with meat, even if they don't put the meat in your plate.There are certain traditional soups without meat but they are difficult to come across in the little eateries you find when travelling. Curiously, in an expensive restaurant in Fes they served a lot of delicious vegetarian dishes as an aperitif before the meal but they were not part of the menu.
3 February 2010 12:04AM rlissner Report this comment
Being a vegetarian in Morocco, Spain, and Buenos Aires is a joke.
When I travelled in Morocco, I drank orange juice and ate about five types of bread on a daily basis. The only time I had a satisfying vegetarian meal (as in a meal and not a hodgepodge of foods) was when I stayed at someone's house and they prepared a vegetarian tajine for me.
Barcelona and Buenos Aires has ham in everything and it is definitely a challenge to find a good vegetarian meal. I went to one vegetarian restaurant in Barcelona and was so disappointed.
Here in Buenos Aires, there are a handful of vegetarian restaurants, which I am so, so thankful for, but vegetarian meals at non-veggie restaurants are pretty miserable. While I can't vouch for the Argentine meat, I have to admit that the rest of the food here is pretty insipid. The ice cream, however, is by far the best on this side of the world.
3 February 2010 3:59PM aleerak14 Report this comment
"Who comes up with these lists? They must not be vegetarian. I nearly starved to death in Thailand, they are NOT veg friendly" from Hercules
Not true! I have been to Thailand many, many times and have no problem eating vegetarian there.
My tip is to get a local to write in Thai: "I am a vegetarian. I don't eat meat. I don't eat fish. No fish sauce. No shrimp paste." on a piece of paper and show it to the staff at the restaurant you are at. They are usually very accommodating...
There are many vegetarian/veggo friendly restaurants in Thailand. Cabbages and Condoms in Bangkok is one of my favourites and I visit it every time I'm in Bangkok. There's also a street vendor in Soi Rambutri (near Khao San Road) that does a vast array of vegetarian meals for 30 baht. My last day there I tried 3 different dishes that were all vegetarian and tasted delicious!
4 February 2010 11:57PM 1cinnamon Report this comment
France = Hell, Germany = Heaven
France is clearly hell, especially for non-French speakers seeking vegetarian food in this non-veg paradise. With the exception of Asian/African quarters (such as the one close to the Paris Gare du Nord), it is almost impossible to get anything vegetarian. The haute cuisine restaurants are of course out of the question as they will dismiss you with their suave french.. searching for a veggie sandwich will bring you as much success in France as on the moon. Even at the Pizza joints, you get no deal, unless you find an Italian (boss or worker), who can sympathize with your dietary limitation.
Germany, in comparison is heaven. There's tonnes of Turkish joints (not to mention the pizza places and asian eateries) and it appears that even the (trendy) locals don't mind going veggie occasionally.. also, most city-centre places sport a veggie dish on the menu cards.
2 April 2010 7:01PM wanppin Report this comment
Do you have further information for vegan?
I found it is easy to find vegetarian food, but very difficult to find vegan food when I went travelling in Italy. They mix eggs with flour when making pasta and pizza. And they use cuttlefish or other animal products to die their pasta.
13 August 2010 3:16AM helenatm Report this comment
France = hell Germany= heaven
Totally agreein. It was horrible to get nice vegan food even in Paris. In Germany you get everywhere something pretty good.
10 December 2010 9:21PM dismeri Report this comment
In fact, i'm spanish and it's not so hard being a vegan here. (I've been living in different places in Spain). There are lots of veggie restaurants, and there are also lots of "tapas" that are vegetarian. (The speciality almost everywhere is not "jamón", but "papas bravas" (spicy potatos) or spanish omelet or mushrooms... Of course if you go to touristic places it will be "jamón" everywhere, that's true... But in Madrid I eat out a lot and you can go for example to a vegan chinese "eat all you can" or other very different vegetarian places. Just one tip: try to walk a little so you can get to a less touristic zone...
*Well, maybe on the north-west of Spain is harder to get good veggie meals...
23 December 2010 1:37AM leslietravel Report this comment
I disagree with your classification of Argentina as a vegetarian's "hell." I'm a vegetarian and lived there for a year without major problems. There are pizza and empanada places on every single block, and there are almost always vegetarian salads or "diet" options on the menu. The supermarkets are ultra modern and well stocked with vegetarian staples (including soy milanesa). I'd add Laos to the "hell" category, since outside of tourist towns like Van Vieng vegetarianism seems to be a foreign concept. Few people speak English, so it's hard to communicate dietary needs.
23 December 2010 6:46AM santafetraveler Report this comment
Gere is a list of vegetarian restaurants in Argentina. http://www.happycow.net/south_america/argentina/buenos_aires/
22 January 2011 10:39AM d6ams Report this comment
I have spent a lot of time in Germany over the last ten years and have experienced the huge plate of boiled veggies on occasion. More often, however, I have been pleasantly surprised by the most excellent veggie food available. And in asparagus and mushroom season, there are few places better.
8 March 2011 4:14AM briseis Report this comment
I've never had any trouble finding nice veggie food anywhere in Europe, although I haven't been to France since I became a vegetarian and my friends have told me it's pretty hard. But I don't agree with people saying that Barcelona is hell. I had no troubles there, even at the traditional Catalonian restaurant they made me a very nice vegetarian plate after explaining that I didn't eat meat or fish. Sometimes it takes a while to explain (like in Crete where I didn't wanna eat the goat so the guy offered me meatballs and when I said I didn't eat meat he said "no no, is cow!" :D) but it has never been a big problem! One exception was Warsaw, Poland. Although it was no problem finding veggie food in the city itself I was there for school and the food was mostly organized (by the Polish). The first day the vegetarians got... fish.
@aleerak14: that street vendor in Bangkok was right in front of my hostel when I was staying there so I ate there like 6 times! Mr. Yim's vegetarian food!
8 March 2011 7:13AM katieb82981 Report this comment
I was in Egypt as a vegetarian, and my friends all wanted to go to this seafood restaurant. I found the dish on the menu that the seafood seemed like the least integral (I think it was rice and veggies with shrimp), and explained to the server that I didn't eat meat or fish, so could he please leave it off. He nodded as if he understood and said, "Aha, yes, just *little* shrimps." I tried again, he nodded again, and then he served me a dish with clearly legs of something sticking out of it. Sigh. He seemed so proud, too. I gave the legs to a friend and just ate the rest. (I wasn't a very strict veg, especially when traveling.)
China was what finally broke my vegetarianism, though.
9 May 2011 5:38PM veganjason Report this comment
Thank you for posting this article!
I'm vegan and a loyal Lonely Planet costumer, but I find myself having to completely skip over the "Eating" sections of most of your guides. I really hope to see more of a focus on (or at least an increased inclusion of) veganism in future Lonely Planet articles and books!
10 May 2011 5:09AM eeefje Report this comment
I'd skip the thali and go straight to masala dosa or samosa when in India. Anyone ever found some nice dosai outside India?
10 May 2011 8:34AM finn_nl Report this comment
This is a very odd list. I speak from some experience seeing as I live in Spain with German flatmates (one vegetarian, one vegan) so I have experienced the incredibly dispiriting task of trying to find food in restaurants in Spain that is in an way suitable. Okay, so we don't live in Madrid or Barcelona, but then neither do most Spaniards.. True, this is mostly in restaurants, but come on - if you're cooking at home, you can make anything vegan.
Germany, on the other hand, I think is up there with Holland and Switzerland as an awesome place to be vegetarian, and my flatmates confirm this. Especially northern Germany is a big vegetarian stronghold and supermarkets stock vast amounts of meat substitutes and generally just make life easy. And Switzerland is where probably the most mouth-watering vegetarian restaurant I've ever been in originated - Tibits/Hiltl. Visitors to Basel or Zürich, you know what to do...
10 May 2011 3:52PM chupprayon Report this comment
Georgia is maybe not heaven for vegetarians, but still quite good. Georgians-orthodoxs regularly fast, what means that many dishes are available in a vegetarian version, and many restaurants have a fasting menu. Having said that, for vegans Georgia is probably hell.
10 May 2011 10:03PM gadogadoaddict Report this comment
No problem living in Germany as a vegetarian for the last 13 years. Here are many vegetarian restaurants and next to it way more italian, indian, asian,... restaurants with a large variety of vegetarian dishes. And even in those restaurants where you can't find vegetarian dishes on the menu you can ask for it and get some vegetable meal in nearly all cases. You can get meat substitutes, tofu, soya milk etc. in every supermarket and you have a large number of so called "reformhäusern" (kind of alternativ organic supermarkets) or organic supermarkets in every city, even in those with a population less than 70.000. At least there is a huge number of vegan and vegetarian mail orders in germany, like www.veganwonderland.de for example.
10 May 2011 10:34PM lucylooooo Report this comment
Taiwan is good for veggies, there are lots of buddist eateries here and they are pretty strictly vegan. I have to agree with a previous poster that when travelling in most of the world you have to let your standards slip, for example in Hong Kong there is meat in everything unless you go to expensive veggie places (or indian resturants) so you have to grin and bear it!
13 May 2011 9:51PM kristinavojirova Report this comment
l went to Argentina worried I won't be able to eat that much veggie food and I was actually pleasantly surprised as there was plenty of veggie food, salad,and sufficient veggie diet..so I would disagree that Argentina is 'veggie hell'. I had plenty of falafelshumous, empanadas, saldads..I was in heaven! When travelling in Brazil, that was little bit tougher for me so I lived on black beans, rice and plenty of salad :))
14 May 2011 3:32AM luckyyear2011 Report this comment
Great article, thanks! I had lots of difficultly with vegetarian in Italy of all places. Lots of hidden meat/chicken broth. I ended up eating a lot of Caprese salads.
Also, Seattle is very vegetarian friendly!
14 May 2011 4:30AM mupsi Report this comment
Don´t agree with everything mentioned in the article (as many others). Didn´t find Argentina as difficult as I imagined (although the options for local foods are limited to, well, meat), lots of mostly Italian food available. Mongolia is a gourmet´s, not only vegetarian´s, nightmare. even the water tastes like mutton. BUT I was cooked a wonderful dish of soy meat (did see the package!) and even the meat eaters were very happy to get some tasty food not tasting like mutton. Myanmar was quite easy, and generally, I find South East Asia easy (but unless you eat at a veggie rest, you can never be sure which stock dishes are made with and whether fish sauce is used) Totally agree with the poster who mentioned Ethiopia, very veg. friendly and wonderful food in general. The whole arabian peninsula is quite easy but after months, hummus and tabbouleh get a bit boring as well. NY is veggie heaven to me!
17 May 2011 7:37AM dluek Report this comment
For SE Asia Thailand is a big mistake here... Vegetarianism is not common in Thailand, and if you order a "veggie" stir fry, curry or noodle dish, it's almost definitely laced with fish sauce and/or chicken stock (believe me - I've lived/worked with Thai cooks for almost ten years and lived in Thailand for a year). Even Buddhist monks eat meat in Thailand!
However, Thailand's close neighbor Vietnam should be listed as "heaven." In Vietnam vegetarianism is much more common and "normal," and the people really respect the idea that eating vegetarian means no meat products at all. I have no idea how they make some of their many and incredibly tasty meat substitutes, but they are delicious, and far cheaper than meat dishes!
17 May 2011 10:40AM sinuhik Report this comment
I think Jamaica is one "Heaven" for the veggie food since in the Rastafarian culture meat is prohibited !! When I was there, I really enjoyed all sort of potatoes! Hummm Yummy!
17 May 2011 11:38AM ansh_jain_97 Report this comment
One of the best veggie restaurants I've been to is Hiltl in Zurich. Sure found Switzerland easier than Thailand as they in Thailand count fish, egg as veg.
17 May 2011 2:33PM goldblum Report this comment
Nobody has mentioned Hungary - it's still hell for veggies/vegans, with the rest of Central Europe. Look for Indian, Italian and Israeli eateries + Turkish falafel places, unless you want to live on pastries (non-vegan, though).
17 May 2011 5:04PM firelily Report this comment
Thailand is hell - the choice of vegetarian dishes is very limited and the concept is totally alien to Thais.
17 May 2011 5:32PM aussiegirl600 Report this comment
In ANY bigger city in Germany you will find plenty of choice. Vegie-only restaurants are rare outside the main cities but almost every restaurant will offer nice vegie dishes. If you're somewhere in deepest Bavaria you might not have a dozen dishes to choose from but in 9.9 out of 10 cases you won't go hungry. German cuisine is much more than sausages.
AND people at least know what vegetarian means!
Travelling to Hungary and Romania this was quite a problem and I wouldn't go there again without doing quite some research about restaurants. Greece I think isn't that easy either when you stay in the tourist areas but I remember a vegetarian feast somewhere in a Cretian mountain village.
The UK is a good choice for vegies, I think. Canada was fine in the big cities, less pleasant in Saskatchewan.
19 May 2011 11:01AM octa8on Report this comment
Czech Republic is the absolute hell on my scale! Thank God I was there for only a week or so. I could find some Indian restaurants in Prague but that is it!
19 May 2011 12:51PM angeloffire Report this comment
Hong Kong... If you know where to look, you can find some very nice vegetarian/vegan places. Sadly, its cuisine is largely meat-dominated. Most grocery stores don't sell very many meat substitutes.
On the bright side, I've come to appreciate Indian food and Heinz's (vegetarian-friendly) baked beans.
19 May 2011 6:26PM bobbyfresh Report this comment
Minsk, Belarus When ordering the veggie soup I repeatedly asked the waitress if it contains meat. She repeatedly assured me it does not. When the soup arrived it contained (no prizes for guessing)... MEAT. I sent the soup back. The waitress came up to our table to apologise about 5 times. I thought, wow, she must be the most polite waitress in the world. When the bill came I realised why. I had to pay for the soup anyway. Otherwise it would have been docked from her pay. (I paid)
19 May 2011 6:27PM bobbyfresh Report this comment
PS In Minsk I asked in Russian, so it could not have been a language issue.
20 May 2011 10:13AM coreene Report this comment
I was on some trek in south america and there was a vegetarian in our group. Being the only one who could speak spanish in my group I enjoyed making small talk with the chef and porters while they were making supper each night (and helping them when i could). Anyways, the chef said something that made me think: being a vegetarian is a very "rich person" way of living. When you have nothing to eat, you'll eat meat, trust me.
Made me think... not sure i completely agree, but still...
I'm not vegetarian but I certainly respect those who are.
21 May 2011 7:00AM eswappy Report this comment
I do not exactly agree with Thailand being on the "heaven"-list. Usually the options are: chicken, beef, fish, or vegetables. In Thailand it's fairly easy to ask for food without meat, only veggies is very well doable. The problem however, is the use of oyster sauce and fish sauce in pretty much all dishes. True, it's possible to leave it out as well, but the taste won't be the same. And although there is a vegetarian alternative for oyster sauce, most Thai food vendors won't have it. Tip: May Kaydee in Bangkok does have the vegetarian alternatives for Thai dishes, she also gives cooking lessons and sells a book with recipes for vegetarian Thai dishes
22 May 2011 4:34AM travelinchen Report this comment
Thailand is definitely hell for vegans, and not that great for vegetarians either. Obviously, that doesn't mean that there are no vegetarian restaurants anywhere in BKK, but you don't walk into a normal restaurant or past foodstalls and can get sth.
Germany is fine nowadays if you're in Berlin or Hamburg. But beware, sometimes this spinach quiche does contain some unmentioned ham.
France is proper vegetarians hell; and Spain is not so great either, at least not for vegans.
I found vegetarian and vegan food easiest to come by in Britain; but then, I haven't been to the US or India yet.
25 May 2011 5:09AM chicario92 Report this comment
Thailand is Heaven for Vegetarians- they have such a wide array of fresh and beyond cheap fruit I have never had a problem eating vegan there. The number one hell for Vegetarians has to be Japan. Not only is meat in everything they eat, it is Pork, the worst. I can not count the number of times I have gone to restaurants in Tokyo- seeing no vegetarian options on the menu asked in perfect Japanese for them to simply leave the seafood off of the dish and after agreeing to do so, I get my meal with the meat on it. They are completely unable to process ordering things that aren't exactly as is on the menu in Japan. Worst country ever for Vegetarians! Even tofu restaurants serve pork broths and top the tofu with fish shavings.
7 June 2011 7:21PM kruemelinchen Report this comment
Post 1. As a german vegan, I really can't recommend Germany as a veggie destination. That said, it is quite easy for vegetarians to find at least one dish on the menu. I do recommend to check happycow in case you are planning to eat NICE vegetarian food/ and if you are vegan (love max pett in Munich, a vegan restaurant, just great!) Berlin is full of veggie-friendly places (but is not as nice as Munich ;).
If you are vegan skip the German cuisine (Pretzels are generally vegan, even though traditionally they are made with pig fat uaah)and go to Turkish fast food restaurants, Italian places or head to Asian restaurants. Careful with Indian food in Germany! Many use cream instead of coconut milk! Germans do love their organic produce, you will find a "Bioladen" even in smaller Cities. They sell soymilk, and "allergy free" vegan cookies/snacks etc.
If you feel like a soy milk coffee, try the bigger chains like Starbucks, Mr. Beans and touristy areas.
7 June 2011 7:22PM kruemelinchen Report this comment
Post 2 USA: vegan heaven, esp. if you want to cook yourself. Vegan food is clearly labelled. Also, you gotta love that all chain restaurants offer nutritional information on their website. restaurants usually operate on the basis "the customer is the king" (NOT like Germany!!!!) and can understand "Vegan food" (NOT like Germany, usually not much heard of!!!). Vegan food on the go is not so easy to find... again check happycow for some awesome options!
Thailand: HEAVEN, esp. if you love fresh exotic fruit. Yum, and so cheap too! If you order a veggie-dish make sure, that you order it without fish-/oyster sauce, they are usually happy to do so. It is also the place to go, if you want to loose some pounds without even noticing that you are on a diet, even if you have mango sticky rice every day for desert ;)! Again, check happy cow, Bangkok has some pretty neat options!
7 June 2011 7:23PM kruemelinchen Report this comment
Singapore: I had some real problems in singapore with food options. the upper class restaurants seem to specialize in meat and fish dishes only... that said, I didn't know of happy cow back then.
Australia: Melbourne "the foodie city in Australia" has some really good options. I never really bothered to find good places in Sydney, mostly because I ate sushi like every single day. You gotta love Australian sushi hand rolls!! Make sure that they are without mayo though. I lived in Brisbane for almost 2 years, and while it is very veggie friendly, vegan options can be hard to find at first. your best bet is sticking to thai-/chinese-/japanese- and indian places! They ALWAYS, ALWAYS have options. I love the restaurant street in West End/Brisbane, they had some great food options there. You will find a sushi shop in almost every mall, and there are usually some "health food options" where you can order a houmous wrap etc. soy milk option for coffee is offered in 95% of coffee shops.
7 June 2011 7:24PM kruemelinchen Report this comment
sol bread bakery also sells some lovely vegan banana bread, and if you feel like a nice cold smoothie check out BOOST! I miss that place so much :)! Also if you have time, go to the west end markets (every saturday), they have an "indie" vibe to them, and usually sell some great vegan food options (not many, but GOOD!). They also sell fruit and veggies pretty cheap (if you are looking for a bargain, come at 1pm - they close at 2pm and usually try to get rid everything before packing up.)
Love Brisbane!
Britain: Heaven! London has some wicked veggie-places, there are also many good Indian places! Food is clearly labelled, just awesome!
16 June 2011 6:06PM leksan Report this comment
China was hell for me. Shanghai has a restaurant called "Oldest Vegetarian Restaurant in Shanghai" or something where the day's special was crab ovaries. I pretty much lived on orange juice for 5 days, when finally a local introduced me to a hot-pot restaurant. Oh, glorious glorious vegetables which you KNOW aren't mixed in with pork or animal fat or anything. Just delicious veggies with yummy sesame sauce. I ate enough for a regiment that day.
On that note, Srilanka is a great place for vegetarians too. Some excellent Sinhalese dishes and of course, the ubiquitous tamil influence.
29 June 2011 9:46PM triminx145 Report this comment
I live in southern Thailand. It seems that the opinion on heaven or hell here is mixed.
When eating at food stalls and most restaurants I doubt that you would get a dish that is not prepared with fish sauce or meat stock even if you tell them you are "kin jay" (meaning a monk!).
If you are super strict, you could end up limiting yourself to fresh fruit and veg - you will need to avoid any food that you didn't prepare yourself. Friends of mine have explained (in competent Thai) that they don't eat meat and been served the dish with the meat picked out!
If you are not super strict you can find amazing spicy salads (probably with fish sauce) and most curries with melt-in-the-mouth tofu :)
My recommendation would be try to relax your regime and not worry about small quantities of animal products (hard for some - I understand). If you don't, you will end up very stressed, very hungry and missing out on the amazing flavours Thailand has to offer.
2 August 2011 4:44PM dragonfruit Report this comment
If you are a vegan planning to visit South America check out the ten tips on the Latin Lounge: http://www.volunteerlatinamericablog.com/ten-tips-for-vegan-travel-in-south-america-vegan-restaurants
14 August 2011 12:34AM realita Report this comment
I found Central and South America quite difficult. Mexico is a a real hell, after 2 days I was fed up with quesedillas. In some SA countries you find Hare Krishna restaurants, delicious food for almost no money at all. India is super when it comes to veggie food, except in Sikkim. All noodle soups are made with chicken/meat stock. Nepal is good too, if you don't mind eating dal bhat every day.
22 August 2011 10:55PM mortencopenhagen Report this comment
I also find judging Germany as Hell is wrong. There are quite a lot of vegetarians in Germany and your choices are plentiful as a vegetarian.
9 September 2011 12:21PM tina_23 Report this comment
I second the poster who said Mexico is hellish...having eaten Mexican food (outside Mexico) and loved it for years now, I was disappointed when I landed there only to realise its extremely hard to find veggie street food...
I made up for it when I was in San Cristobal de las casas where I found more than a few good options!
13 September 2011 5:34PM annapattis Report this comment
I have to agree with all that has been said about Germany. All bigger cities have plenty of vegetarian restaurants, such as Munich (Prinz Myshkin, Cafe Ignaz etc). Having daif that I currently live in the country where I had to leave restuarants plenty of times, because when looking at the menu I did not find one single veggie option on the menu: DENMARK. Having the highest meat consumption per head on world wide, does show that this is not an easy country to live/ travel in when you are a vegetarian. Copenhagen is different, but the rest of the country is meat-based diet. Pig preferrably, since they have 5 pigs for every person in this country. So Denmark certainly in the "HELL" option, when it comes to restaurants in Denmark.
31 October 2011 11:04PM rsiddharth1985 Report this comment
India is, without a shred of doubt, the best place in the entire world for vegetarians - India has about 50 different types of cuisines, and about 80% of them are veggie-based. 2 words - VEGETARIAN UTOPIA. North, South or West, it is the carnivores that are frowned upon here (less so in East India though)..
For vegans, however, it is a different deal altogether - India is not so great. You will have trouble ordering vegan, as almost everything contains dairy, and the concept is relatively unknown.
One addition to the Vegetarian Hell list - Philippines.. Most people haven't heard of the concept, and my request for "no meat, no fish, no shrimp, no nothing" had the waiter coming back with crab.. Having spent 2 days here, my lunch on day 1 was Gatorade mixed with white rice, and lunch on day 2 was Red Bull mixed with white rice.. Don't think I had any more ideas for day 3..
8 January 2012 3:46PM crionalevins Report this comment
I was traveling around central america in the summer and found it very difficult being a vegetarian. Be prepared to eat only rice, black beans and eggs for the entirety of your stay. If you don't have a good level of spanish as well, it can be very difficult.