flipstah

I've been vegan for about a month and half. It's been alright.

The hardest thing other than the first two weeks of mood swings is ordering out. I try not to because anything 'vegan' or 'vegetarian' is limiting and somewhat boring.

Once in a while, I eat some fish or egg to let the body remember that I can still consume and digest this.

I found that substituting dense vegetables for meat in recipes really help. Then again, you can only have so much squash.

I found spices keep things interesting to the palate. Also, Indian food is my jam.

whiteonwhite

Hey!

I've lived in Hong Kong, Mainland China, Japan, Korea and now I'm back in the States. As a lifelong vegetarian who is slowly going vegan I know how hard it can be to find veggie food abroad. I wanted to share some of my favorite veggie restaurants and also ask everyone else:

What are your favorite vegetarian/vegan restaurants around the world?


Here are some of mine:

Hong Kong:
Lock Cha Tea House (Veggie dim sum, a must visit.)
Seoul, Korea:
Gosang (Upscale vegetarian temple food, good lunch specials.)
Plant (Vegan western food, small shop, English only menu.)
Balwoo Gongyang (Upscale Korean temple food with an inferior buffet a floor or two below.)
Shanghai, China:
Veg Inn (Vegetarian Sichuan food run by a furniture salesman turned buddhist monk, great food.)
Auckland, New Zealand:
The Unbakery (Vegan, raw, gluten-free and delicious.)
California, USA:
Cafe Gratitude (Western vegan, with locations in SF, LA, Santa Cruz (not listed on their site due to a strange biz structure) and more.)

So, anyone have anything to add to the list? I've heard there are great vegetarian restaurants outside of Kyoto, if you do a temple stay. Any good tips for NYC would be cool as well. Please keep submissions to truly vegetarian/vegan only, unless there is a truly fantastic vegetarian/vegan selection. Salads don't count!

stimpy

As far as I'm concerned, there is only one place in the world where vegetarian food actually tastes good and that is India. Everywhere else it tastes like crap.

I don't know how they do it? A billion people and a culture several thousand years old?

DavidDTW

Earlier this year a new vegan restaurant opened here in the Detroit area. I tried it out a few months ago, and thought it was very good. The vegan friend I was dining with loved it!

GreenSpace Café
215 W Nine Mile Rd
Ferndale MI

cslewis

Fruit or vegetable salads are wonderful. Mixing blueberries, strawberries, apples, and kiwi together make a wonderful fruit salad. Simply enjoying lettuce with tomatoes is a great meal. Spinach rolls taste great.

BuildingMyBento

Enter a market in a random (south) Korean city, have an ajumma (in general) prepare you a blend of namul (seasoned vegetables). That's good stuff, and with a kick, to boot.

stimpy

There are a lot of things I don't understand about Korea and the food is one of the big ones. I'm glad for Korea that some people around the world like their food, but I sure don't.

FlyingJoy

Longtime vegetarian (lacto-ovo) here. Here's a comprehensive run-down of my favourite discoveries along my vegetarian foodie journey. As this is my 100th post, I thought I'd make it a special one

I've found that I mostly prefer to go to "normal" restaurants which happen to offer outstanding vegetarian dishes. Some of the most memorable restaurants around the world in this category which I've encountered:

San Francisco, USA
State Bird Provisions - just tried this one last month. Hands down one of SF's best restaurants. Incredible vegetarian flavours. The "squash mochi with maitakes, brussel sprouts and shaved burgundy truffles" was insane.

Shanghai, China
Old Jesse (Ji Shi) Restaurant - Shanghai's most legendary Shanghainese restaurant...which just happens to have a long, wonderful list of veg-friendly options.

Tallinn, Estonia
Von Krahli Aed - their concept is to offer many of their dishes available to be made vegetarian or vegan. Loved this one so much that I've been back both times that I was in Tallinn. Housed in a beautiful medieval building in the Old Town!

Stockholm, Sweden
Speceriet - very creative vegetarian combinations - when I went, I had "Jerusalem artichoke, beetroot, lingonberry" and "pointed cabbage, sour cream, goat cheese, raw spinach juice"
Lilla Ego - probably the hottest restaurant in town in recent years - does a great job whipping up customised dishes to look after us "veggies".

Budapest, Hungary
Borkonyha - my old favourite in this city - now has a Michelin star - always maintains one excellent vegetarian offering per course.

Melbourne, Australia (and surrounds) (...my hometown)
Way too many to list - we're a very veg friendly city - but this is a handful of my personal favourites...
Vue de monde - top notch vegetarian degustation, and what a view
The Lake House - fine dining in the countryside outside of Melbourne, always has stunning vegetarian dishes, beautiful lake scenery
Suzuran - Japanese-owned sushi bar which does fantastic veg sushi
Hanabishi - easily one of the most veg friendly Japanese restaurants I've tried anywhere
Hammer & Tong - great brunch spot run by Vue de monde alumni
Tipo00 - one of the most popular pasta-wine bars in town. I always go for the seasonal risotto - last time it was "stinging nettle and saltbush" - wow!

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And some of the most memorable pure veg spots which I've tried:

Stockholm, Sweden
Hermans Vegetarian Restaurant - vegetarian buffet with a spectacular view over Stockholm harbour. They rotate the theme of the food regularly, e.g. Mexican, Middle Eastern, Asian, Indian, Multicultural, Easter, Xmas, Midsummer Festival.

Zurich, Switzerland (but also branches around Switzerland and in London)
Tibits - very fresh veg buffet food

Hong Kong
Tin Chi - this website-less little gem is hidden in an old local plaza a short drive from my relatives' home in HK, halfway between Sha Tin and Fo Tan MTRs. My family and I (when I'm in town) have been regulars for many years now. Not a word of English anywhere, but that doesn't matter - outstanding vegetarian cold cuts, outstanding everything, rock bottom prices!

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Some pure veg spots which are on my to-try list, but which I have yet to make it to:

New York, USA (@ whiteonwhite, maybe these suggestions will be of use to you)
Angelica Kitchen
Dirt Candy

Chicago, USA
The Chicago Diner

Oakland, USA
Millenium

Vienna, Austria
Tian Restaurant