As we mentioned above, seasonal produce is an essential part of cooking, so you might find yourself tucking into a deliciously spiced jackfruit curry, a pumpkin one, or even beetroot, depending on when you visit. The same goes for the amazing array of tropical fruit \u2013 if you arrive in mango season, you can go to town on these sweet, juicy wonders. We also need to mention \u2018short eats\u2019, the Sri Lankan street food snacks, perfect for something to grab on the go. Vadai is the perfect option for vegans \u2013 sold everywhere, a mash up of pulses with herbs and spices it\u2019s fried\u2026and delicious!<\/p>\n
Oh, and yes, Sri Lankan food can be hot and spicy, so if that\u2019s not your palate, just mention you don\u2019t want your head blown off!<\/p>\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.wendywutours.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/hoppers.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
Must Try Dishes:<\/h3>\n
Masoor dhal<\/strong> \u2013 red lentil curry with coconut milk and spices. A global city in tropical climes, Singapore is often lauded as a foodie paradise. Today is has an exciting, developing vegan scene with, at last count, about 50 vegan restaurants to sample. Offering international tasty treats ranging burgers and pizzas to raw foods, salads and traditional Chinese dishes, it\u2019s safe to say you can come here to have your vegan cake and eat it.<\/p>\n For a more local experience, visit one or two of Singapore\u2019s famous hawker centres, where the locals love to grab a bite to eat. These huge food courts are where you can get fresh, delicious dishes cooked as you watch, for excellent value. There are usually a couple of vegetarian only stalls in each centre which will have vegan options, or you can ask them to make one of their vegetarian dishes into a vegan one for you. Chinatown market is another must, with its rich delicious Chinese flavours made with vegetables or mock meats. Another more culturally immersive eating experience can be found in the vegetarian food hall of the Buddha Tooth Relic Temple, also in Chinatown, where there are also plenty of tasty vegan dishes to try.<\/p>\n Like many of the countries in this article, Singapore has a tropical climate meaning that no matter what, there is always plenty of delicious tropical fruits on offer. Trust us when we say that here, where the fruits have fully ripened in their native climate they taste SO MUCH BETTER. One fruit to try is the durian, called \u2018the king of fruit\u2019. It smells horrible and has a unique flavour that divides opinion!<\/p>\n Mock meat satay<\/strong> \u2013 soy meat substitute cooked in a delicious peanut sauce! Taiwan\u2019s<\/a> capital, Taipei won the title of \u2018Asia\u2019s Most Vegan Friendly City\u2019 in 2016 which we think it a pretty good sign that the city is going to be a haven for vegans! Similar to Sri Lanka, it\u2019s Taiwan\u2019s Buddhist religion that influences the cuisine \u2013 Taipei is home to about 300 vegetarian restaurants, most of which are Buddhist. But then, even non-vegan restaurants offer good vegan options and plant-based restaurants are popping up all the time in many of Taipei\u2019s neighbourhoods; there\u2019s also plenty of vegan street food snacks! And we haven\u2019t even mentioned the all-vegan supermarket yet, found in the bustling Wenshan District, perfect for picking up some on-the-go snacks.<\/p>\n Taipei\u2019s vegetarian restaurants range from holes-in-the-wall, to weigh your food buffets, to high end establishments with 10 course tasting menus. The Buddhist vegan restaurants don\u2019t use eggs, but may use diary, so it\u2019s definitely worth having the Chinese for \u2018I don\u2019t eat diary\u2019 ready to go when you visit \u2013 also useful for non-Buddhist vegetarian restaurants is how to say that you don\u2019t eat eggs too, as they are quite a common ingredient in Taiwanese cuisine. If you\u2019re visiting a restaurant that\u2019s not a well-known vegan one, we\u2019ve found that it\u2019s worth being wary of menu translations and to always double check with the restaurant that things are in fact vegan \u2013 again, your Chinese phrases will come in handy!<\/p>\n There are a few Taipei vegan groups on Facebook \u2013 pop there for the latest recommendations. Also, have a bubble tea \u2013 in Taiwan it\u2019s a sweetened ice tea which you can have without milk. It\u2019s shaken up for create a tasty foam and perfect if it\u2019s a hot day in the city!<\/p>\n Stinky tofu<\/strong> \u2013 served in most night markets, this fermented tofu is most often deep-fried and served with sweet and sour pickled cabbage. Another country well known for its incredible cuisine, Thailand<\/a> can be both extremely easy and quite difficult for vegans, depending on where you travel. The traditional Thai cuisine is very vegetable based and uses little diary, but with the influx of travellers over the years, this has changed a bit with meat and milk more prevalent. Having said that, \u2018vegan\u2019 is a well-known concept here and is making a comeback with more than just Thailand\u2019s monk population! Across the country, look out for restaurants with yellow banners with a red Chinese character that looks something like a 17; this is \u2018jay\u2019 or \u2018jeh\u2019, which cleanses the body and karma and is strictly vegan. You can also use the phrase \u2018chan gin jay\u2019 (women) or \u2018pom gin jay\u2019 (men) to indicate that you are a vegan. The beauty of Thai food, be it from a restaurant or a food stall, is that it is generally cooked fresh, so you can ask to make your food vegan. Say no fish sauce, no oyster sauce and no dried shrimp (things that can often be sneaked in to vegan sounding dishes) and no diary, and you can even watch to make sure nothing animal-based goes in.<\/p>\n Bangkok and Chiang Mai, Thailand\u2019s most visited cities, both have plenty of options for vegan eaters, with lots of purely plant-based establishments. In Chiang Mai particularly, the traditional northern Thai cuisine tends not to feature the fish sauce that is used for cooking across much of the rest of the country, so even in a non-vegan restaurant, you\u2019ll have more chance of finding something delicious to eat. The famous Night Bazaar is also a great place for vegan street food \u2013 you\u2019ll find some very tasty things here. Bangkok, as a global city, has many plant-based restaurants and even a vegan food court, but bear in mind that it\u2019s a big city, so do your research and figure out where you want to eat before you start getting hungry! Another great holiday spot for vegans is the island of Koh Pha Ngan, where there is a vegan community where you can go and spend a few days eating tasty food and even doing a bit of yoga on the beach; bliss!<\/p>\n Sticky rice and mango<\/strong> \u2013 rice cooked in sweet coconut milk and served with slices of sweet mango. About 30% of India\u2019s population are vegetarians, and the country is known for its amazing range of vegetarian foods, but what about veganism? While beans, lentils, colourful vegetables and spices feature heavily in dishes, the biggest issue that a vegan must overcome in India is the use of dairy, long an essential element of India cuisine. Even a naan bread can contain milk (go for alternatives like roti and puri)! Once that is out the way, you\u2019ve got glorious aromatic, richly-spiced deliciousness. Is that easy? Yes, reasonably \u2013 as we\u2019ve mentioned over and over, you simply have to ask. Saying that, there are plenty of dishes that you can consume on your holidays to India<\/a> that don\u2019t contain any diary and lots of snack foods, samosas being a prime example, are diary free as well! Another thing to keep an eye out for is ghee, used for cooking. In this case all you need to do is asked for your food to be cooked in an alternative oil, like coconut, which is just as ubiquitous.<\/p>\n Whilst veganism isn\u2019t such a widely known concept, those who follow the Jain religion are essentially vegan, so there is some understanding of what it means. The city of Chennai is leading the pack in the animal-free lifestyle. Located on the southeast coast, it has become a vegan hotspot \u2013 you can tuck into a huge range of vegan-versions of Indian favourites here, with plenty of rice, pulses and coconut milk blended with spices making exotic dishes that are sure to delight. One of the city\u2019s vegetarian\/vegan restaurants, The Royal Vega, is one of India\u2019s best rated restaurants!<\/p>\n As you\u2019d expect in a country where a large percentage of the population don\u2019t eat meat, you\u2019ll find vegetarian restaurants everywhere but keep a particular eye out for the \u2018Pure Vegetarian\u2019 establishments \u2013 these ones are lacto-vegetarian and are the best place for vegan options.<\/p>\n Onion paratha with daal<\/strong> \u2013 a wheat flatbread stuffed with onion and served with a lentil daal. Through the course of researching this article, one website kept popping up with plenty of restaurant recommendations\u00a0 –\u00a0Happy Cow<\/a>\u00a0is an excellent resource!<\/p>\n Wendy Wu Tours<\/a> offers escorted tours and tailormade itineraries<\/a> to destinations across Asia and South America. If you’d like to create your very own vegan food adventure to any or all of the destinations mentioned here, that’s great! Let our tailormade team know, and they’ll start planning.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" We\u2019re not sure about you, but for us food has always been an essential part of travel.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":6116,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":""},"categories":[15,226,99,14,16],"tags":[88,19,132],"yoast_head":"\n
\nGotu Kola Mallung<\/strong> \u2013 a green salad with mixed leaves, onions, coconut, lime juice and green chillies.
\nRice with vegetable curries<\/strong> \u2013 usually served with sambol (red onions, chillies, lime juice, salt) and chutney.
\nHoppers<\/strong> \u2013 pancakes made of rice flour, coconut milk and a pinch of sugar \u2013 can be sweet or savoury.<\/p>\nSingapore<\/h2>\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.wendywutours.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/dimsum.jpg\")
<\/p>\nMust try dishes –<\/h3>\n
\nDim Sum<\/strong> \u2013 these dumplings come with all sorts of fillings but vegan options include taro and tofu.
\nRoti Prata<\/strong> \u2013 available at every hawker centre, this grilled white flour flatbread is served with daal or curry or stuffed with delicious veggies.<\/p>\nTaiwan<\/h2>\n
![\"Stinky](\"https:\/\/www.wendywutours.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/stinkytofu.jpg\")
<\/p>\nMust try dishes –<\/h3>\n
\nMahjiang mien<\/strong> \u2013 wheat noodles served in a sesame, peanut and soy sauce.<\/p>\nThailand<\/h2>\n
![\"Woman](\"https:\/\/www.wendywutours.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/mangoandrice.jpg\")
<\/p>\nMust try dishes –<\/h3>\n
\nFresh spring rolls with peanut sauce<\/strong> \u2013 raw veggies and herbs wrapped in wafer thin rice paper and served with a peanut dip.
\nDeep fried tofu<\/strong> \u2013 get it with a chilli garlic dipping sauce\u2026yum!<\/p>\nIndia<\/h2>\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.wendywutours.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/paratha.jpg\")
<\/p>\nMust try dishes –<\/h3>\n
\nBhel poori<\/strong> \u2013 a combination of puffed rice, vegetables and tamarind sauce.
\nSpicy chickpea stuffed bun<\/strong> \u2013 richly flavoured chickpeas served in a fluffy white bun<\/p>\n