Vegetarian Food

You can say a lot of things about Bangkok, but to say it lacks some of the best restaurant options in the world is not one of them.

by Julia Chinnock

Unfortunately, for vegetarians in Bangkok, at times this may seem a difficult claim to make. Some of the city’s most celebrated food-- like its curries, soups, salads, and noodle dishes are made with chicken, seafood and meat.At restaurants, even if we manage to order a menu item sans meat, too often our meal arrives only for us to find that it has been made with meat broth, or that the kitchen staff has added “just a little” fish sauce, lard, or bits of dried shrimp. And how many times have we vegetarians asked our server, “What vegetarian dishes would you recommend?” only for them to enthusiastically answer that they have pad-pak ruem mit, or stir fried vegetables, leaving us to wonder, “Really? That’s the extent of your vegetarian options?” and whether eating at home would have been a better choice.

While it might not be quite as easy for us vegetarians, there are countless places in the city that offer a wide selection of tasty, savory, meat-less fare. There are places that understand how to prepare satisfying meals to accommodate our tastes. It just takes us a little more effort, a little more networking and a little more spreading the word when we find these gems. Here at ROB, we’re on a mission to explore it all--- from street-stalls, to bistros, fancy hotel brunches to long-standing Bangkok veggie institutions.

ROB’s Vegetarian Food Column is our platform – a place for Bangkok vegetarians and those who love us- to come together to share our favorite eateries and point one another to the best veggie dishes in town. At its heart, ROB is a community with a vegetarian friendly social network - and is dedicated to being the one-stop site for community contributed restaurant reviews and recommendations. It is a place to discuss and compare notes about those places that are so great even die-hard carnivores won’t miss the meat.

Each week, restaurantsofbangkok.com will feature an article in its Vegetarian Food column that addresses the things we love most--food, restaurants, great dining experiences, and our beloved city, Bangkok. Each month we will review and feature at least one vegetarian restaurant and one vegetarian friendly restaurant. You can also look forward to upcoming articles like, “The Best Vegetarian Cooking Schools in Bangkok” and interviews with the city’s best vegetarian chefs- maybe they’ll even share a recipe or two!

We are fortunate to live in a place with such an abundance of fresh vegetables, fruits, tofu, meat substitutes and a culture that understands vegetarianism. We are also lucky to live in a multi-cultural city with so many international food options. Be sure to check Restaurantsofbangkok.com and this column on a regular basis. We look forward to hearing from you!

If you would like to share your favorite restaurants with the vegetarian community on ROB, feel free to send an email to julia@restaurantsofbangkok.com.