Tag: Vegetarian

Top 5 Vegetarian Restaurants In Bangkok

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With such overuse of fishy-based key Thai ingredients, finding pure vegetarian food in Bangkok can be a difficult task. If you search hard enough though, you can find some real vegetarian restaurant gems around the city…

Unfortunately, most of the best vegetarian and vegan restaurants in Bangkok tend to be clustered around the Old City near Khaosan Road. Perhaps good news for tourists in the area, but not so much for central-living expats in Bangkok. Anyway, here are my top 5 vegetarian restaurants I’ve found so far – please drop us a comment if you can suggest any others!

Best Vegetarian Restaurants In Bangkok

1: Bonita Cafe – Cosy Vegan International Cuisine

If you’re staying in the Sathorn or Silom area of Bangkok, be sure to check out the homey little vegan restaurant, Bonita, within just a couple of minutes walking distance to the BTS Surasak station. Bonita has an international menu of vegan burgers, pizzas, pastas and all-day breakfasts ranging from around 150 baht to 300 baht. The atmosphere is lovely and cozy inside, plus the owners obviously put a lot of care into the quality of their dishes.

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2 May Kaidee – Traditional Thai Casual

With standard key ingredients such as fish sauce and shrimp paste, it can be particularly hard to find proper vegetarian and vegan authentic Thai food in Bangkok. However, you can rest assured that the ingredients used at Thai restaurant May Kaidee cater purely for vegetarians and vegans. May Kaidee is a successful little chain of restaurants scattered around Bangkok with a total of 3 locations, 2 of which are in the old city of Bangkok near Khaosan Road – perfect if you are staying in the tourist area on holiday.

The Bangkok vegetarian restaurant serves up a range of juices and smoothies, as well as rice, noodle, vegetable, curry and tofu dishes for under 100 baht. The interior of the restaurants is nothing fancy, but casual and informal for a cheap and tasty bite to eat.

3 Ethos Vegetarian Restaurant – A Hippy Vibe With Delicious Smoothies

Located pretty much right next door to the neighbouring May Kaidee near Khaosan Road, Ethos offers a cosy ethnic atmosphere with an extensive vegetarian and vegan menu. With inviting floor seating and colourful lamps, the restaurant has an exotic vibe with welcoming little touches such as a mini library. Thai dishes cost between 80 and 200 baht, while international dishes vary between 150 and 250 baht.

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There is a huge menu of quality dishes with a good range of Moroccan food and pastas. However, for myself, it’s smoothies are it’s biggest highlight. They’re particularly delicious with a great variety of special detox drinks and fruity mixes.

4 Chomp – Cocktails, Burgers and… Yoga?

This family friendly restaurant (again near Khaosan Road) offers more than just tasty vegetarian cuisine in Bangkok – it’s second-floor acts as a community hub for social events such as poetry readings, art exhibitions, comedy nights, yoga classes and jujitsu classes. In an authentic old teak house, the restaurant offers an industrial interior theme with red brick walls and modern furniture.

Chomp is open from the early hours till late night. Despite not being a strictly vegetarian restaurant, it offers a good range of great tasting international dishes including vegetarian burgers and pumpkin sandwiches, offering home-made breads, jams and pastas. Prices range from 200 to 400 baht per dish, and you can even enjoy a delicious cocktail from the extensive menu.

5 Rasayana Raw Café – A Raw Vegetarian Detox in Central Bangkok

With a peaceful patio garden just off Sukhumvit 39 in Phrom Pong, this raw vegetarian cafe is great for a lunchtime visit. The cafe serves up a choice of organic detox drinks such as vegetable juices, smoothies, wheatgrass juices and tonics. A typical meal costs from 170 baht per person and is quite a bargain for the quality of the food. The menu includes raw pizzas and pastas made with dehydrated vegetable bases; a range of salads such as pomelo and caesar (some of the tastiest you’ll find in Bangkok); taco cups and gazpacho soups; and a choice of lovely desserts such as lemon parks and key lime pie.

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Do you have a favourite vegetarian or vegan restaurant in Bangkok? Let us know and leave us a comment!

 

Vegetarian Food In Thailand

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Despite Buddhism typically being one of the most prominent religions of Thailand, vegetarian and vegan food is actually rather hard to come by, particularly in Thailand’s capital city Bangkok.

You’ll find an abundance of skewered meats, grilled fish, processed meatballs, deep fried chicken and meaty fried… well everything, yet very little vegetarian protein alternatives. Tofu or vegetarian dishes are nowhere near as common as meat dishes in Thailand.

Thankfully, Thai people seem to love their eggs and you’ll commonly find a side serving of crispy fried eggs to accompany your meals. Or, if you’re lucky, you may sometimes come across the sweet, tamarind sauce coated and deep fried, hard boiled ‘mother in law eggs‘. Search out the right restaurants, and you’ll be able to order delicious tofu curry soups and Thai salads. Eating at some Thai street food stalls however, you may find that, as a vegetarian, you need to settle for vegetable fried rice or other unsubstantial alternatives.

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How to order vegan and vegetarian food in Thai language

For a more in-depth guide on how to order Street food in Thai check out my main Thailand street food phrase guide here. Remember, women use chan and men use pom for I. To be polite, add ka or krap on the end of sentence for women and men, respectively. When ordering vegetarian alternatives in Thai language, it’s useful to know these keywords and phrases…

Vegan: Jey
Vegetarian: Mang-sao-we-rat
I am a vegan: Pom/ chan gin jey
I am a vegetarian: Pom/ chan gin mang-sao-we-rat
I don’t eat meat: Pom/ chan mai gin neua-sat

Do you have a vegetarian menu? Mee a-haan jey mai?
Can I have vegetarian… (fried rice)? Ao (khao pat) jey?

If you don’t eat fish, be careful as a lot of Thai recipes include fish sauce – even if you do tell them that you are vegetarian. To make your order extra clear you can use the Thai phrases…

Don’t put … in it: Mai sai ….   (For example, Don’t put fish sauce in it: Mai sai nam bplaa)
I don’t eat …: Pom/ chan gin … mai dai     (For example, I don’t eat meat: Pom gin neua-sat mai dai)

Meat: Neua-sat
Fish: Bplaa
Fish sauce: Nam bplaa 
Beef: Neua
Chicken: Gai
Pork: Moo
Crab: Bpoo
Egg: Kai
Tofu: Dao-fu

Remember to add ka or krap or you might sound like a bit of an ass! Usually, a waiter or stall vendor will reply with…

Of course: Dai
No I can’t: Mai dai
Yes, we have (a vegetarian menu): Mee
No, we don’t have (a vegetarian menu): Mai mee

A vegetarian’s guide to Thailand

Okay, so it can be hard to find decent, cheap vegetarian street food in Bangkok, but you can still find some nice vegan and vegetarian restaurants around the city at not bad prices. Make sure to check out my guide on the best vegetarian and vegan restaurants in Bangkok here. Outside of Bangkok, the best place I have found for vegetarian food in Thailand is up north in Chiang mai and Pai. Many of the restaurants in Chiang mai are very vegetarian and vegan friendly with plenty of tofu substitutes and creative Western menus.

An absolute must for all vegetarians in Thailand is to visit the Thai vegetarian Festival. During this time in Thailand, 99% of all street stalls and restaurants will provide great vegetarian alternatives. There are some delicious vegetarian salads, noodle dishes and meat substitutes on offer – it’s a surprise that they don’t offer these dishes throughout the rest of the year in Thailand. You can read more about the Thai vegetarian Festival in my article here.

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Ethos Vegetarian Restaurant Bangkok

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Good vegetarian restaurants are hard to come by in the meat loving city of Bangkok, however Khaosan Road is one of the best areas of Bangkok to get your fix of vegetarian and vegan cuisine.

Ethos Vegetarian and Vegan Restaurant

Tucked down a hidden away Bangkok backstreet just off Khaosan Road, Ethos is a modest little vegetarian eatery with a cozy and inviting interior. You’ll need to take your shoes off at the door – something that makes me personally feel all the more comfortable and at home in Thai restaurants – and then take a seat in the small Bangkok restaurant.

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Half of the tables inside Ethos Vegetarian Restaurant are standard table-and-chair, while the other half of the seating is on the floor, on comfortable cushions with low tables. The layout of low tables, ambient warm lighting, and bohemian decor give a kind of Moroccan edge to the vegetarian restaurant. The laid back atmophere makes for a relaxing break away from the hectic Khaosan Road. It even has it’s own little travel library to keep you entertained.

With it’s English menus and backpacker location, Ethos definitely seems to aim it’s vegetarian food mainly at foreign tourists and expats. However despite it’s primarily foreign clientele, many of the staff don’t speak very good English (or Thai for that matter), so be aware that service might be a little difficult if you have special dietary requirements or are particularly fussy. It’s not really a problem though – you’re already in Thailand after all so you should probably have learnt to deal with the language barrier by now anyway!

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The menu at Ethos

Ethos Vegetarian Restaurant has a rather large menu with a great range of both Thai and international vegan and vegetarian dishes. As well as savoury dishes though, they also have a vast menu of different healthy smoothies, teas and health tonics. You could easily just sit down and enjoy the drinks at Ethos without having to order a main meal.

The smoothies are particularly delicious and cost around 85 baht. In all honesty, they are possibly the best smoothies I’ve had in Bangkok. The blueberry and coconut shake in particular is great – not too sweet at all. As for the food on the Ethos menu – vegetarian Thai dishes cost between 85 and 205 baht and cover pretty much everything from stir fry basil with tofu and vegetables (Pad Ka Praw), Som Tam (spicy soup), stir fries and curries. They also have a side option of brown rice for 25 baht.

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However, the Thai food at Ethos isn’t quite as tasty and tempting as the food on it’s international vegetarian menu. The menu has a decent selection of international, healthy vegetarian dishes such as veggie burger, falafel with home made pitta bread, salad and houmus, chickpea ‘meatball’ spaghetti, pesto pasta with almonds, and eggplant lasagna. The international menu at Ethos typically ranges from around 150 baht to 220 baht.

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How to get to Ethos Bangkok

Ethos Vegetarian Restaurant is located down an alleyway near the bottom of Khaosan Road in Bangkok. You need to walk to the end of Khaosan near Burger King and cross over to the opposite side of the main road on the Khaosan junction. Start walking left up this main road until you see a small alleyway on your right, just a couple metres ahead. Enter the lane and you’ll notice the Ethos sign on the adjacent alleyway.

 

Bonita Cafe & Social Club Vegan Food Bangkok

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With a passion for healthy vegan food, plus a welcoming, cosy atmosphere, Bonita Cafe & Social Club is a highly recommended hidden gem of a restaurant for all to enjoy in Bangkok – whether vegan, vegetarian or proud carnivore.

Hanging out at grandma’s house

The interior of Bonita Cafe & Social Club is decorated in a charming, mismatched style of flowery table cloths, fresh net curtains, embroidered welcome signs, vintage lamps and old china display cabinets. This – combined with old Beatles classics quietly resonating from the wide screen TV, and the odd cat meowing from behind the scenes in the hallway – creates the distinctive feeling of a visit to your gran’s house: cosy, nostalgic and safe.

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The atmosphere at the Bangkok Bonita Cafe is made even more pleasant by the welcoming owners (actually, welcoming is an understatement) who obviously put a hell of a lot of love and effort into the restaurant. And just to add to this already relaxed vibe, the cafe even has a modest library area – an old vintage cabinet with a multi lingual selection of books to keep you entertained.

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Healthy vegan food in Bangkok

According to their Facebook page, the owners of Bonita Cafe & Social Club are actually pretty serious runners – they even sell special Five Finger Shoes too; They obviously put a lot of care into making extra healthy and nutritious food for other sports enthusiasts. If you’re pretty sick of all the overly sweet and sugary food in Bangkok, you’ll most likely find Bonita to be a refreshing change.

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Bonita Cafe & Social Club Menu

The menu at Bonita Cafe only has a couple of pages full of options – strictly vegan only of course – but despite this, it manages to offer a pretty diverse range of dishes. Starters average in price at around 80 baht while main courses range between around 150 baht and 300 baht. Meals can take up to 30 minutes to prepare; the owners obviously put a lot of time and care into food preparation.

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The all day breakfast at Bonita Cafe consists of vegan bacon, vegan scrambled egg, vegan sausage, whole wheat toast, beans, grilled tomato, grilled mushroom, roast potatoes, americano coffee and a glass of orange juice – all for 295 baht. You can also opt for the club sandwich with vegan bacon, vegan scrambled egg and avocado; Teriyaki tofu and onion burger with humous; vegan hot dog; and vegan pizza with either bell pepper, mushroom or basil toppings. These dishes cost from 200 baht upwards and include a serving of garlicky roast potatoes and salad.

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Other vegan delights at the Bangkok Bonita Cafe include tomato or creamy carbonara pasta (with whole wheat pasta option), and a selection of both sweet and savoury whole wheat pancakes made with coconut oil. Bonita also offers a selection of desserts including vegan, sugar-free chocolate mousse for 100 baht. Personally I thought that the chocolate mousse tasted pleasantly subtle and not too sweet at all (a rarity in the syrup-loving Bangkok city).

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As for the drinks menu at Bonita Cafe, there are a great range of teas such as chamomile, earl grey and jasmine (with vegan milk options) for just 50 baht per cup, or healthy, sugar free smoothies from 75 baht a glass. All in all, if you are a vegetarian, vegan or health conscious foodie in Bangkok, you must visit Bonita Cafe & Social Club. Even if you aren’t vegan or vegetarian, don’t let the strictly vegan menu put you off visiting.

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How to get to Bonita Cafe & Social Club

Bonita Cafe & Social Club is located in the Sathorn/ Silom area of Bangkok. Take the BTS skytrain to Surasak station on the Bangkok Silom Line. Take exit __ out of the station, stick to the main road and keep walking until you have passed the large school on your left hand side. The next turning should be Pan Road – walk up Pan road on the left hand side for a couple of minutes and you’ll find Bangkok Bonita Cafe & Social Club about half way up the road opposite the Family Mart.

 

Bonita Cafe & Social Club in Bangkok, Vegetarian Vegan Food in Bangkok, Healthy restaurants in Bangkok

Thailand Vegetarian Festival

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Thai Vegetarian Festival Roots

The famous Vegetarian Festival of Thailand, also known as the Taoist Nine Emperor Gods Festival, originated in Phuket in the 19th century. During this time, the island of Phuket had a large number of Chinese immigrants who, after widespread disease among the community, had introduced a period of fasting and abstinence to cleanse and heal themselves.

This hard going ritual gradually evolved from strict fasting to a simple vegan diet instead. During this period, participants must give up all fish, dairy, meat and poultry for nine days, plus, they should wear white from head to toe. Nowadays, you will see the wearing of white mainly practised within the temples rather than outside in the cities.

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During this cleansing period in the past, individuals in Phuket were found to show bizarre behaviour such as self mutilation; this was a sign of possession followed by the escape of evil spirits from the body. The Vegetarian Festival in Phuket is still the renowned home to this behaviour and hence piques the attention a lot of curious tourists, both Thai and foreign.

The Phuket Vegetarian Festival is pretty grisly and perhaps not for the feint hearted – impaling, skinning, slashing and bloodletting are all common behaviours found during the Phuket festivities. On that note, Phuket is probably the winner for the most interesting area of Thailand to celebrate the Vegetarian Festival, however you can still enjoy the celebrations and variety of vegetarian food in Bangkok and the rest of Thailand as well.

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Celebrating the Vegetarian Festival in Bangkok

As you might gather from the Vegetarian Festival’s Chinese roots in Thailand, it makes sense that the best place to celebrate it in Bangkok is in China Town. The Vegetarian Festival takes place all over Bangkok during October and lasts 9 days; the exact date differs slightly every year but the celebrations are always held in October.

Across the city of Bangkok, you’ll notice the streets come alive with yellow flags and bunting to represent the Vegetarian Festival. Most street vendors and many restaurants participate in the vegetarian celebrations with extra vegetarian dishes and tofu substitutes.

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Among just a few of the typical dishes on offer during Vegetarian Festival are vegetable tom yam (spicy vegetable soup), tofu massaman curry, mushroom & tofu yakisoba noodles and a range of salads such as a sweet and sour pumpkin & mushroom. There are also a range of fake meats on offer like fake pork dumplings and meatballs made of flavoured sticky rice – some of the meat substitutes actually taste uncannily similar to real meat.

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You can also find some colourful sweets and desserts on sale on the Bangkok streetwalks: Black bean sticky rice roasted in bamboo shoots; Thai breakfast doughnut served with sweet condensed milk (called Pa Thong Ko – pronounced Bpah Tong Go); and of course, the best Thai dessert of all: mango sticky rice with coconut.

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China Town Vegetarian Festival Bangkok

Nowhere in Bangkok celebrates the Thai Vegetarian Festival quite like China Town does! With colourful lanterns and bunting strung across the road as far as the eye can see, Yaowarat Road becomes tinged with bright yellow during all the vegetarian festivities. Hundreds of food stalls line the road side, locals gather to pray at the many temples, and traditional Chinese Opera is performed in the evenings.

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The bottom of Yaowarat tends to have the most activity during festivities and celebrations in China Town. You can take a taxi to Yaowarat 5 or the Golden Buddha Temple, Wat Traimit. This part of Yaowarat Road has plenty of food stalls and beautiful temples to explore. The best time of day to visit the China Town Vegetarian Festival for most people is during the evening from about 6pm.

Basically, the later you head to China Town, the more lively and busy it will be, plus you might just get to catch some of the Chinese Opera performances on Charoen Krung Road Soi 20. However, China Town does get pretty crazy during the evenings so if you hate crowds, you might prefer to visit during the daytime when the atmosphere is much more subdued and quiet.

China Town nearest public transport station: Hualumpong MRT/ BTS Sala Deng