Have you been invited to a social event that is at a restaurant that is not particularly vegan or even vegetarian friendly? Do not turn down the invitation, or eat first and then go, which I have almost done on several occasions. Instead, simply call the restaurant first and tell them that you are vegan and ask them to prepare something for you. This article discusses my experiences.
Usually I find that Thai restaurants can make vegan food quite easily. If they don’t have vegan options on the menu, just ask. Instead of just getting fried mixed vegetables and rice, the one thing that you can be guaranteed to get at any Thai restaurant, ask for any of the Thai style curries or main dishes and just ask for tofu instead of the meat. If they don’t have egg-free tofu then just ask for the curry with just vegetables. Almost every restaurant will be able to do this if they have those items on the menu. Just be sure to also ask them to hold any fish sauce. (See the language pages for how to say this and other usual phrases.)
It is when a restaurant has only western options I am more likely to have a problem. Western food cannot be veganised as easily as Thai food. However, if you tell the restaurant first, they will be happy to oblige!
Why Not – is an Italian restaurant that do not serve Thai food. We went there for a friend’s party and they were happy to make me a delicious Italian pasta dish with an arriabattia sauce. I have also been told they make a rocking vegan pizza without cheese using dairy free pesto! I haven't tried this yet myself, but plan to.
Dukes – I was the most concerned about coming here since their menu is predominately meat based and my work chose to have a buffet end of year party here. Buffet food doesn’t work for us vegans since there will only be a couple of options and other people will want to try it – leaving us with nothing. I contacted the restaurant and they replied immediately and were actually very accommodating. They were kind enough to offer me a choice about three special veganised dishes one of which was the oven roasted flatbread with hummus which is vegan without the feta cheese. It is a huge portion and is very delicious. They also brought me a huge delicious beetroot salad which everyone else was jealous of.
Finally, another great experience was at Archer’s Bar in the city. This is a place that I regularly go to, to enjoy the quiz or a social event such as their 80s party etc. It is a fun place to go. The owner openly admits and is aware that his menu is not very vegan friendly and he actually asked my advice on how he can adapt this. Well, first of all his bread is vegan since he orders from Chiang Mai Bread who only produce all vegan products. His falafel burger with traditional British chips – not fries – which are quite rare over here, is one of the best burgers I’ve tasted and is actually one of the best vegan burgers that I have had in Chiang Mai! He also does a hummus and pitta plate. Both of these meals are delicious.
On Sundays they are now doing a roast dinner which includes a vegetarian nut roast option – unfortunately this is not vegan but they are offering falafel balls in place of the nut roast. With the pumpkin mash, roast potatoes and vegetables this is a great meal (even if the vegetables were a bit on the measly side.) The owner has even requested from me what meals vegans would like to see and he will try to create them. Please let him know!
Of course, in an ideal world we would eat in vegan restaurants all the time but this simply isn’t feasible due to the social nature of our lives. Personally I’m glad that these restaurants are providing for the vegan community and I wish they would be more open about it and advertise more what they can actually provide. I hope this article will encourage them!
Dee x
