So much for being a vegetarian…

Vegetarians

Vegetarians and Hong Kong dont go together… Oh! They dont! So, I was just walking back from station to my hotel and something caught my eyes. A flashing green sign saying “Three Virtues Vegetarian Restaurant”. Sach bolti hun, meri aankhon mein aansun aa gaye wo sign dekh kar” Sigh! But so much for the excitement…

I entered the place, a decently decorated authentic chinese restaurant… Had a look at the menu and FROZE!!!!!!!!!!! There was Vegetarian Pork, Vegetarian Meat, Vegetarian Chicken and also Vegetarian Fish!!!

GASP!!!!!!!

I was so damn flustered… Is that even possible??????????????????????? 😡

Someone explain the mystery to me and kindly SPARE me the old Sardar joke on this… Anyways, managed to discover one dish which was fried noodles with mushroom, steaked beans and vegetables… As soon as I read vegetables, I panicked. I called the waitress and wrote in a sheet of paper

Vegetables = Tomatoes + Carrots

As was expected, she did not understand… Hmmpffffffff… After innumerable tries and about 20 minutes of discussion amongst the people of the restaurant, of what tomatoes and carrots could be, they finally got what I was trying to say. So, I waited and waited… and finally what came, made up for everything… It had potatoes, tomatoes and carrots (Whew!!) and tasted a lot like American Choupsey, we get back home!!! 🙂

Whew! So much for being a vegetarian… !!!! 😐

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9 Comments

Srinidhi

October 10, 2007 — 3:13 am

looks like u ll shed ounces by the time u get back! Take care dear.. do u ve our chinese dictionary wid ya?? tht shud come in handy..

Nova (Post author)

October 10, 2007 — 3:20 am

@Cheeni: Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa 😦 Thanks to the baggage limit, i could not carry any of those books… They were hefty 😦 😦

ish

October 10, 2007 — 4:36 am

Wow, I didn’t know they were such big non veggies. But yea, language is definitely a problem in that part of the world

lallopallo

October 10, 2007 — 4:37 am

You dont eat meat? Well, SouthEast Asia is the worst place for vegeterians dear..vahan par Chicken vegeterian hota hai..there is a joke about Chinese people..that they can eat anything which crawls and which flies..lol
Hope you find some place or a way to eat your type of food..Alternatively, it might be a good opportunity to start eating meat..
Good Luck

Gaurav Singhvi

October 10, 2007 — 6:10 am

Welcome Abroad… 😉

Bikram

October 10, 2007 — 10:45 am

Well, being a veggie is really a problem sometimes. I faced it after shifting to bangalore from college. That’s when I started Egg, followed by bits of Fried Chicken – like chicken 65. I still can’t say which chicken item I’m eating. I can only handle dry chicken things. That’s all.

You can start with omlet and then make some progress. 🙂

Kanan

October 10, 2007 — 6:07 pm

Here in the US, the vegetarian meats are made using the wheat gluten/seitan. I am guessing it might be the same over there as well.

These links might be of help.

Hong Kong Vegetarian Restaurant Guide

Vegetarian Restaurants – Hong Kong

Vegetarian Restaurants in Hong Kong, China

Hong Kong Veg. Restaurants

Hong Kong Vegan Society

I’d wish you not compromise with your eating style to become non-veg. Remember, it’s a one-way road and there’s no returning back once you go there. 🙂

Anamika

October 12, 2007 — 6:42 am

Ha Ha! I know! Even I was shocked when the first time I went out for food in hong kong. Upon saying I am vegetarian, my HK colleagues turned around and said, but you must eat fish! Thats vegetarian! And be careful honey. They use fish sause in almost anything. So even though you see veggies on your plate, the sauce may not be vegetarian!!! Stick to Indian food.

Poonam

October 16, 2007 — 12:05 pm

Oh God! Your post was scary to me. I am a pure vegan who doesn’t even eat onion..I can’t eat onions and garlics, not because of religious reasons, but my system does not like the flavor..I sometimes have hard time finding my kinda food in India..I don’t know how I will fare in places like Hong Kong! Hope you have good time there.