AbFab wrote:I am going to Hong Kong for a few days at the end of the year and then on to Melbourne for five weeks! ANY tips on where to eat in HK would be gratefully received - I am staying with a friend who knows HK well, but isn't vegan - so insider vegan tips would be welcome!
And if you have any pointers for Melbourne too, bring it on! Thank you!
Hi my bloody valentine! I hope to make it out to Melbourne soonish so it’s great to hear that it’s so vegan friendly.
Abfab, I found it easier to find vegan food in China and Taiwan than anywhere else I’ve lived/traveled. Do a search for “vegetarian restaurant hong kong” and you’ll get lots of info. But just as a warning be prepared to pay cash. If you or your friend speaks Mandarin or Cantonese you can eat pretty much anywhere since most food is made to order. If not, I suggest that you seek out temples. There will be vege restaurants by the temples and it may very well be the best you’ve ever eaten! (I still have daydreams…) The other thing to look out for is a restaurant/food stall that has a lotus or sauwastika (卍) on the sign. A lot of foreigners understandably freak out when they see it because they associate it with the right-facing swastika, but don’t worry. It’s a Buddhist symbol (the swastika/sauwastika is a sacred symbol for many) and any restaurant with that will be vege. Once you know to look for those symbols (the lotus or the sauwastika), a world of food will open to you. I’ve met ex-pats over there who were vege but didn’t know the symbols and thought it was too hard to eat vege there. It’s sad really because in Taiwan at least there’s a vege restaurant on every block where I’ve looked!!! Have fun, I wish I could go and eat eat eat! Oh and don’t forget the markets where you’ll find all sorts of wonderful fresh fruit.
by jeremyK » Tue Jul 31, 2007 2:40 am 
