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Post by Mystical Witch on Mar 2, 2007 12:55:32 GMT
My husband and I eat out at a lot of chinese and indian resturants - how do I know as a very new vegan what is ok?
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Post by veggiesosage on Mar 2, 2007 13:26:01 GMT
This is probably the most difficult area of veganism. Obviously you can't se the ingredients list! For all eating out the best thing to do is to find places that you know and trust and stick to them. You can do this by asking friends or on forums etc or by asking restaurant staff themselves. Beware that attitudes and knowledge vary though and some may not be above giving you the answer that means you're going to buy something, although this is less common, especially if you're already a regular customer. Of the two Indian is by far the easiest as you can usually tell from the menu what the main ingredients are and the only thing to watch out for is whether they use butter ghee, although its generally only the poshest ones that do this, the rest tend to use vegetable ghee which is much cheaper. An added advantage of this is that if they do use butter in a particular dish they tend to make a point of mentioning it on the menu! Overall I'd say that Indian is probably the easiest of all cuisines for eating out, especially if its a south Indian. This place actually specifies on the menu which dishes are vegan www.thebaltihouse.com/Chinese I find much more difficult, not least as they count seafood as being vegetarian. Again, common sense and local knowledge are the key, watch out for eggs finding their way into things you don't expect. A trick I sometimes use is to say I'm allergic to dairy and eggs rather than saying I'm vegan (when asking about an obviously veggie dish), the thought of a customer projectile vomiting across the restaurant seems to focus their minds a little more ;D
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Post by Mystical Witch on Mar 2, 2007 13:31:01 GMT
Thanks, I like the "I'm allergic to dairy and eggs" idea.
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Post by Pob on Mar 2, 2007 13:49:36 GMT
I used to eat out or order in a lot sometime before I went vegan. I actually started eating healthier a few months before I went vegan, so it wasn't too much of a problem. Biggest problem for me has been eating abroad, particularly in work canteens.
We generally make the effort to cook something scrummy and healthy every night - eating out is often quite disappointing, as the food is usually only tasty because of the masses of salt and oil added to it.
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Post by littlegirlbunny on Mar 6, 2007 13:48:23 GMT
I think it can be a case of trial and error to find out which resturants are accomodating. Wagamama, for example, do excellent vegan food, and are usually happy to adapt dishes. However, they do not label any of their menus, and its wise to ask for their 'dietary requirements' folder - that usually helps explain things. There is a great place we just found in manchester called umami - the woman was so helpful and knew exactly what a vegan was. They do wonderful deep fried tofu and udon noodles and all sorts of veg/noodle/rice dishes Don't know much about indian stuff though, sorry
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Post by Tiggerwoos on Mar 7, 2007 0:39:50 GMT
Mmmmmmmmm Udon noodles are lovely. There's a place near me that is called Noodlebar... In fact it's a chain. www.noodlebar.netThey do some lovely veggie and vegan friendly food and the noodles that are egg, wheat or rice are clearly stated so you know what you're getting
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Post by squirrel on Mar 7, 2007 13:51:31 GMT
Never heard of udon noodles - what are they and where can you get them?
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Post by veggiesosage on Mar 7, 2007 18:13:59 GMT
Udon are the Japenese thick noodles. Would prob be one of the options in any japenese retaurant or you could prob find them in oriental shops. I suspect Blue Dragon probably make some so you might possibly find some in supermarkets.
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Post by squirrel on Mar 8, 2007 10:27:40 GMT
Are they wheat based, does anyone know?
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Post by littlegirlbunny on Mar 8, 2007 10:42:52 GMT
Are they wheat based, does anyone know? In resturuants they tend to be. I found some brown rice ones the otherday in Unicorn Supermarket. Can't remember the brand right now, but i'll find out if you like?
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Post by veggiesosage on Mar 8, 2007 17:36:16 GMT
Actually I THINK Wagammas are rice based but not sure. They're the only ones they do without egg anyway.
I'm sure you can get thick rice based japenese noodles. You can also get buckwheat ones but these may still have some ordinary wheat in them.
Health food and veggie/hippy shops are the places to look, or of course oriental food shops.
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Post by malckiera on Mar 10, 2007 22:18:08 GMT
The one thing to watch out for with Indian food is whether it's cooked in ghee, which is clarified butter. Many Indian restaurants cook with vegetable oil, but you'd be best off asking. If you're in Manchester, "Spicy Hut", on Wilmslow Road in Rusholme (aka 'Curry Mile') is good for accommodating vegans. The manager is very clued up about veganism and can advise what is and isn't suitable - and the food isn't half bad (quite important!) Oh, naan breads usually aren't vegan, as they use yoghurt in them. Funnily enough the prepacked naan breads in supermarkets seem to be suitable for vegans these days.
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Post by Mystical Witch on Mar 14, 2007 19:43:33 GMT
Thanks for all the info guys x
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gini
Newbie
Posts: 3
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Post by gini on Jul 17, 2007 20:35:19 GMT
wagamamas is great, they list they're vegan ingredients on thier website and more resturants seem to be popping up around the country. www.wagamama.com/
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mim
Newbie
Posts: 3
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Post by mim on Nov 18, 2007 18:51:39 GMT
Wagamama IS great, they'll adapt any veggie dish they can if you just ask without making a big deal of it. Also I walked past that Umami the other day and was intrigued but I will definately check it out now! ) Nice one littlegirlbunny! Also the allergic thing is just so much easier sometimes, I'm not ashamed, I just don't trust people to not lie to me to make their job easier.... :oS
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Post by lilachamster on Jan 1, 2008 19:33:58 GMT
I don't like the idea of falsely claiming allergy, it kind of belittles those who truly have severe allergies. I also do not agree with the assumption that people take more consideration of it than of veganism, if they are incompetent that is how they are, or disrespectful, and they will make a mistake regardless (or lie regardless)! I have experience of this a year or two back in connection to my smoke allergy, I do not have any food allergies but it did end up with me getting very ill when someone working in our house was inconsiderate of my severe smoke allergy (he knew about it) and smoke came from him smoking just outside our open front door and blew right into my living room! I will only claim allergy when it is real, but I just prefer to be honest. I don't want anyone to get the wrong idea about allergies as they can be serious.
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