With the annual 10-day vegetarian festival returning this year from Sunday to Oct 23, hotels and fine-dining restaurants are preparing to serve specially-crafted meatless dishes for full-time and part-time herbivores alike.
But going vegetarian doesn't have to be expensive -- as often complained by consumers -- given specific innovative ingredients can cost more than real meat, not to mention rising prices of vegetables during this period.
In light of the approaching vegetarian festival, here are dining communities in Bangkok where people can enjoy simple meat-free treats at affordable prices.
Yaowarat Old Market
Yaowarat 6 (Soi Itsaranuphap)
Bangkok's Chinatown or Yaowarat Old Market is of course one of the highlights when it comes to finding vegetarian delicacies. The neighbourhood will become even more vibrant during the vegetarian festival, adorned with yellow flags with a red Chinese character.
Every year, the streets in the area are lined with not just ready-to-eat dishes but also ingredients for vegetarian food such as mock duck, mock chicken, mock seafood, dried mushroom, wheat gluten products, vegetarian sauces and seasoning powder to name but a few.
The vegetarian festival in Yaowarat this year takes place from Saturday to Oct 23. Besides delicious foods, there will also be special sacred ceremonies for good luck and prosperity as well as a special parade on Saturday (2-4pm), Sunday (6-8pm), Oct 20 (2-8pm) and Oct 23 (9-10pm). A special dish called "Heavenly Noodles" will be cooked in a gigantic pan by a master chef from the Grand China Hotel Yaowarat and served to 1,000 visitors during the festival's opening ceremony on Sunday.
Noodles and deep-fried naem (fermented mushroom) at The Vegetarian Society of Thailand. (Photo: Arusa Pisuthipan)
The Vegetarian Society of Thailand, Chatuchak branch
Kamphaeng Phet Road
This cafeteria-like vegetarian food hall is hidden behind Chatuchak Market, just across Or Tor Kor Market on Kamphaeng Phet Road. It serves cheap meat-free dishes all year round. There are around 20 food stalls inside Vegetarian Society, ranging from pizza to Isan favourite som tum and other treats including larb (spicy minced tofu salad), nam tok (spicy grilled soy protein salad) and nor mai (spicy boiled bamboo soup). There are also noodles, khanom jeen, mock chicken rice, khao soi (northern-style noodle in curry soup) and all types of chilli paste as well as fresh fruit and desserts.
The food hall is open early in the morning, from around 6am until 2pm. But the food usually runs out quickly, sometimes even before 1pm. Limited parking is available.
Boonniyom Santi Asoke Market
Soi Nawamin 46
Similar to the Vegetarian Society of Thailand on Kamphaeng Phet Road, Boonniyom Santi Asoke Market also serves cheap meatless treats all year round. There is a huge variety of vegetarian food to choose from ranging from noodles and curry over rice to Indian food, phad Thai, som tam, bakery, Thai desserts and many more.
The market also sells farm fresh and organic produce. Also available are ingredients for vegetarian food and other chemical-free household products such as shampoo, dish-washing liquid, soap and mosquito repellent.
Parking is very limited. So going there by public transportation is advisable.
