How to Order Vegetarian Food in Bangkok

This is not a DIY post, however, I think it would be very useful for foreigners / tourists who are living in / traveling to Thailand and are on a no meat diet. Sometimes it’s hard to find a vegetarian restaurant in a foreign land, but most places can make you no meat dishes if you ask them.  So here are two cards you can save on your phone when you go eat out 🙂

From experience , if I tell the waitress to not put in meat ( ไม่ใส่เนื้อสัตว์ ) , she’ll ask if I am ” Mung ” ( short for mung-sa-wid-rut , vegetarian ) or ” Jay ” ( Chinese-style vegetarian ). That’s because the Chinese type have more restrictions. Some do eat eggs, but dairy products are a definite no-no. I’m not sure if this is universal, but they also don’t eat garlic , green onions, or chives as part of their beliefs.

You can also look for shops that have this yellow flag , with the word “jay” on it.

This one I found in Central World’s food court. They do Thai / Chinese food all 100% vegan. Some of the food that looks like meat are made from textured soy protein.

That little yellow flag will also be pasted on products if they are vegan, sometimes in Thai or in Chinese :

Since there are many different kinds of vegetarians, if you have a special diet and is coming to Thailand, don’t be shy to ask. I can make you a card and add it to this post !