Veganism in Cambodia?

[teacakes]

hello everyone,

i am hoping to travel to cambodia next year for a few months, and after being worried for my health have wondered if anybody here has any advice on the ease of being vegan over there?

thank you all,

teakaces

[horselesspaul]

I thought this was a Dead Kennedys remix promotion.
"Veganism in Cambodia, where the people all dress in black.."
Good luck with the trip.

[harpy]

Sounds great - there even seem to be some vegetarian restaurants there!

http://www.happycow.net/asia/cambodia/phnom_penh/index.html

Hope you get some answers but if not you could try the IVU and see if they have any contacts there.

[Pisces]

I did a Happy Cow search---but even that isn't always updated. In Cambodia they only list restaurants instead of restaurants and shops. From their basic descriptions and reviews, they don't sound very pleasing (at least none of the reviews seemed to be from vegans). There was one omni restaurant that was said to have good vegan selections, but I'm not sure if it meant "good" as in many options to choose from and/or "good as in a few selections that are highly-favoured. That restaurant is in Siem Reap. You can read the details by going onto www.happycow.net , click on "Asia and Middle East", and then click on Cambodia (then you can choose from the parts of Cambodia they list).

With that said, your best bet would be to buy your own food from markets.


EDIT: harpy beat me to it. :p

[harpy]

:p back ;)

Should be OK with all those Buddhists around, one would have thought.

[Pisces]

I know of a few members here who live in or have been to various countries in Asia (eg. Klutz, howdawg, and some others that I can't remember at the moment). I believe it wouldn't hurt to ask them.

I'm sure they wouldn't mind you sending them a PM.

[Barry]

Hey, i'm in thailand at the moment and i have to say it's no problem at all. everyone speaks english and ordering rice and veggies without fish sauce or egg has been no issue. thai green curry has been a constant (although you'll have to stress the fish sauce with this), and asians generally don't drink milk so you can buy buy soy milk in any corner shop. tofu is also pretty easy to come by. i know this doesn't exactly relate to cambodia but i hope it puts your mind a bit more at ease. i have to say my experience has been overwhelmingly positive so far.

[harpy]

<feels envious of Barry> Keep up the good work - they'll be putting green curry without fish sauce on the menu before we know it!

[emmy]

cambodia is the most wonderful country on the planet!!
i love it there.
i wasn't vegan when i was there....but they do lots of tofu dishes and i doubt much of those have dairy products in. you will be able to explain what you need/don't want etc.

[Glossgirl]

I been to Cambodia. It can be a bit tricky if you go off tourist track ... because of language barrier and they love their fish sauce, some american who lived there told me.

I didnt go off tourist track, I had lots of delicious meals mmmm :D

I had loads of tofu (lol), indian( there where indian resturant everywhere), curries, the national dish amok mmm, vegetables in a lime and coconut sauce mmmm fried vegetables and rice, smoothies and fresh juice ... :p

.... to western dishes like baked beans, fried mushrooms and tomatoes, ciabatta with roasted aubergine, french fries, hummus, bean burger, aubergine dip ... :);)

[dreamqueen]

cambodia is the most wonderful country on the planet!!
i love it there.
i wasn't vegan when i was there....but they do lots of tofu dishes and i doubt much of those have dairy products in. you will be able to explain what you need/don't want etc.

Ditto to everything - it's really stunningly beautiful.

[yorbo]

Hello everyone,

I would like to bring this thread back to life as I will be visiting Cambodia this summer.

Any new vegan tips ?

[Digital Ghost]

I liked this place in Phnom Penh

http://www.knyay.com/index.php

It had quite a lot of vegan options and I even managed to find some other vegans eating when I visited.

and this place in Siem Reap

http://www.singingtreecafe.com/

There were only a few vegan options here but they said they were willing to veganise quite a few of the other things on the menu which I thought was pretty good.

I found lots of Indian restaurants that all seemed quite knowledgeably about which of their dishes were suitable for vegans.

I also like the fresh fruit in Asia a lot and had a few good salads that included mango, pineapple and other exotic ingredients.

[yorbo]

thanks digital ghost, I will be sure to check those places :)

[Digital Ghost]

One other thing - although you might already know this.

If you buy anything in a grocery or convenience store be sure to check the date on it.

It didn't happen to me it was just something I witnessed - if you do buy something that is out of date they won't give you a refund even if the item has visible mould.

After that my friend and I checked dates on everything and found quite a few out of date items still being sold - This is due to a lot of the products being brought in from Thailand and other countries.

[Glossgirl]

.

[kerline]

I was in Cambodia this summer and had no problem being vegan. There is always something on the menu. Be careful with some of the dishes like spicy papaya salad and other salad dishes because they tend to use fish sauce or a nasty fermented fish paste called prahok or pradok, I don't quite rememeber. But otherwise there is always rice, stir fried vegetables, tofu, and a ton of other curry options. The food is really fantastic there!