Veggie Delight

‘Hey look! Subway! Want to order another Veggie Delight?’ teased P as I made a face.

‘No, thank you’, I replied as I looked the other way and thought of my Vegetarian struggle while being driven back home from Delhi airport. The comfort of home cooked food allured me.

I had heard about people struggling to find vegetarian food while travelling to European or American places, but I had assumed that south-east Asia wouldn’t be a problem. Having travelled internationally earlier, I expected a slight inconvenience about finding reliable food. But what daily battle awaited me; I had no idea. The very first meal on arrival at the KL airport was an eyeopener. We casually attributed it to the lack of open restaurants at the midnight hour.

What I had overlooked from my previous international vacations was that those were packaged tours with family and had designated Indian food options throughout the trip. Food was never the primary concern. Here travelling as a couple on a self-planned trip, priorities changed significantly. We preferred to experiment with local cuisines and experiences. Being a vegetarian would be so much trouble, I didn’t know. Second day of the trip and I was already regretting the decision of not opting to keep ready-to-eat meals available in Indian marts. Even Malalysian marts like 7-Eleven offered only one vegetarian option of Cup noodles. I couldn’t help but miss Indian version of Maggi.

In KL, things became a little easier the moment we switched to Indian restaurants. Booking a stay near Little India felt like a boon at the end of the day. Four days at Langkawi was what tested my patience. Upon landing itself, we downloaded an app called ‘HappyCow’, created to list vegan and vegetarian restaurant options. It helped sometimes, but options stayed very limited. Some listed places only offered beverages like coffee, shakes, fruits and salads. Yes, that is the only vegetarian food apparently.

Another difficult fact to digest as a North-Indian was their definition of vegetarian. It happened multiple times, I was offered the dish that included fish even after multiple clarifications of it being vegetarian. Once in a food court in Langkawi, the outlet served Hakka noodles garnished with a handful of Anchovies (tiny nutrient rich fish). Our server was taken aback when we clarified that our Vegetarian meant food without any fish too. Apparently, fish does not fall under the “No meat” request. Another time, in Genting, multiple restaurants didn’t quite understand our request unless we insistently asked for ‘no seafood, no meat’.

Stumbling through limited options we came across the franchise named VegTalk, at the airport and other places, which served vegetarian versions of their non-vegetarian counterparts. All dishes looked and tasted like non-vegetarian but were made from ingredients like soy or tofu. I had their meal once or twice, but wasn’t able to appreciate the taste. My taste buds longed for familiar options. I wondered if they were vegetarian options, what was the need to make it look otherwise!

My diet outside of Indian cuisines was limited to shakes, juices, fruits and bakery products (with specific ingredients) which were thankfully found in abundance. In Langkawi, my major meals comprised of margarita pizza (if I could find one) and French fries. Another respite was found in Subway, where the only option called Veggie Delight (consisting of customizable vegetables and sauces) became my failsafe option! Do note, the Veggie Delight at Malaysian Subway is void of any patty and has only the bun filled with vegetables of choice.

Irony of the whole situation was that it was only after we had completed our trip, that we started getting targeted social media videos suggesting how to navigate around the vegetarian food problems while travelling in south Asian countries! A little too late probably!

Moral : Carry Ready-to-eat packs for all international trips. 

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Follow me this April as I take you on a journey through our unforgettable Malaysian adventures, chapter by chapter.

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