Vegetarian festival in full swing

The nine-day vegetarian festival kicked off last Saturday (Oct 1) and lasts until Sunday. Adherents abstain from all kinds of animal meat and animal products, including fish sauce, oyster sauce, shrimp paste and pla ra.

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Neither fish nor fowl

ARUSA PISUTHIPAN

The yellow flags at restaurants and food stalls all over Thailand signal the start of the annual vegetarian festival, which falls in the ninth lunar month of the Chinese calendar.

This year, the nine-day celebration kicked off last Saturday (Oct 1) and lasts until Sunday. Adherents abstain from all kinds of animal meat and animal products, even including fish sauce, oyster sauce, shrimp paste and pla ra (fermented fish). Also "off" are eggs, dairy products and honey.

People who practice Chinese-style vegetarianism during the festival must also not consume five plants with pungent odours – garlic, onion, Chinese garlic (rakkyo), chives and tobacco. These are believed (by Chinese myth) to damage the heart, kidney, spleen, liver and lungs respectively.

Cooks at work in Yaowarat. PATIPAT JANTHONG

Vegetarianism in the 21st century sees huge differences from the old days, where choices of food were limited to tofu, pickled vegetables and mixed vegetable stew, or jab chai.

Today's vegetarianism greatly expands not only in terms of food selection where practitioners can enjoy all types of meat substitutes, mock meat and food innovations, but also in terms of convenience where vegetarian food is available on the shelves of convenience stores year-round.

But besides fine-dining restaurants in shopping malls or roadside food stalls that serve meat-free food during the annual vegetarian festival, there are also vendors and small shops hidden in several markets across Bangkok where vegetarian dishes are freshly cooked and served at affordable prices. Many of these places offer vegetarian food throughout the year.

Life takes a stroll through Bangkok's markets in search of good-quality meatless treats that are not just friendly to the palate but also to the purse.

Yaowarat Old Market

Yaowarat 6 (Soi Itsaranuphap)

Yaowarat Old Market is probably Bangkok's biggest and most vibrant source of vegetarian food, especially during the festival.

Since last week, Soi Itsaranuphap has been transformed into food shops and stalls offering meatless edibles. The street is lined with not just ready-to-eat dishes (mostly for takeaway) 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.

This is why the Yaowarat Old Market is flooded with people who come to eat, and restaurant owners who want to buy ingredients for the festival of compassion.

Shops and vendors at Yaowarat Old Market are mostly open all day, from the early morning. But due to high demand during this festive period, a visit before 10am might see a huge crowd. The soi is quite narrow – only a few metres wide – but visitors often have to make way for motorcycles and delivery carts.

This is the nature of this colourful neighbourhood.

A Chinese opera performer with her one-month old daughter behind a stage in Yaowarat. PATIPAT JANTHONG

For 10 days, Yaowarat Road, which starts from Chinatown Gate (Odian Circle) to Chalerm Buri intersection is closed during the evening and becomes a vegetarian food street fair. Among the highlights are fried dumplings, takoyaki (a Japanese snack made from wheat flour and vegetables), deep-friend taro, tofu and spring rolls.

You can see the full story which includes information on the Chatuchak Market, Klong Toey Market and the Huai Khwang Market here: http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/special-reports/1100773/neither-fish-nor-fowl

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