It’s definitely easy being vegan here in Macau. There are enough stores and a few restaurants that cater to the lifestyle. For instance…
WAITAMINIT!!! How did that slide get in there???? Wrong shot! Ahem…as I was saying, there are about two dozen vegan-friendly restaurants that appear in a Macau, China search at www.Happycow.net, and On Thai Loi is at the top of the list! So, I took a walk there as it’s not that far from where I’m staying.
On the first visit, there was another diner present who was nice enough to translate my English requests into Cantonese (thanks, Candy!).
On my second visit, the owner’s son, João, (how to pronounce), was there to make things go smoothly. From what he told me, the restaurant has been in operation for five years, and is the only Thai-focused one in Macau.
Narcissism alert: Um, guess what I DIDN’T take photos of? Yep, THE FOOD! Well, if actually seeing the food in a restaurant review is your weird thing, you can check out my review of On Thai Loi on the happycow.net site, where you’ll find great photos of their dishes posted by other travelers!
The other vegan survival resource here in Macau is the chain of Park & Shop stores around the city. The largest, I believe, is one in Taipa, which is almost like a Whole Foods stateside–lots of fresh produce, healthy snack options (US brands I’m familiar with), bulk food items (nuts, dried fruit), mock meats, and more!
And, of course, as mentioned in a previous post, there’s no shortage of produce stands on every street to get fruits and vegetables to prepare my own meals! Here’s a quick “one main meal of the day” (Walt’s Thai Fry) I whipped up yesterday using Thai noodles, scallions, onions, tofu, bean curd, black fungus, broccoli and pepper flakes, stir fried with virgin coconut oil in an iron wok:
The Raw Power Salad accompanying the meal contains mung bean sprouts, avocado, scalion, cilantro, lettuce, kimchee, diced onions, chopped garlic, apple cider vinegar, olive oil, a few drops of lemon juice, all sprinkled with Chlorella powder–all raw, nothing cooked.
Hungry yet?
I’ll be wrapping up my stay in Macau soon and haven’t decided between Vietnam or Thailand yet. Where should I go next? Any suggestions? Email me or leave a comment!