Eating while vegetarian

Last night, hubby and a few of his friends were out at the widely recommended Malaysian restaurant Nyonya in the Lower East Side. While most of the group had a great meal, the vegetarian in the group sent me the following mobile picture which lays out his vegetarian options...


In case the photo isn't clear, here's the unfriendly "Vegetable" section:

VEGETABLES

  1. SALTED FISH WITH BEAN SPROUTS 6.95
  2. SALTED FISH WITH CHINESE BROCCOLI 7.95
  3. SPINACH WITH PRESERVED BEAN CURD Sauce 6.95
  4. CHINESE WATERCRESS W. PRESERVED BEAN CURD sauce 6.95
  5. KANG KUNG BELACAN 9.95
    Sauteed convolus w. spicy Malaysian shrimp paste sauce.
  6. SHRIMPS W. LADIES FINGERS MALAYSIAN STYLE 9.95
    Sauteed okra with spicy Malaysian shrimp paste sauce.
  7. Shrimps w. eggplant malaysian style 9.95
  8. SHRIMPS W. STRING BEANS MALAYSIAN STYLE 9.95
    Sauteed string beans with spicy Malaysian shrimp paste sauce.
  9. MALAYSIAN BUDDHIST 9.95Mixed vegetable w. bean curd skin & Chinese mushroom in Chef's special sauce.
  10. BEAN CURD IN THAI STYLE 9.95Bean curd topped w. minced pork, shrimp & Chinese mushroom in Chef's special spicy sauce.
Only three out of 10 items in the "vegetable" section did not contain seafood or pork.

As a newish vegetarian, I guess I won't be rushing down there anytime soon.

Comments

Anonymous said…
Hi Roopa!!!

I love Nyonya, but I sometimes lean veggie, and indeed, it would be a difficult place to eat if you didn't like seafood...

I find this generally a challenge at Malaysian restaurants. Have you found one that's veggie-friendly? How's Malaysia Grill, uptown?

xx Sugi
roopaonline said…
I haven't been to Malaysian Grill since my "conversion" to vegetarianism, but I suspect that it'll have a couple of pure vegetarian options. I'm more vegetarian in spirit, than letter of law...which means that I don't retch when told that the pad thai gets made in fish stock!