10 Countries Where Vegetarians and Vegans May Have to Sleep Empty-Stomach

Vegetarians indeed face difficulty when it comes to traveling and at places where they don’t get vegetarian food become really difficult for them to visit. There are many countries in the world where only few restaurants prepare vegetarian cuisines and that too not so great in taste. You will only have bread and fruits in some places as an option for vegetarian food. You may be confused with some non-vegetarian dishes that look vegetarian. Therefore, you will have to be alert while ordering your food.

Let’s have a look at the top 10 countries where vegans will have to struggle a lot in getting the vegetarian food.

France

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Finding good food for a vegetarian in France is a very difficult task. Only options that you can have in the country are pastries, salad, bread, and desserts. However, city like Paris can offer you some good food here as some veggie-friendly restaurants are available there.

Argentina

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Visiting  Argentina is going to be really difficult for Vegans as most of the cuisines are prepared here from meat. Eating red meat in the country is considered to be a God-given right by natives. However, Buenos Aires (capital city) may offer you some vegetarian options like medialunas, humitas, empanadas de queso, anddulce de leche.

Japan

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Fish is the main food in Japan and if you think that ramen noodles and miso soup would be perfect for vegan then you are wrong. Most of the traditional Japanese cuisines are prepared from fish even the soya sauce. However many Buddhist temples eat Buddhist vegetarian food, but the options are very few.

Spain

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Spanish people are a diehard fan of meat. So, finding vegetarian dishes and vegetarian here is a very tough task. Don’t get confused with the looks of dishes as they may appear like a vegetarian dish, but you might end up with a bone/meat inside it. Just ask for the ingredient of thedish before ordering anything. However, you don’t need to completely upset as you can still have patatas bravas, croquetas de espinacas, and gazpacho to satisfy your hunger.

Cuba

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There are very few options for vegans in Cuba and in case you find some vegetarian options, they will lack flavor and variety. They mostly prefer to eat rice with meat, hot dogs and ham sandwiches. However, you can easily find fruits and vegetables from street vendors. Apart from this, you can have beans and rice, rum and coffee as a variant. 

Philippines

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The most popular dish in Philippines includes adobo, kaldereta, lechon, torta, kare-kare, pinakbet, panchit, lumpia and mechado and all these dishes have pork/ chicken/ beef as ingredients. Now, you can imagine how difficult it’s going to finding good vegetarian food in the Philippines? Well, it’s difficult but not impossible. There are some restaurants for vegetarians but you need to plan your stay accordingly.

China

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This is one of those countries where you will find animal products in almost every dish. They commonly use lard in almost every dish and even chips are not safe for vegetarians. You have to be very alert if you are a pure vegetarian because waiters in most of the restaurants consider seafood as a vegetarian dish. Just be clear and specific while telling the waiter what you don’t eat.

Mongolia

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Mongolia is not at all apt for vegans and if you are out of the capital city Ulaanbaatar, you can only buy potatoes, wheat, mushrooms and wild strawberries. All the traditional food at Mongolia contains meat or milk. Animals are the only food for Mongolians. However, they do understand about vegetarian food as the country is historically influenced by Tibetan Buddhism.

Portugal

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Finding a vegetarian restaurant in Portugal is going to be true struggle for all. The country is famous for its love for meat and a large number of Portuguese dishes contain pork and beef. However, you may find some places offering vegetarian food, but you have to tell it clearly that you don’t want any kind of meat while preparing your dish.

Denmark

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Most of the food items in Denmark consist of the combinations of meat and potatoes. There are many Danish restaurants that do not offer vegetarian alternatives on their menus. For vegetarians, there could be bread and cheese, yogurt, cereal, and fruits. You cannot have delectable vegetarian food in Denmark but there will be something to eat.

If you have planned to visit one of these countries then book  cheap air tickets with EaseMyTrip and save more on your travel. Research in advance for the places where you can have vegetarian food in these countries. Have a happy journey!