Karpo, Kings Cross

Situated in the heart of Kings Cross in the Megaro Hotel, Karpo has caught my eye many a time as I've have been drawn in by the brightly coloured exterior and bustling crowds. Obviously, one can't judge a book by its cover, but it had been on my list of places to try for a long time. I took the plunge and treated a friend and I to a two course lunch with bubbles on a quiet Tuesday afternoon. The interior is unusual but bright and inviting and the staff very welcoming. Definitely recommended.

We enjoyed:

* Maple glazed pork belly, wild garlic & walnuts

* Chilled asparagus soup, spring truffle & brioche

* Roast duck breast, crispy leg, artichoke & pear

* Caramelised halibut, San Marzano tomatoes, basil & olives

Manna, Primrose Hill

Sunday roasts are everywhere over here. Sometimes you just can't walk down a high street without tripping over a blackboard special! But it's always the same old offerings: chicken, pork or beef. Now, I love the idea of Sunday bringing families and friends together over a lovely meal; chicken, pork or beef however, I really do not love.

After doing some research, my bff-fellow-foody-partner-in-crime Anton and I went too Manna in Primrose Hill, after seeing that they offered a seasonal vegan Sunday roast. For starters, we ordered the crisped ravioli filled with wild mushroom & walnut pâté with fennel cream sauce, sundried tomato pesto & balsamic reduction. This was devine, and luckily also available as a main.


And of course, the Sunday nut roast with lentil sauce.

Saf, Shoreditch

I've lived in London for just over a year, some parts of that year were absolutely lovely, and of course some parts were freakishly difficult. One of the highlights, I must say, is the food. I cannot get over how amazing the selection of cuisine is here! It is not difficult to be a vegetarian or a vegan in this city. It is perhaps, more difficult, to be able to afford everything I want to eat though. That being said, it certainly has not stopped me gaining what feels like 10 kilos since I lived in New Zealand.For my first 6 months here, I lived in a warehouse. One night I made over £300 by running coatcheck out of my bedroom during a rave that was on in the front section of my flat. After waking up at 7pm, groggy and a bit dazed, I celebrated by taking my old flatmate Maddy from NZ out to dinner to Saf in Shoreditch.

We ordered mushroom gyozas to share. I had the Rustic Farinata: Slow roasted seasonal vegetables and mushrooms in chickpea crepe topped with a tarragon aioli, while Maddy had the tempeh salad. Absolutely delicious and the cocktails are devine.

Soup on a Houseboat

A while ago, my friend Bernice and I were walking along the canal to Broadway Market when we discovered this little gem. While we were standing around ogling (cos you know how subtle we are), we were invited aboard to wait for our Chai tea.. and even though we were seconds away from the market, we decided to pig out anyway.

We were pretty excited!


B's cake

.. And my lentil soup.

I couldn't decide what bread to get so the lovely woman asked if I would like to try them all. And you know I said hells yes.

Best deal in London thus far

Situated in the heart of Brick Lane, London, my friend Anton and I happened upon an old warehouse with a number of stalls set up inside. You could choose from Japanese, Nepalese.. some others that I didn't take in cos they were meat heavy.. cupcakes, mulled wine.. but what really caught our attention was the vegan/vegetarian stand selling huge plates for only 4 pounds! I think this was an end of day special, but bear in mind it was only around 4.30 when we ate. A delicious meal.. my most satisfying food purchase so far.

Hungry for BKK?

Unlike Korea, it's not unusual to see foreigners in Thailand who are not English teachers or part of the US military. Thailand is flooded with tourists, so if you find yourself in a tourism hot-spot, you shouldn't have too much trouble asking for something without meat. More on that later.

However, as easy as that is, finding a purely vegetarian restaurant can be more of a challenge. I know I had a lot of trouble jumping into a taxi and saying a restaurant name or a Thai street address and not being understood. So it always pays to have a phone number scribbled down or better yet, a business card with a map printed on it (as many taxi drivers don't know their way around the city).

THE VEGETARIAN COTTAGE, Vibhawadee-Rangsit, Bangkok, Thailand

0-2691-5083 Lunch: 11.30-2.30 Dinner: 5.30-9.30

SPA Foods has a number of branches, only one of which I went to. The Vegetarian Cottage is, well, you guessed it, a cute little restaurant with a cottage-like atmosphere. Because of it's location in a quiet residential area, you and your loved one can escape the bustling commotion of Bangkok's streets. Expect candles on the tables and mood lighting. This place has a lot of fake meat on the menu, but the range is quite extensive (think faux lobster, lamb, duck and shrimp) so even if it's not your thing, I highly recommend you try some. You can also buy some fake meat from the fridges if you want to take some home aftewards. It's best to get here by taxi, so get this map printed and show it to your driver:

Faux chicken with a mushroom lime sauce

MAI KAIDEE'S, Banglampu (2 locations), Bangkok, Thailand

02-281-7699 Open daily: 9am-11pm

If you want some amazing vegetarian Thai food, come here. There are too locations in Bangkok, but the easiest one to find is located off Khao San Road. Walk to the end of Khao San, the opposite end of the police station, and to the right of Burger King there is an alley way. Turn into here, and turn left so you are walking behind the King. This branch of Mai Kaidee's has a weekly buffet every Saturday night at 6pm. They also offer a cooking class which is a must.

ETHOS, Banglampu, Bangkok, Thailand

662-2822748 Open daily: 8am-11pm

In the same alley where you find Mai Kaidee's second restaurant you'll also find Ethos. Here they offer a huge range of Thai and international favourites, including burgers, pasta and hummus, and they even have dessert. This is a great place to kick back and relax, and they have free wi-fi too.

Hungry for Seoul?

Okay, so South Korea is not the best place to be if you're not a meat eater. Beef, squid, octopus.. South Korea loves it all. But any vegetarian worth their weight will have Happy Cow as their best friend. If you don't already have this site saved to your Favourites, then do it now. After all, you never know when you're gonna find yourself in a foreign country clutching a menu that's covered with seemingly indecipherable code with no pictures. You may one day find yourself presented with a plate of cheese-covered octopus tentacles on rice because your friend checked the wrong box in the aforementioned menu. You may even find yourself getting booted out of restaurants, or even getting doors slammed shut in your face because, well... some people just don't dig vegetarians. I know because it happened to me.

Anyway, the inner nerd in me refused to accept that I'd only be able to choose from 3 menu items (you mean.. pork is not vegetarian?) whenever I ate out, so with my notebook filled with restaurants, my vege-venturous friend Jason and I embarked on a mission to cross as many as we could off the list. Bear in mind, I lived in South Korea from November 2007-November 2008, so some details may have changed.

Here are the 3 best buffets in Seoul:

SM CHINGHAI, Yangjae, Seoul, South Korea

02) 576 9637 Lunch 12.30-2.30 Dinner 6-9

Yangjae Station, Exit 5. After leaving the exit, turn right, keep walking until you can make another right. Then just keep on walking, yep.. it's a bit of a walk. You'll cross a couple of roads, a bridge, a giant crab. It's opposite a Starbucks, for want of a better landmark. You could always take a bus, but Jason and I got on the wrong one so we never tried doing that again. Anyway, this buffet is amazing, the buffet food varies from day to day so there's a bit of variety. This place is heavy on the fake meat and there are even some fridges if you want to take some home with you. Cute outdoor area if you're lucky to miss the rainy season. Wash it all down with a scoop of Purely Decadent before you hit the subway home.

TTEULANCHAE VEGETARIAN BUFFET, Suwon, Seoul, South Korea

031) 291 5879 Lunch 12-3 Dinner 6-9

From Suwon Station, take bus #13 from the bus stop just past the Touritst Information Centre. I'm going to be honest here, this restaurant is incredibly hard to find, you may get lost trying to find it and your friend will probably want to punch you in the face in a fit of hunger-enduced frustration. You should probably have the number handy should you need to flag down a taxi. Otherwise, you're gonna be sitting on that bus for a while, after it leaves the station you'll head towards the hills, then it will drive around in this huge loop before heading back Once you find this hidden gem you will be so glad you persevered. The dining area is surprisingly huge, the buffet tables changed continuously, and the seats are always full.

NEW START, Seollung, Seoul, South Korea

02) 565 43 24 Closed Friday and Saturday

Seollung Station, exit 2. Walk straight up the hill and turn left after Linko. Look for it on the right. Another amazing find... why, oh why didn't I know about this during training??? I could've saved myself from night after night of ramen noodles (and the occasional Oreo in the shower) had I only known. Vegetarian CDI teachers of the future: take note! This is literally a stone's throw from the hotel (well, the one I was at anyway). Do not even get tempted to go to Burger King! Hiss. Buffet has both Korean and Western food.