RE: [SouthBayVeggies] Does Vegan Include Egg in the Vietnamese Culture???

[Guest guest]

I've been told by many Buddhist monks that " Vegan " is a Western term for

strict vegetarians. In Vietnam, eggs and milk are still acceptable for

strict vegetarians. I'm told that the chickens and cows are treated with

much more respect over there, not cruelly like here, so eating their

" product " is still in line with Buddha's teachings. In the Vietnamese

culture, the the Buddhists are strict vegetarians, but not vegan by our

standards. Though, most of their food is vegan.

 

Most Vietnamese restaurants know the difference and have no problem telling

you what is vegetarian and what is vegan. Please note that many " fake "

meats are made with egg whites - especially " chicken " . I don't consider you

to be " nit picking " and I'm sure that the next customer who asks will surely

benefit from the knowledge you gave the White Lotus staff on the difference

between Vegetarians and Vegans.

 

 

Taffy

 

 

On Behalf Of vegan4animals

Thursday, July 13, 2006 5:52 PM

;

[southBayVeggies] Does Vegan Include Egg in the Vietnamese

Culture???

 

 

I went to White Lotus today in San Jose for the first time. I remember once

doing a google search for " vegan " and " San Jose " and White Lotus came up

with people saying it was a vegan restaurant. But of course the BAV Ultimate

Guide has it correct that it is vegetarian, but NOT vegan.

 

Well, the wrong info stuck in my head so I went in, thinking it was vegan. I

did ask if everything was vegan, but I was tired and didn't explain what

vegan means as I usually do (i.e., no eggs, dairy, etc) as I figured a

" vegetarian " restaurant would know what I was talking about. They told me

it was 100% vegan. So, I looked over the menu and saw that it said " Chicken

products contain egg whites " and asked about this and kindly asked them not

to tell customers that they are 100% vegan when it clearly says on the menu

that they use egg. The same guy and 2 other people working there, said that

*in their culture, egg is acceptable to vegans?!?!?!*

 

I then tried to clarify if the chicken dishes were the only dishes that

contained egg. They said yes. Then later, they said, that the noodles also

contain egg. So, then I asked if anything contained dairy and he said yes.

So, I asked him to tell me what contained dairy and he skimmed through the

menu and pointed to a dish and said it contained milk. So, I looked and saw

it said coconut milk!

 

Anyway, my point to this tangent is, I don't think these people at White

Lotus have a clue what vegan is, so I just wanted to give others the

heads-up. I know there are folks on the list who think this is

" nit-picking " , but I know there are also folks who do care about this stuff.

 

I also wanted to ask any Vietnamese people out there, if that is

correct--that eating eggs is considered vegan in the Vietnamese culture

because I have never heard of this.

 

Thanks!

 

Melissa