My Hunt for the Veggies

[anupma]

Eating lunch has become an adventure ever since I moved countries. Happily, it is usually an exciting adventure unless it is a Tuesday. On Tuesdays, I eat vegetarian food. Now, going by the variety of veggies I see in the grocery stores, getting some vegetarian grub should not be a trouble at all. So why is that I have to struggle every Tuesday and

Comments

[pooja]

Back home, I am usually the only person lining up for vegetarian food, with at most two to give me company in a group of ten

I think it might be a little specific to places we live/worked. Being a vegetarian myself i always had company in my home town, occasionally in Bangalore and never in Andhra.

BTW, here in US when I ask about the contents of a vegetarian dish in a non-Indian restaurant I get the "You an Indian?" grin.

[anupma]

Ha! I totally hear you. Here, when I join anyone for lunch the first question they ask is "Are you vegetarian?"

:]

[psasidhar]

And oh, pork stock in fairly common in many asian "vegetarian" dishes. :)

[anupma]

Correct. I discovered this a little late for my own good. I had been happily eating Japanese Shabu-Shabu for a while before this came to my notice. In fact, a pure vegetarian should refrain from eating out as much as possible in South East Asian countries.

[sumthn2say]

It is surprising that most Indians dress up in traditional clothes in Singapore. In Charlotte, Indians dress up like the americans. So do i. And that is because I do not want to stand out in the crowd.

Perhaps Indians in Singapore miss home a lot.
Abt being a vegetarian abroad, that is quite normal and justified. That is because they find it hard to appreciate the same ingredients (say fish or meat in this case)cooked in a different style. Back home, food is cooked in the Indian style, which is usual. I would say that many ppl are also afraid to experiment.

To add to the above

[sumthn2say]

Being vegetarian is kinda safe, in many people's views.

[anupma]

I do not think it has anything to do with missing home. Actually, Singapore is very different from most other countries. It does not have a culture of its own. People bring their culture to this country when they come here. This place is a healthy mix of Chinese, Malay, and Indian culture. With some other bits thrown in. Maybe that has something to do with the dressing up too.

[rileen]

What's the percentage of Tamilians among Indians in S'pore?

[anupma]

Hm...point. The percentage is high enough to make Tamil one of the national languages. There are many non-Tamilian Indians as well, but they usually form the floating expat population.

[pun23]

Atleast you didn't fall in the cheeseburger trap :)

[anupma]

Oh yes! Thanks to all the American television we have watched for the last 10-15 years. :)