Ice-Cream and Giggles

If you follow me on instagram, you might be aware that I recently went on a holiday to Penang in Malaysia. It was definitely the hardest time I have had of being vegan. I didn't speak the language, "vegan" was not in the locals' vocabulary, and the majority of the "authentic" Malaysian dishes had fish paste. Not to mention that Penang is a tropical island, and the menus, and markets, were saturated with seafood dishes.

This post is not so much a guide to all the vegan food spots in Penang (see Happy Cow for that), but tips on how to survive as a vegan in a foreign country.

1. Stock up on food for the flight.

As the flights for Penang were booked at the last minute, the cheapest option was Air Asia. Meals were not included, and there were no vegan meals or options on the menu that I could find. I pretty much survived by stocking up on Clif bars for the flight, and bought a burger in the city from Lord of the Fries and took it on the plane for dinner. I made sure I had some Clif bars in my suitcase for the flight home as well, and simply had a jam on a roll for dinner on the last flight.

2. Stay at a decent hotel that includes a breakfast buffet.

An example of one of my breakfasts from the buffet.

This was one of the main reasons I didn't starve to death. I stayed at the Park Royal Resort which included a massive free breakfast buffet. Though yes, there was plenty of meat and eggs, there was a number of vegan options, such as watermelon, rockmelon, pineapple, toast, rolls, vegan margarine, peanut butter, dried apple, bananas, pumpkin seeds, grilled tomato, cucumber, alfalfa plus a series of juices including cucumber, carrot, guava, orange, pineapple and celery. On a number of occasions I also took some rolls, bread and jam for lunch or dinner. This was especially great when I went to Langkawi for snorkeling. Lunch was included at the reef, but the only vegan options was watermelon and pineapple.

Lunch at Langkawi: fruit was provided at the buffet lunch, and the roll was taken from breakfast at the resort.

3. Find a supermarket where you can stock up on food.

Supermarkets are great for stocking up on snacks, and the majority of the time you will find vegan food, such as pringles and oreos. Though, I do warn you: palm oil was in everything. I was very disappointed. Moreover, on the flight magazine of the plane I found an article promoting the benefits of palm oil. Horrified doesn't quite cover it. But as it was impossible to avoid palm oil, (though I did where I could), I did eat some pringles and oreos when I was hungry.

4. Suss out places you can buy fruit and vegetables.

Fruit stall at the markets.

I was lucky enough to be staying right next to the Batu Ferringhi Night Market, which had a number of take away fruit stalls. This included cut up watermelon, durian, mango, pineapple, among other things. Most of the cafe style food halls also served watermelon, pineapple, lychee etc juices. Fruit juice and mango quickly became a dinner for me!

5. Order lunch and dinner at the hotel or resort.

The resort had a number of places to buy food for lunch and dinner. It may have been 3 x the price of the food found in the Night Markets, but it was a small price to pay to make sure I was eating vegan food. I soon found out that "vegan" was not a word the staff understood, and was forced to discuss "dietary requirements" and mention terms like "lactose intolerant" etc. I generally selected the vegetarian option, and asked for it without dairy (specifically mentioning "no cheese", "no butter", "no egg") as it was not always clear to the staff what I meant by "no dairy". Fries were also a staple, usually eaten with some bread taken from the breakfast buffet.

Lunch at the resort: salad sandwich and fries.

6. Search Happy Cow for vegan restaurants in the area.

Though there was plenty of vegan places in Penang, they were all at Georgetown. This was a city about an hours drive from the resort, so I only ended up going here once. But on this sole trip, I searched Happy Cow and found a vegan sushi place called Sushi Kitchen, that was entirely vegan. And it did not disappoint!

"Combustion Tofu" burger (vegan) from Burger Fuel

I know I have mentioned this before, but I just want to reiterate how difficult it can be to eat out as a vegan with people that still eat meat and dairy, such as my boyfriend. For a long time, we rarely ate out because it was so difficult to find places that would cater for both our needs. Trust me when I say my home town has no vegan options to eat, like at all. Unless you count the fruit shop! This is where Newtown comes in. I rarely went to Newtown in High School, but now I find myself going there every few weeks because of the huge varieties of vegan food that makes eating out so damn easy and hassle-free. After the popularity of my last food guide to Sydney, I thought I would do one just for Newtown, because there are so many options, probably more than even in Sydney itself. If you are from overseas, and plan on visiting Sydney, Newtown is key for all vegan noms! It is only a 10 minutes train trip or less from the CBD, so it's not difficult to get to at all.

Main Meals:

• Atom Thai (includes vegan options)
• Basil's Pizza (includes vegan and gluten free options)
• Thai Potong (includes a separate vegan menu!)
• Burger Fuel (includes vegan and gluten free options)
• Sadhana Kitchen (just vegan food, all gluten free)
• Green Gourmet (vegan, vegetarian)
• Suzy Spoon's Vegetarian Butcher (vegetarian, vegan options)

Desserts:

• Sadhana Kitchen (think raw cheezecakes, wagon wheels, and tim tams!)
• Gelato Blue (they have a whole section for just vegan gelato! They also sell vegan chocolates!)
• Vegan's Choice (takeaway ice-cream, cakes and cheezecakes, including oreo cakes! There is also numerous gluten free options)

Vegan groceries:

•  Vegan's Choice (find all your vegan "meat", sprinkles, cream, ice-cream, marshmallows, and chocolate here!)
• Suzy Spoon's Vegetarian Butcher (find your vegan bacon and sausages here! Some gluten free options).