Phuket Vegetarian Festival 2009

I've blogged about the Phuket Vegetarian Festival 2 years back when I first embarked on the trip. I've been wanting to go again, so this time I went with my parents, together with my aunt and cousin as well. The phuket vegetarian festival is a really big event that's held during the 9th lunar month. For more info, you may click here.
During this period of 10 days, the devotees and those attending the rituals would have to observe vegetarianism diets. Hence it was a true treat for us as vegetarian food is available in almost corner of phuket town.
Im going to introduce the foods that I did not mention in my earlier post.

I did not recall 7-11 has all these set meals available back then. Hence I was very happy when I saw this poster. Loads of set meals and paos available for us! All you need is to heat up in the hotel microwave. We brought 2 sets to try.

Green Curry with Brown Rice Set 35BHT

I'm not a fan of green curry but my cousin who ate this said it wasnt too bad! The authetic taste was there. Comprises of eggplant and some mock meats. It really affordable.

Hong Kong Noodles 35BHT

Comprises of Mushrooms, Cabbage and carrots. Simple but tasty!

Vegetarian Bun 15 BHT

I brought this really last min.. as I wanted to try how the buns taste like. It was surprisingly not bad tasting, not spicy as well. Comprises of Mushrooms and veg.

Potato Snack 20BHT

I was still wondering how come so many people where queuing up to buy this, but I got blown away the moment i ate it. VERY crispy and tasty! It is basically potatoes thats sliced with a special machine into this spiral form, then dipped into some batter before deep-fried. Then topped with the various spice flavours available. We took the hot and spicy flavour. YummY~ Thats my dear cousin posing with the yummy potato.

Coconut Snack 20BHT

I have not idea what is the name of this snack but since its made of coconut fillings, i'm naming it the coconut snack. Tastes heavenly if you love coconuts. The exterior is just a very thin layer of flour, and baked with fresh creamy coconut milk.

Chicken Rice/ Char Siew Rice

I was very happy to find chicken rice and char siew rice too! The sauces made the rice tasty. However the char siew tastes very different from the ones we eat in SG, hence we didn't really like it.

Must buy - Vegetarian Instant Noodles (Tom Yum)

5 of us brought 3 boxes, which is a total of 90 pkts home. Its really good.

It is amazing to find more than 100 stalls selling vegetarian food. Ranging from the normal char kway tiao to noodles soup to mixed veg rice.. they have almost everything you yearn for. However, there are a lot of fried foods too, making it really unhealthy. Hence do CHOOSe wisely. Now that I am back, I gotta go on a detox mode due to the over-eating. My aunt was left very satisfied at the end of the trip and is dreaming about coming back again. I guess I can start organising a yearly vegetarian food tasting trip to Phuket real soon.

Diet: Vegan, no eggs and milk used in all foods sold during this season

Location: All over Phuket Town

Phuket Vegetarian Festival 2007

Last week, my parents and I went to Phuket for the vegetarian festival (see here for the info). The food there was not only AWEsome, it was almost available everywhere in Phuket town.

Vegetarian Thai Popiah 10Bhat (SGD$0.40)

Really Spicy, but its crunchy on the inside, soft on the outside.

Vegetarian Kway Tiao Soup 30Bhat (SGD $1.20)

Almost available in most stalls. The soup is made from white raddish and its sweet. Ingredients wise is full of veg and tofu.

Vegetarian Fried Mee 12Bhat (SGD 0.60)

The chili and peanuts made this dish heavenly! Though not much ingredients and only vegetables, this packet of fried mee makes you want to have more!

Vegetarian Nou Hiang & Wanton 10Bhat Each (SGD $0.40)

The Nou Hiang (五香卷) tastes really good with the taro inside. Comes with a special thai sauce. As for the wanton, its good given the price and standard. However, of course my recipe is better. heh.

Vegetarian Mixed Vegetables Rice

Most stalls sell the mixed vegetables rice (什菜饭). My parents and I ordered dishes as shown (2 plates of veg, 2 sausages, and 1 fish) total at 145Bhat (SGD $6.60). Cheap like crazy! Also, the FISH is really good, as it is self-made!

Thai Dessert - Mango with Glutinous Rice 50Bhat (SGD $2.00)

A not-to-be missed dessert after all the snacks and meals. I loved the mango as it was really sweet.

Overall, I personally feel it is a very worthed trip to phuket during the vegetarian festival (held only 9 days annually) as food is not only interesting, but tasty as well. Also, you may also take part in the parades whereby the devotees pierce almost anything through their bodies and walk for hours as part of purification. Just look for any stall with the yellow flag (九皇盛会), and you will be amazed with the varieties available. (not suitable for vegans though) A pity that I was unable to feature all the foods as there were simply too many to try. I would want to go back again next year!

Note: If you are in for an indulgence, JWMarriot hotel also had a special vegetarian menu (featuring sharksfin) during this period. I did not go there but read from a magazine in the hotel.

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