Bangkok vegetarian restaurants in Yaowarat
The Vegetarian Festival is known to be an important rite of passage for Thai-Chinese to abstain from meat, in order to ‘cleanse’ the body. Now that the festival is in full swing, many citizens have temporarily turned vegetarian for 9 days.
Unsurprisingly, Yaowarat – AKA Bangkok’s Chinatown district – will be extra packed with crowds in white outfits joining the celebration. Many restaurants around this neighborhood will also be offering vegetarian options for those participating in the festival.
So whether you’re a vegetarian or just abstaining from meat for the festival, here are 10 Bangkok vegetarian restaurants with vegan sushi & pad kra pao in Yaowarat that you should try.
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1. Her Cheun Fong DIM SUM & BBQ – vegetarian snacks & dumplings
First on our list is a restaurant sited near MRT Wat Mang Korn. Her Cheun Fong is a small restaurant serving all kinds of Chinese dishes and snacks. However, once the vegetarian festival comes along, the eatery modifies some recipes to create vegetarian options.
Upon entering, we noticed that the indoor seating area isn’t very large. However, there’s more space upstairs – more tables too – and a dining space that’s a lil’ more roomy.
What impressed us as well was the cleanliness and the modern Chinese-design motifs. Think striking red booths, chairs, as well as the panel at the back with decorative porcelain plates.
We took some time to decide on the food due to the wide selection, so if you’re new and find it tough to make a decision, we’d recommend trying Vegetarian Hong Kong Fried Rice at ฿95 (~USD2.6) and Vegetarian Mapo Tofu at ฿105 (~USD2.9). Both dishes come in vegetarian-friendly versions during the festival. With other familiar staples on the menu, we think this is worth a visit.
Her Cheun Fong
Address: 464 Charoen Krung Road, Samphanthawong, Bangkok 10100
Opening Hours: 7AM – 7PM, Daily
Telephone: +66 2 222 0323
Her Cheun Fong’s Facebook | Google Maps
2. So Vegan – humble vegan stall in a mall
In Yaowarat, you can find a shopping mall called I’m Chinatown; it’s a mall that’s packed with many types of eateries and beverage stalls. In line with our theme today, we hunted down a vegetarian eatery named So Vegan. A quick glance at the name will give you an obvious clue on what kind of food you’re getting.
At first glance, you might be surprised by the sheer variety of curries shown in the display. And yes, they look exactly like typical Thai curries commonly found on our streets. If you haven’t guessed yet, this restaurant recreates classic Thai dishes with vegetarian ingredients, so you can literally have your carrot cake and eat it too.
My co-worker and I ordered a Spicy Crispy Chickenless Salad ฿89 (~USD2.40) and Rice Topped W/ Mushroom Strips & Minced Mock Pork ฿85 (~USD2.30) served with spicy sauce. We have to say that both really tasted like their non-vegetarian counterparts, and we fell in love with their food even though we’re not vegetarians.
So Vegan
Address: F2 – I’m Chinatown, Charoen Krung Road, Pom Prap Sattru Phai, Bangkok 10100
Opening Hours: 10AM – 8PM, Daily
Telephone: +66 9 6965 6961
So Vegan’s Facebook | Google Maps
3. LEE JAE VEGETARIAN FOOD เจ๊หลี อาหารเจ – cheap, made-to-order vegetarian pad krapao
The next one on our list is a typical Thai made-to-order restaurant that’s hidden in an alley. Finding this restaurant was tricky for us, but we managed to locate it in the end.
The hawker’s facade doesn’t look special or different from other street stalls, but we like the fact that they serve vegetarian cooked-to-order dishes at cheap prices.
For those who are a fan of Pad Kra Pao Mu Krob – AKA crispy pork fried with Thai basil leaves – we had it for ฿40 (~USD1) and paired it with Yentafo for ฿30 (~USD0.80) – served with a signature pink vermicelli soup. Even though the ingredients were not actual meat, we loved that they tasted nearly the same as the OG Thai dishes we’re familiar with.
Lee Jae Vegetarian Food
Address: 188 Charoen Krung, 14 Samphanthawong, Bangkok 10100
Opening Hours: 8AM – 5.30PM, Daily
Telephone: +66 2 222 2986
Google Maps
4. Su Ki Jeh Ru Yi สุกี้เจหรูยี่ – try spicy coconut curry at ฿100
Decked with abundant yellow festival flags upfront, you can tell from afar that this restaurant is unabashedly vegetarian. Before getting inside, do pay attention to the small board on your right. On it is a list of several special items offered by the restaurant. The board’s messages are written in Thai, but you can ask employees for help with translations.
Anyway, if you are a spicy food lover, we’d suggest you try this Spicy Coconut Curry at ฿100 (~USD2.70) – a spicy steamed curry with veggies and plant-based meat served in a coconut broth. Eating it with freshly steamed rice would be – in our opinion – the best combination and fill you up perfectly.
If you’re visiting with a big number of friends, we’d advise you to make a call to book a table beforehand because the restaurant has limited dining tables.
Su Ki Jeh Ru Yi
Address: 285 Phraya Singhaseni Alley, Rong Muang, Pathum Wan, Bangkok 1033
Opening Hours: 10AM – 9PM, Daily
Telephone: +66 8 6068 9384
Su Ki Jeh Ru Yi’s Facebook | Google Maps
5. Kitchen Kam-Lung Hong Kong – Hong Kong-style vegetarian food in Chinatown
Located at the intersection of Lamphun Chai Road with Yaowarat Road, Kitchen Kam-Lung Hong Kong is one of the most popular restaurants in the Chinatown district that serves Hong Kong cuisine.
With its modern architectural design, the establishment stands out from other older shophouses nearby. If you’re a fan of Hong Kong-style dim sum, or stocking milk tea, this is the place to be for sure.
Similar to many restaurants in Yaowarat, Kitchen Kam-Lung offers a range of vegetarian items during the vegetarian festival. We tried Chinese Kale With Oyster Sauce at ฿200 (~USD5.5) and Fried Tofu With Salt & Chilli at ฿180 (~USD5), and we were pretty satisfied with the dishes. So if a trip to Hong Kong is still in the pipeline, why not head here for a preview of what to expect first?
Kitchen Kam-Lung Hong Kong
Address: Yaowarat Road, Samphanthawong, Bangkok 10100
Opening Hours: 11AM – 11PM, Daily
Telephone: +66 2 221 3289
Google Maps
6. อิ่วก้วย Kiew’s Pie – famous homemade veggie pies among locals
Let’s take a short break from big meals for now. If you want something like a quick snack to combat your hunger while roaming the Chinatown, you should check out Kiew’s Pie hidden in a narrow alley next to Wat Mang Korn MRT Station.
Kiew’s Pie is a famous pie stall that was featured in many TV & broadcast programmes thanks to its legacy of serving up homemade pies with plant-based fillings. They are so generous with the portions that even two or three pieces may feel like an entire meal.
Basically, the stall offers five choices of fillings with prices ranging from ฿30 (~USD0.80) to ฿50 (~USD1.30)/piece: fillings like cabbage, bamboo shoots, taro, soybean, salted nuts, and sweetened coconut to be exact. This is definitely something we’d recommend trying, whether or not you’re a vegetarian, anytime you’re in Yaowarat.
Kiew’s Pie
Address: 423/3 Mang Korn Road, Pom Prap Sattru Phai, Bangkok 10100
Opening Hours: 7AM – 5PM, Daily
Telephone: +66 8 1562 9707
Google Maps
7. Tang Jai Yoo Restaurant (ภัตตาคารตั้งใจอยู่) – vintage Chinese eatery near the MRT
As Yaowarat is a time-honoured neighborhood, it’s not uncommon for businesses to have existed for over 100 years. Tang Jai Yoo Restaurant is one such establishment as a Chinese fine-dining eatery frequented by locals.
The restaurant boasts a spacious dining area with iconic round dining tables. In line with typical Chinese restaurants, each table comes with its own ‘Lazy Susan’ – a rotating glass panel in the centre to make it easier to pass dishes around.
During the festival, you can expect most popular delicacies to be served alongside their vegetarian counterparts. On our first-time visit, we picked Fried Shrimp Dumplings which came in a plate of five dumplings filled with shrimp at ฿200 (~USD5.4) to enjoy with Stir Fried Fish Fillets With Black Pepper from ฿300 (~USD8.10). Don’t forget to order a pot of soothing Pu-er tea to wash it all down.
Tang Jai Yoo Restaurant
Address: 85 Yaowapanit Road, Samphanthawong, Bangkok 10100
Opening Hours: 10AM – 10PM, Daily
Telephone: +66 2 224 2167
Google Maps
8. Jae Dang – popular Chinese restaurant among tourists in Yaowarat
Image credit: ยำเกี่ยมฉ่ายเจ๊แดง
Jae Dang is another restaurant in Yaowarat that serves food inspired by Hong Kong-style recipes and ingredients. FYI, the restaurant is not only popular among Thais but also tourists from many countries.
If you’ve never tried spicy pickled mustard greens, this is also a highlight at Jae Dang. So muster up the courage right here at this stall.
Image credit: @kiniminyaowarad
From a vantage point at the entrance, you’ll notice tons of foodstuff stored in pot-like containers. It might seem a bit sus if you’re not familiar with Chinese food in Thailand, as it’s hard to predict what everything is made of, or tastes like. But don’t you worry child, we gotchu. For a start, we recommend trying Spicy Picked Mustard Greens for ฿40 (~USD1) or Olive Pickled Green Mustard with Mushroom for ฿50 (~USD1.30). Please note that these prices are for the small-sized portions. If you think that it’s not enough, opt for a larger size for double the price.
Jae Dang
Address: 222 Soi Yaowarat 6, Samphanthawong, Bangkok 10100
Opening Hours: 7AM – 4.30PM, Daily
Telephone: +66 2 225 1960
Jae Dang’s Facebook | Google Maps
9. Chijuya – vegetarian Japanese dishes like vegan sushi
We were really surprised when we found out about this restaurant as we hadn’t heard of vegetarian Japanese food in Bangkok before, so it made us wonder what to expect.
Chijuya is a humble diner with a rather cosy seating arrangement and limited dining tables. Although the menu’s mainly centred around Japanese dishes, the place’s ambience ironically reminded us of a Chinese restaurant.
Once we arrived, we decided to grab a seat outside and give the menu a once over. We spotted Mixed Onigiri – a plate of six sushi pieces topped with salmon-like toppings at ฿150 (~USD4) – and we ordered the dish without hesitation. The Grilled Veg Prawns at ฿150 (~USD4) also caught our eyes, think four grilled artificial prawns topped with mayonnaise. Despite being an artificial ‘meat’, we felt quite amazed that the texture was really similar to real prawns.
For what it’s worth, the restaurant is situated in an alley, a bit far from Yaowarat Road and the MRT station, so you might wanna consider hailing a taxi to get there. However, if you choose to walk, best to pay close attention to the sign in order not to miss it.
Chijuya
Address: 1396 Song Wat Road, Samphanthawong, Bangkok 10100
Opening Hours: 10AM – 8PM, Daily
Telephone: +66 2 226 2275
Chijuya’s Facebook | Google Maps
10. Jui Guay – Teochew-style rice flour cakes with preserved radish
Image credit: จุ๋ยก้วย ตลาดน้อย100ปี delivery
Now for the final eatery to make our list, here’s a stall that sells a traditional Teochew snack – Jui Guay. Since the stall is highly regarded among locals, expect to see folks gathering to buy this snack, regardless of the festival.
Image credit: Rachi zhang
Basically, jui guay is a Chinese-style steamed rice cake made from rice flour. The soft, round cakes are topped generously with stir-fried chopped radish with soy sauce and pickled chilli. We have to say the snack is hard to find in our society nowadays, but if you wanna give it a try, the titular Jui Guay in Yaowarat is the one you should head to.
Apart from the steamed rice flour cakes, you can also go with other items: fried spring rolls and noodle rolls. Arguably the main selling point of this store is that most snacks are priced at a reasonable ฿50 (~USD1.30).
Jui Guay Talad Noi Roi Pee
Address: 2 Yaowarat Road, Chakkrawat, Samphanthawong, Bangkok 10100
Opening Hours: 1PM – 11PM, Daily
Telephone: +66 6 4615 1665
Jui Guays Facebook | Google Maps
Explore these vegetarian restaurants in Bangkok’s Yaowarat
While vegetarian food can be found almost everywhere in Thailand during the annual festival, Yaowarat is a major hub for this cuisine in Bangkok. The restaurants on our list are also mostly located near the MRT stations – Wat Mang Korn and Hua Lamphong – to make it convenient for anyone who’s new to the scene.
So if you are participating in the vegetarian festival or are simply interested in breaking away from meat-heavy dishes, Yaowarat won’t disappoint you with its offerings. Feel free to bookmark these places for your next vegetarian food hunt and share them with your friends.
Cover images adapted from (Clockwise from Top Left): TSLTH, “บีม” ชื่อนี้กินเก่ง, TSLTH, จุ๋ยก้วย ตลาดน้อย100ปี delivery
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