Going vegan in Vietnam

The Vietnamese are a nation of meat-eaters. Pork, beef, chicken, duck and other meats (you don’t want to know) feature in most dishes. Old wives tales and superstitions abound, where it is considered positively unhealthy if you don’t eat meat at every meal. True story!

Despite this, younger Vietnamese — and some older folk — are embracing vegan and vegetarianism, and there are good restaurants everywhere in Hanoi that adopting this lighter style of eating. At least once per month, Vietnamese don’t eat meat to comply with Buddhism, and this is spilling over into more regular “meat free” days.

I took these photos at the beginning of November, where the weekend was dedicated to celebrating all things vegan. The festival was held just south of Hoan Kiem district (the Old Quarter) in Thong Nhat Park, Hai Ba Trung district. I had visited the park before and it is pretty. The organisers chose a fabulous venue for Hanoi’s first vegan festival, and the weather was beautiful, as it always is in autumn.

Save for later – pin to Pinterest!