The Food...and Some Health Tips for Travellers
The Clininal, Germ-Theoretic View: In its Health Tips for Travellers pamphlet, the Bangkok Phuket Hospital gives 3 suggestions to minimize risk of diarrhoea:
Eat food served steaming hot and cooked to order rather than food left out on trays or in chafing dishes...Favor soft drinks like Coke over fresh squeezed fruit juices or locally produced drinks like nam oy (sugar cane juice). Buffets, a great way to try a variety of local foods - and also one of the best ways to contract diarrhoea.
While I'd certainly rather risk diarrhoea from fresh juice rather than inflict fuming commercial acid waste on my internal organs, there is some sound basis for their advice on eating. I've personally conducted unplanned experiments in Phuket, where cooked food has been left unrefrigerated. The short time it took to "go bad" is a pointed reminder that microbial life is as lush, flourishing, and voracious as other flora and fauna in the tropics . Moreover, in Thailand monitoring of food services is less diligent than in the neighboring tropical countries of Malaysia and Singapore. Stir-fry stalls, such as the one shown in Figure 1 or Figure 3, pose less risk. And try pau, steamed bun, shown in Figure 4.
But be aware that the majority of the festival food is not cooked to order, but served on trays as shown in Figure 5 - not surprising, as Thai dishes often require more preparation than is practical in the crowded, busy environment of the festival. My caution crumbled on the second night of the festival and I had no regrets. Still, unless temporary diarrhoea is of no concern to you, discretion is advised.
Avoid salads, uncooked fresh vegetables.
This is not much of a problem. Except for som tam, green papaya salad, salads are not easy to find at the festival. This is in marked contrast to the standard meal normally served at Phuket vegetarian shops: see the section called After All.
Microorganisms clinging to people's hands are a major source of contamination. Don't eat anything that has touched your hands or those of anyone else.
Food servers generally do not touch food with their hands. Food preparation is another matter, however. With pre-cooked foods, food handling during preparation is an unknown.
A Critical, Nutritional View Another local book, Vegetarian The Right Way, warns against "wrong" vegetarianism such as: [1]
I take these comments to mean that the festival, in its quest to lure Thai non-vegetarians to the vegetarian diet, sacrifices important nutritional values. It is certainly true that mock meat stands (such as that shown in Figure 6) are common at the festival, while steamed vegetables are not. It is also true that the festival food is mostly not what I would take for a daily diet - but what festival food is? This article is targeted to knowledgeable vegetarians. If you have read this far, you are probably concerned about nutrition and try to maintain a healthy vegetarian diet. It is difficult to imagine how a few days of less nutritious foods could leave an otherwise healthy person troubled with obesity and joint pain. For your sacrifice, you will be rewarded with a fresh, new perspective on the scope of vegetarianism.Luxurious vegetarian, [which has] become very popular in these few years at the event of Ten Days Chinese Vegetarian Festival. This style of food contains...many meat...[imitations and] oily menus. Very few [and] overcooked vegetables...Of course, artificial flavours, food additive, sugar, and MSG (monosodium glutamate) are used unlimited. Obesity, high blood fat, high blood sugar, allergy, joint pain, are the aftermath of Chinese Vegetarian Festival.
Eating vegetarian at the right way is more important than convincing people to accept vegetarianism.
Eat wisely, eat well.
