Friday fervour

To balance last week’s Friday Fury I’m raving about ‘Sunshine Kitchen.’ I went off to do some 'research' about ten days ago so that I could blog about them. However I forgot to take a picture; I was half way through scoffing my food before I remembered and then I wasn’t prepared to stop.

Sunshine Kitchen – okay, it’s not a great name – but OMG, the food… the food more than makes up for it. They describe the food as ‘quality, healthy, fresh and tasty’ but the reason I love it is because it’s proper vegetarian food. They do serve meat and fish – separately obviously – but their use of grains, pulses and veggies make this among the best vegetarian food I’ve ever eaten.

For anyone in Bangkok, you can find them downstairs in the vegetable market part of Gourmet in Siam Paragon. You can take away or eat in at a no frills high stool and bench arrangement. They’re total foodies. When you arrive to look at the food, the first thing they do is to get a pot of spoons and let you try stuff.

It’s been a mystery to me why I hadn’t found excellent veggie restaurants in Bangkok. There’s a branch of Buddhism that is vegetarian and think of all those studenty type backpackers that come to Thailand. Is it presumptuous of me to think that they’ll be a higher than average number of veggies among them?

And no, I’m not being paid to say this; I just feel fervour for the grub. I’m a frustrated vegetarian. I grew up among foodies but they were confirmed meat eaters. My sister became vegetarian in her teens and my parents declared it a stage she’d grow out of: 25 years later my Dad’s still calling it a phase. Sod’s law would have it that I married a meat eater too but not only that, but he’s nearly phobic about vegetable, grains and pulses.

This plate of food cost 200 Baht (currently about £3.60)

Scoff is getting complicated

The first time Daughter went vegetarian she was seven. Her resolve lasted three hours until we served lamb at Sunday lunch.

The second time she was nine. She lasted eighteen months and Chinese food was her downfall.

About eighteen months ago she told us she would be turning vegetarian again on her thirteenth birthday. That was last Tuesday.

Now the thing is, Daughter loves meat (like her father) but she thinks it’s wrong to eat it. I have absolutely no problem with this; she’s always known her own mind and I’m proud of her.

I have two concerns: one is that as a thirteen year old she has enough protein and iron in her diet to compensate for the lack of meat. That one’s okay because it’s up to us to ensure. The second is that I now need to organise meals that can accommodate two rabid meat eaters, one vegetarian and me, who’ll eat both or either happily.

I don’t believe multiple meals should be prepared – but is anyone else catering for the same problem and have you any advice?

Her birthday meal

Phad Thai which we usually eat with meat in but not this time. It usually has tofu in, which would've been good, but not this time!