Vegetarianism

dmcart13 Serial expat

554POSTS

16 years ago

I've mentioned in a few of my posts that I'm a vegetarian. I wondered if there were any others about? Who else has experienced the unadulterated joy of explaining to a Norwegian that you don't eat meat or fish? Who has seen that look of confusion on their faces as they try to work out what you do eat? Please tell me I'm not the only one.

David

P.S. I met Norwegian vegetarian at work! I didn't think they existed up until that point. But he only because a vegetarian when living abroad.

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vingori Active member

42POSTS

16 years ago

David...Let me assure you !!
I'm a part of the bandwagon that has had similar experiences. Yes, you've guessed it right..I'm a veggie and justifying the same has not been easy.
Unfortunately, it聮s not easy to a veggie when on a outing outside home. Most of the restaurants have a very narrow or almost nil offering for us.

With due respect to others, I enjoying being a Veggie and also enjoi every meal I have

dmcart13 Serial expat

554POSTS

16 years ago

So nice to hear it's not just me. I also enjoy being a vegetarian and all of the food I eat. Perhaps us foreigners will manage to have a civilising influence on the natives. I've already got one of my local restaurants to add a special section for vegetarians to their menu.

David

vingori Active member

42POSTS

16 years ago

Hei David,

As you may know - to some extent due to the religious influence India has a large veggie population and I'm one among them.
I聮m a die-hard fan of Indian food, so it's obvious that my platter is mainly filled with native cuisine. Probably that聮s one the reasons why I have not been so good in experimenting continental food. Would you like to share or recommend some interesting veggie recipes??

vineet.

dmcart13 Serial expat

554POSTS

16 years ago

Hello,

Nice to hear that there are some other vegetarians out there. I think India does have the best vegetarian food. I try to cook it myself, and manage to make food that I like at least. Channa masala is one of my favourites. I also like Italian food: pasta, salads, risotto etc. I'm not sure that the Norwegians have anything suitable for vegetarians. They certainly seem to find it very strange that people would want to be vegetarian. Perhaps we can start to educate them.

David

vingori Active member

42POSTS

16 years ago

I buy that idea...

I love authentic Italian food myself, wondering if any Italian restaurants here that serve vegetarian food. I think i'll google it.

happy eating !!

Little Pixy Boots New member

9POSTS

16 years ago

Hi guys, this is an exciting discussion. I'm new to Norway and I'm engaged to a Norwegian who is incidentally vegetarian from birth because his mum is a vegetarian too. Yes, we have some trouble finding vegetarian food sometimes, but Vietnamese restaurants seem to have many options. There is a few in Oslo (near Torggata, low-priced) and one on Majorstua (Bambus, middle-range price). Once I find out more, I'll let you know

vingori Active member

42POSTS

16 years ago

Hei Pixy Boots !!
Nice to see another addition.

I would also recommend a lot of Indian restaurants serving veggie food..one of my fav. is 'Indian House' rgt across Jernbarntorget (near the Tiger) !!

-vineet.

katzs Member

1POSTS

16 years ago

Hi David, I moved to Bergen 3 weeks ago and within the first week went into the tourist information to ask amongst other things if there were any vegetarian restaurants as I have family visiting soon and wer'e all vegetarians.聽 The very polite youg man told me that there had been one though it had closed due to lack of customers. He then proceded to tell me that in one particular restaurant there were rabbits on the menu!! I told him vegetarians don't usually eat rabbits!! He turned bright red and said that he had meant that the few vegetarian options had a rabbit symbol by them ! Its certainly not easy being a vegetarian here, thank goodness I cook. It must be impossible if you dont.Good luck David, Katy.

Little Pixy Boots New member

9POSTS

16 years ago

#10

Hi Katz,

Where there's a will there's a way.
The best way to look for vegetarian food on the streets is to walk around in your area and look at the menus. Usually (pity too) each restaurant has only one or two vegetarian dishes. Walking in or calling in to ask helps too.

However, try the Asian restaurants (if any) for better luck. I've found good choices looking at 1. Indian restaurants 2. Vietnamese restaurants 3. Japanese/ Chinese restaurants 4. Some Greek and Italian restaurants have some good vegetarian choices too.

My fiance was able to call up a Greek restaurant and the chef was willing to cook some special vegetarian dishes that were not on the menu. I'm sure small restaurants with a obliging chef are quite willing to cook something not on their menu for a special occasion.

hope this helps

dmcart13 Serial expat

554POSTS

16 years ago

#11

Hi Katzs,

When I'm in Bergen I always eat at the Maharaja restaurant (Rosenkrantzgaten 5). As you can probably guess by the name, it's an Indian restaurant. They have some delicious vegetarian food. I sometimes go to Bergen just to go there.

I didn't know whether to laugh or cry at your story about the tourist information. That's fairly typical. In Stavanger I had to go round 5 different restaurants to find something to eat. One of them asked if vegetarians ate chocolate cake. And this was when I wanted some lunch! Their attitude to vegetarians never ceases to amaze me. They seem to think we come from a different planet. And the feeling is mutual.

Good luck,

David

vingori Active member

42POSTS

16 years ago

#12

For those who like Indian cuisine, I would recommend some excellent ready-to eat stuff.

Minute Khana from Haldirams - These are ready to eat stuff (Indian Channa Masala, Paneer, etc..), all you need to do is open the pack and heat in the oven for about 2-3mins and its ready. They go well with the Indian breads.

It's available at some asian stores and costs as cheap as 20 NOKs a pack.

Enjoi being a veggie

yael Member

14POSTS

16 years ago

#13

Hi all!
I don't live in Norway yet, but my partner is from Bergen and we're planning to move there eventually... and I am vegetarian too! That's one of my (many) worries about living in Norge! (I keep thinking about going vegan, too, but OMG, can you imagine...)

I've been to Norway 3 times, and we're going again for 3 weeks this summer. My partner's family is wonderful but they really don't know quite what to feed me... I always gain weight on those trips because I end up eating cakes instead of meals. Yikes.

-Yael

dmcart13 Serial expat

554POSTS

16 years ago

#14

I've often joked about how I'd get on if I decided to go vegan. Vegetarianism brings enough problems of its own. When going to people's houses it does seem to panic them. Most people don't seem to know what to do. On the plus side, they're always very hospitable and want to make sure you are catered for. When I visit some friends, I take my own food with me and then they make and eat whatever they want.

In restaurants it can be a problem. I was in Stavanger last summer and had to visit 5 different places before I could find a restaurant which served even 1 vegetarian thing. In one of the places I was offered cake for lunch. Not quite what I had in mind. I think Bergen is better though and I hope it will become even better over time.

Good luck!

new_in_norway Serial expat

382POSTS

15 years ago

#15

Hi David, I am vegetarian too

Vingori; You are right, India got a large number of vegetarians, and as I am part Indian, I became a veggie for that very reason. Unlike you I am not a die hard fan of the Indian cuisine lol , I do like a couple of the dishes such as the paneer-based dishes...otherwice I am more into Arabic, Chinese, Western food....if u like to try Arabic vegetarian dishes then go for "Halloumi cheese, hummus, stuffed eggplant with rice etc...most of their starters are vegetarian, but their main courses are always with meat.

David again; Try to visit the ISKCON (Hare Krishna) cafe in Oslo...they have them worldwide and they only sell pure Vegetarian food so there will be no meat, fish or eggs in them.
Look up Iskcon Norway or hare krishna norway then u will find the address, i think there is one in Majorstua

Little Pixy Boots New member

9POSTS

15 years ago

#16

Hi new_in_norway,
That's right, the one in Majorstua/Majorstuen is called Krishna's Cuisine in Colosseum Senter, ground floor. They have really nice food

They serve lunch and dinner, close at 8pm on weekdays.

new_in_norway Serial expat

382POSTS

15 years ago

#17

Yeah Little Pixy, that's the one....Majorstuen....I went there once or twice, I like their Indian deserts...but they are a bit expensive.....I remember I went to the restaurant in Copenhagen a decade back and back then it was like 40 kroner including all u can eat and all u could drink (lassi, Indian milk shakes).

I remember the restaurants owned by the Hare Krishnas are called Govinda's , or perhaps Krishna's cuisine as well as you mentioned.

Govinda and Krishna is the same God, but in different forms, hence these names.

new_in_norway Serial expat

382POSTS

15 years ago

#18

I know there are also "fake meat" products in Norway, often imported from Sweden...I use to eat this particular brand called Ammama or Anamma from Osterlen in Sweden.

Amiiiin Active member

40POSTS

15 years ago

#19

Indian desserts hmm sounds tasty, do they offer ladoos ??

new_in_norway Serial expat

382POSTS

15 years ago

#20

lol Amiiin, I think they have 1 Indian desert and cant remember the name of it....i think it has strawberry jam on the top or something! Well it is an Indian desert but not sure about the strawberry....but they certainly do "Lassi", which are Indian -style milkshakes

new_in_norway Serial expat

382POSTS

15 years ago

#21

By the way, if you want Indian deserts.....head down to T酶yen, I am going there one of these days myself, and I think there are Pakistani shops / bakeries selling these Indian dishes called Mithai. Go for the milk based ones, really nice, and they look a bit like the Turkish/Arabic baklava but the taste is different...they are made of milk, cashew nuts, silver etc....there is a tiny layer of silver on some of them which is eatable (just ask in case, and dont eat the wrap in case it looks like silver!!)

Amiiiin Active member

40POSTS

15 years ago

#22

Yup Mithai that's what I'm looking for praaa ! Thanks for the tip, I'll try at Toyen (I'm not sure that it's the best way to prepare summer these sweets loool)

Barfi zindabad !

new_in_norway Serial expat

382POSTS

15 years ago

#23

If you like the taste of meat, then look out for the "fake meat" products , aka soya-burgers etc.
They are available only in few supermarkets. But you can buy them at "Helsekosten" shops...they can be quite expensive. You can also get Tofu there.

Then you have the option to eat all the vegetable dishes from the Middleastern cuisines (if you live in Oslo u can go to the grocery stores, some of whom sell Borek (spinach-feta cheese pastry, dolmades (stuffed vine leaves) etc...

And of course you can go to the Pakistani / Indian grocery stores/restaurants to buy Indian food which is usually vegetarian in nature...dhaal (lentils soup) , palak paneer (spinach with cottage cheese) etc

yael wrote:
Hi all!
I don't live in Norway yet, but my partner is from Bergen and we're planning to move there eventually... and I am vegetarian too! That's one of my (many) worries about living in Norge! (I keep thinking about going vegan, too, but OMG, can you imagine...)

I've been to Norway 3 times, and we're going again for 3 weeks this summer. My partner's family is wonderful but they really don't know quite what to feed me... I always gain weight on those trips because I end up eating cakes instead of meals. Yikes.

-Yael

norway n Member

2POSTS

15 years ago

#24

This blog in norwegian and english has resturant reviews for a few places in Norway It also has a lot of recipes (in both languages) and the ingredients are all to be found in Norway. For any vegetarians living in Tr酶ndelag I would reccoment Persilleriet in Trondheim, a nice vegetarian lunch place.

Vegetarianism isn't very common in Norway as traditionally meat and fish was available all year round and vegetables not, due to the weather.