The growth of vegan restaurants in the Klang Valley

More and more Malaysians are now open to eating vegan food, whether they are vegan or not. — SALA KL

Just five years ago, there were just a handful of vegan (foods derived entirely of plant-based products) restaurants in the Klang Valley. Old-school Chinese and Indian vegetarian restaurants were relatively common, but beyond that, there was nothing beyond a token few vegan options on the menus of cafes and restaurants – a cursory nod to what was viewed as a small, oft-ignored demographic.

And then the Covid-19 pandemic hit and with it, a flood of new entrants to the vegan market. The reasons for the rise in people embracing veganism or turning to a flexitarian diet (a diet where a person might choose to be vegan on certain days of the week or month) are manifold but boil down to a number of things: health concerns, environmental awareness, animal rights and sometimes just plain curiosity driven by the increase in information.