All-day food galore for vegetarian devotees


Festival feast delights: Devotees observing a vegetarian diet browsing through vegetarian pastries and food in Madras Lane, Penang.

GEORGE TOWN: Devotees observing a strict vegetarian diet can now find a wide variety of dishes and snacks around the clock along Madras Lane during the Nine Emperor Gods Festival this year.

Among the new attractions are the hot and crispy Coca-Cola ‘fried chicken’ at the Yao Yao Fried Chicken stall.

Served on top of a plastic cup filled with Coca-Cola, the snack also comes with french fries.

“We thought that the concept, which was originally introduced by night markets vendors, was unique and decided to do a vegetarian version.

“It can be a little mundane each year to see the same old things being sold, so I thought this could give snack lovers a variety,” stall owner Tan Yik Chong said.

“I use mushrooms to make the chicken instead of fake meat.

“It tastes much juicier and tastier,” he added.

Another new vegetarian cafe has also opened its doors to the public along the same road.

Its signature dishes are its western cuisine and desserts that are prepared especially for those on a strict vegetarian diet.

Cafe manager Pamela Wong said they wanted to provide something different when they started doing the vegetarian desserts.

“We have customers asking us if we knew any stores that sold vegetarian desserts in the past.

“So, we decided to make desserts for vegetarians who have a sweet tooth.

“We also serve authentic western dishes like pasta, soup and club sandwiches.

“Personally, I’ve always thought it was hard to find western dishes which taste authentic during the nine-day celebration, so that was how our cafe’s dishes came about,” she said.

Lily’s Vegetarian Cafe opens from 11am to 8pm daily.

Other dishes like char koay teow, fried noodles, economy rice and burgers are also available for 24 hours there until the end of the celebration next Wednesday.

The festival, which started on Tuesday, will see devotees partaking in a strict vegetarian diet for up to nine days.

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