Finding vegetarian restaurants in the Philippines is a piece of cake (vegan chocolate cake, that is!). If you're dining out anywhere in the country, a great way to try new foods is to eat at restaurants that offer a variety of vegetarian entrées—and fortunately, there are lots to choose from!

At Chinese, Italian, Indian, Japanese, Middle Eastern, Thai, and other ethnic restaurants, you'll find bean-curd (tokwa) dishes, vegetable fried rice, pasta, fabulous vegetable curries, lentil soup, potato-filled samosas, vegetable sushi, exotic dips, and other delights.

The following are some additional tips for finding great vegetarian food in any Philippine town:

* If you're stuck at a behind-the-times restaurant without many meat-free options, ask if the chef can whip up a vegetarian entrée. Some easy dishes include roasted eggplant, vegetable chop suey, pancit, kangkong adobo, and laing. Most restaurants will gladly accommodate special requests, and you'll be surprised by the creativity of some chefs!
* When dining at someone else's house, let your hosts know in advance that you're a vegetarian. Offer to bring a vegetarian dish to share, or buy some vegetables at a local market and prepare a dish for everyone to try.
* Street stalls throughout the country offer meat- and dairy-free foods, such as banana-que (fried bananas), fried tokwa, cassava cakes, plain puto, kamote-que (fried sweet potatoes), turon, and suman.
* Don't forget—most Starbucks, Seattle's Best, and The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf outlets offer soy milk as an alternative to cow's milk in their drinks.