We are considering going to Kunming for 1 year, but my girlfriend cannot eat any "normal" meat because the taste of meat makes her literally sick (unfortunately including even broth made from bones etc. :( ). But she's OK with fish, other "sea creatures" and pretty much anything else besides meat-made products.

Is it a problem in Kunming, or she can easily get even vegetarian food and fish in Kunming (for the +- same prices as meat), so she wouldn't suffer there? Prices for schools and housing on the east coast of China are quite too expensive for us and Kunming looks very interesting, but this might be a problem... :(

Thank you!

I'm a vegetarian, here are my thoughts:

- If eating at home, Kunming has loads of delicious vegetables, and we are lucky enough to have some organic vegetable, dairy and egg options now.

- There are plenty of fish options in Kunming, ranging from unimpressive bony little fish on sticks to fat imported salmon steaks.

- When eating out, make sure you know how to tell staff in Chinese that you're vegetarian, which should also convey that you don't want any ground meat, ham or soup stock made from meat to be in your food.

- Even if it seems like a menu item should be vegetarian, it is worth mentioning to staff that you don't eat meat. Sometimes seemingly vegetarian items on menus here may be stir-fried with bits of ground pork or ham.

- Kunming does have a few vegetarian restaurants and many restaurants have encountered vegetarian customers at some point, so it's not as foreign a concept as it used to be.

All in all, being a vegetarian in Kunming (or anywhere else in China for that matter) can occasionally be inconvenient, but it shouldn't be a dealbreaker if you're thinking about moving out here.

Thank you very much, chris!
It really helped me! :)

There is a wealth of different kinds of tofu to try as well. China is used to vegetarians and special diets for religious reasons.

But really you are better off cooking at home.

The 'wet' markets have many vendors of fish, most alive, and they will kill and clean them for you. These are mostly river species, and river fish have an earthy flavour. There are also farmed turbot, and lots of crayfish and other shell fish.

Metro is a local cash and carry wholesaler (easy to get a card) and they also do a reasonable range of frozen sea fish.

As already mentioned, lots of fresh veg, many of them wild. You can try lots of new things. There is also a big range of fresh fungi available.

Eggs are easy, and cheese (rare in supermarkets) is available for specialist local shops, run by expats.

Thanks a lot!
I'm happy to hear that it should be OK in Kunming. I, on the other hand, love meat, but I though it might be a problem in there for her since the city is relatively high and distant from the seashore...

tips to remove the earthly taste from the river fish....
buy it alive... bring it back home and put a tablespoon of salt into the water where the fish is kept. Leave it for about an hour. As the fish continue to live in the salt water, it will absorb the salt into its body and releases the earthy smell. Got this tip from a chef friend.

I suggest that you learn how to say "sick" in Mandarin. I do not take any MSG in my meals. Many times I told them not to include it, they will still do it till I tell them that I get sick whenever I take MSG in my food. They take instructions well that way because they do not want to be responsible for a sick foreigner! lol!

By the way, they use lots of chicken stock for cooking. You mite want to let know that you do not want it in your food if she is can't take it.

Good Luck!

Thanks for the tip! Though I don't know if I could kill the fish... I have no problems watching it being killed by the seller or anything, but... Well, I guess I have to start practicing! :D

And how to say "sick" so they understand that I REALLY do not need any meat or even meat broth/whatever? (The important thing is the slightest taste of meat, not the optical or even physical absence of it).

Thank you!

I have lived in kunming my whole life and i do not eat meat (except fish) dairy or eggs and i do just fine here :). You will not be able to find very many noodle dishes and broths that are not made of meat but there are PLENTY of vegetables, vegetables are a much larger part of the Chinese diet than in America. there are lots of fresh fruit and vegetable markets and most restaurants have meatless dishes. Good luck!

I do not eat much meat and my wife is Buddhist and prefers to eat no meat including fish. I typically eat no meat when I eat with her and do eat seafood. Now I used to live in Seattle where there were plenty of vegetarian and vegan restaurants (and plenty of militant vegans to eat in them) and most other restaurants had vegetarian options. But this is not Seattle and I've known a couple vegetarian types here who just can't stop ranting how they can't what they want the way they want it.

Even telling the staff "wo bu chi rou" (I don't eat meat) is no guarantee that you will get what you want any more than saying "wo bu yao la jiao -or-bu la" ( I don't want spicy pepper or spicy food). I still get inediblely spicy food with the staff telling me "that is not spicy" wei la. wei la! I'd hate to try the spicy then. Some foreigners will just go nuts over this I have seen posts here from vegetarians from the west who all but feel the establishments here are incompetent and argue with staff and managers. I know some Buddhist people and even they must make some compromises with broth or a vegetable dish with some pork added to it which they move to the side. Your GF seems like this is too much for her to deal with. But eating dead and butchered fish is okay I guess.

As far as telling cooks here you want no meat broth or this or that it may not be effective. It is not the US and cooks will cook the way they want and add what they want. They amy or may not hold back MSG or red chili pepper. They are cooking fast and use the same method over and over. They may think it is insult you do like their food the way they have always prepared it. If you complain too and too rudely much they add a glob of spit t your recooked order. I will say that the slightest taste of meat thing is going too far and that unless you cook at home all the time you will have a hard time being happy eating out. Other people here are saying no problem but I feel they are able to bend a bit more than your GF is willing to do.

One dish I like is Japanese Tofu (ri ben dou fu) and normally it is a meatless dish. I ordered it at Guo Zi Lou last week and it had ground pork all in it. I didn't want any pork in it. When we asked about it we were basically told that is the way the cook makes it. It is his style of ri ben dofu. That was that. I managed. And in China if you don't like a dish and don't eat it you still pay for it. It is not the west. There may be exceptions to this people people can cite but that is the rule. If you order a chicken dish and you get a plate of chicken bones (as happened to me in BJ when I order some kou shui ji) you still pay for it.

There is a lot of seafood here and one fish I like is called Luo Fei Yu. The bones are big and not a problem for me. I hate to take a bite of fish and have to pick out 15 hair sized bones from my mouth. But I tend to have to buy it and prepare it at home to get it the way I want it.

To me sounds like your GF will be having problems("suffering") all the time if she cannot compromise like even Buddhists do and so the best thing to do is cook at home or eat cabbage and rice while out and then there will be no worries.

And while prices are lower in KM but so is pay so that is something to consider. I knew guys in BJ making 15,000 RMB a month for PT ESL work. You won't make half that here working your butt off.