A Few Good Vegetarian Restaurants on Guam January 10, 2012

Tumon: (located in Tumon on the road next to the beaches with all the hotels) Margarita’s Mexican Restaurant is one of the best spots on Guam for vegetarian and vegan burritos. You are given a choice between either a vegetarian (which includes sour cream) and a vegan (which includes a special sauce made of no milk products). They also use a herb that is not cilantro, tastes exactly like cilantro but high in all essential vitamins. The vegan burrito has to be the best burrito found on Guam so if you are a vegetarian, look for this on their menu. Moderately priced and worth every penny!

Dededo: Healthy Hearts completely vegetarian and vegan menu. Only opened for lunch but conveniently now has a small counter with wrapped sandwiches, salads, snacks and deserts for all day appetites. Their pies and cookies are completely vegetarian and more often vegan. Just ask Cheri, the owner, if you are vegan.

Dededo: Lee’s Garden predominately a regular Chinese restaurant, but most everything on the menu can have tofu substituted. You will have to tell the waitress that you would like your dish made with tofu instead. I always tell them to leave out the MSG. If you do not like garlic mixed in the dishes, let the waitress know that as well. They also have another restaurant called Lee’s Garden II located in Agat across the street from a hotel. I think this is better than the one in Dededo. The chef at this restaurant cooks the best American Chinese dishes with tofu. You will have to tell the waitress at this restaurant also that you would like tofu instead of meat in your dishes.

Dededo: Fortune Cookie has a dedicated vegan, vegetarian menu. (Please tell the waitress if you do not want fish sauce in the dish since some people have said they have forgotten and added it. Better safe than sorry if you are a vegan.) This is a Thai/Chinese restaurant. It is owned by a vegetarian. The tofu is purchased from the lady who makes homemade tofu at the Dededo flea market opened on Saturdays and Sundays, and is the best tofu on island. (The Dededo flea market is located across the street from the Fortune Cookie.) The prices are a little high but worth it since the tofu is so good. All their curry dishes are priced from $12-15 per dish. The non curry dishes are priced around $10 per dish.

Tamuning: Marianas Trench Thai restaurant with almost everything on the menu available with tofu. (Please let the waitress know if you do not want fish sauce included in the sauces.) Opened for lunch and dinner. Owned by a Thai Buddhist.

Hagatna: E-cafe A Chinese restaurant which has a vegetarian menu available. It is located in the corner of a strip of restaurants across the street from the Chamorro village. I have not been, but friends have told me that they have a vegetarian menu that is very good and that the owner is a Buddhist.

Hagatna: SDA, Simply Food Strictly vegetarian and often referred to as just SDA on island. It stands for Seventh-Day Adventist. The restaurant is located inside their store, a small distance from the Naval Hospital. They only have a lunch menu and change it each day. They create all vegan smoothies, along with herbal teas and also serve a shot of wheat grass if you’re interested. You can also stock up on snacks like chips, candies, cereals, soy milk, and tofu products to eat at home later.

You can also check the Guam Vegan blog for a few more restaurants that I have not tried: http://guamvegan.blogspot.com/

Guam Vegan Blog August 31, 2011

I stumbled into this website on the internet: Guam Vegan. It is all about the challenges of being a vegetarian and/or vegan on Guam. I love it since it not only lists vegetarian restaurants on Guam but also has articles on the local fruit found here and how to prepare it and eat it fresh!

 

A Taste of Taiwan – Chinese Culinary Exhibition in Guam: June 21 – 26, 2011 June 12, 2011

Renowned Chef Huang Te-Chung will be in Guam, as well as, Chef Huang Ching-Chi, from June 21 to June 26 to exhibit the art of Chinese culinary.

The exhibition is set to take place three days (22, 23 & 25 June 2011) at the Sunflower Restaurant in the Aurora Resort & Spa (Formerly Guam Okura Hotel) located in Tumon and one day (24 June 2011) at the Fo Guang Shan Buddhist Temple in Bello Road, Barrigada.

At Fo Guang Shan the exhibition will be Vegetarian Creations. The date is June 24, 2011 on Friday 3pm to 5pm.

Registration Fee is $20.00/person per session. As seats are limited, reservation(s) will be accepted with application and accompanying fee payment. Each session will feature six courses of stimulating and tantalizing dishes which will make attendance a truly spectacular and memorable experience.

For more information and details, please contact Nancy Tan at 477-7500 Ext. 125, Email: natan@teleguam.net, MeiLih Huang at 477-7058, Email: meilih.huang@gmail.com or the Taipei Economic & Cultural Office in Guam at 472-5865 or via facsimile: 472-5869.

This event is sponsored by the United Chinese Association of Guam, Guam Chinese School Foundation, Chinese School Board Association, Chinese Ladies Association of Guam and Fo Guang Shan Buddhist Temple (Buddha Light International) with partial funding from the Overseas Compatriots Affairs Commission and the Taipei Economic & Cultural Office in Guam.

Local Honey on Guam! June 2, 2011

Local honey from bees in your immediate area has always provided an added immunity to most allergies, is a natural sweetener and a way to support your health and your local community so the first stop when coming to Guam and living in Guam is to eat honey produced and made on Guam.

Know your honey! The honey sometimes packaged in stores may journey completely around the world and may not have that much honey in it at all. Some companies even add corn syrup and/or water to the honey to make a more substantial profit and actually treat their beehives with pesticides and antibodies. This practice is completely unhealthy for you and the bees! Don’t buy your honey in the grocery aisle next to the syrup when you can buy it from a local beekeeper, visit his/her hives, and see the bees in action!

The local honey supplier for Guam is Bonnie Bee Honey, and completely pure and healthy for you. My personal favorite is their Banana honey. (This is not banana flavored but rather where the bees predominately pollinated the banana trees in the area and is a lighter honey with a wonderful taste.) They also have mango and another variety that is darker and stronger tasting honey.  You should try them all since they come in five dollar containers along with ten dollar containers. It is located on Marine Corp Drive at Guam Lock & Key in Anigua. You can call for  directions at 477-7571.

There is a recent article from the Stars & Stripes if you would like to read more about Bonnie Bee Honey in Guam.

May 15th! Buddha’s Birthday – Everyone is Invited! May 5, 2011

Fo Guang Shan Guam Temple and Buddha’s Light International Association Guam Chapter cordially invite you to attend a “2011 Guam Buddha Birthday Community Festival” This year, we are having a Prayer and Fundraiser for the Earthquake Victims of Japan and organizing a Vegetarian Food Fair along with an arts and crafts table for the children to be held at Fo Guang Shan Guam Temple.

Date : Sunday 15 May, 2011

Time : 10:00 am ~15:00 pm

Where : Fo Guang Shan Guam Temple

Tel  : Fo Guang Shan Temple : 637-8678/79, Rich Huang：483-6689、Linda Lin Suda：788-6788, Yen Ou : 482-7017、Su Ching Hauan：898-9137, Grace Russell：734-6849、Randall Workman：686-6988

Fax : Fo Guang Shan Temple 637-4109

FAQ: Do you have to be a vegetarian to be a Buddhist? August 7, 2010

No. It is a personal choice in Buddhism whether you are a vegetarian or not a vegetarian. It makes no difference except to you. There are many Buddhists who are not vegetarians, as well as, many Buddhists who are vegetarians. You are not a better Buddhist by being a vegetarian or by not being a vegetarian. You are a better Buddhist by just discovering and demonstrating to the world your Buddhist’s nature.

We had a small discussion regarding vegetarianism in the English Dharma Study group. I will place some of the discussion here for further insight:

Pramila: Thai and Tibetan Buddhist monks eat meat, fish; Bengali Hindus Brahmins eat fish and rice which is all that is  available to them due to weather and soil conditions in that area.

When one chooses to be a vegetarian or take precepts to do some thing or restrict not to do something, they are practicing yoga.  Literal meaning of yoga is discipline.  When one chooses to be a vegetarian or wear certain clothes, they are practicing yoga.  Just like many forms of meditation.

Benny: Vegetarianism is not a goal. It is one of many forms or way of practice. It is a personal choice in any form of practice.

One most important point (or one can refer to as ‘goal’ ) of Buddhism practice is compassion. Being a vegetarian is one of many forms of practicing compassion. When a practitioner reaches a different level/area, he/she practices in different form/ways of his/her choice.

Susan: I think whatever you want to put into your mouth is a personal choice.  Middle way is the way for me.

Guam Vegetarian Restaurant: Healthy Hearts August 1, 2010

Healthy Hearts Restaurant located across the street from Lee Garden Restaurant in Dededo, is an all vegetarian restaurant with only organic foods. Sherry Chang, owner of Healthy Hearts, opened the store and restaurant with a background and understanding of macrobiotics.

The restaurant offers a daily vegetarian lunch menu along with smoothies, juices, salads, sandwiches, soups, side dishes, and desserts. It presently only serves lunch, and you can sign up for the daily lunch menu which changes weekly to be sent to you through email by just signing up on their mailing list at the store.

If you need directions to the store, call Healthy Hearts at 633-0886. It is opened Monday thru Saturday from 10:30am to 6pm.

(If you know of a restaurant in Guam that is mostly vegetarian, please let me know so we can include it in our restaurant guide.)