GEORGE TOWN, Oct 23 — World Meatless Day is only a month away and one of the best states in Malaysia to get a variety of vegetarian meals is Penang.

In a state where the Nine Emperor Gods Festival is celebrated by devotees going vegetarian during the nine-day festival in the ninth lunar month, it is no wonder that the state has so many vegetarian eateries.

Next month, World Meatless Day will also be celebrated with a vegetarian festival where thousands pledge to go meatless on November 25.

The types of vegetarian meals in Penang are varied, from the Chinese-style economy rice offering a spread of vegetarian dishes to eggless cakes, vegetarian “chicken chops” and burgers.

In recent years, the vegetarian trend has been on the rise as more vegetarian restaurants opened. Health food stores and organic vegetarian restaurants are also slowly opening up all over the state.

A simple meatless meal at any vegetarian economy rice stall will consist of a choice of green vegetables ― stir fried a variety of ways ― and mock meat such as chicken, fish, lamb and even duck, cooked either in a curry, stir fried, deep fried or in a thick gravy.

If the Chinese-style dishes are not your thing, over in Little India and at most banana leaf rice restaurants, there are vegetarian rice sets available.

There are also specialty vegetarian Indian restaurants.

If you would like to go the healthy, organic way, the few organic vegetarian restaurants offer preservative-free and MSG-free food where most ingredients are sourced fresh locally and seasoned as naturally as possible.

So, here’s where you can go for some healthy meatless vegetarian meals in Penang:

Ee Beng Vegetarian Food

20, Dickens Street, George Town

Time: 7am-8pm

This shop has a buffet spread of vegetarian dishes so you can take your pick of what you want to go with either white rice or brown rice. They also offer some noodle dishes that are cooked to order along with Nyonya kuih and vegetarian pau.

Woodlands Vegetarian Restaurant

60, Penang Street, George Town

Time: 8.30am-10pm

This is one of the more popular Indian vegetarian restaurants that offers a special thali which is rice served with vegetables, dhal and curries. They also offer other dishes such as chapati and thosai, but do note that some dishes are available only for breakfast and some for lunch and dinner.

The Leaf Healthy House

5, Penang Street, George Town

Time: 11.30am-9pm

This is one of the healthy vegetarian eateries that do not use preservatives and MSG. It boasts of using minimal seasonings except from the natural flavours of the food. They offer a variety of specialties from spaghetti to rice sets to noodle soup.

Lily’s Vegetarian Kitchen

98, Noble House, Madras Lane, George Town

Time: 9am-9pm

This place has a buffet spread of dishes for lunch and they also has an a la carte menu with Western options like chicken chop and fish and chips, all made from mock chicken or fish of course. They also offer a list of rice and noodle dishes from mee goreng to lotus rice.

Sushi Kitchen

2A-1, Jalan Sungai Ara, Desa Ara, Sungai Ara

Time: 11.30am-10pm

Ever tried vegetarian sushi? Well, at this restaurant, you can have your fill of vegan sushi, tempura and Japanese-style fried noodles and rice.