We delved deeply into Happy Cow in order to rank the best countries and cities in Asia for vegans. We looked into both the number of vegan-only restaurants in each location, as well as restaurants serving vegan options.
It is important to keep in mind that Happy Cow generally only lists brick and mortar restaurants and not street vendors who may or may not have a permanent location. As such, and because most Asian cities have a large number of street vendors, the number of vegan options in each location is likely to be much higher.
For example, there are hundreds or thousands of street vendors all over India selling naturally vegan foods like fried bananas, wada, chat, etc. Most of them are not listed in Happy Cow.
We therefore recommend exploring the local street food in each Asian country and city you visit. You will almost certainly find an exciting array of vegan food options. Happy exploring and eating!
Here is what we found:
Japan
Vegan restaurants 419
Restaurants with vegan options 1633
Total 2052
Top 3 cities Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka
Thailand
Vegan restaurants 388
Restaurants with vegan options 952
Total 1340
Top 3 cities Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Phuket
Vietnam
Vegan restaurants 437
Restaurants with vegan options 333
Total 770
Top 3 cities Ho Chi Minh, Hanoi, Da Nang
Indonesia
Vegan restaurants 178
Restaurants with vegan options 533
Total 711
Top 3 regions Bali, Java, Sumatra
China
Vegan restaurants 293
Restaurants with vegan options 372
Total 665
Top 3 cities Hong Kong, Shanghai, Beijing
Korea
Vegan restaurants 133
Restaurants with vegan options 401
Total 534
Top 3 cities Seoul, Busan, Jeju
Malaysia
Vegan restaurants 133
Restaurants with vegan options 237
Total 370
Top 3 cities Kuala Lumpur, Penang, Petaling Jaya
Taiwan
Vegan restaurants 285
Restaurants with vegan options 79
Total 364
Top 3 cities Taipei, Taichung, New Taipei City
Philippines
Vegan restaurants 78
Restaurants with vegan options 251
Total 329
Top 3 cities Manila, Makati, Cebu
Singapore
Vegan restaurants 84
Restaurants with vegan options 265
Total 349
India
Vegan restaurants 89
Restaurants with vegan options 194
Total 283
Top 3 cities Mumbai, Bangalore, Pune
Cambodia
Vegan restaurants 8
Restaurants with vegan options 171
Total 179
Top 3 cities Phnom Penh, Sien Reap, Kampot
Sri Lanka
Vegan restaurants 15
Restaurants with vegan options 159
Total 174
Top 3 cities Colombo, Weligama, Mirissa
Laos
Vegan restaurants 10
Restaurants with vegan options 110
Total 120
Top 3 cities Luang Prabang, Vientiane, Nong Khiaw
Myanmar
Vegan restaurants 3
Restaurants with vegan options 76
Total 79
Top 3 cities Yangon, Nyuangshwe, Bagan
Nepal
Vegan restaurants 5
Restaurants with vegan options 39
Total 44
Top 3 cities Kathmandu, Pokhara, Lalitpur
Mongolia
Vegan restaurants 19
Restaurants with vegan options 5
Total 24
Top 3 cities Ulaanbaatar, Olgii, Dalanzadgad