Eating vegan at a work lunch when nobody else is

The only vegan at the table

The team goes out for lunch, everyone orders meat and fish, and you are the one eating vegan. The awkwardness is real. Not because anybody is pressuring you, but because you do not want to slow the group down, or field the same question five times, or end up somewhere with nothing you can eat.

This lands hardest on people who are new to it, or who keep vegan days in the month — the first and the fifteenth — and have not yet worked out how to handle eating out. It is not difficult. It mostly comes down to a little preparation.

Before you go

Say something early, not at the table

If you know the lunch is happening, send a short message to whoever is booking: I am eating vegan today, pick somewhere with a vegan option if you can, otherwise I will order separately. There is no need to explain at length why you eat vegan.

Be flexible about the venue rather than moving the whole group

Not every restaurant does vegan food well. If the office always eats at the same place, work with what is on the menu: stir-fried vegetables, tofu, a soup not made on a bone stock. On a day when nothing fits, eat something beforehand or bring your own — that is the low-friction answer.

Once you are at the table

Order quickly and keep the table moving

Read the menu while you are waiting and decide fast, so nobody is held up by your order. If the menu does not mark vegan dishes, ask the server directly what is made without meat or fish; there is usually something.

Do not turn lunch into a case for eating vegan

When a colleague asks out of curiosity why you eat vegan, answer honestly in a sentence or two and let the conversation move on. Nobody needs converting. A meal together is for the company, not for settling who is right.

If your office eats out often, carry your own

A lot of people go the simpler route and bring their own vegan lunch, so the venue stops mattering. At Banh Mi XANH there is Thập Cẩm at 59,000d, Chả Lát Chay at 53,000d and Đậu Hũ Cay at 56,000d; Bơ Đường at 28,000d for a lighter lunch; and the big Thượng Hạng Premium at 75,000d for a day that needs to hold through to the evening. The shops are open 24 hours, so you can buy before an early start or late on an overtime night.

To drink there is Black Coffee at 35,000d, Nut Milk Coffee at 45,000d, Jasmine Lemon Tea at 36,000d, Nut Milk Bubble Tea at 45,000d, or the Brown Sugar version at 48,000d.

Ordering, at any hour

Whether it is a delivery to the office for the whole team or one lunch for yourself, call 0923.183.183 or order through the delivery page. Orders from 500,000d within 5km are delivered free. The five shops are:

• 38 Lê Thị Riêng, District 1
• 15B Nguyễn Thị Minh Khai, District 1
• 2B Trần Hưng Đạo, District 1
• 148B Đề Thám, District 1
• 210 Bùi Văn Ba, District 7

Keeping it up is not about one perfect meal

What makes eating vegan last is being comfortable with it rather than braced against it. On a day when there is nothing you want, eat the vegetables and make up for it at the next meal. Lunch with colleagues does not have to go perfectly every time — it only has to not be the thing that makes you give up over a few awkward moments.

Quick questions

What if the restaurant has nothing vegan?

Order vegetables, tofu, or a soup not made on a bone stock if they have one. Otherwise eat something beforehand or bring your own — there is no need to make the group move.

Should I tell colleagues that I eat vegan?

Yes. One short message before the venue is chosen makes it easier on both sides, and saves any fumbling when the orders are taken.

What about a company party on a vegan day?

Go as normal, take the vegan dishes that are on the table, or eat a little beforehand and have something light there for the company.

Do you deliver to offices?

Yes. Call 0923.183.183; orders from 500,000d within 5km are delivered free.

I am new to this. Where do I start?

Start with a few days a month — the first and the fifteenth — and add more as it becomes familiar. There is no need to go full-time from the beginning.

Is a vegan banh mi as filling as an ordinary one?

Thượng Hạng Premium at 75,000d is the big one and holds through a whole working session. The rest run from 28,000d to 59,000d depending on how much you want.