9-DAY VEGETARIAN DIET

It is that time of year that I go on a vegetarian diet. Today is the second day of the Festival of the Nine Emperor God which means I have completed two days of the diet already.

I went with my mum to the Tow Bow Keong Temple on Sunday to offer our prayers to the deities. After we finished praying, we lined up to get coupons for the free vegetarian food which was served in the dining hall of the premise. The ingredients for the food were sponsored by devotees. I was told that many of the people manning the place offered their service free for the duration.

My plate of food in the first picture might not look much in terms of aesthetics but it does taste nice. To me going on a vegetarian diet is not very difficult as I don't take pork, chicken, beef, mutton or other types of red meat. I only take eggs and seafood.

According to my mum, when she first started feeding me solids, I would spit out whatever meat that she fed me. Instead, I would happily eat a bowl of rice with some warm water and light soy sauce. Until today my mum hasn't been successful at getting me to take meat. Whenever I am on a vegetarian diet for this particular festival, I would make sure that I don't accidentally consume anything that contains eggs, chives, garlic, onions, leeks, spring onions and other pungent spices. Eating eggs is prohibited during this 9-day period as chicks can be hatched from them. As the other taboo food, they are said to be aprodisiacs or stimulants.