Saturday, December 22, 2007

PETA NAMES THE BEST OF 2007

Got this from RJ Ledesma through the Sai Shanti Yoga E-group. Just reposting it here.

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PETA NAMES THE BEST OF 2007

From Chimara's Faux Beef to Starbucks' Soy Latte to The Farm Restaurant in Batangas, Filipinos Are Helping to Fuel the Compassion Revolution

Manila — No matter where you go these days, you'll find that more and more people are demanding healthy, humane, and environmentally friendly vegan and vegetarian options. And nowhere is the trend more evident than in the Philippines , which is why People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals Asia-Pacific (PETA) combed the country to find the best of the best of everything vegetarian in the Philippines for 2007. The results are in and include the following:

· Best Vegan Sandwich : Chimara's Sweet Chili "Beef" Pita Romana

Even hard-core meat-eaters lick their chops at the thought of this meal-in-a-pita—juicy mock-beef served with fresh tomatoes, corn, and lots of fresh, spicy salsa.

· Best Dairy-Free Ice Cream: Soy Gelato at Pazzo in the Rockwell Mall

Pazzo's gelato is available in vanilla, chocolate, and chocolate-chunk flavors. All varieties are lactose-free, so they're a good choice for Filipinos—about 90 percent of Filipinos are lactose-intolerant.

· Best Vegetarian Grocer: Healthy Options

Featuring everything from veggie burgers and dairy-free ice cream to cosmetics and household products that aren't tested on animals, Healthy Options is the place to go for all your vegetarian and cruelty-free shopping.

· Best Vegetarian Appetizer: Queens Restaurant's Mock-Chicken Satay

You'll feel like royalty after your first taste of Queens ' succulent vegetarian meat chunks smothered in peanut sauce.

· Best Vegan Dessert: Chocolate Cake at Greens Café

The most chocolaty-chocolate cake in the land—bar none!

· Best Vegetarian Restaurant: The Farm in Batangas

The Farm is as unique a restaurant as you'll find anywhere, offering an extensive "raw" lunch and dinner buffet. The fresh fruits, vegetables, grains, and seeds are cooked at low temperatures in order to preserve all of their natural flavors and nutrition. Specialties including creamy yet dairy-free pastas, rich soups, tangy stir-fries, and fresh salads blanket the buffet tables. The lentil and walnut pâté—served with toasted-coconut crackers—is not to be missed.

· Best Vegetarian-Friendly Restaurant: Queens

Although it also serves nonvegetarian food, Queens offers a 16-page menu with an astounding 80 vegetarian dishes inspired by the cuisines of India, Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, and other Asian nations. PETA's favorites include the vegetarian-chicken satay, the gado-gado traditional Indonesian salad, tofu with fresh chili, and the perfectly spiced curry-vegetable pizza.

· Best Soymilk: Silk

Silk is available at many locations, including Rustan's Taste, SM supermarkets, and Landmark.

· Best Soy Latte: Starbucks

· Best Affordable Vegetarian Food: Bodhi

Pure and simple, Bodhi's mock-meats have it all over the "real thing."

· Best Vegetarian Indian Food: Prince of Jaipur

One taste of the lentil dahl says it all!

· Best Vegetarian Thai Food: People's Palace

PETA recommends the tofu red curry, the Som Tam, and the pomelo salad.

· Best Vegetarian Japanese Food: Red Kimono

Just ask for the meat- and egg-free menu at Red Kimono and you're all set. The best of the best includes the spinach layered with tofu and miso paste; homemade vegan mayonnaise swirled over the kyuri kani salad; vegetarian maki (which tastes like sushi); and for dessert, banana katsu with chocolate sauce (hold the ice cream).

· Best Vegetarian Chinese Food: Happy Veggie

Located in the heart of Manila 's Chinatown , Happy Veggie serves authentic and delicious Chinese cuisine with enough mock-meat dishes to satisfy any meat-eater.

· Best book: Skinny Bitch

Written by a former model and a former agent for a top U.S. modeling agency, Skinny Bitch uses an in-your-face approach to promote a healthy vegan diets as the best way to stay slim and fit and to help stop animal suffering at the same time.

"When it comes to delicious foods that are also kind to animals, your health, and the Earth, the Philippines doesn't take a back seat to anyone," says PETA Director Jason Baker . "With all the delicious meat- and dairy-free foods now available, there has never been a better time to go vegetarian."

A Locations and contact information for PETA's best of 2007 winners:

· Chimara: Level 4, Greenbelt 3, Ayala Center , Makati City ; (02) 757-

5652; Level 1, Entertainment Mall, SM Mall of Asia, Pasay City ; (02) 556-0809

· Pazzo: Powerplant Mall, Rockwell Drive , Corner of Estrella Street , Rockwell

Center, Makati , (02) 756-5011

· Healthy Options: HealthyOptions.com.ph

· Queens Restaurant: 146 Jupiter St. , Makati ; (02) 895-1316

· Greens Café: 20-A Scout Tuazon Corner Scout Castor, South Triangle, Quezon City ; (02) 410-2440

· The Farm (Batangas): TheFarm.com.ph

· Silk soymilk: Available at Rustan's Taste, SM supermarkets, and Landmark

· Starbucks: Starbucks.com

· Bodhi: SM Cubao, SM North EDSA , SM Megamall, SM South Mall, SM

City Manila , SM Makati

· Prince of Jaipur: Unit E, The Fort Strip , Bonifacio Drive , Bonifacio Global

City, Taguig; (02) 911-1204

· People's Palace: PeoplesPalaceThai.com

· Red Kimono: www.redkimono.com.ph

· Happy Veggie: ( 958 G. Masangkay St. ; (2) 245-9257

· Skinny Bitch (book): SkinnyBitch.net, also available at Powerbooks,

National Bookstore, and Fully Booked

For more information please visit PETAAsiaPacific.com.

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