Tofu Bar Restaurant
Open from 12 noon to midnight, Tofu Bar is by far Kanchanaburi's most reliable vegan find and it's right smack in the middle of the tourist end of town to boot. For 60 baht you can have a huge pot of Chinese tea whilst waiting for your meal to be cooked- the service can be slow, but it's worth the wait to know what you're eating is fresh and made to order. After dining at Tofu Bar three times I highly recommend it, and not just because it's the only vegetarian joint in the immediate area. The food is good, the staff are sweet, and it's a nice treat amidst the rows upon rows of tacky pop up bars and everyday tourist fayre.
Snacks and Soups
A mushroom lover's dream, these little parcels were filled with diced mushroom and deep fried. A definite hit with my partner.
You won't find a much bigger fan of tom kha than me, and this recipe didn't disappoint. Absolutely packed with delicious ginger, I also loved the heaping portions of both tofu and mushrooms.
Plenty of Tofu and Stir Fries
I saw this recommended elsewhere and that recommendation is to be passed on here: if you go to Tofu Bar, try the teriyaki tofu. The tofu is perfectly cooked, the texture wonderful, and the sauce is pretty yumtastic (how's that for descriptive).
Sweet and tangy with a black pepper undertone, not completely unlike a good sweet and sour sauce, the king of tofu is a dish I'd happily order again and again.
Not at all spicy, the chili fried mushroom is another great choice for a mushroom lover.
Vegetarian Festival Buffet
Comprising, at least when we dined there, of eight dishes, two or three curries, plus rice and noodles, the buffet was Tofu Bar's contribution to Thailand's vegetarian festival. Street food is a way of life for Thais, so it was nice to see this set out front of the restaurant for passersby to grab for a meal or snack. Dishes included (among other things) chewy and slightly spicy shiitake mushrooms, spicy sausages, spicy fried tofu in sweet sauce with basil, a filet of some sort with seaweed, and Chinese noodles.
Final Thoughts
Whether you've been relaxing with a peaceful afternoon's exploration along the River Kwai,* or have just enjoyed a full day out along the death railway, Tofu Bar is a welcome stop once back in town. Next time I'm in Kanchanaburi, I'll be sitting down once more to enjoy that gigantic pot of tea and some seriously swell tofu.
*Incidentally the river's name doesn't sound like a pouty toddler pronoucing the word "cry," a pronunciation which translates in Thai to "buffalo river." The movie perpetuates the myth of the river's name.