It’s no secret that I love Indonesian culture and cuisine, but sometimes it can be a bit of a challenge to navigate a new area as a vegan. My boyfriend and I stayed in Labuan Bajo for a few days as part of our trip around Indonesia and did some extensive research on where to eat. There are no fully vegan restaurants or cafes in the town, but there are a handful of places that have clearly labelled vegan options which I much rather prefer over having to negotiate something different from their menu.

This seaside town is stunning, calm and the place to access tours to see interesting wildlife like Komodo dragons, Manta rays and turtles which we went on a day trip to see.

Here are a few places you should try if you decide to visit with some really delicious vegan options, so you can make the most of your trip while supporting the vegan options in the community.

1. Mugen Ramen & Grill

This is a Japanese inspired restaurant with a grand view of the sea which was a huge bonus.

There are 4 different types of vegan ramen to choose from and I tried the vegan tantanmen which felt like a comforting hug. I also tried the vegan curry ramen (not pictured) via food delivery which I believe used the same ingredients as the tantanmen but they just changed the sauce to a more soupy Japanese style curry. It was also very delicious and a great way to mix up the usual rice and thick gravy Japanese curry.

2. Bajo Bloom

This is a more Western inspired cafe, and it was really close to our accommodation, Zasgo Hotel. There are a few vegan options here which are tempeh based – including salads and wraps, and we tried the tempeh sandwich, which was like a burger. The bread was quite tough which made it challenging to eat with all the filling, but the marinated tempeh that was inside was divine! It was savoury yet slightly sweet and tangy.

I tried a traditional drink called Beras Kencur, which has rice, aromatic ginger, pandan leaves and palm sugar. It was quite sweet with herbal vibe.

We also tried the Rote Island smoothie bowl which was sweet yet had a nice tartness to it.

3. Wae Molas (Molas Cafe)

This cafe with clearly labelled vegan options was also walking distance from our hotel. We went on a day trip to Komodo Island and surrounding islands and by the time we got back to the hotel, I was quite exhausted and wanted to chill out at the hotel and eat takeaway. We tried spring rolls, an Indian curry and a chocolate cake.

It was quite tasty however the food we ate the next day was even better. We went to the actual cafe and tried the gado-gado spring rolls, which I thought was a genius fusion. It was pretty much all the ingredients in a typical gado-gado (green beans, tofu, tempeh, carrot and spinach) but wrapped up in a rice paper roll, with a tangy peanut sauce. The waffles and pancakes could be made vegan or vegetarian, so we got the waffles as well which came with sweet syrup and fruit. The drink we got was coconut water with pineapple and turmeric which was so refreshing and naturally sweet from the pineapple.

Bonus tip – when in doubt, find a warung!

Warungs are street food stalls and are pretty much everywhere in Indonesia, that have tasty and super cheap food. We found a warung near the harbour which served tempeh, tofu, noodles, rice and veggies.

If you have tried any of these places, do let me know your thoughts and I hope this was useful to show you the vegan spots on your next visit to Labuan Bajo.

Follow @cookwithpez on Instagram for more vegan cooking and travel tips around Indonesia.