Je, the Chinese rite of purification by switching to a vegetarian diet, is being celebrated at CentralWorld

The Vegetarian Festival, al¬so known as Je Fest is an ancient Chinese rite of purify¬ing the body. The annual fest is going on this week, with many urban Jepractitioners looking for innovative menus without meat.

CentralWorld is offering onestop eating at the International Vegetarian Food Festival.

It features more than 100 se¬lections from eight culinary in¬stitutions including the Royal College in the Court under the patronage of HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn and Le Cordon Bleu Dusit Culinary School in addition to 12 shops like Shibuya, Sang Kung Korean and Kozi Pizza and Pasta.

Among the dishes are tradi¬tional Thai chor muang with peanuts, as well as pizza, sa¬tay, sushi, spring rolls and Korean sai rung.

A special dish is raising funds for the Life Improvement Foundation of Children and Youth. The herbal soup is called som soot sao pan pee, made of rare som roots from China, and is believed to con¬tribute to longetivity.

A fauxmeat dish is lamb prik thai dam, made of fried tofu with black peppers, homemade nondairy ice cream and variety of herbal salads.

XTRA

The International Vegetarian Food Festival runs from 10 to 9 daily until October 8 at the Heaven Zone on the seventh floor of CentralWorld. Call (02) 866 6002.