UnchainedTV: The 5 Top Secrets to Successful Vegan World Travel

0:00 What a guest we have for you today. She has a show that is now streaming on Unchained TV. You can travel around the world with her. Her name is Eunice Reyes of Rated V for Vegan. Wow, this is incredible. We are so excited that her show, check this out.

0:41 Looks like meat, isn't it? It's not. It's 100% vegan, and you're going to find out all about it. The one and only Eunice Reyes, Rated V for Vegan, now streaming on Unchained TV. Welcome. Wow, how did you get into this business where you literally are travelling the world eating the best vegan food on the planet? Must be nice. Thank you. Hi, Jane. Thank you for having me on here. Oh, my gosh. It's been a journey. It's funny because when I started, I wasn't initially kind of thinking it as a business. Obviously, like most content creators, they kind of start like, oh, let me just try this, right?

1:22 I literally started about a little over five years ago with an iPhone 7 and a big idea and had no clue what I was doing. I just knew that I somehow wanted to showcase worthy vegan food. At the time, I was still, I had just become plant-based, so I had just become vegetarian with the goal of eventually becoming vegan. And then the reason I did it was because I, growing up, I've always been exposed to vegan vegetarian food, and I liked it, right? So I kind of grew up side by side trying both foods. So I always knew that vegan food was very delicious and it was very creative to cook with. I started using it more at home. Like I would, you know, experiment with vegan baking.

2:04 And then, so I've always had this interest in health and vegan food, right? And then there was one time where I watched a documentary called What the Health? And I remember after watching it, I was just like, I literally was like, I know too much. I know too much information now. I don't know. I know I need to just stop eating meat. Like it was one of those things where I was like, I need to eventually move toward a vegan diet. You know, it's one of those, and that's the beautiful thing of these documentaries, and particularly that style of that one, I really liked how it was very health focused, but it also touched on, you know, like the ethical side of like the food, like what the food industry is doing, like how veganism can really help, you know, be more ethical with your choices, right?

2:47 So at the time though, I was, and I still am a huge consumer of food and travel shows and the food YouTubers that would go around and review a bunch of time. One of my favourites were the Fung Bros. They still are. And they would go around to different restaurants and just educate people on the type of food and what to order, et cetera. But when I decided to go plant-based, I was like still watching the same content. And I was like, I can't eat that anymore. I can't eat that anymore. I can't eat that anymore. You know what I mean? So I was like, oh my gosh, how come nobody has like content on YouTube where you're going around reviewing food from different cities or countries, but, you know, plant-based.

3:29 So I was like, you know what? I think I want to do this. And at the time I was like, you know what? I would love to start some kind of content creation, like business eventually, you know? So like, let me just play into this. So this is my encouragement to anybody who's thinking of starting something new, literally don't overthink it. Start with what you have. Again, I had an iPhone 7, and I Googled what, you know, microphone should you use for vlogging, right? And so just like, I started with the bare minimum and kind of just took it from there. Obviously from there, I started refining more and more of like the storytelling. I had the opportunity then to live in Spain for two years because I did a teaching English programme.

4:11 And that's where I got to film a lot of places in Spain and a lot of places in like, and other places in Europe. So I got to go to Paris and London and, you know, Portugal and all these other places. And so it really allowed me to have more time to really focus on the YouTube channel that I had. And now, you know, then I upgraded to a camera. So now I use a camera. You know, like. We are going to hear all about your travels. Like I say, you figured out like possibly the best job on the planet for a vegan. Travelling the world and sampling the best, most gourmet or the most fabulous street food in the world that is 100% vegan.

4:56 We're going to reveal your top five secrets for enjoying vegan travel in the show. But first we've got a caller. We've got Paige in Los Angeles. Your question or thought for Unistray is. Oh my gosh. I love what you just shared because I feel like sometimes people think that we're deprived as vegans. We're not going to get the best food. And I love that you're like, oh no, I can do this. So that's the first thing I want to say. Thank you so much for the work you do. Secondly, I want to ask you this question. How do we get your show and the other things that are on the fabulous streaming network, out to the main stream people?

5:40 How do we do that? What are your thoughts? So that's actually my big dream. Like when I first started this, I was like, you know what, one day I want to be on like Netflix or like some major streaming platform, right? Because my goal, and this is something that I like to share, is my goal is not to convert people to veganism. I know some people are like, what? What do you mean? But your channel is all vegan. Like, no, my goal is actually to like show people a positive experience. Have them have a positive experience with vegan food and excite them about vegan food. Like, obviously I'm vegan and I'm all for a vegan diet. I will like, you know, talk about like how amazing it is. But for someone who's not vegan, if they were to watch my channel, I want them to get excited and be like, hey, like, you know, I don't eat that, but I kind of want to try it, right?

6:26 And so, you know, I love storytelling. I love interviewing chefs as to why they choose to go vegan. I've met so many incredible people on my travels and like why they started their businesses, like why they started vegan food. Like one amazing story I love is like, for example, in Spain, this family had an all vegan meat shop in the central market in Spain, surrounded by other butchers, which you would think that's extreme. Like, why would you go in there as a vegan? But they were doing, that was like their form of advocacy of being like, and the story that they would often get is people would, like an old grandpa would come in and be like, hey, my doctor said I can't eat meat anymore, but you sell vegan meat and I want to try it and it tastes just the same.

7:13 So now I'm happy that I don't have to give the food I grew up with, right? And it helps lower the cholesterol, all that stuff, right? So anyway, sorry, I kind of went on a tangent, but to answer your question, my goal is to eventually work with other people that obviously I can't do this right now at the level I'm at, I'm a one man show. So I need bigger help to come in to make that dream come true of how to get it to the main audience. But obviously being on Unchained, that helps a lot. That's one stepping stone. So thank you, Jane. And just thank you also for your support and appreciating the travel that I'm sharing. Well, guess what? We're also aiming for the mainstream because we're a global streaming network growing every single day.

7:53 Boy, you've got callers here. Tiffany in Los Angeles, we're going to whip through these because they're lining up. Your question or thought for Eunice Reyes, star of Rated V for Vegan. Hi, Jane, thank you for taking my call. Yes, this is making me so hungry. Have you thought about doing any, I know, I'm like, where can I find some of this? Have you thought about doing any tours? Line me up where you take people on a tour. So funny. Yes, so funny actually that you mentioned that. I actually have a vegan trip to Vietnam coming up in November. You are still able to sign up if you're interested.

8:34 I'm also helping promote the vegan itinerary in Seoul, South Korea. That one is coming up really quick though at end of May. So there are vegan itineraries that I've partnered with different people. I will actually be at the one right now in November in Vietnam. That's a seven day itinerary. So there you can check out more out on my Instagram page. You'll see a Vietnam channel on my page or even my LinkedIn bio to get more information. But yes, I'm starting to do that. And I think it's going to be a lot of fun because I just love travelling and it'd be fun to meet other vegans who are also passionate about vegan food and travel. So those are some options. That's a great idea.

9:14 I actually sent my late mother on a trip to Vietnam through a museum and she had the time of her life and it was really one of the highlights of her life. And so she was just filled with stories for years about Vietnam and what an incredible place it is and the incredible people. Actually brings tears to my eyes just thinking about that. That sounds like something I would love to do. Again, tell everybody your Instagram handle because they can DM you if they're interested in that tour. Yes. So it's at RatedVFood on Instagram. Got it. Okay, we've got another caller.

9:56 Lindsay in Tarzana, your question or thought for Eunice Reyes. I just wanted to say, I am so honoured to meet you. And the reason being just for two things, I have a husband that, he loves to travel and he said to me when I became vegan, oh, well that ruins everything because when you go to travel, you want to go and experience the food. So this is a wonderful way to watch your show and to see what you're doing, to learn about that and to have places to go. The second thing, I think you're a super inspiration to all of us that are in the vegan community and you became an entrepreneur and was able to do what you're doing and be an inspiration for other people.

10:47 Oh, thank you so much. Yeah, thank you. Well, I think she's absolutely right. You basically are doing what everybody would like to do. Frankly, I'd like to do it. I'd like to travel the world and just sample the best vegan food. I've done that somewhat, vegan Berlin, vegan England, but not to the extent that you've done it. And what I really like, and as soon as we get this next caller in, I'm gonna play a couple of clips of you diving deep into the ethnic food of the regions that you're at. Let's get one more caller. Nilofar in Dallas, Texas.

11:29 Your question or thought for Eunice Reyes, star of Rated V for Vegan on Unchained TV. Hi, my question is for Jane in regards to the fabulous Eunice. Jane, how did you discover Eunice? Well, I, you know, I'm always, okay, because I have a vegan streaming network, which is right behind me here on my Samsung TV with 2000 videos. And I'll tell you, we get videos in all the time. I stay up till one o'clock almost every night. Well, you know, let's be realistic, maybe 1030 at night uploading videos. But I'll tell you, a lot of them are serious, depressing videos about what's happening to animals.

12:12 I'm always on the lookout for something fun because we got to get people in the tent. We got to show them that veganism is a joyous experience. And it's not just about ending animal suffering. That's a big thing. But we want to show that we're happy. My worst day as a vegan is better than my best day eating animals. And so when I saw Eunice Reyes and her videos on YouTube and she's having a great time and I'm learning about these different cultures and these different places. And I just was like, we have to have her on Unshade TV. She's fun. And people who are vegan or not vegan are going to be interested in watching her because you feel like you're in the country when you are watching these videos.

13:00 You feel like you've just gotten on a plane and taken a trip there. And I want to play exhibit A. Okay, Mexico City is one of the top vegan cities in the world now. And I want you to talk about this on the other side. But they created a vegan meat that usually you see on a spit and usually I go, oh. You've got to check this out because it looks like meat. You say it tastes like meat, but it is not meat. And it is something absolutely fantastic. Let me, here it is.

13:41 Al Pastor in Mexico City. Check this out and tell me if you think it looks like meat, but it's not. Every day, the vegan Al Pastor is made out of wheat gluten and marinated for 24 hours. Then it's hand-picked to form the perfect shape on the spit. The iconic pineapple is then placed on the spit as the base for the meat to be formed. And cut and grilled for the perfect juicy crisp. Then it's, of course, served with locally made tortillas garnished and topped with the iconic pineapple. Okay, and now it's time for the best part to try the Al Pastor tacos that they are known for.

14:24 I have been eyeing this thing just from seeing it on the spit. Oh, my gosh, it looks absolutely amazing. I topped it off with their guacamole salsa. It's guacamole habanero, so it's the spiciest one that they have here at the restaurant. They serve it with beans on the side. It's just, oh, I love that they put the double tortilla, so it's like a really good filling meal. All right, cheers. ♪♪♪ I love that the meat is, like, really juicy inside. It has that nice char on the outside. The colour is beautiful. Due to the adobo sauce that they put on top, it's the perfect spice level.

15:06 It has a great flavour. It doesn't feel dry. It feels meaty. It hits that spot for that craving that you want. Especially if you're in Mexico City, you want Al Pastor tacos. Come on, like, that's what they're known for here. So you don't have to miss out. You get to enjoy that as well. I love that the pineapple gives that sense of sweetness. The lemon that you put on top is great. You have to get this. This was incredible to me because I see these spits with meat when I see street food wherever I go, and, frankly, I'm repulsed. But you have just totally shown us how it could be reinvented. How did you discover that? And how do we get that to Los Angeles and all over the world? That's what I've been saying.

15:47 I was like, how do we get this to Los Angeles? So I actually had heard about it from a few people. They had recommended it to me when I started telling them that I was travelling through Mexico City. And so when I found them on Instagram, I was like, oh, my gosh, I have to go here. So for those wondering what it's made out of, it's made out of vital wheat gluten, so AKA seitan, right? But they just rolled it out and moulded it in the same way that it would look like meat, right? Food is so iconic in Mexico City, or just Mexico. Food is a big deal in all of Latino culture. And what I love about this restaurant, their story was like, no, we wanted to kind of show people you don't have to give up the food that you grew up with. And we also wanted to make it accessible.

16:28 So their prices are very reasonable. They're not expensive because they didn't want that stigma of like, just because it's vegan, it's expensive, right? Because a lot of restaurants here kind of can be, right? But I just, I love the two, like they have a little sign that says vegan, right? But because it's on the street and they have it, you know, it first started as a food cart, like a little, like the taco carts, like you see all over Mexico City. So that was how they first started and now they expanded to the restaurant. So they have the al pastor, like the spit on the street. And they said one time, this guy comes in, has no idea that it's vegan because you wouldn't know, honestly, walking by it, you would have no idea it's vegan. He comes in, he orders his tacos, right?

17:09 Because the menu also is like carnitas, al pastor, it doesn't really say vegan, except for the front page. And then the guy finishes his food and he goes up to the cook and he was like, that was the best pork I ever had. And the cook goes, that was made out of wheat. And the guy was like, what? So that's it. I just love their form of activism. They're just doing it through food. That guy probably would have never even thought about veganism until that day. He was probably like, wait, what did I just eat? That tasted like meat, but it wasn't animals, right? And so I just absolutely love that. And I heavily do research. I know we're gonna maybe talk about this later on like tips of vegan travel, but one of the things I like to say is, I like to look, I'm such a food nerd.

17:54 Like I just love learning about food. And so typically something I'll do is I will search what the popular foods are in that city in general. Like what are the iconic foods of that city? And then once I made a list of like, oh, this is what they're known for. I'll go into Google or Instagram and then specifically type that dish with vegan next to it to see if I can find a restaurant that has a vegan option, right? So that's kind of what my thought process, because I wanna immerse myself in the culture and the food as well, right? Oh yeah. I mean, I think that's a great idea and I've travelled a lot. It never occurred to me. And we're gonna recap that in a minute because that's really important. We've got a caller, Michelle in Los Angeles.

18:35 Your question or thought for Eunice Ray is rated V for vegan. Now streaming on Unchained TV. Hi, Eunice. I love your show. The first time I saw it, I was thinking to myself, this is what we need. So I have a lot of friends who are not vegan and the biggest thing is that they say going vegan, they're gonna lose their like heritage and the ethnicity. There's like no soul in vegan food and you found it. So what have you found with other people around you that are not vegan? Do they say the same? What's your opinion? Oh yeah. So I'm Salvadorian. I'm 100% Salvadorian.

19:15 So growing up, I ate a lot of pupusas, which are, for those familiar, there are corn tortillas stuffed with cheese and beans, right? Those are my favourite. There's stuff with meats as well, but my favourite, that's the one. And there's a lot of other dishes that they have in Salvadorian food. And so when I first became vegan, I was like, wait, am I gonna give up these foods? And my first reaction was absolutely not. I love being in the kitchen and I knew there was gonna be a way where you can definitely still keep the foods that you eat. You just have to find the right alternative, right? And it's all a matter of just doing a little bit of research. You do have to like cooking.

19:56 I will have to say that. But even then, there's so many amazing vegan YouTubers and Instagrammers that cook that have done amazing things of keeping their heritage, but just finding the right alternative. I'm seeing Caribbean food, Chinese food, Latin American, but anywhere, you name it, it's out there. And there's anything you can eat, I can eat vegan is what I like to say. So you can definitely eat everything you grew up with. You just have to find the right substitute. And every time I like, I'm the only one in my family that's vegan. Thankfully, my family is very open. They just like food in general. So when I make them like, my Salvadorian breakfast, which is typically like scrambled eggs with tortilla and crema and beans.

20:42 Like I've made my tofu scramble, my cashew crema. And then I say, they serve everything the same. Beans, plantains, avocado. I just gave this to my mom this morning. She's like, this is delicious. Like my parents love it every time I give it to them. My aunts love it. My cousins love it. So it's like, but because they're just not familiar with making it themselves, they're kind of like, wait, how do I do this? So it does require effort. But the first step is to just make the decision that you want to try it, right? And so, but I'm here to tell everyone that, yeah, it's 100% possible to keep eating your favourite foods, but you can have them vegan as well. I like your phrase, everything you can eat, I can eat vegan. I think we got to do some kind of a rap song with that or something.

21:23 You have so many great videos. Again, they're streaming on Unchained TV. This one really blew me away because it sounds like you've been researching South Korean food for a long time. Let's watch. We'll talk on the other side. Seoul mixes the cutting edge with deep tradition. And now they have a vegan scene to show off. I'm Eunice, and I'm going to show you five must-try vegan spots in Seoul and sights you need to see. Let's go. For our first meal, I had to check out this all-vegan Korean restaurant. I'm at Vegan Kitchen here in Seoul, very close to Seoul Station.

22:06 I love that it's very hard to miss. You walk down the street, that's on the big green sign. This is Vegan Kitchen. I couldn't resist because I really wanted to get japchae. If you're not familiar with japchae, japchae are glass noodles here. It's a very traditional dish. It's just vegetables. A lot of times, they do make it everywhere else with vegetables, but they add meat. Here, it's all vegan, obviously. I also got tteokbokki. Tteokbokki is these Korean rice cakes. They're fried rice cakes, and they come in a sauce and everything. It's the chewy texture that gets me every time. It's delicious. I love it. Then, I couldn't resist because I had to get what I like to call the original KFC Korean fried chicken, but vegan. Here, you can get a bunch of different flavours.

22:47 I got the garlic fried one. You have spicy and everything. The cool thing is, you can order from a screen, and the little robot brings all the food, and they got you your banchan. Your banchan comes first. All those phrases. How did you familiarise yourself with all that South Korean food and the dishes and the names and the pronunciations? Like I mentioned before, I'm a total food nerd. I've actually liked Korean food for a very long time now, even before I went. I really got into K-dramas. What's that? Korean dramas. Oh, my gosh. If you have not watched any Korean dramas on Netflix, they're so good.

23:29 They're just more wholesome. They're very wholesome, but they're suspenseful. They make you laugh. They make you cry. They're really romantic. It's really fun. Just brace yourself because each one is like an hour and a half long of episodes. Before I even went to Seoul, I just love trying foods that are different, something that I grew up with, and I just like educating myself about them. In Long Beach, for those of you who don't know, Long Beach has an amazing Korean restaurant called Sura. They offer a whole vegan menu, a huge vegan menu, even though the restaurant itself is not fully vegan. Everything that they have non-vegan, they make a vegan option for, so you can also get the hot tofu soup.

24:15 You can also get the japchae, which is those glass noodles. Dduk-go-chi is the rice cakes on a skewer. The Korean fried chicken, they make it there too, so you definitely should try it out. The research side of me, the food travel nerd of me, I will watch stuff about Korean food, even if it's not vegan, just to educate myself, because I like to learn what people eat. The K-dramas, they do that as well. Somebody told me they also like to promote their cuisine in the shows. Naturally, you kind of start watching these shows, and you're like, that looks kind of good.

24:56 I wonder if there's a vegan version of that. I definitely learned that way too about some of these dishes. All right, we've got Kim in Culver City. Your question or thought for Eunice Reyes, star of Rated V for Vegan on Unchained TV. Hey, thank you. I was wondering, in your travels, how do you know which restaurants to go? Do you use Happy Cow? And then also, do you ever have a language barrier issue? Oh, that's a good question. I just want to start by putting up your five tips, because one of the top tips, which I totally agree with, is download the Happy Cap app, Happy Cow app.

25:39 I have gone from all across the world, from Berlin to Texas to the Caribbean. The Happy Cow app on my phone has literally directed me. That's number three on your top five vegan travel tips. So let's talk about the language barrier issue, and then we're going to dive into your top tips. Okay, so first on, do your research also. I do occasionally use Happy Cow, but surprisingly, I actually use Instagram a lot more. I'm a visual person, so I like to see foods that look really good. So I'll go on Instagram and type in hashtags like vegan soul, you know, vegan Madrid. And the reason I like doing that is because not only do tourists, like people on their travels, hashtag it, but so do locals and local restaurants, because they know oftentimes people travelling are looking for it too.

26:30 So you get the people who are travelling and also the locals posting about their businesses constantly. So that's how I tend to find a lot of my stuff. Say it again. Say it again. For those who are maybe not as proficient, where are you going? What are you putting in? How are you doing it? So if you upload, if you log into Instagram, there's a search bar. And in the search bar, I would put hashtag vegan like Madrid, right? Vegan Mexico City or something. And then it'll pull up a whole like, you know, you just start seeing all these beautiful photos of food or just anything, right? So I'll usually scroll and see what food captivates me or looks similar to what I'm looking for.

27:10 And I'll start researching, oh, what's the name of this restaurant? And then I make my own Google Maps. So I have a Google Map for every country I've been to. I'm actually thinking about maybe selling these. Because it's fun that every single one that I've been to and I've vetted it myself kind of thing or places that I wish I wanted to go to, I just didn't have the time. So I just organise my travels that way to be like, okay, I want to go try this food, this food, this food. And in between, I'm going to do my tourist attractions, right? In terms of the language barrier, it's helpful that I speak Spanish too. So depending on which part of the world I'm at, I can speak two languages. So that's helpful. So in Spain, it was very easy for me. But in places like Korea and like Tokyo where people are very friendly, but the English is maybe not as prominent.

27:56 There are a lot of people that speak English, but it's not as common in, let's say, Singapore, for example. I use the Google Translate app a lot and bless Google Translate app now because now you have the photo function where you can literally point at ingredients like on something and it'll translate it for you automatically. So that was really nice. You know, sometimes we would have to type in what we needed. But for the most part, if you're in a tourist area, a lot of the times they do speak English and they will know if you're like maybe a Western, you know, depending where you are, you will stand out. And so, but yeah, I definitely use the Google, but also Happy Cow has these amazing PDFs that you can now print out that kind of, they're like little flashcards that you can print out and cut out for yourself that say like, I'm vegan or does this have eggs or whatever?

28:45 I don't eat eggs, cheese, dairy, you know, all this stuff, right? And you can hand that to the cook or something. And I thought that's really cool. That's a great idea. I remember when I went to Paris, I tried to memorise, je suis vegan, je ne mange pas viande. Viande, yeah. Well, basically I ate French fries because of my inability to communicate. And you know, in France, they really want you to try to speak French. But these are all great tips. Would you consider possibly doing a video recapping all of these great, or maybe you don't want to give them away too much because all the things you said were really good, but I'm thinking, wait, the Google Maps, the this, I'm trying to process all that.

29:41 You could also write a book, but I think that a video showing some of your techniques would be very interesting to people. Yes. And you just reminded me, I actually have two eBooks right now. I'm in the process of converting a lot of my videos into eBooks. So I have two though on my website right now. I have this ultimate travel guide to Spain. There's 13 cities there and a lot of the restaurants that I went to with links to my videos and everything as well. So that's on my website for purchases and it has maps. It's integrated with the maps as well. And then I have my vegan guide to El Salvador. So my goal is to, because there's so many things I need to be on top of right now, that's a project that's in the works, but yeah. Wow. I just have, first of all, I'm really, I'm really impressed with how you handle all this.

30:28 Very, very methodical. I've travelled quite a bit and I've never done this kind of research. I've pretty much relied on the Happy Cow app, but I will tell you I was in Taiwan and I was in Taipei for one day and I had a heck of a time. I struggled mightily to find a vegan restaurant. I was trying to master the language, the directions. It was really frustrating. And then I saw your video where you were in Taipei, Taiwan, hitting all these incredible vegan restaurants and I was like, wow, I wish I had had, whatever tools you use to find all those great vegan restaurants.

31:18 I was in the exact same city and I didn't have that experience. So what's the difference? How did you manage to find all those great vegan restaurants, including, I think, did you say there was a five-star Michelin somewhere? It's not a five star, it's a Michelin star restaurant. It's the first Michelin star restaurant. It's all plant-based. So it's not all vegan, but it's mostly vegan because as you know, in a lot of Asian countries they don't consume dairy very often. Well, it's not in the food as much. But because of the religious influence as well, there's a lot of vegan food in Taiwan.

31:59 That's why you said you struggle to find vegan food. I was like, what? I was like, it's everywhere. But it had to do with the Buddhist culture. And so I think that's really cool. But yes, that Michelin guy, that one I actually found on Instagram. It didn't really come up on Google and sometimes Google doesn't do you a service. Google will only pull up like maybe sometimes popular restaurants. They're not going to pull up everything. And sometimes it's like Western restaurants, which drive me nuts. That's my biggest pet peeve. When I see vloggers going like, I am in, you know, Seoul, South Korea, and I found this amazing vegan burger place. I'm like, you're in Seoul. Don't you want Korean food? And so I always make sure to not eat, you know, food that I'm familiar with when I go and travel.

32:44 Or at least like familiar in the sense that's like super Westernised. Sure, every once in a while it's fine because you want, you know, whatever. You want to change it up. But Serenity Veg, I found it through Instagram. Hashtags. I just put Taipei Vegan. All right. I want to go through your top five tips. So let's just go over them. You sent them to me. Do your research. We've covered some of that. What is that country's most iconic dish? Now, why is that important? And how does that lead you to a great iconic vegan dish? So this is a good one. So this is, I'll give you an example.

33:24 So when I was first visiting Portugal, the first city I ever visited was Porto. And I had no idea what Portuguese people eat. Like I just, I'm not super, I did know about pastéis de nata. So that one I knew, right? Which is the custard egg tarts, right? So I was like determined to find that vegan. So at least I knew pastéis de nata vegan, you know, Porto. There's also when I, but then I was like, okay, there's gotta be some iconic dish. I wonder if there is. So I remember putting, what's the like iconic dishes to eat in Porto, Portugal. And then there's something called, oh my, it's escaping me. Oh my God, this is gonna drive me insane. Hold, hold please. I need to, I need to find this. I'm Googling it right now.

34:05 All right, while you're Googling it, what I'm gonna do is show the second list and we're gonna go through all of these. Travel with a vegan tourism group. We've got to get to that. And it appears that Eunice is creating her own vegan tourism group as we speak. So we'll get back to that. But you were saying about the iconic dish. Yes, so Francesina, sorry, it escaped me. But the Francesina is traditionally this like, it's this Portuguese dish, right? It's specific to Porto. And it's usually, it's like a sandwich stuffed with meat, with melted cheese, and there's this sauce on top, right?

34:47 Nothing vegan about it. But I was like, I wonder if anyone's doing this vegan because if they are, I need to try it. And I Googled it and there he was, Casanova in Porto. It was, I read it, I had to like look in Google search. I found this like random blog, okay? It wasn't even the top hit. I had to kind of scroll down. I found this blog that talked about the best Francesina, vegan Francesina in Porto. And it's at this restaurant, Casanova. And you can see that it's on my YouTube channel, actually. And it was delicious. But it was amazing because I got to talk to the chef. He used to be a chef at a non-vegan restaurant. He was not vegan for years.

35:28 And then one day he was like, I want to go vegan and I'm going to make this better. And he said, I think he said he even liked his vegan version better than the original one, right? And so it was just nice because I felt like I was, you know, immersing myself in the food and the culture, but still maintaining my veganism, which was awesome, right? And so they also had this amazing dessert there. So I highly suggest going there. But that's why I was like, I like to learn about the dishes that are iconic to each country and city so I can just like participate as a vegan. We've got another caller, Sarah, in Venice, California. Your question or thought for Eunice Ray is of Rated V for Vegan World Travel.

36:09 Hi, my question is when you travel and you go to places, do you specifically look for vegan restaurants or do you go to places that are not vegan and ask them to have a vegan menu or do you do activism as well as the travel blogging? Thank you. I do a little bit of both. So obviously I'll look to see like what the vegan restaurants are. But again, because I'm determined to find like the iconic vegan dish, sometimes you can find those in non-vegan restaurants that offer it, right? But for the most part, all the restaurants I go to are vegan. Like there's a lot of great vegan restaurants, right?

36:51 And they serve a plethora of everything. But for example, in El Salvador, in El Salvador, vegan food is, it's there, it's present. It's not huge like LA, but it's starting, right? And I had to guess a level up because I'm very familiar with what Salvadorian food is, but there was no vegan restaurant there that offered vegan pupusas. And I was not about to go to El Salvador and not have pupusas. I'm sorry. Like that's non-negotiable, right? Like that's what people eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner everywhere. You will see them everywhere. A traditional Salvadorian pupusa option that's vegan is beans. They don't put lard in their beans.

37:32 I asked literally everybody. Everybody said, no, we do not use lard. They use oil, right? Beans. The beans in El Salvador are delicious. They're the best. They're these red beans that are specifically grown there and they have this amazing flavour. So one of the traditions that's been around forever, you'll see it on every menu in El Salvador, non-vegan, right? Every pupusaria, bean pupusas, and they will make it for you. And that's an example of where I was like, yeah, I'll go to a non-vegan place and ask for the vegan option because I'm like, this is something that I just have to eat because this is just what you need to eat when you're in visiting the country, right? So that was, I think El Salvador was one of the places I ate a lot of vegan food at non-vegan restaurants, if that makes sense.

38:13 Absolutely. So getting back to this list, because we're going to get through this list and then I have a few other questions. We've covered number four, travel with a vegan tourism group. Can you mention some of the other ones and also recap again, if people want to travel with you, you're going to Vietnam in November. How do we get in touch with you? How do we make that happen? And maybe you can give us an idea of the cost of that. Yes. So for Vietnam in November, that is happening November 7th through the 13th. It's a seven day itinerary. And it's going to be in Hanoi and Ninh Binh and Ha Long Bay.

38:55 So three different cities. There's going to be like boat cave tours. You get to eat on a farm with a local family. They're going to cook you vegan food. We're going to stay at four star hotels. There's just going to be a cooking class. There's going to be a lot of activities. It's jam packed. So I'm really excited. And the cost is 18.99. And in order to, and that includes everything except the flight obviously, right? And like almost all the meals are included except for like one or two, because that way it gives you free time to just like kind of maybe do your own thing, break away from the group, which I think is great also. You have to pay 25% to secure your spot. And then after that, you can even do a payment plan if you want, but the balance has to be paid 90 days before the trip, which would be like August 7th.

39:41 So that's that one. Also- So that's $1,899. Yes. Okay. That seems very reasonable. Yeah. Considering that. And then in November, it took like kind of- How many days? How many days? It's a seven day itinerary. Okay. Sorry. Go ahead. And then the flights to Vietnam are not bad. And then if you're in Los Angeles, you can get really good flight deals to like Hanoi, for example. And then if there's another itinerary that the Seoul, sorry, the Korea Tourism Office of New York are promoting a vegan itinerary in Seoul, that one's four days, three nights. And that one's depending on the hotel, like if you want four star or five star hotel, that one's either $1,200 or $1 ,400.

40:22 But it's amazing. It's basically everything I did in my Seoul video plus more. So, but that one's end of May. But if you are interested in that one, please let me know and I will let you and I will get you all the information as well. And then other vegan itinerary options are the Getaway Co. They're at a higher price point, but like everything is 100% vegan and like it's a little bougier, right? Which I kind of like. So if you like that more luxury feel travel, definitely look into that. And then there's also World Vegan Travel. They do all that as well. And yeah, so they do a lot of great destinations as well. And I know also there are certain celebrities, friends of mine have travelled with Miyoko Shinner to Italy.

41:09 Oh, yeah. And there are some other prominent people in the vegan world who are kind of the host of a travel, a group travel event. And I know a lot of people have really enjoyed it. So it sounds like you're doing something similar. I think this is fantastic. It sounds like you're building an empire. I have a couple of quick questions. Yes, I mean, really, I'm very impressed that everything you're doing, this is my favourite photo of you because you look like either you're losing your mind or you've tasted the best thing or I'm not exactly sure what's going on here, but what is the most surprising thing that has ever happened to you while you're on these tours and trips?

41:52 Yeah, so honestly, I do actually want to talk about this. The reason I chose this as my cover photo is because this dish that they served me literally blew my mind. So if you ever go to Singapore, which I absolutely recommend, I love it. It's one of my favourite countries that I've ever been to. And as a Western, it's pretty easy because the national language is English. So you have no communication issues, right? And it's like travelling to three countries in one because they have, you know, you go to Chinatown and you feel like you're in China. You go to little India, you feel like you're in India. And then you have like the Singapore vibe, which is like Malay cuisine and everything. And like, you know, everything's like, there's so many cultures like mixed in, right? So if you go to Chinatown in Singapore, something you will often see in the hawker centres, the food courts, is this giant grill of like, people get served this grilled fish, right?

42:42 And they're eating it, they're on the street in the hawker centres. Well, this restaurant, Lotus Vegetarian, made that whole experience 100% vegan. They made the fish even look like fish, like the shape, not like the shape, shape, but you know what I mean? Like they served it in a way that looked like fish, but it was all made of mung bean protein. And when she was even cutting it, she was cutting it as if it were like the way you would serve it traditionally. And I was like, this is insane. I was just like, this is the whole experience, but vegan. And I know some people might think that's weird. They're like, well, why do you replace foods that are vegan with stuff that doesn't look vegan? And I get that. It seems a little contradictory, but the thing I like to point out is like, it's kind of important to do that because if someone's transitioning to veganism for the first time, they're gonna be drawn to foods that are familiar to them, right?

43:35 So there is kind of that importance that we need, like it's important for us to kind of show them the replacements in foods that look familiar for them to like mentally make the switch, right? Because if you offer them and be like, hey, like let's say in Mexico City, hey, do you want a wheat, you know, meat taco? They're gonna be like, I'm sorry, a what? But if you say, hey, do you want an al pastor taco? They're gonna be like, yeah, I know what al pastor is, you know, but it's like ingredients are completely different. So, yeah, that dish was amazing. I love Singapore. You have to go to Singapore. That restaurant is 10 out of 10. So here's, I think perhaps the most important question and maybe you can give us the answer to. There are a lot of people who say right now because we had moved so quickly, so fast and we had exploded on the world stage.

44:19 For example, when Beyond Meat went public, it was the most successful IPO, initial public offering in years. And then there was a backlash from the meat industry and to a large degree from the mainstream media that sort of started writing hit pieces. And so there's a feeling that, well, veganism might be a little bit on the retrenchment, under attack, on the defensive. You travel the world. Give us your assessment of the vegan movement, where it's at. Are we getting to the tipping point? What's your assessment?

44:59 I think it's only a matter of time until there's gonna be less and less meat and dairy, to be honest. I feel like that's the way it's going. Now is an amazing time to be vegan because there's just so many options out there. But something I don't wanna dismiss also is we have to remember that there's a lot of traditional dishes that have been vegan for centuries. Do you know what I mean? Like an example, today, I mean, not today, a couple of days ago, because I'm filming a video here in Portland, I went to a vegan Sri Lankan restaurant, Mirasada. Mirasada is delicious. If you're ever in Portland, please go check them out. But something I wanna point out is that traditionally, a lot of the food in Sri Lanka is actually vegan friendly because they don't use dairy in anything.

45:45 They use coconut milk base for almost everything, right? And they have a lot of vegetables and greens and tofu is very easy to access. So their dishes are traditionally vegan. Same with Ethiopian food. That's not a new concept. Same with like in every country has their vegan dishes. That is not a new thing. So if people think that it was this new thing that Westerners have come up with, absolutely not. You know, it's something that's been around forever and people are now realising, hey, like, you know what? I wanna go back to our roots. I wanna go back to the way that we used to eat or maybe like, even in, you know, a lot of people often say that vegan food is very processed and not healthy. Yes, some of it is. I will say, I won't deny that.

46:26 But also non-vegan food is like that too. So whether, no matter what diet you're in, you have to choose wisely your food, right? It's okay to every once in a while eat the vegan novelty items. I'm not gonna lie. I definitely enjoy a vegan cheeseburger every once in a while. But I'm not gonna eat that every day, right? I think at the end of the day, it's very important to just remember like, hey, we have to remember whole food plant-based, which is why I think even Impossible Burger, they did their re, they just revamped their recipe because they realised, hey, our first recipe wasn't actually that healthy. Let's make a healthier one, right? Because that's what the vegan audience was asking for. And Beyond Meat is one of the two. Yeah, because I know they both redid their recipes, but yeah, like they're listening to the vegan audience and they're listening to what maybe non-vegans also want too, right?

47:12 So I think this is just the beginning. Like we've, you know, the last five years, the vegan scene has grown insane and it's just gonna keep growing. That's how I see it. Yeah, I agree with you. I was just at Natural Products Expo West, which is the largest health food convergence conference in the world at the Anaheim Convention Centre. I mean, it's like miles of booths. It's unbelievable. And I've been there before, maybe four or five years ago, this was so much more vegan. It was like, it felt like every booth either was vegan or had a vegan option.

47:56 Not everyone, but I was just astounded and it really gave me hope. I was like, wow, you know, there's been a couple of big news pieces written that were negative, balderdash, nonsense. It's rippling, it's growing. And it was just such a, it was like I wanted to take all these naysayers and take them to the Natural Products Expo West because it was really like overwhelming. And that has really given me a lot of hope. What are your thoughts? Because, you know, look, at Unchained TV, we're mostly volunteer run.

48:39 We're the world's only nonprofit vegan streaming television network global, except for China and maybe North Korea, but it's all over the world. We're doing this because obviously we want to save animals. We're also concerned about human health, world hunger, which is something that could be eliminated if we all transition to plant-based, but also climate change. We have a documentary, which I produce called Countdown to Year Zero. If we don't transition to a plant-based culture, you know, soon we are really barreling toward a climate apocalypse.

49:21 Indeed, the New York Times recently reported that Oxford University did a study that showed heavy meat eaters who switch to a plant-based diet can reduce their greenhouse emissions footprint by 75%. Nobody else picked it up. I was like, wow, that's a solution to the climate crisis. It's got to be on CNN tonight, on MSNBC tonight on this. No, no. So that's why we're doing this, to get the word out. They say, you know, when 3.5% of the population becomes XYZ, it hits a tipping point and then the rest follow.

50:03 The reason I'm asking this long-winded question is given the urgency, the clock is ticking, where are we on that journey to hit the 3.5%? So I think that's the thing. I think as human nature, it's easy for people to be afraid, to be like, well, I don't want to give up things that I've been doing forever. I don't want to give up foods that I've been eating. There's this thing where we don't like things being taken away from us, right? And I think that's not the way to approach it. You know, a lot of times people have asked us, like, oh, what should I, you know, I don't want to go vegan because I don't want to give up business. Don't think of it that way.

50:44 The way we have to start training people to think is, how about, what if we start with just, okay, eat the same way you're eating, but how about instead add more fruits and vegetables to your diet? Add more plant-based proteins to your diet and try it out rather than you have to take away, you have to stop eating this right now, right? If you give people that positive and reinforcement kind of experience, they're going to be more like, hey, I like this. And they will start, my theory is they will start volunteering to get rid of the foods that they know are being negative, that are negatively impacting the environment, right? It's all about, we just got to keep giving people positive experiences and they themselves, once they're convicted, will naturally start changing their habits.

51:29 I don't know if that's the way I've answered your question, but that's how my mind went, so. Well, yes, but I guess what I was also saying is as somebody who travels the world, what are you seeing? Like my experience going to the Natural Products Expo West was very reassuring. But then sometimes I can just go to a hotel, be invited to an event at a hotel in my neighbourhood, which is in Los Angeles, which should be filled with a plethora of vegan options and find that no, there's no vegan options here and the waiters are acting like I'm a pain in the neck because I'm asking for something vegan and I'm like, oh my gosh, are we still in the 50s?

52:14 Like, why is this happening? So it's kind of like, it's hard for me to assess. I think it'd be hard for anybody to assess globally where our global culture stands when it comes to plant-based, but you might have a good, since you travel the world, you might have a really good handle. I have my two cents on that. So globally, it's present. I've seen it literally in every country I've been to, and even to my surprise, El Salvador, where I thought was not going to be present at all, but it was there. So that just says something, that it is present everywhere. However, places where it needs to improve, airports, for goodness sakes, airport lounges.

52:54 I have, I'm like, if I ever, like I just have another big idea that I will eventually hit, but there's still a lot of room to improvement, particularly like in the US and like more mainstream places. There's still a lot of work to be done. So even though there is a presence of veganism in every country, there's still major places that still need to work. And I don't know who we need to talk to to go do these things, because like you said, you're in Los Angeles. You would think in Los Angeles, like the UK, there should be a vegan option literally everywhere. In London, I was shocked. Everywhere you go, literally everywhere you go, there's a vegan option. So it's like, why is that not the case like in Los Angeles or like in other, in all major US cities, right?

53:35 Because now it's becoming, it's a norm. Vegan diets are becoming more mainstream. So I think people just need to adopt that mindset, even if they themselves are not being in business, they should start thinking, hey, vegan people exist. We should probably include one or two vegan options, right? So that's my, that's my thing. It's present, but we still have some way to go. I agree with you, airports and hotels. There needs to be just a campaign to get airports and hotels on board. And it almost seems like the airports are going backwards. I think they, about six years ago, they were kind of doing it as a trend. And I think they sort of have just regressed, but you know, there's always going to be those pockets, but overall we are out of time, unfortunately.

54:20 I could talk to you for hours about this. It's so exciting to have you on Unchained TV, Eunice Reyes. I urge everybody, check it out. Here's just a screenshot of, just go to Unchained TV, watch.unchainedtv.com and go under travel. There she is, a whole bunch of fabulous, fantastic shows. And you can also take a trip if you want with Eunice Reyes to Vietnam this coming November. It sounds so much fun. And everybody always have to remind you, please, if you haven't already, we are the world's only vegan streaming television network. And we are absolutely free for you to watch.

55:04 We urge you please to download it. So easy, download it on your phone for free, download it on any Samsung TV, and you can also download it on any TV with an Amazon Fire Stick, a Roku device, or an Apple TV device. You could also watch online at unchainedtv.com. So thank you for joining us. We will see you next time here on Unchained TV and Eunice Reyes, thank you so very much for being a part of our show, yay! Thank you, bye! See you next time, bye!