Strict Dietary Requirements
Guests with strict dietary requirements due to medical, religious or any other reason(s) must disclose such information at the time of tour reservation. Please read our Terms & Conditions for more on this.
Food Preference as a Matter of Choice
Requests for certain dishes purely out of personal preference, such as beef over pork, fish over chicken, or any preference of such nature, will be declined. When we book group meals, we pick the same set menu for all at our own discretion. Asking around for individual preferences for group meals is not the right way to run group tours even when the group size is small. People coming on our Japan tours who are not allergic to fish, cooked or raw (sashimi & sushi), should eat what’s brought to them. Otherwise, they should choose another company.
We attempt to portray the meals included as accurately as possible and advise our customers to set their expectations realistic. Those looking for group tours offering fine dining at super-fancy restaurants should book with companies like Tauck and Abercrombie & Kent.
Companies claiming to offer “5-star tours at 3-star prices” should be viewed with suspicion as corner-cutting is commonplace among them. With these companies, you’ll end up in tourist restaurants eating cheap, bland, watery food heavy on carbohydrates and light on protein. Whereas with Laurus Travel, you’ll eat at quality restaurants where it is rare to find tour groups, foreign or domestic. Our customers frequently tell us how much they enjoy the good food and how appreciative they are of our efforts in creating them a delightful and eye-opening epicurean experience.
Breakfast
Your daily breakfast is a feast enjoyed in the hotel where you stay. There is a wide selection of local and international dishes to choose from. Coffee and tea are served at table. Vegetarians will be pleasantly surprised by the variety of vegetarian dishes, fresh fruit and dairy products. Please note that exceptions may apply when we stay at small boutique hotels, when you’ll be given a list of set menus to choose from.
Lunch and Dinner
Lunches and dinners when included would be local cuisine served in restaurants outside the hotels. As gastronomes ourselves, we feel strongly that we should introduce to our travelers the best of the local cuisines of the regions we travel through. Tasting authentic local cuisine is an integral component of our tour programs and we want you to experience that to the fullest. We avoid tourist restaurants whenever possible. We choose restaurants catering to local middle class, not tourists. In many of the restaurants we patronize we are often the only non-locals except in certain developing countries, such as Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar, where local middle class has not reached a critical mass.
Vegetarians
There are many vegetarians coming on our tours. Regardless of the reason for them to be vegetarian, we have work hard to satisfy their needs. Vegetarian customers must disclose their dietary needs at the time of tour reservation. They must also remind the guide of dietary requirement upon arrival at each destination.
Food Allergy
Customers allergic to certain food ingredients such as nuts, MSG or sesame oil should disclose this information at the time of reservation and also remind the guides once on the tour. Every effort will be made to satisfy the customer’s needs, but for the sake of liability we cannot guarantee that dishes served contain absolutely no such ingredients. If you find this explanation unacceptable, please choose an other tour company.
Strict Dietary Restrictions due to Medical, Religious or Any Other Reason(s)
Customers with strict dietary needs must disclose this information at the time of reservation to allow us to properly evaluate the situation. Even if we agree to accommodate you, you should not hold us liable in case of failure on our part.
Food Preference
Food preferences, such as beef over pork, or fish over chicken, or any preference of such nature, will be ignored. Group travel has its limitations. When we reserve group meals, we pick the same menu for all solely at our own discretion.
People coming on our Japan tours who dislike sashimi (raw fish), sushi that contains raw fish, or any fish dish (cooked or raw) should eat what’s served them, or else they should book with another tour company.
Where to Eat on Days when Meals Are Not Included
We leave out some lunches and dinners to give you flexibility. The local guide will be pleased to recommend restaurants according to your preference and budget. In China and Southeast Asia, a couple with $50 to spend can have a decent meal in a mid-level restaurant. In Japan, we have solutions to keep your meals affordable without compromising on nutrition and flavour.
Some guests may come with a list of restaurants to try based on what they found on the Internet or in guidebooks. Generally, such establishments are overrated and overpriced. As a rule of thumb, you should stay away from fancy restaurants recommended in popular online travel forums because restaurants overrun with foreign tourists rarely get you good value. Ask your guide for better options.
Language shouldn’t be a barrier at local restaurants as menus include photos of the dishes accompanied by prices inclusive of all applicable taxes (gratuities not expected).
Always check the price before ordering anything to drink. In general, restaurants in China do not offer free tea as often is the case back home or in some other Asian countries such as Japan.
Street Food
Laurus Travel does not allow its tour leaders to eat street food while on duty. Customers who choose to eat street food in developing countries should practice extreme caution.
Western Cuisine
After a few days away from home, you probably might crave for a “Western” meal. Unless it is in your plan to eat in the hotel or visit those pricey restaurants run by Western expatriates (there’s no shortage of them in major cities across Asia), you should check with your local guide for best advice. You may be surprised when your Chinese guide recommends Pizza Hut, but you’ll realize the moment you step into one that a Pizza Hut restaurant in China indeed offers casual fine dining. The cost for one individual sized pizza or lasagna plus a tasty seafood salad and a soda or a small bottle of local beer should be less than 100 yuan or 15 US dollars.
