I actually have found a lot of restaurants in western countries who confuse plant based, vegan, vegetarian all the time. Not everyone is educated on the differences. Your previous comment was deleted but I thought I’d explain what I’ve learnt as this is not commonly explained and google translate isn’t accurate. In SEA there isn’t actually a word for vegan and by that, I refer to vegan being defined as the lifestyle of not eating, using, or containing no food or other products derived from animals where possible. However, the vegetarian diet has been around for a long time and comes from religious practices. The translated word for vegan often refers to the word of those who are religious practicing vegetarian i.e. “chay” (Vietnamese) and “jay” (Thai). Those who follow this practice for religious reasons vary eg. Some practice all year and some only during religious times. Some must also exclude onion and garlic from in their diet. Some have eggs. Diary is not common in traditional dishes but you’ll find it in drinks through perhaps condensed milk, whereas smoothies and the like are a western drink and so they follow western recipes hence the milk. So knowing the above, I can see how terms can accidentally be interchanged just as it is confused in western counties without the language barrier. Like you say, in future when travelling in SEA, to avoid accidents at vegetarian restaurants, It should be emphasised that I don’t eat or drink diary or eggs.