out and about; or, CNY noms with my family

The first thing we did with my family, of course, was go in hunt of some noodles to share. We wanted to go to Idea Fine Foods for their excellent combination of CNY and noodles but, alas, they have closed! Warm and hungry and slightly grumpy, we turned around and went to the Thai restaurant across the road, Sawasdee.

Up the stairs we found the mezzanine busy, but were quickly seated even without a reservation. Our waiter claimed that there was no fish sauce or shrimp paste in the vegetarian curry, so we took him at his word and ordered a green tofu curry and a dish of noodles. The curry was spicy but quite flavoursome, and it was a good meal. And there was a guy playing a piano! Which made me laugh.



On Sunday we jumped on the train and ventured out to Box Hill for yum cha. We were excited! I love going to Vegie Hut for a nice combination of yum cha menu and lunch menu, but upon our arrival we were disappointed to find out that, due to CNY, there was no lunch menu available! Only limited yum cha, and a special Chinese New Year menu. We can eat a CNY menu anywhere, we were there for yum cha! No radish cakes, no taro cakes, which was a bit disappointing, and if you can't order noodles than what is the point? Still, the grilled dumplings were good, as was the sticky rice, and we finally tried the four seasons buns. A word to vegans - the green bun is definitely kaya, which always contains egg (it is next on my list of Malaysian treats to veganise).

We ended up at Penang Affair on Brunswick Street for dinner. The uncle there was delighted to meet my mother, with whom he immediately started chatting (in Hokkien) to work out if they knew any of the same people (they did not, although they did remember the same restaurants of the streets of Georgetown some forty years ago).

My parents started with some popiah (vegatarian but contains egg so not vegan), which mum declared 'okay, not quite soft enough.'



Of course (of course!) we ordered a CKT, because I love the CKTs available at Penang Affair. We also ordered a couple of serves of roti, a sayor campor, and a really great gulai campor. The gulai campor was seriously delicious, and went perfectly with the roti. I also ordered a spectacular cocktail, containing a whole lot of fresh chillies, that was a little too much for me to finish.

Monday morning saw us at Grigons and Orr, to which I have been eager to return since our first visit in December. I ordered the pan-fried tofu in soy sauce, with a side of baked beans. It was delicious, but I'll be honest - it was nowhere near as delicious as the cous cous porridge of my previous visit. Orange juice was pretty tasty, and Julie really liked her mushrooms and toast (and her hashbrowns, which are not suitable for vegans).



We adventured out to St Kilda, where we had lunch at Lentil As Anything. My mum had watched a documentary (or something?) on Lentil as Anything, and was saddened to hear he was running out of money so was particularly interested in going. There were a lot of things not on the menu on Monday, and we suspect it's because their vegetable delivery had yet to arrive (it turned up as we were leaving). So my parents shared the mixed curry plate, and Julie and I both ordered the okonomiyaki. It was massive! Delicious, but massive, I had to grab a container from the Spud Bar next door and take the remainder home!



For Monday dinner we hit up Shakahari, dressing up and ordering cocktails. Danni and I shared the potato gnocci which was served in a tamari sauce with snow peas - it was odd but tasty. My parents shared the soup of the day, it had almonds and broccolini which didn't appeal to me but was apparently very good.

For mains I tackled the 'memory of medina,' cous cous with an eggplant curry. My mother, Malaysian to the core, picked the Malaysian curry. Danni and my sister both opted for the pie, filled with mushrooms and accompanied by giant garden salads. All verdicts were good, and my father decided that this was the best vegetarian restaurant I had brought him to all weekend, which is a compliment I suppose.

Then on to dessert, for which I was glad I had kept room, for Danni and I shared the mango rice pudding and it was delicious, oh so lovely. My parents had the fruit crumble which was light and tasty, and my sister the mango sorbet. Mangos all around! As it should be.



On Tuesday I took them to the airport, and that was the end of our CNY adventures with my parents (not, of course, the end of CNY adventures as there is yet time!)! It was super awesome that they were able to come across to share noodles and traditions with us, and bring us CNY goodies and an adorable tiger, as is custom.

There could have been more noodles, though.



Sawasdee
Level 1 139 Little Bourke Street
Melbourne

Vegie Hut
984 Whitehorse Rd
Box Hill

Penang Affair
325 Brunswick St
Fitzroy

Grigons & Orr
Corner of Queensberry St and Chetwynd St
North Melbourne

Lentil As Anything
41 Blessington St
St Kilda

Shakahari
201-203 Faraday St
Carlton

bedouin kitchen, st kilda

A number of our Melbourne Peeps love the Bedouin Kitchen, and had a spectacularly delicious meal there ages before we arrived in Melbourne. So when A invited us out to dinner on Sunday night, we were very interested in what there was to offer.

The menu is not super extensive for vegans, but there are some obvious options such as dips, olives and tabbouleh. I went for the Kushery ($18.50), which was layered rice, macaroni and lentils in a spicy tomato sauce. This dish does usually contain yoghurt, but can be made without.



It was a really mild dish, not overly flavoursome, but the combination of simple flavours and the rice with lentils and pasta made this a delightful and filling dish. I would love to try something like this at home, it seems quite straightforward.

Danni wasn't feeling super, or very hungry, so opted for the Arabic bread with dips ($14.50), minus the tzatziki. This was perfectly servicable, with spices on the bread (which I always love!), but there isn't a huge amount you can say about bread and dips.

Perusing the menu, and the dishes that came out, I suspect the food would have been a lot more exciting if we ate cheese (there was a lot of baked cheese involved in everyone else's dishes). However the food we got was still quite good.



They were attentive and helpful, and very accomodating of dietary requirements. However our table ordered three serves of mashed potato (it is allegedly the best potato in the world, but it is not suitable for vegans so I wasn't invested in it). This order, though made at the same times as the rest of our ordering, failed to make it to the kitchen, and towards the end of the meal, when we asked where it was, we were told the kitchen had run out. The annoyance is less that they had run out (it happens), and more that they hadn't told us.

It was at this point that we left, because Danni wasn't feeling well, but later twitter updates indicate that maybe there was also a problem with dessert not arriving.

Food was good, points for helping us find the vegan food, but mixed feelings about the rest of the experience.



Bedouin Kitchen
103 Grey St,
St. Kilda

GF available

big mouth, st kilda

We might be doing St Kilda incorrectly - after all this time, the only notable vegetarian eatery at which we've dined is Lentil as Anything.

We've eaten at Big Mouth twice, though. The first time, on the grounds that the menu contained a vegan burger (it did not). The second visit was because Lentil as Anything was closed, and we were very, very hungry.



The first time, I ordered these chips. "Are you sure?" cautioned the waitress, who didn't believe I could eat the chips and my meal. I will confess that she was almost correct - the portion size of these chips is significant, and we did struggle, but they are delicious.

In fact, G, on his recent visit to Melbourne, declared the Big Mouth chips more delicious than the Lord of the Fries chips (though he concedes this could have been because LotF chips were talked up). The great thing about these chips are the spices on them, giving a really great flavour.



There are only a small number of items on the Big Mouth menu that are vegan or easily veganisable. As a result, on both visits D and I have ordered one of two dishes, and swapped halfway. Featured here is the Surjit's Bowl, a lentil soup. It is delicious, and served with a side of roti. On the menu it comes with yoghurt, so you need to order it without. We have also sampled the Indian Kitchen, a chickpea curry, which is heavy on the vegetables and the coconut milk, so quite rich and heavy, but not overwhelmingly so.

Deliciousness!

Big Mouth
168 Acland St
St Kilda

Open 7 days
GF options available