china ii: song yue lou [ 松月楼 ], shanghai

One of my favourite places I visited in Shanghai was 豫园, which inexplicably is known as Yuyuan Garden in English. Yu Yuan is really pretty and lovely, and also a huge tourist attraction filled with lots of people and surrounded by markets and restaurants. One of those restaurants is Song Yue Lou, which is located outside Exit 5 of the Yu Yuan complex. Song Yue Lou is the oldest vegetarian restaurant in Shanghai, and takes on the fairly common format of fast food downstairs and sit down ala carte upstairs.



Due to circumstances, we also ended up at Song Yue Lou on two occasions (both lunches). On the first of these visits, we sat upstairs and ordered a variety of foods, including bao and noodles. Desperate for some noodles, I ordered the curry noodle soup all on my own, and C went for a curry, with bao and rice. I also had coconut juice from a can. The bao was super doughy, but the filling was good. I found my noodles quite excellent, with some nice yellow wheat noodles.



On the second visit we ventured upstairs but were banished downstairs with a grumble, as we only wanted to order single dishes and not a meal to share. On this visit we both ordered noodles, though I fail to recall which one (the same, as it turned out, because the noodles I wanted were not available); in addition C ordered the glutinous rice dessert, which was thick and gloopy.

Service downstairs is fast; service upstairs is okay but can be a little grumpy. There are stairs (and no elevator) upstairs, and a little step up into the building. Smoking is allowed, and credit card facilities are available.

song yue lou
99 Jiujiaochang Rd
Huangpu District
Shanghai

Get there on Line 10 (the purple line) of the Metro.

松月楼
上海
黄浦区
旧校场路99号

china i: godly vegetarian [ 功德林素菜馆 ], shanghai

I was excited to discover that there was a vegetarian restaurant in walking distance from our hotel, so the first night, tired and hungry, we went for a bit of a walk. In the end we actually dined at Godly twice.

The first visit, unsure what they did well and too tired to make decisions, we went for the banquet option. The waitstaff decided to modify this for us, so we didn't go exactly for what was on the menu. We ended up with a pick-pick course, with a crab-meat dish, springrolls, mock duck made of tofu skin, and a vinegary vegetable dish. This was followed by some noodles, an onion and gai lan stir-fry thing, and some watermelon and cherry tomatoes to end it all. It was a lot of food, and it was delicious. C found that the crab meat was her favourite. All I was really focused on was the noodles, I'll admit it.



On the second visit, the staff were less attentive and amiable but still good (it was very busy). We ordered a tofu and mushroom hotpot (with lots of peas), some different noodles, and a mushroom soup. The soup was super mushroomy, filled with four or five different types of mushrooms. The tofu and mushroom hotpot was also excellent, but it was at this point that we reached our mushroom limit.

Service was fine, fast and easy. The menu is Chinese with English subtitles, except the tea menu, which is all in Chinese; no pictures on either menu. Some of the staff speak English. And it's pretty cheap, the banquet was about 120RMB per person and the second visit came to about 180RMB in total. Tea is about 30-60RMB a pot depending on what you get - they have a lot of tie kwan yin, which is some of my favourite. Credit card is accepted.

Happy Cow says not everything is vegan there, but when I asked they said they don't use eggs or dairy in anything, so I'm not sure.

Godly Vegetarian
445 West Nanjing Road (near North Chengdu Rd)
Jing'an District
Shanghai

Get there on lines eight, two or one of the Metro, stopping at People's Square.

功德林素菜馆（南京路店）
上海
静安区
南京西路445号



Credit card facilities are available

soul food, fitzroy

I was hoping to go to Trippy Taco recently, but sadly it was too full to accomodate us, even after waiting a while. So we trekked on down to Soul Food to see what we could get.



I went with the Thai rice ball with chickpea salad. The rice ball was exactly what I wanted, rice-y and a bit lentil-y, and the chickpea salad was lovely, well-cooked with a thick and tasty tomato sauce thing, but the salad was cold and I was hoping it would be warm. Disappointing! But still perfectly serviceable.

previously.

Soul Food Cafe
273 Smith St
Fitzroy

accessibility: five minutes walk from the nearest tram stop. a step up to enter, but the front room is okay for maneuverability. from memory the toilet is up a flight of stairs.

update from shanghai

hello all! i actually cannot access blogger from china, but am using a free thingy that ends in two minutes! to tell you all that i can't access blogger so if your comments get stuck in moderation, it's because of that! the posts are appearing because i queued them up before i left! i thought i was clever at the time! if you want to see me check out my flickr! post again soon!

tom phat ii, brunswick

There wasn't much on the menu that was automatically vegan but the waitstaff said I could have any of the egg dishes turned vegan, so on that note I selected the sricha scramble with roti.



This dish was totally serviceable, but a little bit bland. I ended up stealing some of Danni's sauce to add a little flavour. It could have done with more chilli and more of the cherry tomatoes, but I liked the roti accompaniment.

previously at tom phat.

danni's review (of the same day); Carla's break up with tom phat.



Tom Phat
184 Sydney Rd
Brunswick


accessibility: just near a tram stop (the 19), little step up. some easy to access tables at the front, all ordering done as table service. might be hard to head down to the toilets.

vegan goodies at the local iga

So my local IGA (located at 614 Sydney Road in Brunswick, opposite Tabet's) has recently seriously expanded its frozen mock meats range. Thanks to Lizbee for pointing this out to me one day, although returning there last night I noticed they have stuck a piece of paper to the door that says 'vegetarian meals!' to draw attention.



For those vegetarians amongst you, there's a couple of varieties of Quorn down the bottom. There's also a range of vegan mock meats, including some very fishy-tasting fish, the chicken nuggets that Lord of the Fries uses, and many other exciting things! There's even cheap tempeh in there.

I'm super pleased by the close proximity to my house of all this mock meat, and given my recent discovery that the range stocked by my usual supermarket is no longer vegan, I'm pleased that so much of it is vegan! More reporting on specific kinds to follow, once I try more of them.

lunch at mr nice guy

So after finally making it to brunch at Mr Nice Guy, I followed it up a week later with lunch there, too, with Ms SJ.



Only option for the day was the quesadillas, which was fine as I was happy to try them out.

The quesadillas were toasted fresh and filled with black beans and some sort of cheeze. I liked the flavour, but they were a bit dry and definitely needed the tabasco that Lucas brought out for us. Maybe some guac or salsa would go nice as a little side?


Previously on VaT: brunch.

Other bloggers at brunch: Karla; Shawna.

Mister Nice Guy Cupcakes
291 Albert St, Brunswick
enter on the bike path side beside Brunswick Train Station

gasometer, collingwood

So last week it was my birthday and I decided to use it as an opportunity to finally get down to Gasometer, having heard so much about it already from every vegan and vegetarian in Melbourne.

With a party of ten people on a Friday night, I booked a table. I only did this two days in advance, and there was no problem getting it.

I was overwhelmed by the choice! In the end I decided to go for a pot pie main, because it was cold and I had been thinking about pies. All the mains come with a choice of two sides, and because it was my birthday I picked the sides I wanted the most, carb-loaded as they were, rather than the sides I should have. I ended up going for the mac and cheeze and the potato mash.



The pie came with a chutney sauce, and was filled with lots of potatoes. It was delicious, and I loved my sides, but it was massive and I couldn't come anywhere near finishing it. I would eat a main with sides again, but maybe only if I was sharing it with someone. Certainly I would eat the mac and cheeze again.



I have no idea whose chicken burger this is, as three came to the table; I did sample someone's though, and it was amazing. I have been thinking about this burger ever since, and I would return to Gasometer just for this burger and the chips, advertised to me by Fi as the greatest chips in Melbourne.



I was way too full to think about dessert, but J had thought about it and ordered the cannoli in advance. In my position as birthday penguin, J thoughtfully and very kindly (and ONLY because it was my birthday) let me have one. These were chocolate on one side and cookies and cream on the other and MY WORD. MY WORD. I had thought that cannoli was a delight to which I could never return, now that I am vegan, but oh these were very excellent cannoli. I recommend so highly. They were delicious.

Nobody else who came has blogged! SADFACE. I know Erin had the tofu wings and they were pretty good, and J had the mac and cheeze as a meal but would not repeat the experience.

Others who have eaten there: Carla; Danni; K + Toby; Veg in the West (once + twice); and Cindy and Michael (one, two, three, four times).

Gasometer
484 Smith Street
Collingwood

Handily accessible on the 86 tram, cramped and too warm on a friday night, difficult to navigate if you have mobility issues and way too noisy. Cindy and Michael rated the tables as 'spaced wide apart' so maybe they're different on different nights?

recommendations for shanghai and hongkong

I am going to Shanghai next week, and Hong Kong the week after, and I am starting to get really excited about it! So now I am looking for recommendations for food and things in those two places. In HK I'm staying on Kowloon (in Kowloon?), and in Shanghai I'm staying in a fancy boutique hotel right next to People's Square.

Have you been to either of these places? Do you have anything to recommend?

Also, has anyone purchased the Happy Cow iPhone app? I am considering it but I have such a mixed relationship with Happy Cow I'm just not sure! Advise me, internets!

mr nice guy cafe, brunswick

After many an aborted attempt, I finally made it down to the Mr Nice Guy cafe for their brunch. Danni, Emilly and I headed in there for brunch one Sunday afternoon about 1pm (it's still brunch if you haven't had breakfast or lunch yet, right?).

Danni went for the apple crepes, which she has already blogged about. This was actually my favourite of the brunch dishes! The options for the crepes are nutella or baked apple, and the baked apple came with walnuts and it was delicious, just the right size and a lovely flavour. I totally want this all to myself next time I am there for brunch.



I went for the french toast, because I have a love and that love is french toast. Sadly, it was not up to Monk Bodhi Dharma levels of french toast but it was still pretty tasty! I recommend it to all.



Emilly went for the banana and berry bread! (I think it was banana and berry) It was very tasty too! It was kind of more cakey than bready but I would totally eat it all for myself!

Other reviews: Where's The Beef; Words at Random.

Mister Nice Guy Cupcakes
291 Albert St, Brunswick
enter on the bike path side beside Brunswick Train Station


Accessibility: wide doors and no steps, close to the train station. May be some trouble navigating it after 8pm when entry is only via the Noise Bar.

[wa] heavenly plate, applecross

Heavenly Plate is a new(ish) vegetarian restaurant in Applecross. I've heard a lot about it primarily from one friend, and nothing else from any other source, so I wasn't entirely sure what to expect when I manufactured an opportunity to eat there on the weekend.

In fact, what happened was that I was so excited I started tweeting about the menu immediately (using the hashtag #heavenlyplate). Heavenly Plate is vegetarian, and mostly vegan (or vegan options); there is an entire hot chocolate menu featuring items such as 'orange and cinnamon' and 'strawberry' and entrees such as mango bruschetta and all sorts of really exciting and interesting things.

We decided to maximise our tasting opportunities by sharing three entrees (between four people), then ordering our own mains with lots of sampling.



Our entrees were the japanese wedges and wasabi mayo; the avocado rolls; and the murtabak. I wish the murtabak photo had turned out - aside from being incredibly delicious, it was beautifully and artistically laid out. The avocado rolls were encased in spring roll wrappers and fried, then served with a light mint (?) mayonnaise which was so delicious Danni scraped the remnants up with her knife in order to eat it all up. The murtabak was filled with a 'chicken tofu' and it was light and delicious with a lovely sauce and looked delightful, too. The wedges were herbed and sprinkled with nori, and the wasabi mayo had a spicy bite to it which became less potent (but no less delicious) as you continued.



Alas, my bad luck with my photos continued in to our mains, so you only get to see two. Above on the left: my Thai green curry spaghetti. This looked rich, and being Thai green curry, it certainly was; but I didn't find it overwhelming, and I loved the combination. The carrot could have done with being a little softer, but aside from that it was delicious and I thought it was great. Dr G ordered the noodles with cheese wontons (sadly the wontons are not pictured). The noodles were exactly what one expects from a chasiu wonton noodle dish (which I love); the wontons were served in a slightly salty soup. The soup was perhaps slightly too salty, and the cheese wontons were interesting. I'm not sure what was in them, but definitely a cheesy flavour, and definitely worth a try.

Gilly ordered the the Tripple C, where the mock chicken was battered in flour and Diet Coke, and deep fried, served with some lovely crisp chips and a perfectly serviceable salad. Gilly reports that she could taste a slight Coke-y flavour to the batter, but the rest of us were unsure. Danni went for the chilli chicken in red jam, a beautifully presented dish featuring rice and vegetables and mock chicken and cashews. The flavour of this dish was excellent, and not spicy (more flavoursome), with a slight sweetness which I assume was the red jam.



Intrigued by the desserts and chocolates menu, we decided to split two desserts and each order a hot chocolate. Due to the unavailability of the peach pie, we ordered the apple torte and the chocolate sundae. Chocolates ordered to the table were the strawberry hot chocolate and the orange + cinnamon hot chocolate.

The chocolate sundae was So Good icecream with a whole lot of chocolate syrup and sprinkles. This was very fun to eat, but nothing exciting (aside from the experience of the chocolate sundae). The apple torte had a lovely flavour but I found it a little dry; I took this opportunity to combine the two, and this was excellent.



The strawberry hot chocolate had been particularly recommended to me; alas, I found it way too sweet for me, and had to keep cleansing my palate with chocolate sundae. When one needs to palate cleanse with icecream, it is perhaps too sweet! I found the orange + cinnamon hot chocolate much more to my taste, with a light tang and a lovely sweetness. Alas then that I was not the person to order that chocolate!

Total bill for all that food came to just over $130. It was slightly too much food for all of us; each of my dining companions complained of being uncomfortably full, and I was leaning towards that myself. But certainly not disappointed. In fact, I am searching for excuses to dine there again before I depart Perth.



Heavenly Plate
899 Canning Highway
Applecross (WA)

open every day

didn't ask about gluten free options

little ramp up, easily navigable with wide apart tables inside. large, unisex toilets available. get there via the train (about a 5-10 minute walk from canning bridge station on the mandurah line) or a canning highway bus. some parking available.

oriental kitchen, melbourne cbd

After my disappointment at not getting to Oriental Teahouse in Prahran, I was super excited last week to discover that one has now opened in Melbourne Central!

Although there were four of us at dinner, two of us were vegos and two of us were not, so we decided to share in two halves. Us vegos took a delightful stroll through the menu, ordering a few dishes at a time in the way of yumcha.



We started with the spicy eggplant (pictured above), the mushroom rolls (also pictured above), the vegetarian bao and the buckwheat chilli vegetable dumplings. Having eaten these, we then decided this was insufficient, topping up with the vegetarian dumplings and a second serve of the mushroom rolls. The highlight of this meal was probably the mushroom rolls, followed by the eggplant. There was no disappointment, but the dumplings weren't as fantastic as I was hoping they would be.



Being a teahouse, there is also a lot of tea to be had! The cocktails in teapots ("pot tails") had been talked up quite a lot by my dinner companions (who, though they numbered only three, had already been five times previously that weekend between the three of them). We drank a whole lot of long island ice tea, and then I decided to give the Campari Treasure (a "teatail") a go. This was the worst cocktail ever, much to my chagrin. Do not like!

Overall, I had an excellent experience at the Oriental Teahouse. Service was helpful and the atmosphere was totally fun. Will definitely go again! (Hoping to try the salt + pepper tofu and the pancakes)

other reviews: Fi (Prahran Location).

Oriental Teahouse
Ground floor, above the escalators from Elizabeth St into the train station
Melbourne Central

accessibility: a step up, and kind of difficult maneuverability. well lit.

kashmiri pie at tofwd, cbd

I have no idea why this is called kashmiri pie, the internet reveals nothing. It was also supposed to be shepherd's pie (and I was going to steal some of Emilly's kashmiri pie) so imagine my surprise!



Anyway, this was a pretty great pie. Picked the pies up and took them back to where we were hanging, and they were filling and delicious. I can't actually remember what was in them! But they were a good quick lunch on the go on a public holiday Monday.

I regretted not buying a slice of cake, though.


TOFWD
28 Degraves St
Melbourne

grigons + orr iii, north melbourne

Fi and I had planned to visit the new Mister Nice Guy restaurant for brunch, on the grounds that it would probably be totally amazing! Unfortunately they've had to temporarily change their opening hours, so they are currently not doing breakfast.

Saddened but undeterred, we arranged to meet at Grigon's & Orr instead, handily located a comfortable walk away from Fi's work.

Scramble tofu is a love that both Fi and I share, and it was with great glee, following her recent disappointment at Cafe Flaunt, that we discovered the scrambled tofu was still to be found on the Grigon's & Orr menu. So we both ordered it.


iphone, why such a terrible photo?

The tofu scramble looks small, but those looks can be deceiving. I rolled out of there afterwards uncomfortably full; almost (ALMOST) too full for a walk and Mister Nice Guy cupcakes at Dymocks. The scramble has a sweeter flavour to it, and is served on delicious crunch bread with spinach. It is totally worth it and I love it a lot.

Post the start of the 9-5 work day, the service was friendly and prompt, and it was a lovely morning adventuring through North Melbourne.


previous visits: one, one point five, two.



Grigons & Orr
Corner of Queensberry St and Chetwynd St
North Melbourne
Open every day

gluten free available

street parking available, accessible via a 5-7 minute walk from the nearest tram stop (route 57). heaps of space to move outside, but maneuverability inside is difficult.

potluck 2: comfort food

Oh dear patient friends, I apologise for the delay in getting this carnival up. But I promise, though it is small and slightly delayed, that it is still a good read. This time the theme was comfort food, and all of these posts are about comfort food! Delicious, comforting food.

If you are one of my usual vegan readers, please note that not all posts linked to today are vegan, but they don't really talk about food specifics and you should read the posts anyway, because they are important and amazing and good.


Oddcellist talks about comfort food:

When I talk about the things I can cook, I tend not to talk about Chinese food—because I don't cook the way my mother does, even though I hear her voice every time I cook (fry the ginger until its flavor blooms, use day-old rice to make fried rice, people here like things too sweet), because I remain incredibly recipe-bound.

Vi writes (and draws!)about small comforts: tāng yuán.

Azuire writes ٹیڑھی کھی, about comfort food that's monolingual (and not):

What I felt when I discovered that اچار was not called that by others (and I know it was اچار because I'd had an argument about it) was shock. Pure and simple. The English names of food-things that had previously existed only hypothetically were now widely accepted as the only names for things. It felt incomplete, inaccurate.

In comfort fooding, Glass_Icarus maps a history of her comfort food.

I've realized that I don't so much rely on specific foods for comfort as I do on cooking and eating with specific groups of people. 火鍋 with my immediate family is different from 火鍋 with my relatives in Taiwan is different from hotpot with all the different permutations of my "usual suspects," friends from ballroom/undergrad. Dim sum with my "American grandma" is different from dim sum with my Chinese family friends (where there's never any explanation involved but the check-grabbing fights remain the same).

Sam Miskiv writes on disordered eating and veganism (and, in a way, comfort food).

Ephemere talks Hapag-kainan, dibdib: My language is one that eats and is eaten. If one is to speak to me of comfort and discomfort -- speak to me of food. And of rice.

Linstar writes about what makes comfort food:

I’ve often been asked what my favourite food is and I have very usually replied with something along the lines of my mum’s laksa or my mum’s spring rolls or something to that effect. My mum’s cooking. It wasn’t until recently when I was sitting down talking to a work colleague that I actually realised some of my favourite comfort foods aren’t necessarily my mum’s cooking at all, but my mum’s cooking brings an association of love and comfort. I’ve actually come to realise my favourite comfort foods are anything that can be shared, and that it’s the company more than anything which makes comfort food comforting.

And a little aside: Counter Culture, a book which collected food histories from the kids that Lifting Voices works with. Their funding deadline is past but the book looks great!


And now, with my spoon in one hand and my chopsticks in the other, I am off to eat my own comfort food, though I failed to blog about it. Thank you for reading Potluck 2! Potluck is intended to be an occasional carnival for multicultural and intersectional discussions of food, including but not limited to food discussions intersecting with disability, gender, sexuality, fat, animal rights, and cultural and racial issues. If you are interested in hosting the next Potluck, please drop myself or glass icarus a line!