V Rating: Super V
Where: 401 Avenue of the Americas, West Village, New York.
When: 7 days: 11:00 am - 11:30 pm.
Tel: (212) 255-3902
Price: Quick bites: US$5-$7. Small dishes: US$8-$11. Large dishes: US$11 - $19.

It’s a cliche to observe that small or spontaneous decisions can change your life. But it’s true of my visit to Gobo in New York.

Before going to New York I’d meticulously researched and planned our gastronomic itinerary, and even sought the advice of the good folk at Vegan Friendly (NYC). I came across Gobo in my research, and thought it sounded interesting, but somehow it didn’t make my list of ‘must eat here at all costs’ (this was not a small list, you understand).

However, after visiting Teany, Moo Shoes, the Empire State Building, Times Square and catching a fun Broadway show, we were in the mood for a good vegetarian snack. Gobo fit the bill, largely for its convenient location in the West Village. My God, I’m glad we went there.

Gobo is a smart-looking restaurant, kind of Japan meets Scandanavia, with warm but minimalist design and light wooden tables and walls. It has an elegant informality: you could come here for a special occasion, or slouch in for a quick weekday dinner without feeling out of place.

We were not that hungry when we arrived at Gobo thanks to a pit stop at Times Square deli before the show. This was a shame, because there were plenty of interesting dishes to taste. Helpfully, the menu was divided into quick bites, small dishes and large dishes, all of which were good for sharing.

We chose four small dishes, and one serve each of rice. The small dishes were not big. But neither were they particularly small. Somehow we still managed to polish all of them off.

With the thought of Millenium’s exquisite avocado ceviche still fresh in my mind, I couldn’t resist the avocado tartare with wasabi lime sauce. Mmmm, mmm, mmmmm. Simple as this dish sounds, it was possibly my favourite of our honeymoon. Lime and avocado work beautifully together, and the wasabi flavoured the sauce with a wonderful zing without being overpowering.

We also turned our attention to seitan skewers with green tea mustard sauce. Seitan is the US term for gluten, and this was our first taste on American soil. I approved!

We also tried the black sesame mushroom rolls with mango chutney and the eggplant & string beans with basil sauce.

Gobo further cemented their place in my good books by replacing the ubiquitous side of white rice with a choice of brown rice or coconut whole grain rice with raisins (coconut rice is a staple in the Caribbean).

We looked lovingly at the dessert menu, but could not in good faith squeeze in any more food. However, the staff had found out that we were on our honeymoon, and so as a surprise the staff brought out a slice of multi-layered chocolate cake for us to share.

The arrival of the cake presented a quandary. We were so full of small bites there was not much room left for chocolate cake. But then again we didn’t want to rude…

We each had a small taste and I was hooked. I’m not usually a dessert fan, particularly when the food is rich and sweet, but this chocolate cake was amazing. Firstly, it was really, really moist. So moist that when I decided to eat the leftovers 24 hours later in our hotel room it was still moist and soft.

Second, even though the slice was big, and the cake layers were interspersed with chocolate icing, it tasted light. Sweet, you undertand, but not overly rich or heavy, which I think is the holy grail of desserts.

The memory of Gobo’s food stayed with me in New York, Jamaica and back in Sydney. But it took me awhile to figure out why.

It’s partly because, like Millenium, Gobo pushes the boundary of vegetarian food, creating modern, innovative dishes using a range of ingredients.

But it’s also because Gobo specialises in modern and healthy Asian cuisine, with some European twists. I love the flavours of Asian food, and dishes like steamed dumplings, tofu, miso, wasabi, and green tea - but often when I’ve tried them in fusion food the Asian flavour is the ‘exotic’ ingredient added to a European dish to make it more interesting.

Gobo turns the tables, with a mostly pan-Asian menu that nods it head at the West in dishes like green tea noodles with vegan bolognese sauce or the aforetomentioned avocado tartare.

The genius behind the menu is chef Yuki Chen, who grew up in Taiwan, and has also worked with another popular New York vegetarian restaurant, Zen Palate.

I was inspired by my visit to Gobo because, like Millenium, it showed me how original, gourmet and (most importantly) tasty vegetarian food can be. Gobo should definitely be on your “must eat here at all costs” lists if you visit New York (they have a second restaurant in the Upper East Side, which is also supposed to be lovely). If only I weren’t separated from Gobo by an ocean, I would eat there frequently.

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