Archive for the ‘Vegetarian’ CategoryV Rating: VVVVV Xu Xiang Zhai Vegetarian Restaurant is a great place for vegetarians to enjoy an all you can eat chinese buffet. An extensive range of foods are provided from soups, stir fries, casseroles, hot pots and sushi. Many of these incorporate faux-meat substitutes. The buffet also includes asian desserts, soft drink, ice tea, and coffee. It is best to arrive early, as we arrived around 7.30pm and found the selection to be a little luke warm and much picked over by the many chinese diners filling the restaurant. The restaurant itself is nicely set out, with small alcoves lining the side of the room and the buffet presented at the front. Individual dishes can be ordered, in particular cook-it-yourself vegetarian hot pots seemed to be very popular with the other customers. Downstairs from the restaurant, in the cafe, a small selection of vegetarian and organic ingredients are on sale. - Anth from Temporary Dwellings.
V Rating: Super V Still Thoughts is tucked away in a hutong down a hutong but is well worth the search. Run by Buddhists this restaurant serves excellent dishes with no meat, onion and garlic. A range of faux-meat dishes are on offer, and it is an excellent way for vegetarians to get a taste of traditional Chinese dishes without actually eating the meat versions. Our favourite dishes include entree serves of “pork” sausages (complete with fake fatty bits), which were described by my carnivorous dining partner as the meatiest non meat food he had ever eaten, and muslim style lamb shashliks deep fried and covered in cumin. For the mains we had a wonderful eggplant dish served on a sizzling plate stuffed with “mince meat” and “pork” bits and a dish of “beef” coated in cumin and sesame seeds deep fried and served on a cow shaped hot plate with fresh coriander. Still Thoughts is a newcomer to the Beijing Buddhist vegetarian scene and rated as one of my favourites. The staff were very helpful and the menu had both photos and english descriptions. A range of herbal teas are available very cheaply at 8 yuan a teapot. - Anth from Temporary Dwellings.
V Rating: Super V After a beautiful first week of marriage, we reached our last day in New York. Determined to pack as much in as possible, we went on a fascinating and funny Greenwich Village Literary Pub Crawl run by the very talented Bakerloo Theatre company. It was a highlight of our trip, combining both our loves: books (me) and beer (Andy). Actually, I also love beer, so I was a double winner! As we had a pressing date with books and pubs, we had to rush to our lunchspot, Counter an organic wine and martini bar, and vegetarian bistro.
We got off near NYU and negotiated the East Village streets, jumping over mounds of greying snow and ice water puddles, rushing past shops selling Russian clothes and record stores until we hit the modern storefront of Counter, all sans serif fonts and no capitals here please. The decor was promising. The front quarter of the room had large, circular bar and (faux?) leather armchairs cosily arranged around small wooden tables. Out the back, Counter became more 50s diner, with fancy laminated green tables, banquettes, and art on the wall. Counter is vegetarian, not vegan, which sets it apart from many of its upmarket competitors. There are some dishes with cheese, albeit rennet free. All the food is organic.
We were only after a quick lunch, and I felt soaked in calories after a week of the New York high life, so I ordered the vegetable white bean soup with basil pesto. Andy went for the veggie burger with a side of seasoned wedges. My soup came without bread, and was light and reshreshing. The pesto was mixed through the soup, rather than served on the top, and so it flavoured it with the slightly sweet, slightly bitter basil. I was a little disappointed by the lack of flavour - I like my soups to have a strong, distinctive base, and thought it needed more salt.
Andy’s burger was a generously sized, and served as a large, white bread roll, cut in halves, with a meaty pattie of mushrooms and seitan and some salad on the side. It seemed the ideas was to put the burger together yourself, then squeeze it with a vice-like grip and hope, vainly, that it would fit into your mouth. I was a bit disappointed by the burger. White bread just does not do it for me, and the burger could have done with more salad to make it less dry. The seasoned wedges were the highlight of the meal, however, and came with a yummy sour cream.
Counter is a gorgeous venue, but in the late afternoon it didn’t have the easy chic of Gobo, or the bohemian charm of Candle 79 or Caravan of Dreams. However, in Counter is famous for being an organic wine bar and I have no doubt that it at night it would make a fantastic bar and bistro. Sadly, our time in New York was at an end and there was no time to go back. V Rating: Super V 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.
V Rating: Super V Never has one meal been so highly anticipated. The first “serious” meal of our honeymoon, we had planned to eat at Millenium some three or four months ago after learning that it had been named the best vegetarian restaurant in the United States. We had even chosen our hotel based on the fact that the Millenium was housed inside the Hotel California . I can’t remember a meal where the bar had been set so high before we’d even arrived in the country. The Millenium had itself contributed to this sense of high expectation by choosing quite coincidentally the only night that we were in San Francisco to offer its monthly prix fixe degustation “aphrodisiac” themed dinner. And this on the first night of our honeymoon in the United States, no less. Kate looked appropriately glamorous in a sleeveless black silk dress – and I didn’t look too bad myself – as we went downstairs and were seated in the Millenium. The setting was beautiful, a chequered black and white floor, a vintage bar in the centre of the room, and long, hanging lights covered in netting. While there was an option of having wine-matched courses, neither of us felt like drinking a lot, and so we opted for 2oz “tasting” sizes of French and Californian wines to accompany our meal. At about a third the size of a regular glass of wine, this was ideal, and something I wish more restaurants offered. It’s no exaggeration to say that Millenium is the best vegetarian restaurant I’ve ever eaten at, and their aphrodisiac dinner is one of the best meals I’ve ever had. Full stop. The meal began with two appetisers: an oyster mushroom and pink grapefruit ceviche, and an avocado-jicama salad, crisp tortilla wedges, aji chile-green olive vinaigrette, and sea vegetable caviar. Traditionally, ceviche is a Peruvian marinated seafood salad that’s served cold. Millenium’s substitution of oyster mushrooms was a masterstroke, because the texture and absorbency of the mushrooms was a great alternative to seafood. The pink grapefruit was served to the side, and made a refreshing complement to the main salad. The avocado-jicama salad was my favourite dish of the night. The consistency of the avocado was incredibly light, but the dish had a lot of flavour thanks to the chile-green olive vinaigrette which the avocado accentuated. Jicama is a vegetable from South America. In this dish it was cut up into small cubes and mixed in with the avocado. Although it’s a vegetable, it looks opaque, and was quite moist like a melon. It didn’t have a strong taste, but gave the avocado some structure. Most impressive, the avocado was topped with what looked (and tasted) like caviar, but was derived from sea vegetable. The next course was edamame gnocchi with grilled oyster mushrooms, tatsoi, ginger caramelized chippolini onions, sweet miso-Jerusalem artichoke coulis and shiso pesto. The bronzed, ginger onions were lovely mixed in with the dish, and the gnocchi was well matched to a dish that had largely Asian flavours. This was followed by a light, refreshing sorbet of cara cara-coconut to cleanse the palate. We had a choice of mains, including stuffed truffled roulade. This consisted of french lentil and black chanterelle ragu, roasted chesnuts, black truffle butter, smoked pimenton cream, roasted maitake and exotic mushrooms, sauteed broccoli di Cicco with currants and pine nuts and mushroom syrup. This dish was very rich thanks to the truffle and smoked pimenton (ground, smoked chillies) cream, but it was perfect for a cold winter’s night. The other main was berber spiced Chickpea-nettle wot, a Ethiopian Injera crepe, seared brasicas (a cross between cauliflower and brussel sprouts), preserved lemon, almond and mint and beet habanero chutney. A wot is an Ethiopian stew, and it’s traditionally served on the savoury Injera crepe, which has a light, fairly fluffy texture. My favourite parts of this dish were the brasicas, which I hadn’t tried before, and the preserved lemon which is quickly becoming one of my favourite ingredients for the bite it adds to dishes. Dessert was a very light, soft chocolate mousse with cocont vanilla bean cream, wonderfully spicy ginger-chile tuile, and acai-chocolate sauce, and served with love potion #9… One of the things I loved about Millenium is that each dish incorporated ingredients and often techniques I’d hadn’t tried before, like jicama and brasilicas. This was partly due to the availability of ingredients and the influence of Central and South America, which doesn’t often make its way to Australia. But it was also a tribute to the daring approach that Millenium takes to its food, and their belief that vegetarian, organic food can also be gourmet and innovative. Right down to the last touches – the friendly, and knowledgeable staff offered us two complimentary glasses of champagne and a final plate of chocolate truffles complete with celebratory candle to blow out to mark our special occasion – the experience was an absolute delight. Not only did Millenium meet the ludicrously high expectations that we set for it, it blew them away. It was an instant Super-V and, more than that, the best top-notch fine dining vegetarian restaurant that we have ever had the pleasure of experiencing.
V Rating: VVVVV A block or so down from the famous cross street where the Summer of Love was said to have begun in 1967, Haight and Ashbury, we came upon the Peace Cafe at the Red Victorian, which identified itself as the international headquarters of a peace-building meeting place movement and offered a variety of unpretentious vegetarian and vegan café meals. After a 14 hour plane flight we were happy to sit down and take the weight off our feet and listen as a piano player in the back of the store tinkled out a few melancholic tunes including David Bowie’s Nature Boy. I ordered the mock chicken enpanada with side salad while Kate ate a savoury crepe. The empanada turned out to be a pastry filled with lightly spiced vegetable and “chicken” filling which was very pleasing. Kate’s crepe also made the grade. Both were tasty meals and just the right size and the staff lived up to the promise of being helpful and positive. KATE’s TWO CENTS: The Peace Cafe is part of the Red Victorian guest house, which prides itself on promoting Peaceful World Travel. Each room in the guest house is individually and brightly decorated according to a theme (for example the ’summer of love’ room). You can choose your own room online, and it’s worth a quick look to marvel at them. Nicest of all, every Sunday morning the Peace Cafe holds ‘breakfast conversations’. Anyone is welcome, and you sit at a table with 4 - 9 people and talk about big issues. A suggested topic card is on each table, but you’re welcome to suggest your own ideas. The purpose is to bring together a diverse group of strangers, including the guests that are staying at the Red Victorian, to talk about issues that matter. How neat!
V Rating: Super V I’ve been promising to review Maya Masala for Maya Masala is on the eastern end of Cleveland street, surrounded by trendy retro shops and other Indian and Lebanese restaurants. It can be easy to miss, so look for the bright green neon Maya Sweets sign in an otherwise nondescript glass window. Although, I like eating in cafeteria style surrounds while Bollywood movies play happily in the background, it’s fair to say that no-one goes to Maya Masala for the genteel atmosphere. No, my friend, you go there for the food.
The Maya menu is much more traditional than your average Indian restaurant. Rather than a long list of curries, you choose from thalis, dosai, chaat, or tandoor dishes. It also takes a matter-of-fact approach to vegetarianism in that they don’t heavily promote the fact the restaurant or dishes are all vegetarian, they just take it for granted that patrons will assume as much. A good choice at Maya is one of three types of thali tasting plates. I order it every time (I mean, why have one dish when you can try ten?) The downside to the thali is that I inevitably eat more than physiology suggests is possible. Something about serving food in little plates of goodness always leads me to think I’m not eating that much. Ahhh, the happiness of a fool.
This time around we got the punjabi and South Indian thalis. Mine (the South Indian version) came with a spinach curry, an okra curry, a vegetable curry, rasam, raita, rice, a pickle, 2 pieces of puri, a pappadum, kuchumber salad and a little rice dessert. My favourite dishes were the soft textured spinach curry and creamy, slightly sweet rasam. Maya Masala also offers 19 varieties of dosa - huge Indian crepes with a variety of fillings. These look amazing (one first-timer saw her dosa being set down at the table and almost fell off her chair), although can be a little slow to arrive if you turn up first thing in the morning. If by some miracle you aren’t full by the end of the meal, it’s worth taking advantage of (or at least gazing in wonder at) Maya Masala’s undisputed speciality: sweets.
The Maya sweets fill two glass counters at the front of the store. The sweets are traditional desserts generally made from milk or cheese (Maya claims they are made by an experienced Indian Halwais or sweet makers). They come in a myriad of shapes and colours and often have a thick, soft, doughy texture that may be sweetened by being doused in a syrup. Some favourites include gulab jamun, rasmalai and burfees. It’s probably the case that you will find better Indian food in Sydney (although the dosai are hard to beat). But for the sheer pleasure of being able to eat traditional, all vegetarian Indian meals for less than $10, Maya Masala is an unassailable Super V choice. |
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