Luke's Bakery

March 23, 2024

   

Luke's Bakery has an excellent reputation amongst our vegan friends for its banh mi, so at last this year we timed a Reservoir visit so that we could pick up lunch from Luke's on our way home. It's a large but typical no-frills-or-furniture bakery set-up so we were in and out and back to the car quite quickly. (If you're a Luke's regular, we'd welcome any tips on where you like to eat your banh mi when the weather's good.)

There's real meat as well, but the five vegan banh mi options are very clearly marked and very appetising: crackling pork, BBQ pork, chicken (five spice or lemongrass), Peking duck and tofu (caramelised or lemongrass) at $9-9.50 each. We received clear advice that the Peking duck and five-spice chicken were our friends' faves, so we split them and loved the experience. As you can see from the photos above, the featured protein is portioned generously and garnished with peanuts. Though I'd surely be satisfied with one of these recommended fillings every visit, I'm interested to try the others too just to be sure.

We were also stoked to see Vietnamese iced coffee on offer ($6) with both dairy-based and vegan-friendly coconut-based options!

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Luke's Bakery

14 Edwardes St, Reservoir

9462 4114

Accessibility: Luke's Bakery has a wide, flat entry with little to no furniture inside for customers. We ordered and paid at a low counter, and picked up at a high counter. We didn't visit the toilets. 

Super Norma

March 21, 2024

   

I've been keen to try Super Norma since they first started popping up doing special event catering at Fenton. They crank out fresh pasta dishes right in front of you, with no formalities at all - it's all very friendly and very casual. The menu is scrawled on a couple of scrolls - there are nine pasta dishes and a handful of sides, about half is vego (with one or two vegan options usually) and they'll do GF pasta for a few bucks extra. 

We took a friend on a Thursday night and grabbed a speedy dinner. Cindy had the pesto Siciliano ($24), with fresh ricotta, datterini tomatoes, parmigiano, basil, almonds and cashews. It was really lovely - creamy and rich without being heavy, with the fresh basil really shining through. I tried the puttanesca (cherry tomatoes, black olives, capers, chilli, $18), which was exactly the kind of salty, spicy delight that you want from a puttanesca. 

The whole experience is incredibly low key - food comes out in little cardboard cartons, there's no liquor licence (or toilet!) and it all gets cooked right in front of you and dished up in a matter of minutes. It's probably not a place you'd go to linger over a meal, but it's damn near perfect for something quick and comforting and high quality. I can't wait to go back. 

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Super Norma

140 Rathdowne St, Carlton

0488 568 777

menu

https://www.instagram.com/super.norma/?hl=en

Accessibility: Super Norma has a flat entry and a pretty densely packed interior - just a handful of low tables and a medium counter to order and pay at. There are no toilets.

Charred cauliflower & crispy tofu with sweet peanut sauce

March 10, 2024

   

One of my colleagues brought in a delicious-looking gado gado lunch a few weeks ago and I was reminded how excellent a plate of anything covered with peanut sauce can be. We went digging around in our books for inspiration and hit upon this version in Hetty McKinnon's Tenderheart. It's a lot less work than the Ottolenghi recipe we've made in the past, and the results are just as satisfying - the charred cauliflower is sweet and smokey, the crispy tofu triangles add a bit of texture, and the peanut sauce is so, so easy. 

You can mess around with this however you like - add some nuts or different crispy veggies, trade the eggs for some tempeh, really whatever you've got to hand. Let's face it, everything tastes delicious doused in sweet/spicy peanut butter.

Charred cauliflower & crispy tofu with sweet peanut sauce

(a recipe from Hetty McKinnon's Tenderheart)

olive oil

1 head of cauliflower, cut into florets

salt and pepper

1 cup chickpea flour

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

500g tofu, sliced into 5mm thick rectangles

2 Lebanese cucumbers, roughly chopped

4 jammy eggs

bean sprouts

crispy shallots

1 lime

sauce

1/2 cup of peanut butter

3/4 cup water

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 teaspoon red chilli flakes

2 tablespoons kecap manis

salt

Heat the oil in a large pan on high heat and fry the cauliflower florets in batches, for about 8 minutes each. Just turn them occasionally, you want them to char up a bit. Set them aside and season with salt and pepper.

Spread the chickpea flour out on a plate, combined with the garlic powder and a bit of salt and pepper. Dredge the tofu slices through the flour mix to coat and then fry in a hot pan with some more olive oil. A couple of minutes on each side should get the tofu nice and golden. Set the tofu aside and, once it has cooled, slice into triangles.

To make the sauce, combine all the ingredients in a small saucepan over medium heat and stir until smooth. Add more water if it's too thick - it will get thicker as it cools down. 

Layer up your plates with cauliflower, tofu, cucumber, egg and sprouts and then drizzle with sauce, squeeze a quarter of the lime over everything and top with crispy shallots. 

Ima Asa Yoru

March 10, 2024

   

I've been following Ima's social media accounts since they were located in Carlton, but it's only very recently that Michael had the bright idea to stop in for lunch when we were in their newer Brunswick neighbourhood running errands. Ima Asa Yoru is located within Nightingale Village and with the temperature in the high 30s we were really putting their eco-friendly non-air-conditioned set-up to the test: it was pleasant but still warm.

   

Iced drinks were very much in order: my house-made yuzu lemonade was ringed with salt ($8.50), while Michael perked up with an iced filter coffee ($6.50).

   

The brunch menu had clearly marked, plentiful veg*n and gluten-free options, all of them varied and highly appetising. Michael was thrilled with the agedashi tofu teishoku ($30) with a bonus onsen egg ($3.50). Beyond the delicate tofu and soft egg, there was rice, miso soup and four little side dishes!

   

Meanwhile, I tried the onigiri teishoku ($28). These rice balls were served on crisp open nori and concealed the most delightful tangy, creamy umeboshi filling. I also received a complex miso soup and two side dishes of pickles.

This was such a luxurious meal, with both variety and attention to detail. Though Ima was reasonably busy, we weren't rushed through in any way. We will absolutely be back for breakfast, lunch and/or dinner.

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Ima Asa Yoru

1 Duckett St, Brunswick

9989 2309

food, drinks

https://www.imaproject.co/

Accessibility: Entry to Ima Asa Yoru includes shallow, wide ramps. Furniture is densely packed, made up of low tables with backed chairs and high benches with backed and backless stools (I found it difficult to comfortably use the footrest). We ordered at our table and paid at a low open counter. We didn't visit the toilets.

The Yarra Hotel III

March 5, 2024

   

The Yarra Hotel had such a long hiatus after the pandemic commenced that in January 2022 I declared it closed in our archives. Happily they re-opened mid-2023, we eventually caught up on the news, and in March we arranged a visit with our book club. 

The Yarra has a pub menu with at least one vegan and one gluten-free option in each section (dessert excepted, unfortunately for the vegans): cauliflower bites and corn ribs are listed ahead of the chicken ribs, and with a smoky tofu sando, quinoa salad, eggplant parma and green Thai curry for mains most predilections are covered.

We both wanted to test out that smoky tofu sando ($24). It's served on Turkish bread (which I heartily approve of) with slaw, chipotle aioli, and caramelised onion. It was the sweet-savoury onion that dominated the flavour, and I liked that! Chips were plentiful and a worthy support.

While the Yarra Hotel is very roomy, with indoor seating, a huge covered area with a fireplace, and a smaller third area for smokers, it's also very loud... with music, even when it's not packed with patrons. We're not sure that it's the right spot for ongoing book club meet-ups but their decent veg burger is something we can all rely on.

   

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You can read about one, two of our previous visits to the Yarra Hotel.

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The Yarra Hotel

295 Johnston St, Abbotsford

9417 0005

menu 

https://www.theyarrahotel.com.au/

Accessibility: There's a small step on entry and another down to the beer garden. Tables are quite generously spaced. We ordered and paid at a high bar.

Small Axe Kitchen V

March 2, 2024

   

We've been going to Small Axe semi-regularly since way back in 2016, when they burst onto the scene with their now-famous breakfast pasta. Until this visit though, we've been forced to settle for non-pasta brekkies, with their signature dish usually riddled with pork products. At some point in the last few years they've added a vego option, and I finally tried it on a lazy Saturday morning. 

The vegetarian version seems to be basically the regular version with the cured meat omitted: maccaruni, peas, mint, parsley, salted ricotta and slow-cooked egg ($27). It's a pretty lovely way to start the day, but it did kind of miss the richness and saltiness that the meat would have provided - I'm not sure what the best substitute would be, but there's definitely room to improve the meat-free version of this. 

Still: now the non-meat eaters can start their day with an eggy, cheesy pasta and it's hard to be anything but happy about that.    

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You can also read about one, two, three, four of our previous visits to Small Axe Kitchen. 

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Small Axe Kitchen

281 Brunswick St, Brunswick

9939 6061

brunch; classics, sides & specials 

https://www.smallaxekitchen.com/

Accessibility: There's a small step on entry. Tables are densely packed with a clear corridor through the middle. Tables outside have small backless stools, high benches in the front room have tall backless stools, and tables in the back room have ordinary backed chairs. We ordered at our table and paid at a low counter. We didn't visit the toilets.

Sani

February 25, 2024

   

Sani is located close to us and I've tended to ignore it. I always thought it looked like a big, fancy wine bar that wasn't really my style. But Michael came upon it while googling around for a local brunch option and we were up for giving it a go (... I hadn't even noticed that it was open in the mornings).

The menu is very vegetarian-friendly, with a few good well-marked vegan options (fancy avo toast, sago pudding, mushrooms on corn bread) and 'low gluten' options (they're not willing to promise a coeliac-clear experience).

Michael ordered Turkish eggs (again; $25); here they're poached, served on a bed of labneh and chilli butter, covered in za'atar and soft herbs, with a spinach and ricotta borek on the side instead of toast. It was novel and rich, and just the refuelling Michael needed after his run.

   

I went for the grilled haloumi ($24), which turned out to be another paired-plate situation. The three seared haloumi slices were judiciously topped with roasted pepper gremolata, carrot velouté, extra carrot slices and chive oil. On my second plate were two large and perfectly flaky empanadas stuffed with well-seasoned potatoes and cauliflower. Though I was thrilled with all of it, I sent a third of my meal in Michael's direction.

These were unexpected and fun brunch dishes - I wondered if these were actually designed as share plates for later in the day, but they worked regardless. I'm sure we'll be back when our appetites are up to the task!

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Sani

63 Lygon St, Brunswick East

9020 7952

food, drinks

https://www.sanimelbourne.com.au/

Accessibility: Sani has a shallow-ramped entry and clear walkway through the main areas. Furniture is medium-spaced regular-height tables with backed chairs and cushioned benches. We ordered at our table and paid at a low counter. We didn't visit the toilets.

Fenton II

February 18, 2024

   

We've been back to Fenton for brunch, and unsurprisingly for a produce-focussed cafe, the menu has changed. It remains short but appetising, with plenty of well-marked vegan and gluten-free options.

   

Michael ate the Turkish (soft-boiled) egg ($24), with charred greens, tomatoes, labneh, berbere garlic butter, toasted almonds, raisins, pickled chilli and sourdough toast. For all those ingredients, it was a bit smaller than Michael expected, although the toast, cheese and egg were enough to keep him full. Michael is a big fan of Fenton's pickled chilli and everything they put it on.

   

I had to try the French toast ($23), which was served as a single thick and not-too-eggy piece (very much my preference!). It was generously piled with a jammy fruit compote, a rapidly melting mountain of latte whip, almonds and coconut shards, and a brûléed banana half.  

This meal affirmed the positive impression Fenton has already made with us - we'll look forward the next iteration of their menu.

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You can read about my first visit to Fenton here.

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Fenton

158 Rathdowne St, Carlton

9328 3401

food, drinks

https://fenton-farmhouse.com/

Accessibility: Fenton has a flat entry and medium-to-densely packed tables and backed chairs, with a clear wide path to the counter. We ordered at our table and paid at a low counter. We didn't visit the toilets.

Veggie Chef

February 17, 2024 

   

We had a house party to attend in the south-eastern suburbs and took it as a chance to try a new restaurant for dinner on the way over. Veggie Chef popped up as a nearby option, and also came recommended by Will L on twitter. It's a small, casual, mostly vegan Malaysian Chinese restaurant with several dozen dishes to choose from, the majority of them featuring mock meat.

It was tough to choose across all the noodle soups, dons, fried noodles and bentos, plus two temptig nasi lemak specials. Michael settled on the sambal chicken don ($18), which had precisely the spice level he was after and a few good veges for balance.

   

I slowly worked my way through a lemon chicken bento ($22), which included a lovely miso soup, edamame, spring rolls, sushi rice balls, seaweed salad, a pickle-topped mound of steamed rice, some steamed broccoli florets and, of course, the feature dish! This was a wonderfully textured crisply battered mock chicken with a lemon wedge and sauce bowl considerately served on the side. My ideal feast!

The staff were lovely and our food arrived incredibly fast. We'll take any excuse to head back and try more of the Veggie Chef menu.

   

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Veggie Chef

53 Portman St, Oakleigh

0433 525 326

menu

https://lifeintouch.net/veggiechef

Accessibility: Veggie Chef has a flat entry. Furniture is densely packed and regular height, with sturdy backed chairs. We ordered at our table and paid at a high counter (visible in the last photo). We didn't visit the toilets.

Pinchy's

February 13, 2024

   

Pinchy's brands itself as a lobster and champagne bar so I was a little surprised when our vegan friend Jess invited us to celebrate his birthday there. He has excellent taste so I put my trust in him and in Pinchy's - it turns out that they have a vegan 'made friendlier' six course tasting menu ($60 per person and significantly cheaper than their seven courses 'by the sea') and it's a lot of fun. 

   

The extensive drinks list includes fancy, unique cocktails and mocktails - Michael got into the swing of things with a spicy marg ($22), while I sipped on a sunset tonic ($14). Another popular choice around our table was the nectar of the night ($22), which includes a colour transformation at the table through the combination of butterfly pea tea and lemon juice.

   

We didn't have to wait long before the food started arriving! First came these ultra crisp miniature spiced tofu tacos, with a light salsa and lots of avocado mousse.

   

The Caesar salad tartlet came draped in a fine sliver of celeriac; inside was a smoky, savoury mixture of confit garlic, lettuce, capers and vegan parmesan.

   

The beetroot tartare was a striking square with a toasty nori crouton base, earthy tender beetroot filling, and a little piped avocado on top.

   

The leek croquettes, served with herb oil, might have been my favourite - I love that combination of crispy-crumbed shell and molten interior.

   

Though the charred capsicum crisp was listed first on the menu, it arrived late on. I know these shells best from the dish pani puri, and it was a little jarring to eat one stuffed with roast capsicum rather than potatoes and mint water!

   

The vegan tasting menu climaxes with a pillow-soft bun stuffed with charred lion's mane mushroom and a small side of potato crisps. I doubt it tastes anything like a lobster roll but it's a joy all its own.

   

The gentlest nudge from the wait staff had us ordering some truffle fries ($14), which were served with a terrific truffle aioli.

   

More generally, the staff were an absolute delight - professional, funny and friendly, completely on top of the vegan menu and especially attentive to the one coeliac in our party. The vibe of the venue is a little ostentatious for my tastes and I never imagined the menu would be for me either - but I'm glad to be proven wrong and had a very memorable time at Pinchy's.

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For write-ups of the seafood at Pinchy's, you can read a generally positive account on Whatever Floats Your Bloat and a more effusive review on Olive Sundays.

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Pinchy's

1/200 Bourke St, Melbourne

0420 783 719

menu

https://www.pinchys.co/

Accessibility: We took the stairs up to Pinchy's and, although I didn't notice a lift, there is a wide and shallow ramp inside so there seems a reasonable chance that one is available. Furniture is densely packed, a mixture of booths, low tables with backed chairs and high tables with backed chairs. We ordered and paid at our table. We didn't visit the toilets.

Eat Pierogi Make Love II

 February 1, 2024

   

On a weeknight when the sun was out and we couldn't be bothered cooking, Michael and I walked up to Eat Pierogi Make Love to try more from their menu. Plenty other people seemed to have the same idea, with the restaurant doing a brisk trade!

This time we made sure to try the vegan ziemniak pierogi ($24), stuffed with potatoes, vegan cheese and jalapenos. They were starchy and moderately spicy, and definitely a dish we'd order again. We complemented them with a side of buraki (beetroot; $6), which wasn't as pickley as I was anticipating.

   

The beetroot seemed important since we'd also ordered leniwe or 'Polish style gnocchi' ($26), but this proved to be a gorgeous, green and well-rounded plate on its own. The tender cheese and spinach dumplings were fried in butter, then piled with baby spinach leaves, green peas, pickled beetroot, breadcrumbs and cured egg yolk. In the unlikely circumstance that you're not at EPML to share food, this is an excellent self-contained vegetarian meal.

   

This shared meal left us enough appetite to try a dessert, and I picked the sernik ($14), a dense baked cheesecake served with tangy preserved red currants - it was precisely to both our tastes.

It's great to confirm that there's plenty for vegetarians to mix and match across EPML's menu! We haven't exhausted their options yet and will surely be back for more.

   

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You can read about our first visit to EPML here.

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Eat Pierogi Make Love

161 Lygon St, Brunswick East

8394 5240

menu: food for vodka; small plates, mains, pierogi & toppings; side salads & desserts

http://www.eatpierogimakelove.com/

Accessibility: There is a flat entry with a shallow ramp. Furniture inside is densely packed, a mixture of fixed booths and a high bar with backless stools; we didn't visit the outdoor courtyard or the toilets. We ordered at the table and paid at a high bar.

Cafe Lalibela III

January 27, 2024

   

My last post about Cafe Lalibela, published in 2016, ended with the words: "We really need to go back before 2023 rolls around". Welp. It seems our visits are destined to be rare but they are always relished. This summer we stopped in after dropping some food to COVID-afflicted friends and doing a loop around Footscray Savers.

My past photographs are evidence that the walls have been repainted, but Lalibela maintains the same cosy, family-run atmosphere. We returned to the Beyainetu ($20; up from $14 in 2016 and $12 in 2008) to sample across the vegetarian menu, sopping up misir wot (lentil stew), shiro wot (pea flour stew), yeatakilt (turmeric-stained potato and carrot stew), ater kik wot (split pea stew), and defin misir wot (more lentils) with two huge rounds of injera.

In another blast from the past, Cafe Lalibela was sporting a 'cash only' sign! We and another table were caught short, noticing this only part-way through our meals, but the staff kindly figured out a means of bank transfer. We'll pack our proper wallets next time, whatever year that might be.  

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You can read about one, two of our previous visits to Cafe Lalibela.

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Cafe Lalibela

91 Irving St, Footscray

9687 0300

menu

https://www.lalibela.com.au/

Accessibility: The entry is flat but has a little rail and turn that is probably awkward for prams and wheelchairs to pass. There's a clear path through the middle of the restaurant; furniture is densely spaced sturdy tables and chairs of standard height. We paid at a high counter and didn't visit the toilets. 

Pasta & chickpeas in brothwith preserved lemon & chilli

January 15, 2024

   

Meera Sodha published this recipe around the same time that I noticed we had preserved lemon in the fridge, so I got onto it pretty quickly. Pasta is up front in the dish's name, and there's also more broth than I expected so I've brought that into the title as well. The recipe is probably better suited to autumn, but the weather turned cooler and broth-worthy as we were eating it.

I made a few substitutions for convenience. Having never encountered sun-dried tomato paste, I used regular tomato paste. I used some orecchiette languishing in the pantry instead of buying macaroni. I spooned out a little chipotle in adobo sauce instead of purchasing chiptole flakes. I think it's a recipe that can handle plenty of improvisation.

The result is comforting but light; liquidy while offering plenty to chew on; it's very warming and a little tangy, a little savoury. We'll wait until the season really changes before we go back for more.

Pasta & chickpeas in broth with preserved lemon & chilli

(a recipe by Meera Sodha in The Guardian)

olive oil

4 sprigs rosemary, leaves picked

1 onion, finely chopped

2 carrots, finely chopped

2 sticks celery, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

3 tablespoons tomato paste

2 x 400g cans chickpeas, including liquid

1 preserved lemon, seeds removed and finely chopped

160g macaroni (or, in my case, orecchiette)

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1 1/2 teaspoons chipotle in adobo sauce

20g nutritional yeast flakes

3/4 teaspoons ground black pepper

Make some rosemary oil. Pour 80 ml of oil and the rosemary into a small saucepan over low heat until bubbling, then turn off the heat and allow it to infuse while you cook the soup.

In a large saucepan, pour in 5 tablespoons of olive oil and set it over low-medium heat. Add the onion, carrot and celery and cook, stirring, until softened. Briefly stir in the garlic and tomato paste, then add just one of the tins of chickpeas with their canning water. Mash the chickpeas to form a rough paste.

Stir in the preserved lemon and the second can of chickpeas with its water. Add the pasta, salt, chipotle, and 1.5 litres of tap water. Cover the pot with a lid and simmer until the pasta is cooked (see what's recommended on the packet but note that it could take a little longer).

Stir in the yeast flakes and pepper and simmer for a few more minutes. Ladle the soup into bowls and drizzle over the rosemary oil to serve.

Carrot peanut satay ramen

January 14, 2024

   

We're still working our way through the recipes that Cindy has bookmarked in Tenderheart and we used a quiet Sunday evening to take a crack at this carrot satay ramen. I'm always apprehensive about noodle soup dishes, but the prep is remarkably simple here: you make a big pot of peanutty stock, cook your noodles separately and then combine in a bowl with some extra condiments. 

This was superb, the carrots provide a bit of sweetness, but the peanut butter is really key - what dish is not improved by a few big globs of peanut butter? It definitely works here. I even whipped up some jammy eggs to really finish things off. Add a bit of crunch from some roasted peanuts on top and you've really got yourself a treat. We will absolutely be making this again soon.

Carrot peanut satay ramen

(a recipe from Hetty McKinnon's Tenderheart,

also published in the Sydney Morning Herald)

2 tablespoons sunflower oil

2 garlic cloves, crushed

1 tablespoon of minced ginger

250g of carrots, grated

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon sugar

200g peanut butter

1 litre of vegetable stock (or vegan dashi if you can be bothered making it - there's a recipe in Tenderheart)

350g ramen noodles

1 bunch of bok choi, roughly chopped

1/4 cup roasted peanuts

4-6 soft-boiled eggs

Seasonings

1 tablespoon sugar

1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar

1 tablespoon sesame oil

1 tablespoon chilli oil

2 tablespoons tamari

Heat the sunflower oil in a large saucepan and add the garlic and ginger, cooking for a minute until fragrant. Throw in the carrot, salt and sugar and cook things down for about 5 minutes, until it's nice and soft. 

Add the peanut butter and stock and stir things together. Bring it to the boil, stirring often, and then cover and simmer for five minutes. Add the greens when it's done and you're basically ready to serve up.

In the meantime, prepare the noodles as directed in a separate pot - ours were just a few minutes in boiling water. Drain them and start to build your bowls! 

Add a teaspoon of sugar, rice wine vinegar, sesame oil, chilli oil and a couple of tamari to each bowl and whisk together. Pop a quarter of the broth into each bowl and combine with the seasonings, add a quarter of the noodles, top with peanuts and your egg and serve.

Small Axe Kitchen IV

January 5, 2024

   

It's been a while between visits to Small Axe Kitchen, though we always think of it fondly. We made time for breakfast there during our summer break, and easily secured a spot at one of their outdoor communal tables. The menu has changed a lot though it retains the same Sicilian inspiration that sets it apart from other brunch-centred cafes. There are plenty of egg-based dishes, but also lots of meats and vegetables that we don't typically see before noon. Small Axe is still most well-known for its breakfast pasta, which now comes with a vegetarian option. Vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free options are well-marked throughout.

I vacillated between the chilled rice pudding and the tiramisu pannacotta, ultimately settling on the former ($25, pictured above). Inevitably the rice had that firm, starchy texture it gets when chilled yet there were so many other textures to enjoy with it: a spoonably-soft baked apple, finely diced fresh apple, pureed apple and dehydrated apple frills, creamy custard and crunchy almond crumble. No two mouthfuls were quite the same, and all of them were lovely.

   

Michael continued on his chilli-scramble habit: this Sicilian egg-based one ($24.50) was served on toast with pecorino and chives. He rated this as one of the better ones going around, with excellent toast and a pleasing slow burn.

It's great to see Small Axe Kitchen succeeding, both sticking to its unique Sicilian style and switching up its specific offerings over time. We should circle back more often.

   

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You can also read about one, two, three of our previous visits to Small Axe Kitchen. Since then it's received positive coverage from ElectroBoi Eats.

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Small Axe Kitchen

281 Brunswick St, Brunswick

9939 6061

brunch; classics, sides & specials 

https://www.smallaxekitchen.com/

Accessibility: There's a small step on entry. Tables are densely packed with a clear corridor through the middle. Tables outside have small backless stools, high benches in the front room have tall backless stools, and tables in the back room have ordinary backed chairs. We ordered at our table and paid at a low counter. We didn't visit the toilets.

where's the best in 2023?

   

Vola Foods

With another calendar year's posts wrapped up, I've reviewed and updated our where's the best? page and noticed a few themes along the way. Firstly, we've bid farewell to too many beloved veg*n businesses! Kale Mary, The Origin Tales, Fina's, Power Plant and Sable all shut up shop in 2023, while Transformer is pending transformation. We're also sad to lose the veg-friendly neighbourhood nook, Theodore's.

The sandwich trend I noted in 2022 has continued into 2023 and I couldn't be happier, blogging Take Two Bagels, Egglab, Good Days Hot Bread, Banh Mi Nights, and current fave Pickles Milk Bar. For the weeknights that we couldn't be bothered cooking dinner, we leaned on two Master Lanzhou Noodle Bar venues, Shimbashi Soba, Vola Foods, and Eat Pierogi Make Love. We're lacking a go-to vegan brunch, but had noteworthy morning meals at Tyler's Milk Bar, Two:Bob and Fenton. It's also the year that Michael acquired a car, and that has enabled adventures to Midori by Tao's, Vegie Bowl, Easy Vegan and Mietta. For 2024 I've put Gloria back on my to-blog list: we're regular customers, their menu has evolved, and I reckon they're selling the best vegan desserts in Melbourne right now.

   

Darwin

We did our share of air travel as well as car travel in 2023, visiting Hobart, Darwin, Brisbane and Sydney. If all goes well in 2024 we'll be venturing even further.

In our home kitchen, there's been lot of Hetty Lui McKinnon recipes and a few family favouites. Crispy caper & slow-roasted tomato pappardelle and vegan bolognese take a while to come together but the rewards are high; Michael has made double-batches of the bolognese countless times to share with sick friends. A gnocchi broccoli tray bake with lemon & cheese or artichoke roll is much faster to pull together and just as satisfying to eat. My champion sweets were oaty ginger crunch and lebkuchen.

I did a big cookbook clear-out in 2023, giving away what I could and donating the remainder, and I've still got a dozen books on notice for me to focus on in 2024. And then, of course, there's the hundreds of online links I've bookmarked! Hopefully it'll make for a fun mix of retro recipes and new approaches on the blog this year.

   

An artichoke roll

Lebkuchen

December 28, 2023

   

Michael had a driver's license for the first time in 2023, and we had access to a car for much of the year too. This ramped up our adventures outside of Melbourne and we did a lot of regional second-hand shopping. Two excellent acquisitions were a copy of The Australian Women's Weekly The Big Book of Beautiful Biscuits and some heart-shaped biscuit cutters.

My mum has had this book for decades and many of its recipes are very familiar to me. Lebkuchen are probably my all-time favourite, and I found time to bake and share them between on my summer holiday, just a smidge after the Christmas time that they're traditionally made for. They perfectly capture my own heritage - Germanic origins filtered through 1980s Australia. 

The biscuits use golden syrup instead of honey, a modest dose of warm ground spices and mixed peel in the dough, then they're embedded with a dot of raspberry jam and slathered with dark chocolate on the other side. The spice level is just as I remembered but I'm of the inclination to double them all now. My mum always skipped the mixed peel (I can think of a couple of family member who wouldn't've liked it) but I'm up for adding that to a future batch too. I consider the heart shape, raspberry jam and dark chocolate backing to be canon.

I notice now that Lebkuchen would be easy to veganise, and I can't imagine they'd taste any different. I'll report back! And hopefully I'll be reporting on many other recipes from the book, both nostalgic faves and ones that weren't a fit for my family of origin.

Lebkuchen

(a recipe from The Australian Women's Weekly The Big Book of Beautiful Biscuits)

60g butter

2/3 cup (160ml) golden syrup

1 3/4 cups (250g) plain flour

1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

1/2 teaspoon cocoa

1 tablespoon milk

1/4 cup (40g) mixed peel, finely chopped (I haven't included this yet but I will!)

2 tablespoons raspberry jam

185g dark chocolate

2 teaspoons vegetable oil

Place the butter and golden syrup in a large saucepan over medium heat, stirring until melted. Bring them to the boil, then remove them from the heat and allow to stand for 10 minutes. Sift in the flour, bicarb soda, ginger, cardamom, cinnamon, cloves and cocoa, then the milk and peel. Cover the saucepan with a lid and allow it to rest for 1 1/2 hours. My mixture went from oozy to sticky dough in that time.

Preheat an oven to 180°C. Line two trays with baking paper.

Prepare a clean surface and lightly flour it. Drop the dough onto the surface and knead it until it's firmer and less sticky. Roll the dough out to 5-8mm thick. Use a biscuit cutter to cut shapes from the dough and place them onto the baking trays - a heart shape is the classic!

When your trays are full of biscuits, make a little indentation in the centre of each one (I used the handle end of a small sharp knife for this, and a wooden spoon is recommended in the original recipe.) Use two teaspoons to gently place a teensy portion of jam in each biscuit indentation. Bake the biscuits for about 10 minutes, until lightly browned.

When the biscuits have cooled, melt the chocolate using your preferred method and mix it together with the oil. Gently spread the non-jammy side of each biscuit with chocolate and allow them to set before serving.

Easy Vegan II

December 26, 2023

   

We had a quiet Christmas holiday in 2023 and did some online scouting for fun places to eat - Easy Vegan came out on top for being open on Christmas and Boxing days and having a menu that we were keen to try more from. We ended up grazing on home-baked cheesymite scrolls on the 25th, but took a break from the televised cricket on the 26th for an Easy Vegan lunch. They were doing a bustling trade, but had us all set up with a cleared table and complimentary tea in good time.

It's been an unusually humid summer in Melbourne so we were keen for more drinks beyond the tea: an apple, watermelon and ginger juice ($8, above right) for Michael, and a custard-apple smoothie ($10, above left, and an old Fina's favourite) for me.

   

Michael lunched on the Spicy Satay V-Chic ($17) with rice. This isn't as thickly peanutty as the Thai and Indonesian satays that we're most familiar with but is consistent with the other Vietnamese one we know from Fina's: it's very savoury and well-spiced, a little oily, and not fiery-hot. Zucchini and capsicum add a fresh contrast to the mock chicken, and it's just perfect with a side of steamed rice ($3).

   

I also trialled a dish I've known and loved elsewhere, the Hainan V-chic Rice ($16). They use a layered mock-chicken with a crisp 'skin', and you can see the accompanying vegetables are on the fence between 'garnish' and 'side'. The real stars here are the rice and the pouring sauce - so fragrant, so complex! Sweet, salty, somewhat spicy, and herbal with a little funk.

   

There are a couple of vegan groceries at the counter, and we picked up a portion of vegan pâté on our way out. This made our next batch of home-made banh mi extra-special.

Easy Vegan excels again! Perhaps on our next visit it's time splurge on the pricier DIY V-ish rolls.

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You can read about our first visit to Easy Vegan here.

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Easy Vegan

140 Victoria St, Richmond

0432 955 735

menu: one, two

facebook page

Accessibility: There is a small lip on the entry and a clear corridor through the centre of the restaurant. Furniture is solid, with low height tables and backed chairs. We ordered and paid at a low counter. We didn't visit the toilets.

Umami crisp

December 24, 2023

One of Cindy's birthday presents this year was a copy of Hetty McKinnon's newish cookbook Tenderheart. We've had some great successes with To Asia With Love, so it seemed like an obvious book to add to our collection. We're off to a strong start - the crispy salt and vinegar kale chips with chickpeas and avo was a lovely weeknight dinner, and the closest I've come to actually getting chickpeas to crisp up properly.

The broccoli wontons were a bit more involved, but equally excellent - they provided meal after meal for us during the structure-less post-Christmas period. 

   

Both of these dishes were really off the charts thanks to the addition of Hetty's umami crisp, a variation on the various chilli oils that were in her last book and I think the one we'll wind up making the most. The inclusion of dried porcini mushrooms and flaked almonds really brings out a richer, deeper flavour and some great crunchy textures. I love a blow-your-head-off chilli oil as much as the next person, but this one feels a bit more sophisticated. It's super easy to make too, and our first batch just ran out, so it's time to get back at it. 

Umami crisp

(from Hetty McKinnon's Tenderheart, 

and also published in the Sydney Morning Herald)

20g dried porcini mushrooms, chopped

1 shallot, chopped finely

4 garlic cloves, chopped finely

1/2 cup flaked almonds

1/2 cup toasted white sesame seeds

1 cinnamon stick

1 tablespoon red chilli flakes

1 tablespoon gochugaru

1.25 cups of vegetable oil

1 tablespoon tamari

2 tablespoons roasted sesame oil

2 teaspoons salt

Combine the vegetable oil, gochugaru, chilli flakes, cinnamon stick, sesame seeds, flaked almonds, garlic, shallot and porcini in a saucepan over high heat. Cook for a couple of minutes until the oil starts to bubble and then lower the heat and cook for 15 minutes or so. You want everything to go nice and golden without burning - stir occasionally, but keep a pretty close eye on things. 

When you're happy, strain the oil through a fine mesh sieve over a bowl and let the mixture cool. When it's completely cool, stir it back into the oil and add the tamari, sesame oil and salt. Store in a jar in the fridge and serve it on absolutely everything.

Pickles Milk Bar

December 14 & 21, 2023

   

Late in 2023 while on a Lygon St tram, I noticed that the shopfront that was North Carlton Canteen for a decade now had little red lettering that said Pickles Milk Bar. I rapidly located it on instagram and hit follow; it hadn't quite opened yet. When I stopped in to try a takeaway lunch a month later, I was thrilled to learn that this milk bar is all vegan!

The milk bar menu runs through coffees and milkshakes, a couple of hot breakfast sandwiches with optional hash browns, four day-time sandwiches, pies and chips, dims sims and potato cakes, a counter of cakes and a row of vegan-friendly lollies.

   

On that first visit I picked out two sandwiches ($16 each) that I could pop in my tote bag and cycle home with. They were both made with a terrific garlic butter focaccia! (I am so happy that focaccia is making a comeback.) Up top is the Damn Caesar featuring fried enoki mushrooms, soy bacon with pickled red onion, capers, parmesan, dill chimichurri and lettuce. Beneath is the Gyros with the za'atar zucchini option (mock meat also available), fries, sumac onions, tomato, pickled turnip and cucumber, garlic and mint sauce and red cabbage. In both cases the fillings mixed together in an enjoyable savoury way with specific ingredients only being detectable in occasional bites. The focaccia was just barely sturdy enough to hold everything together through to my last bites.

   

A week later we were back and word had clearly got around; we ran into three veg*n friends while there! We figured that we needed to sample the salad sandwich ($16) which is served on sourdough bread. The hot mustard and the avocado were the highlights here for me, amongst cucumber, tomato, red onion, carrot, beetroot, dill chimichurri, lettuce, alfalfa sprouts and mayo.

   

The breakfast scramble pie ($9) was where I could really taste the layers! This open-top pastry is lined with mock bacon, filled with a hearty tofu scramble and topped with potato gems, with a tub of relish on the side. It is precisely as good as it sounds.

It is such a great surprise to have Pickles Milk Bar opening up so close to home - we have every intention of becoming regulars and systematically working our way through the menu. (Next on my agenda: milkshakes!) 

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Pickles Milk Bar

1008 Lygon St, Carlton North

menu

instagram account

Accessibility: There is a small lip on the door and a relatively spacious interior with a low counter. There is a line of bench seating along the wall, with small low tables and low backless stools. We ordered and paid at the counter. We didn't visit the toilets.