HaTiNA / Vegan Heaven

October 10, 2024

   

We were sad to receive news that Vegie Mum closed its Fitzroy restaurant back in May. Happily, the premises have become a sibling to another beloved veg*n restaurant! At the same address, HaTiNa was announced as a second restaurant from the Huong Viet Vegetarian crew. We visited in October, and since then they have undergone rapid renovations and reopened as Vegan Heaven, and remain associated with Huong Viet. The menu remains largely unchanged, running to dozens of vegan dishes. Gluten-free foods are marked and reside primarily in the tofu, mushroom and stir-fry sections of the menu. There are a few chilli warnings scattered about too. Thankfully we had a crew of six hungry veg*ns ready to try as much as we could during the restaurant's brief phase as HaTiNa.

We began by carefully sharing out Lion's Mane Mushroom skewers ($15, pictured above) - these were really meaty and thickly coated in a savoury sauce that had us all appetised for more. 

   

Likewise, the Crispy Fish Salt and Pepper ($16) was very well seasoned and had us eager for the more substantive dishes ahead; it was nestled amongst some colourful, barely-dressed salad.

   

The Authentic Viet Broken Rice ($25) offered welcome variety and heartiness. Similar to the one I've enjoyed at Easy Vegan, it's centred on a mound of rice and a complex dressing, then surrounded by grilled mock meats and shredded vegetables, a mock fried egg, pickles and salad veges.

   

If you thought broken rice might be awkward to share among six, it's easier than laksa! The Zesty Laksa Bowl ($25) was a reasonably spicy rendition containing varied mock meats.

   

The Thai glass noodle salad ($25) was a balancing, fresh contribution to the meal but ultimately didn't rate as anyone's favouite.

   

For me, it was the mini savoury pancakes ($26) that ruled the night. I probably haven't eaten them in a decade, and I was thrilled to have the chance again. These little rice flour pucks are sweet with coconut, fried with crisp savoury toppings (often prawns if not vegetarian) then teamed with a dressing a fresh green herbs.

   

For several others, the Tom Yum Flounder Sweet & Sour Fish ($35) was the pick, and deservedly so. The fish pieces were kept separate from the tangy sauce long enough to retain a crisp, delicate skin and there was just the right medley of fresh vegetables to offset the mock meat richness.

   

Drinks are worth a mention too - there are plenty of non-alcoholic options to choose from, including juices and smoothies. The coconut juice ($10) is served in a coconut and there's vegan condensed milk available for Vietnamese iced coffees ($12)!

This was a really fun, casual meal with lots of dishes we'd gladly eat again. The challenge ahead will be trading off between revisiting their known delights and the potential new favourites that still lie untasted within such an expansive menu. I think we're up to the task.

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HaTiNa / Vegan Heaven

72 Johnston St, Fitzroy

0432 468 538

menu pages one and two 

facebook page

Accessibility: There's a step up on entry. The interior is flat with moderately crowded regular-height tables and backed chairs. We ordered at our table and paid at a high counter. We didn't visit the toilets.

Sautéed rhubarb & fior di latte dressed in peppercorn oil

October 5, 2024

   

Here's the final component of our Ottolenghi grilling trilogy. This one's my favourite of the bunch and it actually hit the cast iron pan as intended. Sections of rhubarb are set on high heat just long enough to soften and char, then they're dressed with ginger honey, layered with big chunks of fior di latte, scattered with basil leaves and finished with peppercorn oil. It's tangy and creamy up against each other, shot through with sweetness and spice. I think I'd be as happy eating this for dessert as I was working it into my main meal!

Sautéed rhubarb & fior di latte dressed in peppercorn oil

(slightly adapted from a recipe by Yotam Ottolenghi in The Guardian)

400g rhubarb, trimmed and sliced on the diagonal into 4-5cm lengths

350g fior di latte, burrata or other fresh, milky cheese, drained and roughly torn into large pieces

10g basil leaves

peppercorn oil

1 teaspoon peppercorns

1 teaspoon coriander seeds

1/2 teaspoon chilli flakes

flaked sea salt

2 tablespoons oil

ginger honey

90ml runny honey

15g fresh ginger, peeled and julienned

Using a mortar and pestle, lightly crush together the peppercorns, coriander seeds, chilli flakes, and a pinch of salt. Heat the oil in a small saucepan and then add the crushed spices. Cook them for just 30 seconds, then pour the spices and oil together into a small heat-proof bowl or jar. Clean the saucepan.

Set the small saucepan back over medium heat, adding the honey, ginger, a splash of water and a pinch of salt. Cook for about 5 minutes, then turn off the heat and set aside.

Set a cast iron pan over high heat. When it's hot, add the rhubarb in batches, cooking until just charred and softened and then setting aside in a bowl as you go. When they're all done, stir through about half of the honey mixture.

To serve, layer up the torn fior di latte and rhubarb pieces. Drizzle over the honey, scatter the basil leaves on top, and finally drizzle with the peppercorn oil.

Charred carrots & tofu with harissa

October 5, 2024

   

The second phase of our impromptu Ottolenghi afternoon was this double tofu ensemble, combining a silken tofu and tahini-based cream with some charred up firm tofu and carrots. We made a few simplifications from the original recipe, holding back on the spring onion garnish, but otherwise stuck pretty close to Yotam's directions. This packed a pretty decent punch - our supermarket harissa had a good kick, and you really needed the creamy silken tofu underlayer to balance things out. It was great in combination with the fresher greens and rhubarb dishes and the leftovers kept me going for a few lunches. Not a show-stopper, but a very solid contributor.

Charred carrots & tofu with harissa

(slightly adapted from a recipe by Yotam Ottolenghi in The Guardian)

100g silken tofu

2 tablespoons tahini

salt

50g harissa

1 teaspoon golden syrup

2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

2 tablespoons tamari

5 garlic cloves, peeled and minced

20g fresh ginger, grated

1.5 tablespoons olive oil

300g firm tofu, cut into thin rectangles

250g baby carrots, trimmed

Blend the silken tofu, tahini and salt together and set aside

Combine the harissa, syrup, vinegar, tamari, garlic, ginger and oil in a biggish saucepan and saute over medium heat for five minutes, until fragrant.

Meanwhile put a frying pan over high heat (we used our cast iron one) and fry the tofu in batches, with just a spray of oil. You want it to char up, so leave it on each side for a couple of minutes. Once it's all cooked up, pop the tofu in the saucepan with your harissa mix, along with 100ml of water and stir together gently.

In the same frying pan, char up your baby carrots until they've blackened in a few spots and softened through - the time it takes will depend on how thick they are, ours probably only took 5 or 6 minutes with a couple of turns. When they're done stir them into your saucepan as well.

 

Serve it up by layering the silken tofu cream down first and then gently arranging the saucy tofu and carrots on top.

Broccolini & asparagus with green salsa & butter beans

October 5, 2024

   

On a weekend in early October, we had the time and energy for a big cook-up. I was in the mood for fresh flavours and hit on an Ottolenghi Guardian column that I bookmarked last year about grilling (i.e. using an open flame). It was bright and all-vegetarian and we were ambitious enough to cook all three dishes!

Since we were making three multi-component dishes, it wasn't realistic to grill everything. We actually grilled (as in 'broiled') the green capsicum and garlic involved. But we oven-baked the intended-to-be-grilled broccolini and aspargus, trusting that they'd acquire a gentle crispness and char around the edges. They're served on a bed of mashed butter beans, intermingled with a spicy green salsa and topped with toasted, cumin-spiked almond flakes.

It was a savoury, hearty dish on the night we made it, still great at room temperature on the following days, and Michael even had some bonus salsa to eat with hummus on toast.

Broccolini & asparagus with green salsa & butter beans

(slightly adapted from a recipe by Yotam Ottolenghi in The Guardian)

250g broccolini, cut into large bite-sized pieces

200g asparagus, cut into large bite-sized pieces

2 tablespoons olive oil

salt and pepper

green salsa

1 green capsicum, sliced into four flat surfaces

6 cloves garlic, peel still on

3 large red chillies, sliced into large chunks

30g fresh coriander

10g fresh parsley

1 tablespoon lemon juice

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon cumin seeds, lightly crushed

salt, to taste

fried almonds

1 tablespoon olive oil

30g flaked almonds

1 teaspoon cumin seeds, lightly crushed

salt, to taste

mashed butter beans

2 x 400g cans butter beans, drained

2 tablespoons lemon juice

salt, to taste

Turn a grill onto medium-high heat. Place the capsicum pieces skin-side-up on a baking tray and add the garlic cloves. Place them under the grill until the capsicum skin blisters and turns black, and the garlic cloves have softened. Turn off the heat and set them aside.

Preheat an oven to 180°C. Place the broccolini and asparagus pieces in a baking tray, drizzle over the olive oil, season with salt and pepper, and toss everything around. Bake for 15 minutes until tender, then set them aside.

When the capsicum is cool enough to handle, peel off the skin and place the pieces into a food processor. Peel the garlic cloves and add 3 of them to the food processor. Add the remaining salsa ingredients and blend until everything is almost smooth. Transfer the salsa to a bowl and rinse out the food processor.

Set a frypan over medium heat, add the oil for the almonds, then the almonds and a pinch of salt. Saute, stirring regularly, until the almonds are golden and fragrant. Turn off the heat and stir in the cumin.

Place the butter beans in the food processor, add the remaining 3 peeled garlic cloves, lemon juice and a pinch of salt. Blend until it's all as smooth as you can reasonably achieve.

Spread the butter bean mash over a large platter. Spoon most of the green salsa over the top and swirl it around. Pile on the broccolini and asparagus, drip over the remaining salsa, and sprinkle over the almonds. Serve.

Celery-cashew stir-fry with a food court omelette

October 3, 2024

   

We're pretty ambivalent about celery over here - it's a valued ingredient in a few favourite recipes, but often leaves more stalks behind than go into the chosen dish. Roasted cauliflower salad is my usual fall-back and it can take some extra beyond the written quantity. When I chose that as my first celery-laden dish this week, I decided to test whether Hetty Lui McKinnon's recipe for cashew celery could serve as a similar back-up.

McKinnon stir-fries celery chunks with your choice of green vegetable, strips of five-spice tofu and cashews, and coats it all in a cornflour-thickened savoury sauce that's lively with ginger. Served with rice, it's a full meal. Even so, I decided to serve it alongside McKinnon's food court omelette, another recipe I'd bookmarked from Tenderheart. It's stuffed with broccoli (or in my case, what remained of a bag of frozen mixed green vegetables) and smothered in a salty-soy gravy that echos the stir-fry sauce.

The omelette is another dish that, served atop rice, is potentially a full meal on its own. (I remember first encountering something similar at Middle Fish and absolutely loving it.) My omelette was much messier than McKinnon's, and I'll not repeat frozen veges for this one, but the gravy was fun and these two dishes worked together well. Time will tell whether we return to this tasty combination, either to use up more celery or entirely on its own terms.

Food court omelette

(slightly adapted from a recipe in Hetty Lui McKinnon's Tenderheart)

2-3 tablespoons vegetable oil

a few spring onions, finely chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

6 eggs

salt and white pepper, to taste

1 head broccoli, cut into small florets and a 5mm dice (or two handfuls frozen green vegetables)

rice, to serve

gravy

1 tablespoon cornflour

1 1/2 tablespoons tamari

3 teaspoons vegetarian oyster sauce

3 teaspoons Shaoxing rice wine

2 teaspoons sesame oil

1 cup vegetable stock

pinch of white pepper

Make the gravy by placing all of the ingredients in a small saucepan. Bring the mixture to the boil, stirring consistently, for 4-5 minutes. When the gravy has thickened, turn off the heat and set it aside.

Heat a few teaspoons of oil in a frypan, then add the spring onions and garlic. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is soft. Transfer the mixture to a bowl and set it aside.

In a medium mixing bowl, beat together the eggs, salt and pepper. Stir in the broccoli. Return the frypan to the heat and add a tablespoon of oil. Add a quarter of the spring onion mixture and a quarter of the egg mixture, cooking until the underside is golden and much of the egg has set. Flip the omelette over and allow it to cook through. Remove the omelette from the pan (I stored mine on a paper-lined tray in the oven on low heat) and repeat with the remaining oil, onions and eggs.

Serve each omelette over rice with gravy poured over the top.

Cashew celery

(slightly adapted from a recipe in Hetty Lui McKinnon's Tenderheart)

2 teaspoons cornflour

3 tablespoons vegetable stock or water

1 tablespoon tamari

2 tablespoons Shaoxing rice wine

vegetable oil

4 stalks celery, trimmed and slice diagonally

1 tablespoon minced ginger

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

a few spring onions, finely chopped

green vegetable of your choice (we had kai lan), cut into 5cm lengths

200g very firm five-spice tofu, sliced into 5mm strips

1 cup roasted cashews

white sesame seeds, to serve

rice, to serve

In a small bowl, stir together the cornflour, stock/water, tamari, and wine until they're well mixed. Set them aside.

Set a wok over medium-high heat and add some oil. Add in the celery and stir-fry for a couple of minutes until the celery starts to soften. Push it to the side of the wok so that you can stir-fry the ginger, garlic and spring onion for 30 seconds, then bring the celery back in to the mix. Add the green vegetable, tofu and cashews, cooking for just a minute. The cornflour has probably separated from the other sauce ingredients in the small bowl, so stir them back together and pour them into the wok. Toss everything together until the sauce has slightly thickened and coated everything evenly.

Serve over rice, sprinkled with sesame seeds.

Roslyn Thai Cafe

September 27, 2024

   

Roslyn Thai Cafe popped into my instagram feed at some point in the past year, and their pastel sweets earned my follow. It was a convenient lunch stop on Friday's public holiday on our way to the Untitled Goose Exhibition at ACMI, and we didn't mind waiting 10-15 minutes for a table given the rare, fair weather. We assumed we'd be seated in the small, dark interior but were happily led to a terrace out back.

Roslyn's menu is not designed with veg*ns and the gluten-free front of mind though the vegetarian, dairy-free, nut-free and gluten-free options are marked. Pork features widely across the main dishes, with vegetarians having the choice of scrambled eggs on a baguette and a seemingly-vegan roti murtabak.

   

Michael was enthused about the roti murtabak ($19) and added a soft boiled egg ($3) into the mix. The roti was golden and flaky, stuffed with a dry curry mushroom, potato and onion; Michael slathered over the mild satay sauce, cucumber relish and actually-solid-yolked egg.

   

I picked the kaya set ($13.50), a sweet that sticks out amongst the other mains. Here four puffy Chinese donuts are teamed with two pudding-like dips, flavoured with pandan and with Thai tea. They were prepared perfectly, with the hot toasty donuts contrasting effectively with the cool sweet accompaniments. (In the background is Michael's also-very-sweet O-liang black coffee; $5.50.)

   

Roslyn Thai Cafe also features abundant puffy toasts with sweet toppings, fluffy cakes and colourful drinks. They were all out of the sweetcorn custard cake that I ordered, and a staff member helpfully recommended the pandan coconut chiffon ($10.50) as an alternative. Michael and I both derived equal delight in its layers of feather-light pandan cake, coconut jelly and whipped cream.

   

Roslyn Thai Cafe is a cute spot for fancy snacks on an otherwise unattractive street. I'm so glad we stopped in and hope we'll have an excuse to do so again.

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Roslyn Thai Cafe has also received positive coverage from mamma knows melbourne and momentsinmelb.

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Roslyn Thai Cafe

477 King St, West Melbourne

0451 348 039

ahaan/food, cakes & drinks

https://www.roslynthaicafe.com.au/

Accessibility: There is a small lip on the door due to the uneven street. Furniture is densely packed, with low-medium height tables and a mixture of backed chairs and backless stools. The pathway through the furniture is winding. We ordered and paid online via QR code and received food at our table. We didn't visit the toilets.

Peanut cucumber noodles

September 11, 2024

   

   

We bought a 1kg pack of fresh noodles to make a batch of char koay teow, which only needed 500g of them. Cindy had a browse through Anna Jones' One Pot, Pan, Planet and found this recipe, which is so incredibly easy that I decided I could squeeze it in before netball on a Wednesday night. It's probably better suited to summer than whatever second winter/fake spring Melbourne is going through right now, but it's still utterly delicious. You can put it all together in about 20 minutes, so we're definitely going to come back to it in the summer time!

Peanut cucumber noodles

(slightly adapted from Anna Jones' One Pot, Pan, Planet) 

1 Lebanese cucumber

200g snow peas

500g fresh noodles

peanut sauce

5 tablespoons peanut butter

2 tablespoons tahini

2 tablespoons soy sauce

2 teaspoons sesame oil

4 teaspoons honey

5 teaspoons rice wine vinegar

1 tablespoon chilli oil (more if you're brave - I added some post-hoc so as not to ruin Cindy's meal)

2 cloves garlic, minced

garnish

roasted peanuts

a small bunch of coriander, leaves only

chilli oil

Halve the cucumber lengthwise, scoop out the mushy seedy bit and set it aside. Cut the remaining cucumber into matchsticks and halve the snow peas longways.

Make the sauce by combining the cucumber middle with the peanut butter, tahini, soy sauce, sesame oil, honey and rice wine vinegar in a food processor and blitzing until smooth. Stir through the chilli oil and garlic plus a bit of water if it seems too thick (ours was). 

Cook the noodles as per instructions - ours simply needed a soak in some just-boiled water for a few minutes and a bit of gentle prising apart. Drain and rinse them under hot water and pop them in a big bowl.

Stir the sauce into the cooked noodles and toss, add the veggies and combine again. Serve, topped with coriander leaves, peanuts and extra chilli oil.

Salted choc chip cookies

September 8, 2024

   

One of my friends made us a little batch of choc chip cookies as a thank you gift and they were the most delicious treat I've had in ages. I hit her up for the recipe and got cracking on making another batch so I could feast on them again almost immediately. The original recipe is from this Basics with Babish video, helpfully transcribed on reddit. 

There's a tiny bit of faffing around in that you've gotta brown your butter and then cool it down again, but once you've managed that everything falls into place pretty easily. I would definitely recommend a generous sprinkle of salt on top as soon as they come out of the oven, it really takes them to the next level.

This recipe makes a pretty big batch, but we'd eaten them all inside four days - it's impossible to stop. 

Salted choc chip cookies

(based on this recipe from Babish)

250g unsalted butter

1/2 cup caster sugar

1 1/2 cups brown sugar

2 eggs

2 1/4 cups plain flour

1 tablespoon salt

1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

3/4 teaspoon cinnamon

2 cups dark chocolate chips

1/2 cup pecans

fleur de sel (or other salty flakes) for sprinkling

In a small frying pan melt and then gently brown your butter - I wasn't sure how far to push it, but be careful not to burn it. Kill the heat and pour it into a container to pop in the fridge/freezer so it re-solidifies.

Once you've got some solid brown butter, preheat your oven to 180°C.

Using an electric mixer, cream the butter with the caster and brown sugar until they're well combined. Add the eggs one at a time and keep beating until it's combined smoothly. 

Sift the flour into a separate bowl and stir through the salt, bicarb soda and cinnamon. Slowly add the flour mix into the buttery bowl, mixing it all together. Once it's all combined, stir through the choc chips and pecans and your mix is done. 

Dollop out the mixture onto baking trays lined with grease-proof paper - keep the dollops pretty small (like a heaped teaspoon) and spaced apart, they'll spread. I reckon we got about 25-30 cookies out of the mix. 

Bake for about 14 minutes, sprinkling with fleur de sel as soon as each batch comes out - leave them to cool before you try to move them around too much, they're pretty delicate. 

Spiced chocolate cake

September 3-4, 2024

   

I prefer collaboration over competition every time. There's a baking event within my work environment each year, and my local team choose to work on a project together rather than individually submitting entries. It's symptomatic of why I like working here so much! This year fourteen of us prepared cake with various shades of icing and sliced them into squares to form a pixelated image. I was lucky to be assigned 'almost black' - easily achieved with a dark chocolate ganache and a touch of black food colouring.

I volunteered to make something vegan, and turned to the classic Vegan Cupcakes Take Over The World to try a new cake. I was tempted by the peanut butter cake and the chai-spiced cake but ultimately went for the Mexican Hot Chocolate cake, which looked like a crowd-pleaser. It aims for a slightly grainy texture and complex flavour with coconut milk, flax seeds, almond meal, cinnamon, cayenne, vanilla and almond essence all in the mix. The recipe is designed to make a dozen cupcakes sprinkled with sugar, cinnamon and cocoa but a square cake with a ganache topping better suited my purpose.

This cake achieves that excellent complexity but - I chuckled to myself as I ate a small leftover piece last night - more than anything it evokes the softness of a Coles chocolate mud cake. It's the flavour of cinnamon and cayenne that set this cake apart.

   

Spiced chocolate cake

(slightly adapted from a recipe in Isa Chandra Moskowitz & Terry Hope Romero's

Vegan Cupcakes Take Over The World)

cake batter

1 cup coconut milk

1 tablespoon ground flax seeds

3/4 cup plain flour

2 tablespoons cornflour

1/4 cup almond meal

1/2 cup cocoa 

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

generous pinch of cayenne pepper

1 cup caster sugar

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon almond essence

chocolate ganache

4 tablespoons coconut milk

75g dark chocolate chips

3 tablespoons golden or maple syrup

Preheat an oven to 180°C. Line a 22cm square cake tin with paper, or line a muffin tray with cupcake papers.

In a large bowl, whisk together the coconut milk and flax seeds. Allow them to sit for 10 minutes so that the seeds thicken the milk.

In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, cornflour, almond meal, cocoa, baking powder, bicarb soda, salt, cinnamon and cayenne.

When the coconut milk-seed mixture is ready, whisk in the sugar, oil, vanilla and almond essence. Gradually add the flour mixture and mix well. Pour the cake batter into the baking tin(s) and bake for 20-25 minutes, until the cake passes the skewer test. Allow the cake to cool before applying the ganache.

When the cake has cooled, make the ganache. Place the coconut milk in a small saucepan and heat until almost boiling. Turn off the heat and add the chocolate, stirring until the chocolate is entirely melted. Whisk in the syrup. The ganache might look quite runny; if that's the case you can let it sit a while to thicken slightly. Gently pour the ganache over the cake(s) and allow it to set a while (although it will still be soft) before serving.

Mushroom & walnut samosas

August 29, 2024

   

Last Thursday I was trawling around for dinner ideas; I didn't seem to be in the mood for any of our usual favourites. I didn't recognise this Meera Sodha recipe for mushroom and walnut samosas at all when I found it among my bookmarks, but I liked the concept anew and gave it a go.

A large volume of mushrooms goes into the filling, and Sodha gives us the option of throwing them into a food processor rather than slowly, finely chopping the lot. It's a handy approach but I'd still recommend some patience with pulsing the mushrooms in small batches. I tried to process too many at once and ended up with an uneven, mostly very-finely-ground mixture. Filo pastry packets don't translate precisely across countries, so I just winged it with quantities that felt right and used up most of a box.

My approach generated about 30 golden packages of subtle savoury goodness. Though they're intended as an entree or snack to be shared around, we piled the samosas into shallow bowls for dinner and loved smearing them with lime pickle. The samosas also teamed brilliantly with a green bean salad that echoes the mustard seed and lime (we've been making it on and off for 18 years!). We relished two rounds of leftovers at home, where we were able to crisp up the pastries again in the oven.

   

Mushroom & walnut samosas

(slightly adapted from a recipe by Meera Sodha on The Guardian)

120g walnuts

600g mushrooms

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

3/4 teaspoon black mustard seeds

3/4 teaspoon cumin seeds

1/2 teaspoon nigella seeds

1 large onion, finely diced

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 tablespoon ginger, minced

2 green chillies, finely chopped

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground pepper

~220g filo pastry

spray oil or melted margarine

Grind the walnuts finely in a food processor and transfer them to a bowl. Pulse the mushrooms in a food processor in batches, until they're roughly pea-sized. (Don't over-fill the container, I did and ended up with very unevenly blended mushroom pieces.)

Set a large frypan over medium heat and pour in the oil. Add the mustard, cumin and nigella seeds. When they start to pop, add the onion and cook, stirring regularly, until soft and starting to brown (up to 10 minutes). Add the garlic, ginger and chilli, and cook for a further 5 minutes. Sodha says the onions should look like 'dark jewels'. Add the mushrooms and gently fold them through the onions, cooking for about 7 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and cook until all the liquid is evaporated, about 15 more minutes. (Be fussy about this! Too much moisture will make for soggy samosas.) Stir in the walnuts and cook for 3 minutes. At long last, turn off the heat and allow the filling to cool.

Preheat an oven to 220°C and line two baking trays with paper.

Unwrap the filo pastry and keep the unused bits lightly wrapped in a damp teatowel as you go. Slice through all the layers to form a rectangle roughly 23 cm x 10 cm - for me, that was the bottom quarter of the sheets. Take one piece and place about a tablespoon of the filling in the corner closest to you. Wrap the pastry upwards at 45 degrees to form a triangle; keep wrapping up and up to preserve the triangle shape and use up the whole rectangle. Apply a bit of oil/margarine to the outside and give the samosa a second wrapping. Place the samosa on a baking tray and repeat the wrapping process until all the filling is used up.

Apply a bit more oil/margarine to the samosas and bake for 15 minutes, until brown and crispy. Serve with chutney or pickle.

Eat Pierogi Make Love III

August 15, 2024

   

This is just a small post to note that we've collected the set! We've tried all three vegetarian pierogi at Eat Pierogi Make Love. We probably got to the classic, top-of-the-list Ruskie Pierogi ($24) last because they're stuffed with two foods offered abundantly across the menu: potato and cheese. (Rest assured, we've eaten potato and cheese in some form every time we've visited.)

The pierogi are served simply: boiled, plonked on a swirl of sour cream and sprinkled with fresh dill. They don't offer the brightness of the kapusta or the ziemniak pierogi, but they can't be beat for squidgy, starchy, savoury comfort.

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

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Eat Pierogi Make Love 

161 Lygon St, Brunswick East 

8394 5240 

menu: special menus, alcoholic drinks, drinks, & 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.

Pickles Milk Bar III

August 8, 2024

   

Pickles Milk Bar aren't sitting still, with a slow, subtle rotation of options on their printed menu and high rotation of specials on their texta-ed shop tiles. I picked up a couple of new-to-us options for a weekday lunch.

On the left is the already-rotated-out Honey Boo Boo special ($18), where a chicken schnitz is teamed with slaw, honey mustard and pickled jalapenos. It's a good combo, but didn't surpass the vegan schnitzel we know well from Nico's. 

On the right is our first foray into the breakfast sandwiches. The Hot Breakfast #2 ($15) is overall a sweet, smoky and saucy (but not too sloppy) affair with thin-cut smoked tofu bacon, a hash brown, cheese, pickled onions, mayo, bbq sauce, hot sauce, and garlic butter.

Everything's vegan and nothing thus far has been a disappointment. We're lucky to have Pickles so close by, ready to brighten up any work-from-home day.

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You can also read about one, two of our previous visits to Pickles. It has also been reviewed favourably by That Vegan Dad.

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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. I ordered, paid and picked up my food over a mid-height counter. I haven't visited the toilets.

Makan

August 2, 2024

   

We were in the city for a Friday night Wheeler Centre event and needed an after-8pm dinner. Michael googled around for Indonesian food and Makan rapidly came up with available seats. Others will know it because it's run by the Seger sisters from My Kitchen Rules, or simply because they're more on top of the city dining scene than we are! As so many Melbourne restaurants are, Makan is tucked a fair distance down a laneway, so spontaneous walk-ins are surely less common. It's got a very familiar contemporary atmosphere with polished concrete, neon lights, pastel finishes and a prominent cocktail bar.

   

To my delight, they're on top of their mocktail game as well. All seven options appealed to my tastes and it was the novelty of the Coco Pandan Highball ($12) that I ultimately had to try. It was a super-sweet close sibling to the soda-and-condensed milk Es Soda Gembira I recently sampled at Sendok Garpu, with the bonus texture of grass jelly.

   

Michael observed that vegan wines were well-marked amongst the drinks, which is funny because we couldn't see markings for dietary requirements on the standard food menu. Nevertheless, plenty of it looked veg-friendly, and we chose one dish from each of the subsections.

First, there was Bakwan Sayur ($21) from the Plates, a very battered tangle of shredded vegetables accompanied by green chili mayo. These were fun but ultimately a touch too oily for me.

   

I was less ambivalent about the Roti Serabi ($10) from the Bites. Described on the menu as 'coconut crumpets', they're made from a batter of coconut milk and rice flour, are perfect for soaking up the rich and spicy gulai sauce, and are garnished with serundeng (spiced and roasted shredded coconut). Just my kind of snack!

   

From the Large offerings, it had to be the Tempeh Lodeh ($32) for us. Here was another lovely coconut broth, holding the most tender, flavourful tempeh pieces, plus browned cauliflower and okra, garnished with crisp tempeh chips. We made sure most of the broth was soaked up in our Side of Nasi Serai ($7), and brightly flavoured bowl of rice with lemongrass.

   

We had room to negotiate one dish from the Sweets. Again, I was torn in several directions and ultimately we were both satisfied with the Teh-ramisu ($17), a cutely layered cup where the sponge fingers are soaked in a subtly sweet Indonesian jasmine tea, interspersed as usual with mascarpone cream, and then garnished with chocolate shards. It's less assertive than a traditional coffee-infused tiramisu but has its own charm.

Having no prior knowledge or expectation, finding a comfortable seat and kinda-fancy last-minute vegetarian meal at Makan was the best case scenario for our Friday night out. We'll certainly file it away for future reference.

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Makan has also received a positive review from Kulture Kween.

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Makan

Collins Way, Melbourne CBD

9642 3109

food, mocktails 

https://makaninmelbourne.com.au/

Accessibility: Makan has a step down from its Collins Way entry into the main restaurant floor. (Michael thinks there is potentially another flat access point from elsewhere in the building, but prior arrangements might be needed with the staff outside of business hours.) The tables are regular height and generously spaced, with a mixture of padded benches and backed wooden chairs. We ordered at our table and paid at a low counter. Toilets are gendered and include an accessible option.

Fluffy Torpedo II

July 24, 2024

   

Last week I was lucky to have dinner with two friends visiting from Perth. We shared just the right number of dishes at Rin Sura (including long-time favourite chive frittata and new favourite spiced burrata with roti) and backed it up with a trip across the street to Fluffy Torpedo for icecream.

After liking the mildly unusual flavours I chose on my first visit, I was ready to level up with my next two scoops ($9.10). Roasted polenta and lemon had all the right flavours but perhaps a suboptimal texture; I sensed the sandiness of pantry polenta rather than the velvety mouthfeel it develops when cooked. Unfortunately my palate had lost much of its sensitivity by the time I accessed the buttered baguette-flavoured scoop underneath. I got a couple little hints of that toasty crust flavour and none of the butter; I was otherwise just working my way through a pleasant but plain icecream base.

So, not the most inspiring follow-up! I'll be seeking out some stronger source ingredients on my next round.

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You can read about our first visit to Fluffy Torpedo here.

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Fluffy Torpedo 

213 Sydney Rd, Brunswick 

7044 7745 

menu 

https://www.fluffytorpedo.diamonds/ 

Accessibility: Fluffy Torpedo has a flat entry and wide queuing strip. There are backless bench seats inside and backed metal chairs outside. We ordered, paid and picked up our orders at a low counter. We didn't visit the toilets.

Seven spice chickpea stew

July 21, 2024

   

We've had a kale and coconut salad in our repertoire for nigh on a decade, but I've never quite hit on the right accompaniment for it. It's textured, chewy and quite filling; sweet with coconut, salty with soy, and just faintly bitter from the green leaves. It needs some protein. I've cycled through various marinated tofu recipes, but they usually include more soy sauce and the overall effect is a bit too samey and salty.

This week I browsed through my bookmarks, thinking I'd try chickpeas instead, and I pulled up this recipe from The First Mess. It's kind of like the vodka pasta sauce I made last month: cooked-down onions, and lots of tomato mellowed out with coconut milk (rather than oat cream). I adjusted some of the recipe quantities to use up full ingredient packages. The coconut is a nice echo across the two dishes and the soft, thick texture of this stew is a welcome contrast. It's a comforting meal hot from the kitchen, and just as enjoyable at room temperature packed into a lunchbox. At last, I've made a match!

Seven spice chickpea stew 

(slightly adapted from a recipe on The First Mess) 

spice blend

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon ground coriander

1 teaspoon smoked paprika

1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon chilli flakes

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

stew

1 tablespoon coconut oil

1 onion, finely chopped

1 tablespoon tomato paste

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 x 400g cans chickpeas, drained

1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar

1 x 400g can diced/crushed tomatoes

1 x 400mL can coconut milk

salt and pepper, to taste

Stir together the ingredients for the spice blend in a small dish and set them aside.

Melt the coconut oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened; this will take up to 10 minutes. Stir the spice blend into the onions for 1 minute. Stir in the tomato paste for a further minute. Stir in the garlic and chickpeas for half a minute. Add the balsamic vinegar, then the tomatoes, then the coconut milk, and season the stew with salt and pepper. Stir everything together thoroughly and allow it to simmer for at least 10 minutes. (I cooked it down a lot longer while my kale and coconut baked.)    

Sendok Garpu

July 14, 2024

   

Two years ago Laura recommended Sendok Garpu to us, and this year while in Brisbane we took the time to cross the Victoria Bridge and try it for dinner. Its arcade location, low stools and adjoining grocery section hint that it's aimed primarily at city-worker lunchers, but it still attracts plenty of diners and delivery orders for an early dinner.

The Indonesian menu is enormous (I've linked to 20 pages below!), with vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free and spicy options well marked throughout. It was tough to prioritise. 

   

Laura had warned us that the food was very spicy, so we figured we should set ourselves up with cooling drinks. Michael's Es Kopi Gula Aren ($7) had high doses of sugar and caffeine, and kept him abuzz for some time. Es Soda Gembira ($6) was a new-to-me mix of raspberry soda and condensed milk. The carbonation-and-milk combo actually worked pretty well, and the flavour reminded me of jelly tips.

   

Michael focused on the range of rendang dishes on offer, and chose a vegetarian adjustment to the Mini Tumpeng Rendang ($29.95). Around a centre of yellow herb coconut rice, he received an excellent jackfruit rendang (instead of beef), garlic crackers (instead of prawn), chilli egg, crispy tempeh, a very hot shrimp-free sambal and salad. He loved it, and even wished for more rendang.

   

Instead, he satisfied himself with picking at my leftovers. I'd ordered the Ketoprak ($15.95), noted as a famous vegan dish in Jakarta, and available at three spice levels. The featured rice cake chunks are barely visible - they're steamed soft and starchy, not dense and bouncy like Korean rice cakes. They were tossed together with thin rice noodles, then topped with bean sprouts and a sweet, mild and thick peanut sauce. Around the edges I could pick at spongy tofu cubes, boiled egg (not vegan, in spite of that menu heading) and garlic crackers.

We were full, even satisfied, except that I'd noticed a poster advertising martabak (dessert pancakes) on the way in. Happily these were boxed up to take away, so we walked a serve back to our accommodation and enjoyed thick pandan pancakes sandwiching a cheese and condensed milk filling from the comfort of our hotel bed.

Sendok Garpu's CBD location didn't fit naturally into our other planned activities but we were so glad we made the effort to visit. The staff were very welcoming, the food was novel to us, and most of all it was tasty. We're likely to work it into the schedule when we're back in Brissy.

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The Hangry Chef was a big fan of the past Coopers Plains incarnation of Sendok Garpu.

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Sendok Garpu

Shop 6, 97 Elizabeth St, Brisbane CBD

(07) 4602 9979

story, recommendations 1, recommendations 2, entrees 1, entrees 2, set menu A, set menu B, street food 1, street food 2, rice dishes, wok dishes, soup, mains 1, mains 2, mains 3, mains 4, sides, sambal & extras, drinks, desserts  

https://www.sendokgarpu.com.au/

Accessibility: The entry is wide and the stairs up to the tables include a wheelchair lift. Tables are low with backless stools, quite densely packed with a wide pathway along one side. We ordered at our table and paid at a waist-height counter. Toilets are shared within the arcade and located two levels lower, accessible by both stairs and lift; an swipe card from the restaurant staff is needed to access them. The toilets are gendered and a large ungendered cubicle with supports is also available. 

Izakaya Midori

July 7, 2024

   

For the first time in over a decade I've had a weekend at the Gold Coast, and I made a special trip to Izakaya Midori for a meal. I'm familiar with this restaurant through Susan, who's posted at least ten reviews of it! (See collected links at the bottom of the post.) It's located in a little suburban shopping strip, yet the business has transformed their space into a small slice of Japan with nostalgic wooden surfaces, decorative knick knacks and functional accoutrements like wooden chopstick boxes and fabric-covered bag holders on the floor.

It's a rare joy to receive an entirely vegan menu of Japanese foods. Not only is Midori's standard menu extensive, but they also offer specials (including dessert!) and a kids menu. Gluten-free, pungent-free and soy-free dishes are well marked. I was ordering just for one, and wracked with all the dishes I'd be missing out on: edamame served three ways (boiled, smoked and as chips), okonomiyaki, fancy-frilled gyoza, mash-it-yourself potato salad, numerous ramen and don mains.

   

That said, I couldn't fault the dishes I did order. I started with a katsu sushi roll ($6.50, pictured top), served with pickled ginger and not wasabi on my request. I figured the wasabi tartare sauce within would supply enough heat for me. The mock-pork filling was thick and succulent, generously and crunchily crumbed. I noticed and appreciated that I was served just 1-2 teaspoons of soy sauce, precisely sufficient for my needs.

When I saw 'yuzu' on the specials list I was sold, ordering the yuzu 'kara & tofu' combo salad ($19, pictured directly above). What a spectacular rainbow of ingredients it held! Crispy-chewy mock chicken, soft battered tofu squares, unblemeshed avocado slices, refreshing cucumber and tomato, corn kernels, sprouts, pickled purple cabbage, plentiful bright salad greens, all lightly dressing with yuzu and sesame oil. I am a notoriously slow salad eater, and it was a pleasure to take my time over this one.

My lemon myrtle tea ($7.50) enabled me to linger a little longer and digest my meal - I like that they sell this local option alongside their matcha. If I had more time at the Gold Coast, I'd eagerly return many more times to order across Izakaya Midori's menu. Knowing that I didn't, I contented myself with revelling in one unrushed experience.

   

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You can read one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten posts about Susan's experiences with Izakaya Midori. It's also been covered by I Travel For Vegan Food.

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Izakaya Midori

Shop 7/50 Woodland Drive, Reedy Creek Qld

(07) 5645 6625

lunch menu, drinks, specials, dessert special, kids menu

https://izakayamidori.com.au/

Accessibility: Entry from the footpath is flat and there's a shallow ramp between levels inside. Medium-height tables and backed chairs are generously spaced. The toilets are shared with other businesses on the block; they're gendered, narrow and lacking any accessibility features.