Vex

February 25, 2025

   

A friend kindly gifted us a voucher to eat at Vex, and we booked a summery Tuesday night table after work. We trusted their recommendation of restaurant, and we transferred that trust onto Vex and requested the chef's vegetarian choice ('Vex menu', $90 pp). Looking across the a la carte options we were optimistic that we'd be treated to some lovely, seasonal vegetables and something fun for dessert. There were no explicit dietary markings, but a high likelihood that the staff would well know what's what and adapt as needed.

   

We started strong with some unique beverages - a rhubarb and vermouth spritz ($19) for Michael and a TINA can of oolong, pear and calamansi ($15) for me. The TINA was subtle and complex, a welcome adult option for a non-drinker to enjoy with a special meal.

   

Two starters swiftly followed: a creamy, cheesy panisse each, and a rye crisp with fennel puree, pickled green beans and a sprinkle of mountain pepper.

   

Poached daikon was surprisingly soft and mild, topped with slivers of green rhubarb and fennel.

   

The confit tomato with horseradish, nigella seeds and mint was my ideal late summer side dish, and also included some sneaky nectarine wedges.

   

I would've liked to soak up the tomato juices with bread, but the stockbrot was more self-contained. A little awkward to handle but worth the effort, we unwound the warm, seeded bread from its skewer, divvied it up, and slathered it with roasted yeast butter.

   

The centrepiece of the meal was a plate of melt-in-the-mouth glazed eggplant with lentils, bullhorn peppers and black walnuts. Eggplant and lentils can often come off a little austere but they were sillky, luxurious and savoury here.

   

Sharing the spotlight were tender confit potatoes with oregano and linseed, and grilled carrots with blood plums, sunflower seeds and basil. I loved the seamless inclusion of stonefruits in savoury dishes.

   

The best part might have been discovering that Vex values dessert as much as I do - we tasted two! First, we received a full portion of spagat krapfen each - a crisp fried pastry with rhubarb, thick cream and fig leaf. This alone would have been a very satisfying end to the meal.

   

Second, we split a neat little cacao cream with a crumbly chocolate heart and sour cherry crown - one of my favourite dessert flavour combinations.

   

Our evening at Vex was a special one at an entirely unspecial time. Their vegetarian options were abundant with fresh produce and a bit light on the usual sources of protein, but we were sated nonetheless. Hopefully we can come up with a special excuse to visit again!

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You can also read praise for Vex on Whatever Floats Your Bloat.

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Vex

66-68 High St, Northcote

9191 7720

food, drinks, desserts & last drinks

https://www.vexdining.com/

Accessibility: There's a step up at the door and a small lip on the transition to the courtyard. Furniture is medium-spaced, regular height with backed chairs and a few benches out back. There's a clear walkway through the space. We ordered at our table and paid at high counter. We didn't visit the toilets.

Shimbashi Soba III

February 20, 2025

   

We've been eating in at the Carlton outlet of Shimbashi Soba semi-regularly over the past two years, but we tend to order the same dishes over and over. A newly printed menu inspired us to mix it up on our last visit! The business remains entirely gluten-free, with spicy and vegan dishes clearly marked.

   

I ordered two smaller dishes and called it a meal. The agadashi tofu ($14) was lightly battered and delicate to handle, sitting in a pool of thin tempura sauce. I loved the crispy lotus root garnish.

   

By contrast, the vegan sushi roll ($18) was substantial, colourful and stuffed with contrasting flavours. Within the rice was zucchini, avocado and a juicy, heavily seasoned soy meat, and it was all topped with paprika mayonnaise, more lotus chips, pickled radish and spring onions.

   

Michael deviated from his favourite Vegan Red Dragon for the tofu curry rice ($31), and regretted nothing. The accompanying miso soup was welcome, but he most appreciated the heartiness of the thick curry gravy and multigrain rice, and happily picked through the fried tofu chunks, veges and pickles.

We're still going to feel the pull back towards our original favourite Shimbashi dishes, but it's no surprise that everything they prepare is the best version of itself.

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

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Shimbashi 

344 Rathdowne St, Carlton North 

8060 6595 

tapas; dinner roll; warm soba; chilled soba; bento; rice bowl; dessert & coffee; Japanese tea & soft drink 

https://www.shimbashisobamelbourne.com/ 

Accessibility: Shimbashi has a flat entry. Furniture is a mixture of high benches and regular height tables, all with hard wooden backs and densely packed. We ordered at our table and paid at a high counter. There is a very narrow passage to the toilet, which is one non-gendered cubicle.

Elektra II

February 15, 2025

   

It's hard to believe that Elektra is well over five years old! I've popped in again a few times since our first visit and blog post, though not as often as they deserve. It was the perfect spot for a long catch-up weekend brunch with a friend, colourful and cosy, and we arrived early enough to nab a booth. I tried the Namaste porridge (~$22) for the first time - it features the tender bite of black rice (plus quinoa), it's creamy with coconut milk, there's abundant fruitiness and colour from rhubarb, poached pear and pomegranate, and it's finished off with the nuttiness of toasted coconut, slivered almonds and pepitas. It's comforting, yet not too heavy for summer.

Elektra are proud of their chai options and I would have been remiss not to order the Himalayan sticky chai (~$6) - it was a lovely as always, and well insulated for slow sipping throughout my visit.

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You can read about our first visit to Elektra here. There are past positive reviews for Elektra on THEYCALLMEMAGGIE, Suzie Scribbles and Gastrology, though one is self-reported as a freebie and I suspect all three might be.

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Elektra 

268 Brunswick St, Fitzroy 

9417 4255 

https://elektrafitzroy.com.au/

Accessibility: Furniture is densely arranged! There are stools out front and mostly chairs with backs inside. We ordered at our table and paid at a regular-height counter. We didn't visit the toilets.

Chào Bạn @ Henry Sugar

February 6, 2025

   

Since celebrating my birthday there late last year, Henry Sugar have clearly put me on their email list. Late in January they announced that they'd be hosting a pop-up on Wednesday and Thursday nights throughout February called Chào Bạn. They'd be serving meaty and veg-friendly xôi xéo (sticky rice) plates with a few add-ons and drinks while the sun shone on Henry Sugar's street-side deck. We stopped by for dinner after a book launch at Readings.

   

We really did hit golden hour on that deck! The light, the drinks and the fluffy turmeric sticky rice were gold, gold, gold. Michael went for beer ($10), while I had a big, icy cup of peach and ginger iced tea ($6). The rice ($22) was topped with a tumble of starchy shaved mung bean, caramel tofu, vegan nước chấm, crispy shallots and fried garlic, pickled cucumber and roasted peanuts; every mouthful a different proportion of the components and every mouthful wholly delicious. We missed out on the battered eggs ($3.50 each) and didn't have room to try the lemongrass bánh bò (honeycomb cake, $7).

This Chào Bạn event was fleeting and fun, a perfect late-summer weeknight out. We'll keep an eye out for when they next pop up!

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Chào Bạn @ Henry Sugar 

296-298 Rathdowne St, Carlton 

9448 8196 

menu 

instagram profile 

Accessibility: This pop-up was hosted in the outdoor seating, with tables at both street height and several steps up on a wooden deck. Furniture is densely spaced, with a mixture of backed benches and backed chairs. We ordered and paid at a high bar just inside the door (accessed by shallow ramp). We didn't visit the toilets.

Chanhouse

January 31, 2025

   

We enthusiastically accepted our friend Nat's invitation to join her and Ben at Chanhouse to try their special yum cha menu in celebration of Lunar New Year ($48 per person). Chanhouse was barely on our radar; it's a vegan, allium-free and alcohol-free Chinese restaurant in a modest shopping strip within residential Doncaster. Inside it's cute and comfortable, and we were happy to put ourselves in their hands with the set menu.

   

The staff rapidly served a first pot of Chinese tea and kept it replenished throughout the meal. Shark fin-style soup followed soon after, gently salty and flecked with tofu threads.

   

Then came plump crystal dumplings and steamed siu mai stuffed with mock pork, both tender and savoury.

   

I think I clapped my hands at the arrival of the turnip cake, with its thin crisp char on the outside and soft, velvety centre - this one included a bit of mock ham.

   

The fried dumpling was my favourite dish of the night - the golden-fried exterior gave way to a thick rice dough layer with a real chew to it, then a molten mock meat centre. It had a surprising sweetness to it!

   

The sweet & sour fried gluten was a novel rendition for us - the gluten was very soft, airy and absorbent, the least dense mock meat I've ever encountered. It had soaked up much of the sauce, which was translucent and brightly tangy.

   

The salad prawn rolls were crunchy-battered, Nat's favourite of the night as they brought her back to the seafood sticks she enjoyed as a youngster.

   

I was more fond of the fried taro dumplings with their delicate, lacy shell and sweet starchy centre.

   

By this time I was very satisfied, and it was difficult for me to imagine digging into the rice rolls. These tender layered pillows went down surprisingly easy thanks to a dark, mushroomy sauce and we cleared the plate.

   

The finishig jellyish ginger cake was more texture than flavour, and a little fruit was the best possible way to cap off an incredible feast. We were all delighted by this meal and the friendly, well-coordinated service we received. I'm looking forward to any opportunity we get to try Chanhouse's standard a la carte menu.

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Chan House

21 Rosella St, Doncaster East

8806 9056

Lunar New Year menu

https://chanhouse.tuckerfox.com.au/

Accessibility: Chanhouse has a narrow, shallow ramp on entry. Furniture is regular height with backed chairs with a mixture of dense and generous spacing throughout. We ordered at the table and paid at a high counter. We didn't visit the toilets.