Supercharger

Edit 15/04/2018: Supercharger has closed in the past week.

September 5, 2014

We've been more baffled than enticed by the new Emporium shopping complex in the city, but news of a vegan eatery on facebook managed to draw us in. Supercharger lacks an online presence of its own for the moment but owner Paul Mathis helped us out on twitter, informing us that they're open until 7pm every day and through until 9pm Thursdays and Fridays. That gave us plenty of opportunity to sneak in for dinner before a movie.

Once you find it IRL (tucked behind Jimmy Grants on level 3), the Supercharger MO is clear - fresh mix'n'match vegan bowls, beverages and desserts. Though there isn't clear dietary labelling, each dish's name is pretty instructive and almost everything looked to be gluten-free. Bowls start with a grain or spinach base, and then it's time to choose 3-5 extras ($10-14) - veges served raw, smashed, fermented or simmered.

I started with a steamed quinoa base and built up green peas and avocado smashed with lime, coconut oil and mint, some gently fermented cauliflower with black sesame, and thinly sliced seitan braised with shiitake mushrooms.

Meanwhile Michael ploughed through steamed brown rice, a raw blend of beetroot, carrot, radish and ginger with Bragg's apple cider, a smash of sweet potato and broccoli with tahini and barley, a yellow parnsip khadi with coconut, turmeric, lemongrass, galangal and lime, plus lightly caramelised tempeh in tamari.

We didn't think we wanted a beverage but the jars of apple, lemon, makrut/kaffir lime and lemongrass ($8) looked too good to miss - this was blended up for us on the spot for maximum impact (... and blended makrut lime leaves do make quite the citrussy impact!).

We ordered jars of the two available desserts to takeaway - raw cocoa mousse with coconut agar and berries on top, and a blueberry cashew 'cheesecake' with a jammy top and a date-and-nut base ($5 each). They're definitely some of the smoother, tastier raw desserts around. The jars were great for packing but less easy to eat from, causing sticky fingers and struggles to reach the base (maybe shallower receptacles would work better?).

We were otherwise very impressed by Supercharger. All the food was in rude health even towards the end of their shift, with the colour and crunch of produce just picked. The prices measure up favourably against other bowl-based vego venues around town. When we want a quick meal in the city we typically call on Shandong Mama, but Supercharger will stand out as a fresher alternative.

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Supercharger
Level 3 Emporium, 287 Lonsdale St Melbourne
menu: one, two

Accessibility: The entry from Emporium is flat and wide. All ordering options are visible from low counter height; we ordered and paid at this counter. We picked up food from a high bench, though I'm sure accommodations could be made. Toilets are elsewhere in the Emporium complex.

Potato waffles

September 1, 2014

I worked from home on Monday, and it gave me a little extra time for housekeeping around my report-writing; slow cooking a big batch of stock, picking up a few groceries, and preparing dinner in stages. It was a nice opportunity to pull out my copy of Veganissimo, mixing and matching dishes with the vestiges of our vege box.

Look, it was mostly an excuse to make the potato waffles again. I think they're terrific - crisp around the edges and fluffy inside, but not greasy like a hash brown. A lot of parsley and a little chickpea flour set the savoury tone. I'd highly recommend them to anyone with a waffle iron (and suggest that anyone without try frying this batter as pancakes and report back).

To round out the meal and use up my veges, I whipped up small batches of Veganissimo's chunky beet dip and chive and cashew creme cheese. I couldn't believe how easy it was to handle pre-baked beetroots compared to peeling and grating raw ones, and their sweetness really gets to shine here - there's no filler, just some onion and garlic sauteed with red wine vinegar and a piquant dose of white pepper to add some complexity.

The chive and cashew creme cheese took me by surprise too. I've been around the mock-cheese block a few times, and this one uses ingredients I'm familiar with, but there's something deeply right about the quantities that Leigh Drew sets out in this recipe. I'm not going to give it (or the beetroot dip recipe) away here - grab the book and try 'em for yourself.

I'll share the potato waffle recipe (very slightly adapted below) as a taster. We previously ate these waffles with the Veganissimo scrambled tofu, yet another tasty reason to acquire this cookbook for yourself.

Potato waffles
(slightly adapted from Leigh Drew's Veganissimo!)

2 medium potatoes
1/4 cup parsley, finely chopped
2 tablespoons chickpea flour
3/4 cup plain flour
3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2/3 cup soy milk

Scrub the potatoes and place them in a medium-sized saucepan. Cover them with water and boil them until they're cooked through but still reasonably firm, about 8-10 minutes. Drain the potatoes and set them aside to cool. 

When the potatoes are cool enough to handle, grate them into a large bowl. It's fine to let the skins in, though I fished out a couple of larger pieces. Stir in the parsley, chickpea flour, plain flour and baking powder. Once the potato is well coated in the dry ingredients, add the oil and milk and stir well to combine.

Heat up a waffle iron and grease it as necessary. Pour in and cook the potato batter in batches, until the waffles are golden and crispy on the outside.

Little Ramen Bar

August 30, 2014

We had a few spare hours in the CBD on a Saturday and, rather than returning to Shandong Mama for yet another round of scallion pancakes, figured it was time we got on board Melbourne’s latest food obsession: ramen. The Little Ramen Bar is one of a handful of places that have all of Melbourne reminiscing about all the good times they’ve had in Japan (see also: Shop Ramen, Fukuryu Ramen, Menya Ramen, Ramen Ya etc). It’s a tiny place, tucked down Little Bourke Street and, like its dumpling focussed neighbour, it regularly draws queues out the door.

Things were busy but not overflowing when we visited at 1ish on a Saturday. We were drawn there by the veg-friendliness of its menu, with one vegetarian ramen and four other dishes that can be rejigged to remove the pork or fish stock. Vegans have options too, but will need to be clear – most of the ramen come with egg by default. You can customise your soup a bit too, by adding various bonus ingredients (e.g. kim chi ($3), garlic bombs ($1), corn ($1) etc) and there are a few other non-soup dishes to choose from (e.g. fried rice, edamame, gyoza, all $5.90).

We stuck to the soup menu, with Cindy going for Taku’s vegetarian ramen (built on a broth with miso, spices and rice wine, topped with bean sprouts, seaweed, bamboo shoots and a seasoned egg, $10.90).

Cindy was very impressed by her soup - rich and flavoursome, with the seaweed adding a nice oceanic flavour to the base and the bamboo shoots and sprouts keeping the textures interesting.

I couldn’t resist the word ‘spicy’ and ordered the vego version of the spicy miso ramen (a miso-heavy base with cabbage, spring onions and an egg, $12.50).

This was just okay – the soup itself had a good chilli kick and a strong miso flavour and the noodles were springy and delicious, but the toppings otherwise were pretty limited. The egg was delicious, but the cabbage chunks and raw shallots didn’t really rock my world – I was craving some more variety (tofu? dumplings? I’m not sure).

I must confess to not really understanding all the excitement about ramen. It’s essentially a pretty basic noodle soup and has never excited me as much as, say, laksa. I suspect that, as with pho, part of the issue is that we’re vegetarian. Reading reviews of Melbourne’s many new ramen places the words “pork” and “fat” appear an awful lot, suggesting that perhaps the key attributes of a good ramen were unlikely to turn up in too many vego versions. Still, Little Ramen Bar was worth a visit – the food is decent, the service super efficient and the prices reasonable. I wouldn’t queue here, but dropping in for lunch on a Saturday is definitely worthwhile. 

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Just grazing panda has reviewed Little Ramen Bar from a vegetarian perspective. Meanwhile, Sweet and Sour Fork, Missy Ness' Food Train of Thought, Melbourne Delicatesses, Nurikko Visits, The Great Aussie Bite, kit & kafoodle, Urban Usher, Melbourne Patron, Petit Miamx, Klaus & Fritz, Eat And Be Merry, For Tomorrow We Die(t), Yellow Eggs, cookiejen, I Dream in Chocolate, melbourne gastronome, The Melbournian Palate, Pigging out around the world, Vic's Blog, Mr & Ms, aqcnaneng, Gastronomical ramblings, thehangrybitch, Typical Food Blog, Barley Blog, Wandering Mint, EveLovelle and Melbourne Food Blogger have mostly positive things to say about their visits, while rumblingteddy, Nona Tukang Makan, The Very Very Hungry Caterpillar and Gluttony Fair were less impressed.

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Little Ramen Bar
346 Little Bourke St, Melbourne
9670 5558
Menus: drinks, starters and sides, ramen, ramen toppings
http://www.littleramenbar.com.au/

Accessibility: The entryway is flat, but things are super crowded inside, with a mix of low and high tables. Orders are taken at the table and we paid at a high counter. We didn't visit the toilets.

Thinking & Drinking at the Melbourne Writers Festival

August 23-27, 2014

Michael and I threw ourselves whole-heartedly into the Melbourne Writers Festival these past 10 days, attending all sorts of sessions - dress memoirs, life anti-hacks, TV tapings and queer commentaries among them. I was especially drawn to the food-themed events, turning up at four of those alone.

On the first Saturday I listened to American food writer Ruth Reichl. She seemed completely at ease on stage, with a warm, playful and occasionally passionate manner. Reichl was motivated to develop a discerning taste at a very young age, as her mother was an untalented and occasionally dangerous cook. In spite of this setting, she grew to love rather than fear food and went on to strike a deal for her first cookbook at just 21 years of age. She's been writing about food for decades since, working at Gourmet magazine in its heyday of extensive recipe testing and 10 onsite cooks. Seeking anonymity in her restaurant reviewing, Reichl developed an elaborate range of disguises and characters (even impersonating her own mother!) and these ultimately led to her recent foray into fiction. A newcomer to her work, I was as enthralled with Ruth Reichl's life story as any of the more clued-up fangirls in the audience.

Just half an hour later I slipped into a session on Crowdsourced Criticism featuring Lorraine Elliott (aka Not Quite Nigella), Tresna Lee of Yelp, and freelance food writer Dani Valent. The obligatory initial discussion of defamation gave way to some more interesting reflections on the unique opportunities of social media (e.g. conversations that include business owners) and challenges of providing rigorous critique.

On Monday night it was my turn to step up, joining a panel on Australian Fine Dining with Ronnie Scott and Andrea Frost (pictured above). Estelle Tang was our friendly and funny moderator, teasing this blog's "fancy schmancy" tag one moment and rightfully schooling us all on fair working wages the next. Ronnie and Andrea were clever co-panelists and I did my best to keep up. While we all agreed that food can be art, I think the session proved that we have as much affection for everyday eating as the posh stuff - Andrea's book really cuts away the pomp around wine culture, and Ronnie confessed to eating Pizza Hut for lunch.

Two nights later I returned to the Duke for a session on Food Ethics. This time Leanne Clancey MCed a panel comprising farmer Tammi Jonas, Sustainable Table's Cassie Duncan and sustainable designer Ewan McEoin. They highlighted the Aussie demand for cheap food; McEoin astutely pointed out that if it's cheap for us to buy, the cost is probably borne elsewhere - by the environment, by the farmed animals and by our fellow humans on the supply chain. The panel also discussed solutions, from long-term overarching structures to everyday actions. Their ideal is to shorten the string of transactions between food grower and food eater and Jonas boldly challenged the audience to make a difference by immediately ceasing to eat chicken from suppliers they don't know personally.

It's been wonderful to hear from some of Victoria's more thoughtful eaters during the festival (plus a couple of out-of-town guests) - credit goes to festival director Lisa Dempster and especially the Thinking & Drinking convenor Yasmeen Richards for seeking out such diverse opinions and styles.

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I received free entry into Ruth Reichl's Delicious, Crowdsourced Criticism and a number of other Melbourne Writers Festival events as a participating artist of the festival. I will likely be paid a fee for my contribution to the Australian Fine Dining panel. I paid full-price entry to the Food Ethics panel.

Radhey Kitchen & Chai Bar

August 27, 2014

Back in May I spotted an empty shopfront on Brunswick St promising "wholefoods-vegetarian-raw-organic-vegan-Hare Krishna"; by July it opened as Radhey Kitchen & Chai Bar, and Brian reported enjoying lunch there on Fitzroyalty. A couple of our friends have checked it out, too, and gave us tips on what they liked best. We had our chance to sneak in for a very early dinner last Wednesday night.

The menu follows a basic formula with the details varying from day to day. Entrees include soup and pastries at around $7 per serve, mains include a curry, a burger, pastas and bakes ($13.50), while the display cabinets show off a range of salads, sandwiches and sweets. Everything is vegetarian and the staff are very mindful of vegan and gluten-free diets, not to mention super-friendly - they'll gladly talk you through your options.

We tried out the tandoori tofu burger with chips ($13.50). Tofu slabs run a high risk of being chewy and bland, and when this arrived at our table I thought the bun looked burned around the edges too. I could not have been more wrong on all counts: the tofu was tender and spicy, with a soft gently toasted roll and plain but fresh salad fillings. The chips were good too, with two fine dipping sauces.

The vegan meatballs seemed to be a mix of TVP and vegetables with a comforting (possibly fried) crust; they were served with spaghetti and a thick dousing of sweet tomato sauce ($13.50), plus our choice of the fresh salads - I chewed my way through some creamy-dressed kale and crunchy carrots. These were both generous, home-style meals - presented simply but executed skillfully, and great value for money.

We didn't have the time or appetite for sweets, and I want to go back for their specialty chai and something from the dessert cabinet. Everything in it was vegan on the night of our visit, an unusual achievement even for a vegetarian cafe.

This section of Brunswick St is already overrun with veg*n eateries, yet Radhey Kitchen has something extra to offer - simple, comforting food that steers away from the mock meat and (for now, at least!) a quiet, personable atmosphere.

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The only other blog post we can find about Radhey is the abovementioned one on Fitzroyalty.

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Radhey Kitchen & Chai Bar
336 Brunswick St, Fitzroy
9077 8858
menu
http://www.radheychaibar.com/

Accessibility: I think there's a half-step up on entry and a flat interior. Tables are quite densely packed with a clear wide corridor through the middle. We ordered and paid and a low-ish counter, where much of the food is on display and chalkboard menus are easy to read. We didn't visit the toilets.