cauliflower and caramalised onion tart

I had a 3 week old head of organic cauliflower just blankly looking at my from my fridge every time I opened the door. I FINALLY SNAPPED, Googled cauliflower and found this wonderful recipe. Well, inspiration because well the only thing that is the same is I used cauliflower, onions and mustard. This pie was jaw droppingly delicious, as well, we all know how I feel about pie, this is definitely a cookbook contender but I could NOT BE SO SELFISH AS TO NOT SHARE IT WITH YOU IMMEDIATELY. Enjoy.

Ingredients
1 medium head of cauliflower
3 tbsp of olive oil
2 large brown onions
1 tbsp of sugar
1 300gm packet of silken or soft tofu
2 tbsp of nutritional yeast
1 tbsp of dijon mustard
1 sheet of puff pastry
1/4 cup of cheezly*

Trim the cauliflower into florets, toss in 2 tbsps of olive oil, season with salt and pepper and roast at 200 degrees until they go golden (about 20 minutes). While the cauliflower is roasting, slice the onions into thin rings, drizzle with remainding 1 tbsp of oil and cook on medium high heat in a heavy bottom pan, being careful not to brown them too much. Once the onion has wilted, turn the heat onto low, add the sugar, toss and cover the pan with a lid or a heat proof bowl, checking and stiring every 10 minutes or so. The onions should be done around the 30 minute mark, they will be soft, sweet and a deep golden brown.

Drain the tofu and whizz in a food processor with the nuritional yeast and 1/2 of the caramalised onions. Line your pie pan (I use a 9 inch) with your pastry, prick the bottom about 10 times, then smear the dijon on the base. Put the onions on the mustard then roughly chop your roasted cauliflower and arrange in the pie shell and smear the tofu mixture over the top, knocking the pie onto your bench a few times to make sure it fills all the little nooks and crannies. Sprinkle with Cheezly and bake at 200 for about 30 minutes or until the top goes golden brown. Pie is best left to sit for about 10 minutes before slicing for the tofu to set.

Notes: Cheezly is optional, if you don’t have access to Cheezly or Sheese don’t bother with any other vegan cheeses. If you find your pie shells go too soggy, blind bake them before you put the filling in. You could sub the nooch for 1 tbsp of light miso paste. This pie is amazing as a warm brunch item and cold at midnight straight out of the fridge.

monday melbourne roundup

romance is blooming in the easy as vegan pie household. WOOOOOOO. oh and I registered and hooked up easyasveganpie.net YEAH! next step some cards printed. Im going to New York in November and its nice to have something to hand out. Does anyone know of a service like Moo Cards in Australia? Oh and I now have a facebook page, if you havent become a fan already please do!

out.

a woman, a gun and a noodleshop



an interesting re-telling of the Coen Brothers first film "Blood Simple". I enjoyed this, I especially loved the landscape and thought it was beautifully shot. My friends thought it was boring.

tomorrow in a year- melbourne arts festival



Whoa. I can only describe this as giving a bunch of egomanical, poorly talented year 7 students a shit load of money and telling them to create a modern opera. This was SO BAD I wanted to walk out but my flatmate wanted to stay. Some quotes from Twitter: "TOMORROW, IN A YEAR. Anything, even a hot salt water enema, would be better than this derivative, unintelligent rubbish", "Shows like this are why the general public doesn't want their taxes spent on contemporary art.", "If you told me this was a satire of modern opera created by Monty Python, I would have believed you".

Its one of those things that I'm glad I actually went because I would not have been able to completely comprehend how bad people were saying it was. REALLY BAD. The music by the Knife was incredible.

eats.drinks

berlin bar

still love it. ITS SUCH A WANK I CANT GET OVER IT. and they sell gin and tonics in tall high ball glasses?!?! what the fuck is that about that really pisses me off! when did standard drinks start getting served in yard glasses? in any event it was totally chilled out and civilised on a Friday night in the city. Which is completely awesome.

Von Haus

OH MY GOD, the girl who has the full on Geisha hair has started working there. I've been so obsessed with her for YEARS. Love von haus... love love love you.

coconut passionfruit cupcakes

Recipe modified from Veg Web

Here is the first layer for the wedding cake I'm going to make for my friends. I'm very excited and honoured to be giving such a personal gift. Its not without its stress but I'm feeling confident I can make something that’s presentable and professional looking. I've been watching bajillions on you tube videos. Planning on making the coconut passionfruit cake the bottom layer and gluten free blackforest cake the top. This cake was super light and fluffy, tangy with the creaminess of the coconut cream (and the crunchy top from the raw sugar) I actually surprised myself at how delicious this is.

ingredients
1 1/2 cup flour
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup flaked coconut
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup coconut milk
2 tbsp passionfruit syrup
1/3 cup of light flavoured oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon white vinegar

Extra passionfruit syrup and 1 can of prepared whipped coconut cream .

method
1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees.

2. In a large bowl mix together the dry ingredients. In a seperate bowl mix all wet ingredients, minus the vinegar. Combine wet and dry ingredients until the batter is smooth then stir through the vinegar.

3. Pour batter into cupcake liners (about 3/4 of the way up) and bake for 25-30 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean.

4. With a teaspoon, scoop out a bit of the cake on each cupcake and put a teaspoon of passionfruit syrup then a tablespoon of coconut cream. Garnish with flaked coconut (or for extra points fresh coconut!).

gingerboy - melbourne - city

Salt and pepper tofu $15

Vegetable curry $31

The first time I went to Gingerboy it completely blew me away. Sure the space is tiny and cramped and the furniture is uncomfortable and ugly, but the food and service completely blew my mind. I'm sad to say this trip really disappointed me.

We arrived at about 6.35 (the dinner sitting is for 630? Or did I get this wrong and we were half an hour late?), in any event the restaurant was full and we were one of the last tables to be seated. Most people were almost finished their entrees by the time we sat down. We waited ten minutes to have our drinks orders taken, then the waiter brought us over menus, after a long and hushed, dulcet toned spiel on the "south east asian market" philosophy of Gingerboy (really, really is this necessary?!?!) I asked what could be made vegan and was offered the vegetarian menu! (win! very impressed). We were starving by this point, I knew what I wanted but the waiter dumped the menus and ran and we weren't able to order food for another 10 minutes before we flagged someone down. The waitress took our orders and asked if we'd ordered drinks? I passive aggressively answered "apparently" she told me she would get right on it after apologising saying they were "slammed". Our drinks finally arrived and our food arrived about 15 minutes later. For a restaurant with a robust bookings policy (ie you have a 95% idea of how many people you will be serving at what time) I would expect that they would be able to staff properly as there would be no surprises. At a restaurant like Gingerboy, I do not expect to wait for anything or have to flag down a server to order food.

By then I was already soured on the experience. The salt and pepper tofu was absolutely delicious. Cripsy, salty, hot with creamy silken tofu cubes on the inside, the portion was huge. The vegetable curry (the vegetarian menu is not on their website so I cant tell you exactly what it was) was good, but was missing the full body hit it had last time. I just kept comparing the food to Bopha Devi and Bopha Devi was coming out a clear winner. We enjoyed out meals in relative peace, but obviously words had been had to our server and as things became less busy he was constantly topping up our water, asking if we wanted more wine, which was overbearing and although I felt sorry for him and appreciated what he was trying to do, it was cloying and really just sealed the deal on some pretty substandard service for the evening.

We decided to cut our losses and leave, have some wine at Von Haus instead. Or waiter apologised when bringing over the bill, saying he was sorry it took so long to get our drink orders and drinks out to us and that the first round was on the house, which was appreciated. If only Bopha Devi and Gingerboy could have a baby. That would be lethal.

Deets: 27-29 Crossley St, Melbourne
$$: surprisingly cheap I think our bill with 2 entrees, one main and one drink came to $65

Other voices, other times:
Jeroxie believed Gingerboy was hit and miss
Joyce from Mel: Hot or Not gave it a firm HOT
Food Rehab - another hit and miss review
It pleases us - another hit and miss
Cindy and Michael at Wheres the Beef? - Not glowing
Ed Charles was not impressed

movida aqui - melbourne - city

Esparragos charcoal grilled green asparagus with romesco $17

Alcachofas - Artichokes with almonds, parsley and lemon $13

Bravas - crispy fried potatoes with spicy bravas sauce $11


Movida doing asparagus, I just about cried. Every single sauce and flavouring at Movida makes your tongue tingle with excitement just like you've eaten sherbet. I keep going back as it remains to be my favourite in Melbourne. I try others but nothing really compares. They are warm and gracious when you ask what can be made vegan on the menu. They give 'magic genie' service, arriving psychically when needed, plates magically disappear, more wine materialises out of thin air al lthe while you being completely engrossed in your dining partners. Go go go.

Deets: 1/500 Bourke St, Melbourne web: www.movida.com.au
$$: 4 glasses of wine, 3 dishes plus tip $100

Previous Movidas Aqui:
One, Two, Three
Movida Next Door: One

Other voices, other times:
Gushing review from Table for Two
Melbourne Gastronome
A five star review from Gluten Savvy
One of Joyces absolute favourites

monday melbourne roundup - the tuesday edition

yarrr. I'm sorry! I was just so exhausted yesterday. I took a Claratyne on Sunday night and forgot how badly they effect me! I spent most of the night tossing and turning with "oh my god I'm going to have a heart attack" heart palpitations! Telfast is the only brand I can take.

At this point I have no idea where I've been or what I've been doing. Looking back at my diary I was in friggin Sydney last Monday so I need to include that. I also had another milestone in project wedding cake! My friends engagement party was on Saturday and I brought along the test flavours of gluten free blackforest cake and passionfruit coconut cake which went down a treat. Next stop full test cake in November. STAY TUNED.

out.

Heide Museum - Up Close: Carol Jerrems with Larry Clark, Nan Goldin and William Yang

I went for the Nan Goldin stuff which just had me sitting in a dark room and crying for half an hour. The museum is beautiful with great exhibitons. Defintiely a jewel in the crown of Victoria.

eats.drinks

O Organics - Sydney

I raided Mandees list of good places to eat when I was in Sydney last week. O Organics is a sweet little cafe on Crown st, Darlinghurst with tonnes of well labelled vegan options both hot and cold. I got the 3 salad plate where you can pick from 3 of their many salads in the cabinet. I got the protein salad, made with lentils, grains, nuts, sprouts and a few other things I cant remember. Then I got the broccoli salad and indian kumera salad which was roasted sweet potato rolled in coconut with some Indian spices. I have to say I was extremely underwhelmed with my food as was my dining partner. The broccoli salad tasted like raw broccoli that's it, the kumera salad had a hint of coconut flavour and that's it (the sweet potato had ZERO flavour which I thought was totally insane for organic produce) and the protein salad was ok but also almost completely flavourless.

I made the comment to my friend that this is what people are complaining about when they say vegan food is boring. I was pretty sad I have to admit. The service was wonderful, certainly a rarity for Sydney, super friendly without being in your face. When we went to pay the lady asked us how we enjoyed our meals, and I said "to be honest it was very bland" and she was so SO apologetic. Offered us free sweets (we took some date squares) and was very very gracious with our criticism and totally turned everything around. It make me realise that I'm not crazy for criticising restaurants for their service, because how this lady recovered totally made me respect her and her business and I would definitely eat there again. The date squares were to die for and we left happy. So all in all a successful venture. Nice job O Organics!!

Moroccan Soup Bar

I've tried going to the Moroccan Soup Bar about 5 times and my dont-wait-for-anything Sydney self has always put it in the too hard basket. I am such a fool. SUCH A FOOL. It also helps having ravenous company to keep you occupied while you wait next door at Monkey Bar for a table. Review soon.

Kappaya at Abbotsford Convent

Review coming in Milk Bar magazine. I'll let you know when its up.

Sabroso

A charming little tapas bar in the up-and-coming heart of Seddon. I was there for my friends engagement party, the staff were lovely and made me a vegan chickpea dish which was delicious. If you're in that neck of the woods definitely check it out!

prince alfred hotel - port melbourne

What is up with pubs these days? I don’t understand how they can charge $25-30 for meals!! That’s how much a dish is at Gingerboy and several other wonderful restaurants around town. BUT! Lots of places are now doing fabulous cheap, quick lunch menus (and cheap nights during the week) like the Prince Alfred in Port Melbourne. Its hard working in Port Melbourne finding a place that can cater to everyone (I work with mainly steak eating men, a couple of vegetarians and me the only vegan). The vegetarian main on the $15 lunch menu is also vegan! I love it when places do that! Why not cater to everyone! The pies made with harissa roasted eggplant and pumpkin were totally delicious, served with a salad of quinoa, salsa and cherry tomatoes were the perfect companion. The dish looks smalls but the combination of the quinoa and pies were full-to-the-brim filling.

Bonus points: the staff were super friendly and helpful when I rang up to find out about their vegan options. Stuck for somewhere in Port Melbourne for lunch? The Prince Alfred is pretty rad (and they were playing 80s female hair metal the entire time).

Deets: 355 Bay St, Port Melbourne web:www.princealfred.com.au
$$: Vegetarian pies $15

corn fritters

There is just something about putting something in batter and frying it on a griddle. As you're all aware I've been travelling TONNES this year, there's something about turning 30 that makes you break your back in trying to get quite a few things ticked off before you turn 31. So most of my cooking lately has been about using up whatever food is in my fridge, what I can freeze etc, wasting food is the worst thing in the WHOLE WORLD to me. So these were knocked up quickly but what a deeeeelight. Enjoy.

Makes 1-2 servings

Ingredients

1 tbsp of besan (chickpea flour)
1 tbsp of flour
4 tbsp of water
2 large fresh corn cobs with the kernels cut off
a grind of fresh salt and pepper

1. Mix the flour and water until the batter is smooth and of a pancake consistency (you might have to add some more water). Add the corn kernals and combine well.

2. Heat a heavy bottom fry pan on high (or just regular pan but on a medium heat) and wait until the pan is quite hot (a few drops of water should sizzle when dripped onto the surface). Carefully ladle in mixture to form a couple of fritters. Only flip when completely cooked and browned on the first side (like a pancake, the mixture on the top is almost completely cooked before you flip it over).

3. Smear with vegan mayo and relish of some kind (I used green tomato relish - mm yum!)

Notes: You can you plain flour instead of chickpea, you may just need less water. I used white flour but whole wheat would be nice too. You can you plain flour instead of chickpea, you may just need less water. I used white flour but whole wheat would be nice too.

blue ginger - whitianga - new zealand

Whitianga is on the North Island in the Coromandel, which is a countryside-on-the-sea nature area that lots of Kiwis love holidaying in, its kind of like Wilsons Prom (every SINGLE KIWI I KNOW's family has a holiday house in the Coromandel). Its so so SO stunning. We went on amazing hikes, one down to Cathedral Cove (see pictures), went to hot water beach (you dig into the sand and super hot mineral water comes bubbling out) and spent lots of time reading and relaxing. The weather was gorgeous (It was the first time they'd seen sunshine in months apparently) and the food was pretty spectacular too.











Blue Ginger is the best 'café' in Whitanga. Serving up seriously tasty Asian food, it’s a bit expensive but when you're in the country you're glad you can get anything of this quality! So hit up Blue Ginger if you ever go to Whitanaga! I had the tofu and brown rice with a side of satay sauce which was too much food for me, but took the rest of it away and ate it for lunch the next day, so perhaps not too expensive after all. Nom nom!

And so ends my food adventures for New Zealand. I went to a bunch of great bars and cafes as well, perhaps I'll do a post on that in the future. In any event I ate some amazing food and met some really wonderful people, thank you New Zealand!!

Deets: 1/10 blacksmith lane, whitianga, new zealand web: http://www.blueginger.co.nz/
$$: my tofu and ginger dish was $16.50NZ

golden age - auckland - new zealand

Aucklands first vegan restaurant! I have to admit bias because in other circumstances I might not have such happy things to say about Golden Age. There are two very prominent LCDS playing what I can only presume is Supreme Master TV (they are followers of the Supreme Master), you have to go through the extremely small kitchen to get to the precariously perched toilet, our waitress didn't speak a stitch of English (we ordered pointing to things) and the lighting is MY GOD I CAN SEE YOUR WHITE BLOOD CELLS bright.

Scene set, lets talk about the food. The not chicken satay sticks were ok. The satay sauce was cold which I didnt like (I would have preferred it hot) but the deep fried, tender chewy chicken bites were delicious. The steamed bbq 'pork' buns were AMAZING, this was by far my favourite dish of the night. Fluffy, doughy, filled with smoky bbq 'pork' filling, they were an immediate nostalgia hit and not something I thought I would ever eat again happily. The sweet and sour pork was a little over sauced but took me back to my childhood of eating giant Chinese banquets, ribbed stockings and mary janes. The almost syrup sweet sauce, the hunks of pineapple, the huge deep fried chunks of 'pork'. It was worth it alone to see my friends reaction, she couldn't believe you could get fake meat like that.

Golden Age isnt going to win any awards any time soon, but they serve cheap, tasty, fast vegan Chinese food to people who probably couldn't tell the difference. That makes them winners in my eyes. NAWWWWWWWWWW.

ps: Oh AND they had a HUGE dreamy desserts counter! But we were so stuffed we couldn't fit any in. Moira (Auckland Vegan) took a hit for us here.

deets: 61 Victoria Street West, Auckland City web: http://www.veganrestaurant.co.nz/index.html
$$: Malaysian Style Satay Not-chicken $6.50 BBQ Steamed Buns $5.90, Sweet & Sour Not-pork $13.90

things I cooked last week

Test kitchen abounds, stressing out about the wedding cake, using the liver cleansing diet cookbook to great success. It feels good to be back at home and cooking (though I am typing this from Sydney right now). I'm trying to keep as much time free until the end of the year so I can COOK!! (I have one more trip to Sydney planned, then LA and NYC in November/December then Sydney again for 3 weeks over Christmas/New Years so realistically I'm not going to be home home much until mid January). So be patient with me! Best part about having a food blog? You always gotta eat so I am generating content even if I'm not at home.

asian tofu scramble
bigilla
stone soups recipe for japanese salad - completely delicious!

monday melbourne roundup

out.

stifters dinge - melbourne arts festival



Arts festival creates such child like awe and wonder in me. Stifters Dinge (Stifters Things) is billed as "A play without actors, a performance without performers and a concert without musicians". Its one of the most magical things I've ever seen. If you go to one things this Arts festival go to Stifters Dinge. Srsly.

Oh well never mind bye - Red Stitch

I love Red Stitch because it brings a lot of very recent modern plays to the Melbourne scene and experiments with what it produces. Although it was a preview and a little 'rough' I enjoyed this play immensely. Set in a 4 week period around the London bombings it has a lot to make you think about. The nature of 'news' and 'reporting' and ethics in your personal life vs your work. Red Stitch is a gem in an already rich theatre scene in Melbourne.

shut up and dance - melbourne fringe

Every year the amazing and eye wateringly talented The Town Bikes do a dance party at Fringe Festival and every year is the high light of my year. This years crowd was a little disappointing, not as dressed up as usual but the acts were completely amazing. Its free, its always at Fringe Hub (North Melbourne Town Hall) and you should look out for it next year. Its pretty much where I want to go when I die. Oh and the ever lovely, completely gorgeous Marieke Hardy is the DJAY setting the dance floor on fire with her tunes.

eats.drinks

Gingerboy

The first time I went to Gingerboy completely and utterly blew me away. This time I was crazy disappointed. Review coming soon.

Von Haus

Continues to be my favourite watering hole in Melbourne. Swoon fase.

revel cafe - k road - auckland - new zealand

After reading Moira's posts raving about Revel Cafe I had to go! But being the ditz that I am I forgot which she recommended as the best vegan breakfast in Auckland (its the beans btw) and got the mixed vegan breakfast instead. Taking Moira's advice the portion was HUGE so my friend and I shared it. Revels a great little cafe, off beat, really reminds of me of the cafes I grew up going to in Newtown in the 80s. Slightly cramped, op shop/hard rubbish furniture, cheap prices, good tunes, slightly pinging staff. The food was great! Your better than average vegan breakfast. Mushrooms, hummous, spinach, pesto and sundried tomato pesto, potatoes, fried tofu, grilled tomatoes served with a side of grainy toast. NOM.

Revels clearly labelled, delicious and abudant vegan options makes this cafe a total stand out. On leaving I grabbed a couple of small vegan pies and some chocolate cake from the display case and both items were AMAZING. Like seriously amazing. The pie was filled with roasted vegies and pineapple(!!) surrounded in puff pastry and the chocolate cake was really like a torte, thick and creamy with a biscuit base. Sadly there were no cupcakes the day I went in but going on the strength of everything else they serve I'm sure Moira's rave reviews are correct. Revel is a total winner.

deets: 146 K Road, Newton, New Zealand, (09) 309 2372
$$: vegan breakky was $16NZ I think?!? easily fed two people though

tanukis - auckland - new zealand

Irashaimase! The whole restaurants staff greet you as you walk in. Tanukis is an incredible sake bar/restaurant/cave in the heart of Auckland. Incredibly popular (four people told me to go there when I said I was going to Auckland!) and loved amongst the locals, Tanukis has a great energy. We had a quick but surprisingly filling snack there before going and seeing Oliver Driver in Thom Pain(go and SEE IT).

First up was edamame which was cold (I've never had it cold before) so I'm unsure if that’s usual or so traditional I've never encountered it. In any event it took some getting used to but they were inhaled in record time. Next up was the tofu steak served on a sizzling plate and nasu dengaku (deep fried eggplant with sweet miso glaze), both dishes were taste bud tingling delicious and wolfed down with rice. We sat at the bar as it was fully booked out and it felt like being in a set of a Tarantino movie, I just expected the 5,6,7,8's to come out at any second and start blasting us with "Teenage Mojo Workout". Great bar, great food, Auckland showed me that it does Asian food with great flare.

Deets: 319 Queen Street 09 379 5353 (they have like 4 bars/restaurants side by side) web: http://www.sakebars.co.nz
$$: edamame $6.50 nasu dengaku $9 tofu steak $9 rice $2 pp

bluebird cafe - mt eden - auckland - new zealand

The Bluebird café is located on Dominion Rd, surrounded by heaps of great stores and near Aucklands gluten free grocery store! Clearly my kind of area. The owners/proprietors of Bluebird are followers of Sri Chinmoy (whom I'd never heard of until now) and run their café to offer the public good healthy vegetarian/vegan foods and basically spread the love. When you walk in you immediately feel at peace. The café is light and airy, decorated with lots of bold colours. A massive menu to choose from with all vegan options clearly labelled. The staff are beautiful, emanating light and happiness and look wonderful in their beautiful saris.

We both had a "bowl" with brown rice and "Bali High (v) – rich peanut sauce served over steamed vegetables" topping. It was so simple and delicious and just what I was craving after a few days of eating on the run. Bluebird is very much the best of what people visualise when you think vegetarian café, brightly coloured fresh food, prepared daily served with heart in peaceful, leafy surroundings. Really delicious!

A great resource I found which lead me to a lot of places was Moiras wonderful blog - An Auckland Vegan - Thanks Moira!

Deets: 299 Dominion Road, Mt Eden, Auckland web: http://www.thebluebird.co.nz
$$: our bowls were $12NZ for a medium bowl (which was more than enough food for me)

lemony leek and cauliflower soup

Soup. I'm still really into soup. The warm days are receding into cold nights and I still get that familiar craving. I've got a bajillion soup recipes filed away and when my magical little vegie box is picked up I match a recipe to whats in it. This week tonnes of cauliflower. So here is lemony leek cauliflower soup. Sent to me by Katie recipe by Tony Chiodo from his macrobiotic/mediterranean fusion cookbook Feel Good Food.

ingredients
1 tsp olive oil
1 onion, diced
1 garlic clove, crushed
sea salt
2 leeks, thinly sliced
1/2 large head of cauliflower florets (or one small)
4 cups of vegie stock
150g silken tofu
2 tbsp of white miso paste
3 tbsp of fresh lemon juice
1 tbsp of dill, finely chopped

method
1. Saute the onion and garlic with a pinch of sea salt in the olive oil over medium heat until softened.

2. Add the leek, cauliflower and a tbsp of water and saute fo 5 minutes. Cover with the stock and simmer for 15 minutes.

3. Take off the heat and crumble the tofu into the soup then whiz until smooth.

4. Put the miso paste in a small bowl and add some soup to dilute and mix the miso. Add the miso slurry to the soup, return to heat and simmer for 3 minutes.

5. Just before serving stir through the lemon juice and dill.

monday melbourne roundup

This past week has been nuts. I got home on Tuesday afternoon from New Zealand and its been non stop. Clare always takes me to Movidas when I get home... to remind me of what I am missing. hah. As if I could forget. These days I get so homesick its becoming an actual sickness. I never thought I could feel about a city like I do Melbourne.

out.

Honey Bar - South Melbourne - Social Melb twitter function

There is so much wrong with the above sentence which is why I've never gone. South Melbourne? *gag* .. something called Honey Bar? *double gag* but I've always been keen to check out the social melb twitter people. Who are they? Are they crippled geeks with comb overs? Are they OTT Patrick Batemens with PDAs? The answer is surprisingly somewhere in between. I went with Dan who is starting Milk Bar mag and we sulked in the corner for 5 minutes but then I was all.. FEET FIRST. I met some interesting people. Dan met some interesting people. I am sure we will go again. Oh and well I guess I can tell you that I will be also writing for Milk Bar mag. Doing food writing and a few other things. Seasonal produce and whatever I pull my finger out and write about. So add Milk Bar mag to your RSS feed. Its going to be awesome. I'm super excited about the project! Oh and the red wine was REALLY bad, I ended up having terrifying red wine nightmares after 2 glasses and felt hung over the next day. Thats bad wine to me.

* eats/drinks will continue to be covered with individual posts - bars/restaurants I am not doing posts for will continue to be in MMR.

bopha devi - docklands

A sweeping gesture of apology, "I have a car, we can go anywhere you want". Challenge thrown down the gauntlet. I sat there and thought for five minutes, where would I go? Plush Pizza in Hawthorn? Coco Loco in Northcote? No, I had to think of somewhere I would NEVER go and NEVER have been. Aha! Docklands! Genius! I had previously been to Bopha Devi in Yarraville and was supremely impressed with the food and knew they had a much larger restaurant down in Docklands. So we went. I had fantasies about Docklands being an abandoned sea side theme park, empty, kind of eerie, so full of hope that was ultimately dashed. I WAS BANG ON. This is Docklands on a Saturday night:



The food? Sublime.

The pumpkin filled parcels were crisp but a little too greasy. The garlic chive cakes are knee bendingly delicious, perfectly crisp on the outside, gooy on the inside. The tofu saraman curry in all its coconut cream, perfectly spiced glory is the stuff sticky dreams are made of. Smooth, delicate and robust, doing a can can down your gullet until your eyes go all googly and your face does that Harold Bishop jowl shake and your calves start to quiver. In short, divine. The kicker? The entire dessert menu is vegan*. Both our desserts were that wonderful Asian combination of being not too sweet and not too creamy, a balanced way to end an amazing meal. Great service, good booze selection, the crowd? Oompah loompah orange side show freaks. If you ever find yourself in the depths of zombieville do yourself a favour.

Deets: 27 Rakaia Way, New Quay, Docklands. (or go to their Yarraville location). Best to book on the weekend, it gets a little nuts there 9600 1887
$$: Pumpkin parcels $10.90, Garlic chive cakes $11.90 (g/f), Tofu saraman curry $20.90, Steamed rice $3.50 p/p, Char grilled sugar banana rolled in sticky sweet rice and rolled in grated coconut $14.90, Black sticky rice crumble topped with grated coconut caramalised palm sugar $12.90


*bar the icecream menu
Ps: I'm no longer doing ratings. I think my writing conveys enough.