It Just Has To Be Delicious

Archive for the ‘Vegan/Vegetarian’ Category

Inglewood Hotel, Mount Lawley

Inglewood Hotel Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

The Inglewood Hotel is a fairly traditional pub and restaurant at the North end of Beaufort Street in Mount Lawley. We attended for a Christmas function and sampled the set menu. There were three choices of starter, three mains and two desserts.

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I chose the beef cheek croquettes with watermelon and feta salad for starter. They were a little under-seasoned on their own, but the addition of the sweet balsamic and salty feta made for a nice mouthful when sampled together. My colleague chose the vegetarian bruschetta which she said was also a little under-seasoned but the artichokes were a nice touch.

ing 2

For main course I selected the fish – grilled goldband snapper with edamame, pickled cucumber, chill, gem lettuce and red onion salad with lime dressing. The fish was a little on the dry side, but not overly so, and the pickled cucumber was lovely, I would have liked more of it. The salad had way too much lettuce and red onion and I think that a vietnamese style salad would have been a nicer accompaniment. The fish skin was nice and crispy and the fish had a lovely flavour.

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My colleague had the vegetarian cranberry and pistachio loaf with caramelised fig and mushroom parcels and salsa verde. The description sounded much nicer than the dish that was presented, however, my colleague enjoyed, she said that it was like a chunky risotto.

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Another colleague chose the quarter roast chicken with lemon thyme baby potatoes, honey roast carrots and leeks, with pan gravy and sage stuffing. He enjoyed it – it was a fairly standard roast lunch.

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Of the two desserts I chose the warm dark chocolate hot pot with raspberry ice cream and orange candy bits. It was lovely but quite rich and I couldn’t finish it all. I enjoyed the raspberry ice cream more than the chocolate – it was like a brownie mixture and quite runny underneath the crispy topping.

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The other dessert was house-made christmas pudding with vanilla brandy snaps. The texture was more of a cake than a pudding, but my colleague enjoyed it very much.

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Considering that this was a Christmas lunch and our tables totalled 23 diners, the staff did well to serve all of the meals in fairly good condition. There was a lengthy wait between courses though, and the meal wasn’t really a stand-out feast for me, it was fairly average, but also very good value at $48 for three courses.

Last Visit Date – December 2018

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Restaurant review, Vegan/Vegetarian

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Papparich, Joondalup

PappaRich Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

When Papparich arrived in Australia, I was quite pleased to see somewhere serving Malaysian delights, and a good place to get a Nasi Lemak fix.
In recent times I have also found some limited vegetarian options, and the vegetarian ‘mutton’ nasi lemak is definitely a good substitute. If you are vegan you have to ask them to omit the egg.

Papparich also serve noodles, kway teow, roti canai, laksa, the menu is quite extensive – complete with an array of authentic drinks. You complete your own order form, press the doorbell on the table, and a waitress arrives to process the order.

This is the chicken curry nasi lemak:
pappa 1

This is the beef rendang nasi lemak:
pappa 2

This is the satay:
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This is the vegetarian ‘mutton’ nasi lemak:
Pappa 4 veg

This is the vegetarian laksa:

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Generally this is a good restaurant, but it can be quite variable depending on when you go. Portion sizes can vary considerably, and the quality of the beef rendang ranges from perfectly melting to a bit chewy.

Drinks include various fruity options plus teh tarik, kopi o, jelly drinks and soy options.

This is the lychee and grass jelly drink:

pap 20

Definitely worth a visit.

Last Visit Date – May 2020

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Restaurant review, Vegan/Vegetarian

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Galangal, Mount Hawthorn

Galangal Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

I had heard nice things about Galangal, and after visiting some other establishments in Mount Hawthorn, decided to give it a try. Mount Hawthorn is a nice area with lots of good eateries, and some bars, but without the hustle and bustle of Leederville and Mount Lawley. There are plenty of side streets to park, and even some spaces right outside Galangal.

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It’s a big restaurant with a large bar area, and it was pleasing to see that it was at least 75% full on a Saturday evening.
We chose a semillon sauvignon blanc from the wine list which was nice and crisp without being too acidic. Many of the wines available were WA options.

gal 2

The menu has a great variety of Thai food but it does not try to be all things to all men. It has all of the regular options available in a menu that is not hugely extensive, but has enough variety to make for a well balanced meal.
We dithered over starters and considered having the fish cakes, spring rolls or the golden wraps (chicken and corn parcels), but after seeing the portion sizes of some main courses going past, we decided to skip starters and concentrate on a variety of mains. We chose classic green chicken curry. This was very authentic with holy basil and eggplant, and was enjoyable from the first mouthful to the last.

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We also chose the fried barramundi fillet with garlic, chilli and tamarind hot sauce. The amount of barramundi was outstanding, it was fresh and tasty, but the sauce was much sweeter than I expected and tasted more like sweet chilli sauce than tamarind. I didn’t really get the sour tamarind hit.

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We also had pad thai with prawns which was very good and fairly authentic. I would have liked more prawns though – 4 prawns seemed a bit mean for a $22 pad thai.

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All in all I enjoyed the meal and the dishes that we ordered left us very full – the amount could easily have fed three of us. I will return to Galangal – it is a nice glam atmosphere, the staff are lovely, and the food is very tasty and authentic. Besides, I need to try the pork belly dish !

There is also a good selection of vegetarian dishes.

Visit Date – January 2018

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Restaurant review, Vegan/Vegetarian

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Raw Coconut Lemon Blueberry Balls

I have often seen raw food balls in the cafes that I frequent and they are quite expensive, often costing around $4 each.

balls

I am currently on a muscle strengthening plan and I have to eat protein every 3 hours throughout the day. Not wanting to eat huge amounts of meat every day, I decided to have a go at making these balls to give me a protein hit and to stave off mid morning and mid-afternoon hunger pangs. They are incredibly easy to make, very quick and they taste really good.
I also added some cacao powder to mine which I had in the cupboard, but it’s optional. You can also add things like chia and oats if you like, or try different nut varieties.

Ingedients:
30g Cacao powder (optional)
One and a half cups of cashews
Half a cup of shredded or desiccated coconut (plus extra for rolling)
Half a cup of dried blueberries (I found these in Coles with the home baking goods, but I am sure you can use fresh blueberries too)
Three quarters of a cup of fresh dates, chopped
1 lemon, you need the zest and at least half the juice
Half a teaspoon of vanilla essence
Stevia sweetener or raw brown sugar (optional)
A generous pinch of sea salt

Method:
In a food processor, whizz up the cashews, coconut and blueberries. Pour them into a bowl.
Put the dates and cacao in the food processor and whizz them up. Add them to the bowl.
Add half the lemon zest, half of the lemon juice and the salt and vanilla. Mix well and taste the mixture. Add more lemon juice if necessary. If you need it to be sweeter you can also add some Stevia sweetener or a teaspoon of brown sugar.
Using a spatula, mix the ingredients together until they bind into a dough.
Place some desiccated coconut and the rest of the lemon zest in a separate bowl – mix them well.
Now make small balls with the mixture (approx the diameter of a 50p or 50c piece, but it doesn’t matter if they are bigger or smaller). Roll the balls in the coconut/lemon mixture to coat them and store them in an airtight container.
This made about 14 balls but the exact quantity depends on the size.

Category:

Recipe, Vegan/Vegetarian

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Super quick fresh mayonnaise

All you need is a stick blender and you can make mayonnaise in seconds. It is so ridiculously easy that you will probably never buy mayo again because this method is simple – you can make it fresh every time.

mayo

You need the tall plastic beaker that comes with your stick blender, and the important thing to remember is to put the oil in last so that it covers the other ingredients.

Place the following in the plastic beaker:
1 egg (without the shell)
a generous pinch of salt
a twist of pepper
1-2 teaspoons of Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon of either lemon juice or white wine vinegar (this is your acidic ingredient)
200ml of light oil (vegetable oil or light extra virgin olive oil)

Now use a stick blender to blend the ingredients – in approx 20 seconds you will have mayonnaise. Adjust the seasonings – you can add more of any of the ingredients if required.
If it seems too thin add more oil – this may seem like a strange thing to do but a touch more oil will thicken the mayo.

You can also add other seasonings – herbs, garlic, spring onions, wasabi, capers, horseradish, mint, paprika, garam masala are a few suggestions.

You can make a nice version of Tartare sauce by adding capers and a finely chopped gherkin to the mayo.

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Recipe, Vegan/Vegetarian

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Apricot Sesame Balls

apricot sesame balls

 

These power packed balls are really soft and succulent, you can vary the ingredients to suit your taste, but mine are laced with warm Christmassy spices that are a nice contrast to the sweet apricots. This recipe makes approximately 10 ‘mouthful sized’ balls.
 
Ingredients (all approximate – adjust them to suit your own taste):
70g Dried apricots whole or shredded
Half a teaspoon of ground cinnamon
Half a teaspoon of ground nutmeg
Half a teaspoon of ground cardamom
Sesame seeds for coating (approx 15g)
1 cup of muesli of your choice – blitzed to make it finer in a food processor – not quite powder, but no big lumps

Method:
In a small saucepan simmer the apricots with a quarter of a cup of water and the
cinnamon, nutmeg and cardamom until the apricots have softened (about 12-15 mins), add a little more water if they look dry.
Cool the apricot mixture to room temp, then stir it into the muesli to make a soft paste.
Roll the paste into balls and roll them in sesame seeds. If the paste is a little dry add some more water, if it is a bit too moist, add some more muesli or some ground nuts.
Simple ! Enjoy.

Category:

Recipe, Vegan/Vegetarian

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Pearth Organic Kitchen, West Leederville

Pearth Organic Kitchen Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

Pearth is a vegetarian/vegan cafe on Cambridge Street with a clean airy interior. We stopped by today for some takeout and were pleasantly surprised to see so many good options in the cabinet.

pok 1

Salads, wraps, savoury tarts, curries and bowls, it was difficult to choose, but in the end I went for a savoury pancake Okonomiyaki with king oyster mushrooms and cabbage. It was really good but could have done with a little more seasoning.

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My partner chose the vegan burrito which was huge, containing rice, beans, avocado, spinach and chipotle spice. It wasn’t too heavy on the spice and again could have been seasoned a bit more.

 

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We also checked out the cake cabinets

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We chose a date, walnut and garam masala muffin, which was tasty but quite dense – not the thing to choose if you want a light cake, but it was really good.

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We also chose a vegan snickers slice which was sweet and gooey and just like Snickers.

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The food at Pearth is definitely made with love and looks amazing. It is a little on the expensive side, but also good quality, they just need to pay a bit more attention to seasoning and it will be Pearthfect.

Visit Date – May 2020

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Category:

Coffee shop review, Restaurant review, Vegan/Vegetarian

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The Mint Asian Cafe, Perth CBD

The Mint Asian Cafe Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

The Mint is a canteen style Asian cafe on Hay next to Perth Mint on the corner of Hill Street. On a rainy day I was given a lovely welcome and I perused the menu for something warming.
Tempted by pretty much all of the options – laksa, fried rice, gyoza, salt and pepper prawn etc. I eventually settled for a fried chicken kway teow.

mint 1

It was really nicely cooked with the charred wok flavour running through, and a perfect mix of chicken, onion, egg, beansprouts and greens. I loved it and was quite happy with the $11 lunch price tag.

The Mint is a Hay Street winner. They are also happy to cook veggie versions of most dishes – veggie pad thai is a particular favourite.

Vegetarian pad thai:
mint 3

Salt and pepper chicken:
mint 2

Last visit – November 2019

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Restaurant review, Vegan/Vegetarian

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Chakra, Inglewood

Chakra Restaurant Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

I’ve been meaning to try Chakra for a while, it’s one of those restaurants that keeps popping up in my newsfeeds, and I was intrigued by their modern take on Indian cuisine.

chakra 1

It’s an impressive modern restaurant on the corner of Beaufort Street and Seventh Avenue, with tables inside and out, and gas heaters for winter. The fit out is very stylish, with low lighting and candles – lovely for a romantic dinner. We were warmly greeted by the manager who seated us by the window, and it was nice touch to have a place card set up for me.

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We chose a glass of Jim Barry JB Clare Valley Riesling while we perused the electronic tablet style menu, and a very nice drop it was too wit citrus and ginger notes.

chakra 3

Everything can be ordered by the hand held tablet, or you can order from the wait staff. We found the tablet quite easy to use, but did have to order everything individually rather than building up a menu and just pressing the ‘order’ button once.

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We were also given some crispy nibbles to start with a tamarind dip, and they were quite moreish.

chakra 5

The manager explained that Chakra make everything fresh and are ‘not like other Indian restaurants’, then he went on to explain the menu and pointed out some of the signature dishes. We chose a signature Pav Bhaji Fondue to start – a spicy vegetable mousse with olives, crispy bread, onion and tomato.

chakra 6

It was tasty, but a little gimmicky in the fondue format, and we soon ditched the fiddly fondue forks for regular forks.
Next came the main courses, including a chicken biryani which was the star of the meal. I have had a similar biryani before in a pot with a naan style dough topping, but this one was outstanding – really separate grains of rice, great curry flavour, tender melting chicken – just wonderful. When we tapped through the dough crust, the aroma was amazingly good.

It came with a raita dressed with beetroot.

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We also chose a prawn madras which was a good standard curry with lots of sauce to dip our naan.

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Our side dish was bhindi masala – well cooked and tasty.

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All in all it was a good meal and we will definitely return for the great biryani. I like that Chakra are doing something different, and the menu is also very vegan/vegetarian friendly.

Last Visit – November 2019

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Here are some pictures from vegan supper club Sunday:

Cumin infused lemonade (a bit of an acquired taste):

ch 1

Vegan onion spinach fritters:

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Butter tofu kulcha:

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Pani puri:

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Aloo Gobi sabzi:

ch 5

Vegan vegetable korma

ch 6

Okra/bhindi:

ch 7

Category:

Restaurant review, Vegan/Vegetarian

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Bombay Talkies, Whitfords

Bombay Talkies Eatery Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

Bombay Talkies is a cosy eatery in the recently refurbished Whitfords mall cinema area.
We popped in for a light bite following a film, and we received a warm greeting from the staff. The menu is designed so that you can have as much or as little as you like, and includes Indian street favourites like pani puri, Bombay toasties, kati rolls and sheekh kebabs as well as curries and biryani.
We started with some poppadoms and mint sauce – they were crispy, fresh and good.

Bombay 1

I decided to have a chicken biryani, which was plentiful, and came with a curry sauce. I couldn’t eat all of it and the waiter kindly packed up the leftovers for my work lunch the next day.

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Bombay 3

My partner chose a tarka dhal and rice. He loved every mouthful – a nice fresh dhal with plenty of lentils, a nice coriander taste, and a little heat from the chillies. The rice was fluffy and separate – everything you would expect from good rice.

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Bombay 5

I was very impressed and would be happy to go back to try another meal. This is definitely one of the best restaurants in the Whitfords strip. They are also on Uber Eats, so if you fancy a curry in a hurry – Bombay Talkies could be your best bet.

Visit Date – November 2018

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Bombay 6

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Restaurant review, Vegan/Vegetarian

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