A Melbourne croissant collection and Sahara update

When I got home from Melbourne, I did not come alone. I had a freezer bag full of frozen croissants to enjoy and work my way through. These are their stories.

First up, the chocolate croissant I got from Fatto a Mano. I am just going to say meh. The chocolate filling was too sweet, the croissant itself was only just OK. If I hadn't just had my mind blown by Smith & Deli croissants, it would probably have seemed better.



By comparison, the chocolate croissant from Smith & Deli was delightful. Perfect croissant dough, with a nice dark chocolate filling. My only gripe is that I wish there had been just a bit more chocolate filling on the inside.



I brought my mum home and Almond Croissant from Smith & Deli, and she thought it was good as well. I'm not that into almond croissants, but my mum loves them.



And finally, the Pizza Croissant from Smith & Deli. Filled with some sort of meaty, tomato, cheesy, herby concoction rolled right into the dough before baking, this was delicious.



Cute Kitty Photo of the Post: Sahara Update



Sahara had her first round of chemo on Wednesday. I was prepared to maybe have to nurse her through a few rough days after this, but so far she has been fine. She also got her stitches out, so no longer has to wear the collar, which is also making her happier. One week down, 26 weeks to go. There are a number of different drugs involved that she will rotate through, so we still need to take her reaction to each chemo on a week by week basis. Also, in week three she will have another ultrasound to make sure that the chemo is actually working, so we have that to get through as well. The important thing to keep focusing on right now is that she is well and happy in herself.

A Quick Brisbane Vegan Tour

Good news! VeganMoFo is keeping active throughout the year (with the main MoFo event to be held later in the year). This month they are celebrating all things vegan and Australian! I am contributing this blog post, but be sure to check out their main page on the 26th of January for a whole range of fun Australian vegan posts.

Today I will give you a quick run down on some of my favourite places to eat in my home city of Brisbane. While no where near the level of Melbourne, Brisbane has still been growing in vegan leaps and bounds. There are so many new places opening, or existing places starting to offer vegan options, that this post is just a tiny drop on the ocean of vegan Brisbane options.

My Top Five

To start out with, I thought I would try and narrow down my top five favourite places in Brisbane. This was H-A-R-D, but I am pretty happy with my final result. I've included my favourite dish from each place, as well as a link to my other blog posts about them so you can see all the other things I have eaten from them! Let's get started. All in alphabetical order.

Charlie's Raw Squeeze: Raw Squeeze is taking over Brisbane and surrounds, with new branches popping up all over the place. The North Lakes one even has a vegan burger place as well! Raw Squeeze started out in Charlie's Fruit Market in Everton Park. The owners of Charlie's not only started the Raw Squeeze empire, they also have made Charlie's a completely vegan store. Phasing out the eggs, dairy and meat it used to sell with the produce and now running a little vegan grocery store there as well. Fantastic! Raw Squeeze is the place to go for all you juice, smoothie, bowl and nice cream needs. They also have yummy salads and wraps, and have recently started selling coconut gelato. They have a bunch of new summer salads I am keen to try. My favourite smoothie there is the Cotton Candy, which has red dragonfruit, banana, coconut water and coconut chips. (More Charlie's Raw Squeeze)



Easy House: OK, technically not Brisbane. But if you are in Brisbane it is well worth the trip down to the Gold Coast to go to this amazing vegan yum cha restaurant (or dim sum, for my US friends). They have a regular menu as well, but to be honest I haven't ever ordered anything off it because yum cha! I have so many things I love there. Steamed BBQ Pork Buns, Radish Cakes, so many different types of steamed dumpling. But my favourite is the Beancurd Rolls. (More Easy House, More Vegan Gold Coast posts)



I Should Coco: It is so hot here at the moment, a cool sweet treat is always appreciated. The best vegan ice cream in Brisbane is easily I Should Coco's amazing soft serve. While it is coconut based, it is not heavy in coconut flavour or fat (which means it doesn't make me sick like other coconut ice creams can). They have several standard flavours (which you can get in a cup or a cone), as well as specials. The current special is a PB&J one that I really hope I get a chance to try! I Should Coco doesn't have a shop front, however does appear at different markets (including the Boundary St Markets on Friday and Saturday nights). My favourite flavour from there so far has been their Cherry Merry (cherries and chocolate and coconut... so good). I always get them in a cone because a cone is the best way to eat ice cream! (More I Should Coco)



Khot Thai: This place opened just up the road from work earlier this year, and it is amazing. They can make the majority of the menu vegan (and much of it gluten free). Thai Tuesday lunch time became a regular thing for quite a while! I have only eaten in once, but have had a lot of takeaway. They make great curries, noodles and stir-fries. Of course my favourite is the Pad See Ew. (More Khot Thai)



Pu Kwong: Since new owners took over a couple of years ago, Pu Kwong has gone from meh to a firm favourite (plus it is near my house). The majority of the delicious Asian-style menu is vegan, though some is vegetarian, so you need to be sure to specify. There is loads to choose from on the menu as well. I like to work my way through the menu, but the one thing that I always get is the beancurd rolls. Yes, more beancurd rolls. I just can't get enough of them! (More Pu Kwong)



Other places I've been

This isn't a comprehensive list of everywhere I've been. Just places I remember and have enjoyed. For most of them I have included a link to see my blog posts about them so you can see more of what I have eaten. A few don't have links, because it was a while since I've been there or because I haven't gotten around to blogging about them yet.

• 5Dogs: A hot dog place with vegan hot dog and chip options.
• Botanica Real Food: Delicious salads, most of them vegan. They also have an amazing vegan brownie with coconut caramel that is just so good. (My blog posts)
• Cafe O Mai: I've only been to this Vietnamese cafe once, but it was amazing. Delicious pho and rice paper rolls for brunch. They have a whole vegan corner on their lunch menu I must work my way through.
• Doughnut Time: With several locations around the city (and now the country), Doughnut Time always has at least two vegan flavours on their roster. My favourite one ever was the Blue Ivy, blueberry filled cinnamon sugar, though sadly that has not been in rotation for a long time. (My blog posts)
• IGA Supermarkets: OK, not a restaurant at all. But if you are in need of some great vegan groceries, check out your nearest SupaIGA for Tofurkey, Field Roast, Vegenaise, Gardein, So Delicious and more!
• Lost Boys: Cute vegetarian cafe with a small vegan menu. The veggie burger was OK, apparently the breakfast waffles are amazing. (My blog posts)
• Loving Hut: The ubiquitous Loving Hut. My favourite is the Beijing Black Bean and the Seven Seas Delight. (My blog posts)
• No No's: This Lebanese place has amazing (and very garlicky) vegan salads. My favourite is the brown rice and lentil with crispy onions. (My blog posts)
• Pawpaw Cafe: I've been there for breakfast a few times (not for a while) and they have some nice vegan options. They also have a Thai and Balinese menu for lunch and dinner with several vegan options I would like to try.
• Pitstop Pizza: Yummy vegan pizzas and also has a couple of vegan strudels as well. The pumpkin pizza was very nice.
• Pure Simplicity Health Bar: Bowls, burgers, breakfasts and the yummiest peanut butter hot chocolate. (My blog posts)
• Su Life: This place is hit and miss with dishes, but their Spicy Crispy Chicken is famous! Their pan-fried dumplings are also my favourite in Brisbane. (My blog posts)
• Superoll: A new Asian-style restaurant close to me that is quickly becoming a favourite. I love the Happy Farm (a mix of mushrooms, yuba and veggies).
• The Cruelty Free Shop: Not a restaurant, but CFS recently opened up one of their vegan shops in Brisbane. The Green Edge: Brisbane's first vegan grocery store, it also has a cafe.
• Thien An: Super cheap and tasty Vietnamese place, though you have to go to Inala to eat there. Yummy pho and fun drinks. (My blog posts)
• Veganyumm: Brisbane all vegan bakery! Get the peanut butter chocolate chip bars and the ANZAC biscuits!! (My blog posts)
• Vegeme: Asian-style in West End. The Small Bites section of the menu is definitely the best, I have been underwhelmed by some of the mains I have had there. Order lots of little things and make your own yum cha. (My blog posts)
• Vegerama: Vegerama has several locations, though the one I frequent most is the sit down restaurant in West End. The food and the service can be a bit hit and miss, and I have never had a good dessert there. However, the pizzas are excellent. ((My blog posts)

Places on my wish list

There are so many new places opening in Brisbane, I can't keep count of them all! Here are just a few that are on my 'to go' list.

• Ciao Gelato: Just up the road from Fitz & Potts, has a range of exciting vegan flavours (as well as non-vegan).
• Fitz & Potts: A bar that has vegan jaffles on the menu, I love jaffles! Also a vegan platter. It is very doggo friendly as well.
• Netherworld Arcade: The newest addition to Brisbane is this super fun arcade, bar, and food spot. While not vegan, the menu is vegan by default and you have to request to add meat or dairy (and pay more). I don't even know where to start with this menu! The top of my 'to go' list.
• Sol Natural Foods Fortitude Valley: I've heard lots of good things about this place, from their yummy brunches to exciting pizzas. I want to go!

I hope you have enjoyed this quick tour of Brisbane's options. Looking at this, Brisbane really isn't that bad a place to be vegan at all! If you are ever heading this way, please let me know because I would love to hang out and eat some of this food with you! And would be happy to give more detailed vegan food tips as well.

Cute Kitty Photo of the Post



For anyone new to this blog, welcome! I like to end all my blog posts with a photo of a cute kitty, because cats are everything. Here is a photo of my two perfect girls, Dim Sim (the little black Princess) and Sahara (the slightly bigger red bear).

Melbourne Part 4

My final Melbourne post! The Monday we spent in Melbourne was my 35th birthday. We started with a celebratory breakfast at Matcha MylkBar in St Kilda (also my first time going to St Kilda). Matcha MylkBar has a long list of very silly sounding hot drinks. I would have loved to try so many of them, but I only had room for two. I started with a warming Apple Pie Latte (applie cider, apple pie spice, cinnamon).



Ashleigh got the Potato Leek Rosti with Asparagus, Truffle Hollondaise and a Vegan Poached Egg. It was meant to have their new vegan fried egg, but they had sold out. She also got some Almond Fetta on the side.



I ordered the Heirloom Tomatoes, Fresh Avocado, Almond Fetta, Kale Pesto and Crispy Kale on toast, with a side of potato leek rosti and shiitake bacon. I know, I know. The vegan ordered essentially a fancy avocado toast. Also a vegan egg. The vegan egg I ordered cautiously as it is coconut based (and sweet potato), but after talking with them it transpired that it is more a coconut and almond milk blend, no heavy coconut oil or cream. So it didn't make me sick. It was pretty good in terms of texture, but taste wise is nothing like an egg. Definitely more a sweet thing (which they mention). Everything else was pretty nice, though the avocado was on top of everything and not on the actual toast! I had to move off the tomatoes to spread it onto the toast. I will make a mention of the toast, which was their own GF bread made from cactus flour. It was sensational!



I finished off breakfast with a sweet treat in my favourite colour - pink! They had cruffins (croissants baked into muffin shapes and filled), and I picked a strawberry filled one. It was no way at the level of the Smith & Deli croissants, but it was pretty nice! I also had a Beetroot Latte with it (beetroot juice, dehydrated beetroot, blood orange, chocolate), which was earthy and nice.





I would have loved to have tried some of their other lattes, like the carrot cake latte and the charcoal latte. And looking at their menu now I see they have a new latte that has peanut butter and purple sweet potato in it... can someone send me one of those immediately please?

After brunch, we went for a little stroll around the St Kilda waterfront.





We headed back into the city and checked out some of the free exhibitions at ACMI, as well as hitting up some of the cute geek shops in the city for Neko Atsume and Tokidoki Unicorno collectibles. For lunch I went to one of my favourite places, Supercharger. You can pick from a whole selection of different components to put together your lunch. I don't really remember what I picked, but it was tasty.



After this we had planned on going to the Art Gallery (which had so many cool things going on), however I was given the birthday gift of a crushing headache. So what actually happened is I had to go back to our room and lie down in the dark for two hours until it lifted. Oh well. At least it lifted in time for me to enjoy the Smith & Deli Strawberry & Cream tart I had been saving for my birthday.

For dinner we met up with my friend Jess and my brother (who was also visiting Melbourne) at Neko Neko, a Japanese place that has several vegan options. I love Japanese! Plus they have homemade soy iced matcha in adorable bottles!



We ordered everything to share. Starting with the Eggplant Dengaku and the Tofu Agedashi, both of which came with a fun plate with several different little mounds of different tasty things. They were both great, but the dengaku sauce was particularly amazing.





We also shared the vegan ramen. They make their own vegan ramen noodles, however as two of our party were GF we got it with rice noodles. I suspect it would have been better with the actual ramen noodles (also in other photos I have seen the gluten full vegan ramen seemed to have additional toppings), but it was still good.



Finally we got the Raw Okinomiyaki. This really in no way resembled okonomiyaki, but was more like a delicious (if rich) nut cheese terrine.



Afterwards we walked to Casa del Gelato for some dairy free sorbets.



Tuesday was our final morning in Melbourne, and we of course headed back to Smith & Deli one last time. This time I got the Egg McMartinez for breakfast. It has a tofu egg, bacon and cheese and chose aioli and BBQ sauce to go on it.



I had hoped to stock up on a lot of yummies to take home with me, but unfortunately they didn't have much. They are closed on Sunday and Monday, and it was early on Tuesday morning, so there wouldn't have been enough time for everything to be fully stocked I guess. I did get a mulled wine brownie to take home.



Then we headed off to the airport. On the way, we stopped at Lord of the Fries to get a second breakfast. I got the mini Tibet (tofu egg, cheese, mayo, mustard) with a hash brown. It was adequate.



On the flight home I was given another vegan meal, this time a warm curry wrap, though I didn't take a photo. Then it was home and into the furry embraces of my living kitties. I always love visiting Melbourne, the food is just so good. I am not sure when I will get a chance to get there again, but I will enjoy the memory of this trip for a long time to come.

Cute Kitty Photo of the Post



Back in my second Melbourne post I shared a photo of Morgan, one of the cats that Leigh was looking after. This is Buster, the other cat. Super silly and fun.

Melbourne Part 3

Going back to my Melbourne trip in November. For dinner on Saturday we went to Fina's 2 in Fitzroy. This was my second trip to Fina's, which has a giant vegan Vietnamese menu.

We started with some rice paper rolls, because I love fresh rice paper rolls. I skipped the dipping sauce, though. It was too chili for me!



For drinks Ashleigh had their Lemon Lime & Bitters and I had the Taro Frappe. I get so excited when I find vegan taro drinks, they are purple and they taste like cookies. So good.



Ashleigh had the Bamboo Noodle Soup (which is what I had last time, though she had to get it gluten free so it didn't have the different mock meats in it). And I had the pho. These are both huge and delicious bowls of steaming hot and tasty soup. So big that we couldn't quite finish them! But they were good, so we pushed it as far as we could.





We waddled home with full tummies, but still managed to have a bed dessert picnic while watching some RuPaul Drag Race season 1. We had a GF Chocolate Strawberry Brownie from Smith & Deli (so good, they make the best fruity brownies) and a slice of GF Apple Berry Pie from Fatto A Mano (adqueate, nice tart filling but the pastry was so so).



For Sunday morning breakfast, I tried somewhere new. We headed out to Little River Cafe in Brunswick for breakfast with Leigh. I started with a quite nice soy chai.



They were launching their new menu that morning, and had a special of vegan waffles with ice cream, peanuts and chocolate syrup. Leigh braved this, along with a side of hash browns. But she reported that it was way too sweet for her (she suspected as much, but was lured by the waffles anyway). For morning sweet tooth lovers only!



I ordered the pancakes, which came with ice cream and berries. And I got a side of hash browns and a side of vegan bacon. I was excited about the ice cream because they told me it was soy based, however when it came it was clearly coconut based. And the sort of gross too fatty coconut type, so I had to scrape it off. But the pancakes were good, and the hash browns were good. The bacon was OK, though I just don't love vegan mock bacon, I am a tempeh bacon girl forever.



Ashleigh had the Hash Brown Wrap with tofu, which she said was good but needed more sauce.



After brunch, Ashleigh and I headed into the city to see Kinky Boots. It was a lot of fun! To sustain ourselves, we picked up a couple of sushi rolls from a place in the city. No photos. They were just OK sushi. But it got us through the afternoon.

That night we had a truly special dinner at the recently opened Transformer in Fitzroy. This is a fancy place, with fancy food! We requested the vegan and GF 'Feed Me' option, which is $45 and they bring you several dishes to try. The only downside was that they took our menus away quite quickly after confirming this, so I didn't get a chance to notice the fun non-alcoholic and non-fizzy drinks they had. Oh well, water is always good.

The first dish was Organic Popcorn with Japanese Spiced Sea Salt and Nori. Normally I am not a fan of popcorn, except for that sweet and salty stuff that I can never seem to put down. But this was delicious. Wonderfully seasoned, and without that annoying texture that normally turns me off popcorn.



This was followed up by an Artichoke and White Bean Dip with Caperberries, and a truly excellent GF flatbread for dipping. Of course, as always, we wished there was more bread!





The Mozarella, Zucchini, Mint and Pea Salad with Currant Puree was refreshing, with the creamy mozarella and the sweet currants. My tummy can be a bit iffy with raw zucchini (zoodles are a no go in my household), but they managed it perfectly.



The Steamed Broccolini with Pumpkin Seeds, Barberries, Saffron infused feta, and Pecans was OK. I didn't think the flavours worked together as well as some of the other dishes. Plus they had made it quite oily.



The Cumin-Braised Eggplant, Chermoula, Smoked Labneh, Quinoa Crisps and Mint was amazing yet problematic. The eggplant was divine, it just kind of melted in your mouth. Beautiful. And the crisps were fun as well. However the sauce was really just too spicy for both of us (even though I had been assured at the start that there was nothing in that night's feed me menu that was very spicy). I scraped off the sauce for the eggplant underneath, but it was spicy.



My favourite dish of the night was the Three Rice Pilaf with Lentils, Chickpeas, Pomegranate and Fried Onions. I loved the crunchy texture and the sweetness of the onions and the tartness of the pomegranate seeds. I could have eaten a huge bowl of this.



Of course we had to try their desserts (not included in the price of the feed me menu). Only two of their desserts were vegan, and only one of those was also GF for Ashleigh. So she had the Warm Chocolate Brownie, Salted Coconut Ice Cream, Cherry Gel and Hazelnut Ganache. This was incredibly rich, I tried a bit. The coconut ice cream was of course way too coconut fatty for me, but I scored a lot of her cherry gel which I enjoyed.



I know you are confused as to why I also didn't get the above dessert, I am not shy about my love for cherry and chocolate. However I (rightly) suspected that the coconut ice cream would be gross for me. Also, I was intrigued by the other vegan dessert. Pistachio Cake with Saffron Poached Pear, Star Anise Meringue, Almond, and Lemon Thyme Sorbet just sounded too different and interesting to pass up! It was really good (and the sorbet was refreshing and not coconut fatty at all, though they put it on the side for me just in case). I especially loved the poached pear.



Transformer was a really delightful experience, and I would highly recommend it to everyone. I would like to go back sometime and order off the menu itself, because there are lots of yummy things on there.

One more Melbourne post to go! Then I will get to Christmas.

Cute Kitty Photo of the Post: Sahara Update



Someone decided to pull out some sutures, and so is now wearing the neck tutu. Sahara's final results came back, confirming that the mass in her colon is indeed lymphoma. As I mentioned, this is the 'best' sort of cancer to have, out of a bunch of shitty options. But obviously it is still cancer, and I am devastated that my little bear has this going on inside of her. We can't take out her stitches until the 25th, and will be starting her first week of chemo then. I really hope it works.

Cruelty Free Shop January 2017 Mystery Box

A quite break in the Melbourne posts. This is a nice short post, which I can manage easily. An update on Sahara is at the end of this post, with her cute kitty photo.

For Christmas this year I again got a six month Cruelty Free Shop Vegan Mystery Box subscription. The first box turned up this week. And this is what was inside.

• Orgran Outback Animals Chocolate Cookies: I haven't had these before, but I have had a lot of the other Orgran products including their vanilla kids cookies. They are in cute animal shapes, which makes me feel a bit weird eating them, but they are fun for a snack.
• Nature's Charm Jackfruit: I enjoy making assorted jackfruit dishes, and while I have a few tins in my cupboard already I am always happy to have more. Pulled BBQ jackfruit is very delicious.
• Global Organic Black Beans: I was low on black beans, so this is very handy!
• Just Wholefoods Lemon Jelly Crystals: I don't know if lemon would be my choice, I much prefer strawberry or raspberry, but I am planning to use this in some sort of fun dessert. I do find that sometimes this brand of jelly sets very soft, so just be aware of that if you are using it to make anything that requires a form to be held.
• The Chocolate Yogi Astral Cruch: I am generally pretty pick about raw chocolate, except for Loving Earth with is the best. But this is meant to be very good. It doesn't have coconut oil in the ingredients, so I am keen to give it a try.
• GoMaxGo 2Fer Bar: I was cautiously optimistic when this first came out as I used to love Twix bars. Unfortunately this was nothing like a Twix bar, and I am not a fan.
• Eco-Vital Fruity Gummy Bears: These seem like a fun snack or decorating option.
• Hurraw Almond Cardomom & Rose Lip Balm: I love the flavours and smells or Hurraw, though generally I don't find the lip balm itself strong enough for my dry dry lips. But this sounds delicious... must not eat it.
• Emma & Tom's Cocoa and Coffee Bean Life Bar: I love Emma & Tom's bars, though will be gifting this one because I do not love coffee.

This month's box is nice, though there is nothing particularly stand out for me. I have five more boxes to go, and will continue to share with you!

I do just want to make a note as well regarding chocolate. This year I am striving to only buy fair trade chocolate (see theFood Empowerment Project's Chocolate List for more information). Obviously when signing up to boxes, I am not in control of what is put in the box. I know that GoMaxGo chocolate is not fair trade. I am not sure about The Chocolate Yogi or Emma & Tom's. Orgran is on their approved list. I am planning on doing a post at some point about my adventures in fair trade chocolate from an Australia perspective (a lot of the brands on the approved list are not available here).

Cute Kitty Photo of the Post: Sahara Update



Sahara had her surgery on Thursday in the end, the surgeon was sick on Tuesday. The surgery itself went well, and her recovery from it has so far been good. She was in hospital for two days, but came home with me yesterday afternoon. She seems fairly well in herself considering she had major abdominal surgery three days ago. On the good news side of things, the liver lesions are benign changes. That has been confirmed on histopathology from the lab. Unfortunately the mass in her colon is definitely cancer. Most probably lymphoma, though I am still waiting on the final final confirmation from the lab. Lymphoma is the best option in a long line of crappy options, as it tends to have the best response to chemo (though the drugs that she has been on to control her IBD for the last four years may interfere with that, we just have to wait and see). I'll update you again when the final result is in.