Mooloolaba Part 2

Hello! As I write this, we are in lockdown because there is a Delta outbreak here. And because such a small percent of our population is vaccinated, we are in a precarious position. Thankfully me and my parents are all fully vaccinated! Of course, lockdown doesn't change the fact I still need to go to work and interact with staff and public. Big shout out to essential workers, there is a special kind of lockdown stress that comes from having to still go to work and be around people coming and going.

So let's cast our minds back to happier times, with the conclusion of my Mooloolaba trip earlier this year! You can see part one here. We left of having just had a lovely brunch and visit to a pretty park. After that, my parents headed home and I had some time to spend on my own up there. That brunch was pretty big, so I wasn't hungry for a while. But I started getting a bit peckish in the afternoon.

A lot of restaurants are closed between lunch and dinner. But fancy pants vegan restaurant Elixaba was not one of them. So I was able to stop in to sample a few small bites on the menu for a late lunch.They have several fancy cocktails on the menu, and a couple of mocktails. I got the Blessed Bird, which is the mocktail version of their Pink Flamingo. It is basically grapefruit and cranberry juice (no fizzy, yay!) with a salt and hibiscus rim. It was very pretty and refreshing.



For food I had Loaded Hemp Chips (spiced chips with aioli, hemp seeds, and coconut bacon) and their Tea Smoked Mushrooms (with herbal pesto, napoli sauce, and pickled carrot). I was really excited about the mushrooms, but to be honest they were not all I was hoping. Still good, but I was expecting a bit more from their signature starter.



All their desserts have coconut oil in them, so I finished with a sweet Moontime Latte. It is a rose and maca latte, and it was DELICIOUS!



I went back to the hotel afterwards and spent some time reading. In the evening, I heading down to the beach for some dog spotting. But I was feeling suddenly very invigorated, and took a really long evening walk. Not on the beach, but on the boardwalk around the beach. It has been a while since I have walked so much. My feet were screaming at me, but the fresh sea air with the wind and the beautiful full moon kept me going. (My body punished me afterwards.)





After my walk, I was starving again! But what to eat? I spent some time Googling. And ended up choosing a place called El Bigaton, a Latin Street Food restaurant that had several vegan options. Sadly, their delivery part of the website wasn't working. So I hoisted onto my feet and walked down. It wasn't a long walk, and it took me down to The Wharf Mooloolabah, which I hadn't been to. The Wharf is a place you can rent assorted water activity things, but it also has a lot of restaurants (a few with vegan options). This was a Tuesday, which meant they had a special on tacos! I got two vegan tacos (grilled veggies, slaw, beans, guac, salsa), a vegan arepa (cornmeal flatbread with grilled veggies, beans, sweet plantains, and salsa) and the patacones con guacamole (fried green plantains with guac). OMG. Everything was INCREDIBLE! Like, I could cry incredible. Even with having to pick out a bit of capsicum. So fresh, so good, I had to stop on the way back to complement them. And since I have been, they have released even more vegan options! I had never heard of this place before, but this should be a must visit for any vegan in the area.



One thing I did struggle with during my stay there was finding any kombucha that didn't have stevia. The places I went, or the 7-11 near the hotel, even the Coles I went to after Elixaba, only seemed to have Remedy Kombucha, which is full of stevia. I did find these two little digestive shots at a Coles. The Mojo I have had before, in fact normally I drink Mojo ginger kombucha out of big bottles. But this little gut health shot was new. And let us never speak of it again, because it was like a sludgy gross pear juice. And I like pear juice! But they ruined it.



Before bed, I took a final visit to the frozen yoghurt place. I got American Cream and Green Apple Sorbet (so it was kind of like an apple pie), with raspberry syrup and maple nut granola. Eaten while looking at the beach at night.





The final morning, I went back to The Nectar Bar for another smoothie. This time I had the Cyclops (carrot cake), which had carrots, oats, baobab, dates, cinnamon and almond milk. No photo, because it looks just like the last one... in a cup you cannot see through.

I headed out to try a new place for brunch. Cafe Nurcha at Maroochydore. This place is a cafe attached to a vegan food/new agey shop. The cafe has a huge menu for breakfast and lunch. I got the Brekkie Bagle, which was a charcoal (yes!) infused with garlic butter, smashed avocado, potato rosti, smoked tofu, tomato, spinach, and hollandaise sauce (hold the chili jam). It was big and messy, but very nice. I also had their Jaffa Surprise hot chocolate.





I now know that this is the place to go first on any visit. Because there are loads of fun things in that shop, and it is also right next to an IGA that has a load of other fun things. Things I have never seen! Fun frozen and chilled things I could not buy because I sadly didn't have any ice packs to transport them home to Brisbane in. Things I will definitely return for. And also, so many different types of stevia-free kombucha! I only bought a few things, very restrained of me. I got some chocolate covered seeds and blueberries, as well as some tumeric ginger chews from Nurcha. And from the IGA I got some nice looking cashew butter, and some raspberry chocolate. Also included is some vegan shrimp paste I bought from Cafe Vie.



Then it was time to farewell the far too sunny for me beach, and head home.



I did not return home empty handed though. I realised I forgot to mention that the day before I left, I paid a visit to Roots Cafe and Bakery, which has a bunch of vegan options. I bought these to take home. As well as a couple of take away treats I got from Cafe Vie as well. On the savoury side, there was the vegan quiche and pastie from Roots, and a ham and cheese croissant from Cafe Vie. For sweets, there was a peanut butter cookie, cornbread cookie, and banana bread from Roots, and another Lamington cookie that I got from Cafe Vie. Everything was very good, but my favourite as the pastie!





Thus ends my little two day trip away! Thanks for reading this far. I do hope one day to be able to go back and buy more fun stuff and eat more fun food! For now though, I will get ready to go to work, and otherwise I'll be hermetically sealed in my house.

Mooloolaba Part 1

A couple of months ago, I did something I hadn't done in several years. I went away for the night. Two nights, even. I hadn't been away from home overnight for a long time, because I didn't want to leave Dim Sim. Sadly, things change. I had the opportunity to go up to stay at Mooloolaba at the Sunshine Coast for two nights, one with my parents and one night alone. I haven't been to the Sunshine Coast even for a day trip for longer than I could remember. It is further away from me than the Gold Coast and all it's amazing vegan options. The Sunshine Coast is not without its fair share of great vegan food though.

I got started on my food adventures before I even got to the hotel, stopping in at Cafe Vie in Buderim for some brunch. I had been wanting to go here for a very long time, and it didn't disappoint!



I tried a Char Char Latte, because of course I did. It had activated charcoal, cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, and coconut blossom. To be honest, it tasted mostly just like slightly sweet soy milk, but it had to be done.



For food, I had the Vrioche. Which was a brioche bun with tofu scramble, house sausage patty, facon, onion, tomato relish, aioli, and baby spinach. I forgot to ask them to leave off the raw onion, so I did have to pick that out. It was also impossible to eat in one piece, everything slid out of that bun. But it tasted great! The only thing is that the tofu scramble is not so much cheesy as it is more like slighty curried. I also got a rosti side, because you should always potato.

Cafe Vie also has a bakery case and a small collection of vegan groceries. Plus the people who run it also run the Mini Tails Sanctuary, which I hope to visit some day. But back to that bakery case. They have some pies and sausage rolls, as well as a selection of sweet things. They stock Black Lemonade cookies! I got a lemon sandwich cookies, which was lovely. So tangy and light! As well as a Lamington cookie, which was amazing. It had chocolate chips, peanut, coconut, and cherries in it.



Then I headed in to meet my parents at the unit. This was the view. Very pretty, but very sunny!



After a lazy afternoon of reading and looking at the sea from the sun-safety of the unit, we decided to order dinner. I had just done a big drive, so didn't really feel like driving out to get food again. Though there were a number of vegan options around, so I ordered some delivery from Bella Venezia, an Italian restaurant. They have a vegan menu, though unfortunately not everything on it was available for delivery. I really wanted to try their roasted dutch carrots with pumpkin and macadamia puree. But I wanted to not go out even more. I opted for their Pumpkin, Spinach, Mushroom, and Avocado Pizza (hold the capsicum). It was a really nice little pizza, good flavours. I also was craving some veggies, so I ordered some seasonal vegtables. These ended up being broccolini, though they came absolutely drenched in oil!



After dinner, Dad and I went for a walk to get some night ice cream. There was a place just up from the hotel that had some vegan sorbets. But when I got there, turns out they also have vegan frozen yoghurt! Frozen yoghurt is of course pay by weight, but I had to try a bit of all the vegan flavours, minus the coconut one. I got American Cream (like a creamy vanilla and maple), green apple, strawerry, and Black Hawaii (charcoal... again). Topped with some granola and strawberries. All the flavours were really nice! Just a note about charcoal. It is fun, but if you eat or drink it make sure it is at least two hours either side of any medications you take, because it does decrease absorption.



There are several smoothie and juice type places pretty much right outside the place we were staying, so the next morning I popped out and picked up a Siren Smoothie from The Nectar Bar. This place has juices, smoothies, acai bowls, and also some wraps and slices (only some of those are vegan). I got the Siren Smoothie, which was an apple pie smoothie. It had apple, spinach, oats, maple syrup, cinnamon, nutmeg, banana, lucuma, and almond milk. It was really lovely.



I took my parents back to Cafe Vie for brunch. We all got a hot chocolate to drink, and it came on a beautiful tray! They serve their hot chocolates in little heated pots and you pour it over the marshmallow in your glass. There is more than one glass worth of hot chocolate in the pot as well. With three arranged in a tray, it was a very pretty hot chocolate party!



My mum ordered the Benedict, which was cheesy tofu scramble (though again, more curry than cheesy), facon, hollandaise, and baby spinach on a croissant. With a side of rosti, because of course!



Dad got the Yiros Welcome, a wrap with braised mushroom meat, tabouli, hummus, and herb aioli.



And I got the... Avocado Toast. Yes, I am that vegan. But the 'Avo You Seen This' is not just any avocado toast. It was organic sourdough, with black tahini, smashed avocado, greens, pickled daikon, and mustard cream. It was a tower! A delicious tower. And I also got a rosti on the side. Duh.



On our way there, we drove past a park that Mum mentioned they had visited before, as it was very beautiful with a cathedral of trees. So we stopped there on the way back. It is called Wirreanda Park, and it has a beautiful area flanked and canopied by giant trees. It was a cool and peaceful place.



We also saw some bird friends! This kookaburra was giving me some cheeky looks, and there was a family of bush turkeys. I got a photo of one enjoying a little dust hole.





That's all for this post, but I will have a second part coming up some time soon!

Sydney Part 2

When I woke up on Sunday morning, I was treated to viewing of one of Leigh's visiting cockatoos, Wonky Beak. They were named this because they have a genetic condition affecting their beak. Leigh also has another visiting cockatoo named The Dude, but they didn't make an appearance while I was there. It was lovely to munch on some cold pizza and watch this magnificent bird having a snack. Once Wonky Beak flew off, we watched some RuPaul with the rest of our pizza.



We were meeting up with some friends at Soul Burger, a recently all-vegan burger place over in Randwick. I should mention that all these friends I met on the internet, which is one of the reasons I love the internet. I had met Elizabeth and Michelle before, but it was my first time meeting Sarah in person. Lots of fun. :)

Soul Burger has vegan milkshakes, but unfortunately they are all coconut based. Elizabeth and Sarah both got the Strawberry Coconut Milkshake and Michelle had the Vanilla Coconut Milkshake. I tried a little bit of Elizabeth's, because I love strawberry milkshakes, but the level of coconut fat in it was too much for my sensitive soul to manage.





Soul Burger also has some great fries, and we got a bunch to share. First up, the red fries are the spicy ones. I don't enjoy spice, but I did try one small, sparsely spiced one dipped in a lot of aioli and it was not too spicy. My favourite fries were the herby Green Fries. We also had some Kumara Fries, which are Elizabeth's favourite. All fries comes with vegan aioli for dipping.







I went for the classic cheese burger, but added pineapple and beetroot because that is what we do here in Australia. It was a towering burger, and I lost a few bits of beetroot before I was able to fit it in my mouth. I really liked the burger fillings. The patty was yummy! But I was a bit sad by the bread roll, which was a bit dry. But overall a good burger!



Leigh and Sarah both got the Chilli Beef Burger (Leigh added pineapple and beetroot to hers), Elizabeth had the Battered Fish Burger, and Michelle had the Spicy Sausage Burger (which has actual sausages in it rather than a patty).







This photo is just a small portion of our table. We had a lot of food. We arrived at 12pm on Sunday, and by 12.20pm the place was really getting packed out, so I would recommend getting there early if you are planning on going.



The afternoon was spent lying around back at Leigh's place, digesting, and watching RuPaul (of course). When evening came, we were able to get ourselves going and headed into Newtown for dinner at Golden Lotus. I had only been here once before, and was keen to visit again.

We started with some Summer Rolls, which were filled with salad and noodles and served with peanut sauce, and the Vegan Wrap. The Vegan Wrap is basically a delicious hoisin 'duck' pancake that they already rolled for you.





For mains, I was craving some tofu and vegetables, so we picked the Tofu with Cashews. I know this doesn't sound very exciting, but it was really yummy. As well as lots of vegetables, they were extremely generous with cashews! We also got the Sizzling Saigon Pancake. There wasn't much sizzling about it, but it was very nice. The pancake itself was folded over a filling of carrots and bean sprouts, and there were fresh greens and herbs on the side. Also the sauce, but Leigh said it was pretty spicy so I skipped it.





After dinner, we went back to Gelato Blue to pick up another take home pack, this time with Milk Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookie and some more Peanut Butter Cornetto. I have taken a bad photo of some of the vegan selection for you - there was also another case I couldn't get a photo of without too much glare!





Then we made yet another dessert plate with all our many ice creams, plus some left over sweets. And we finished watching that season of RuPaul... and my favourite WON! TEAM JINKX FOREVER! And just so you know, if you mix the chocolate ice cream with the turkish delight ice cream it tastes like those chocolate covered turkish delight bars. I did this important research for you!



I was leaving the next morning. I had a pre-leaving breakfast of the last half of my jackfruit roll, which was still amazing even after a couple of days. I also had packed a little second breakfast snack for once I got to the airport. The Vegan Teahouse sells a number of products, but my favourite is their Britney Banana Bread. I always get some Britney when I am in Sydney for my trip home. Leigh had also given me one of the Rebel Mylk chocolate banana milks, which was really nice.



I thought my vegan food adventures were over, but when my plane landed in Brisbane and I was walking into the terminal I did a double take - there was a little Doughtnut Time kiosk there! Doughnut Time has a vegan doughnut, and they had some in stock, so I picked one up. They used to have a raspberry flavour, but they had just switched it out for the You Go, Glen Coco, which has a caramel glaze and coconut flakes. The glaze was a bit sweet for my liking, but I thought it was a pretty good doughnut otherwise! It is also gluten free. If you are at Brisbane Domestic Airport and looking for Doughnut Time, it is all the way down the end of the Virgin side of the terminal.



And so ended my weekend in Sydney, which was just lovely. A huge thanks to Leigh for letting me stay with her, and thanks to all my friends I got to catch up with. It was so great, I can't wait to do it again!

Cute Kitty Photo of the Post<



While I was away my mum sent this photo of Sahara smooching around on the floor. You can see her head is in motion!