Leigh ordered the Yin and Yang Charger with a side of picked vegetables and kimchi, as well as her favourite kim chi dumplings. I had a couple of the dumplings, and I like that they are not too spicy.
I ordered the Fried Noodles in Black Bean Sauce, which I'm sad to say was disappointing. The sauce was just a bit oily and didn't have much flavour. The noodles themselves were nice, but needed to have more veggies and tofu. I needed some freshness, so I also ordered my favourite Seaweed Salad, which thankfully was delicious as always.
The next morning we headed to Smith & Daughters for brunch, where we proceeded to order everything to share. Well, not really everything. Of course, I enjoyed some of the best chai ever, made on cashew milk. So yum!
As mentioned, we got several things to share. We go the Papas Espanolas (hot chips with aioli), Guacamole de Lujo (guac with apple and fennel, served with corn chips and raw veggies), Japaleno Mac and Cheese, Mexican Corn Fritters (corn and cheese fritters with aioli), and Butternut and Black Bean Tostadas. The clear winner was the tostadas, which were delectable! Unfortunately the corn fritters were far more deep fried than we anticipated, which neither of us really enjoyed. The chips were good, but very fried and such a huge serving for two people! I enjoyed the mac, which was not at all spicy, and the guac was good (except that they put raw onion in it, please never do this) and the fresh veggies were welcome. We were very full!
Leigh also came up with the idea of making some loaded fries, and of course I had to do it as well. We are classy like that. I loaded my fries with mac and cheese, guac and aioli.
Smith & Daughters has an amazing collection of salt and pepper shakers. In the past, Leigh and I have had great fun with our friends the ninja salt and pepper shakers. Tragically, they are no longer. So we had some fun with our new friends.
We caught a cab to Southern Cross Station to store our luggage, and then hopped on a train out to Preston so I could finally visit La Panella to buy amazing vegan bakery goodies. While the bakery at Smith & Deli is very fancy, this is the sort of cheap and cheerful bakery from your corner store, and of my youth. I got a bunch of stuff to take home to Brisbane and share with my family. Clockwise from top in the photo below there was an apple scroll, custard tart, lemon tart, custard doughnut, chocolate croissant, jam tart, apple slice and vanilla slice. This photo was taken once I got them home to Brisbane, and they are a bit tumbled because when they went through security they just shoved the back in (I had them in a tupperware inside a cooler bag) and the whole thing ended up upside down!
We had plans to visit Supercharger for a late lunch, but we were both still very full from brunch. Instead we headed out to the airport and picked up some sushi (though I didn't even end up eating mine until after I was home in Brisbane), before flying home.
A final bonus photo of the cheese and bacon roll I got from Smith & Deli! I brought it home with me, and enjoyed it for lunch the next day. It was so yummy!
It was a super fun trip! Lots of great food! I was happy that I had a lot of variety during this visit, it wasn't just beige beige beige! There was definitely some greens involved. And only once was I so full that I was actually uncomfortable (that was after we shared the three sandwiches for lunch on the Friday). So I think I am definitely evolving, considering that I was so full I was uncomfortable for most of my last Melbourne trip... ooops! I will be headed back to Melbourne in November with my friend Ashleigh for my birthday, and I can't wait to show her all of my favourites and explore some new ones together!
Cute Kitty Photo of the Post
A trio of photos of my duo of kitties, having a lovely nap in the sun during my absence.
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Mac & cheese fries!! YES!! Also, if we were able to hang out and go eat more often, I would happily eat all the food that is too oily for you. :-) Yes to deep-fried!! <3 That bacon & cheese roll and all the baked goods look amazing.
ReplyDeleteAlso, notice I said "more often" as if it happens sometimes. Hahaha. Well, we did get to hang out last year!! And hopefully, one of these days, I'll make it to Brisbane!
DeleteWe definitely did hang out, and I very much hope we do get to hang out some more in the future. :)
DeleteHaha, I am with you on raw onion! I love the sound of guac with apple and fennel though. What a great combination.
ReplyDeleteRaw onion just ruins things! Apple and fennel in avocado are magical.
DeleteThat mac n' cheese looks seriously amazing. I love how you loaded your fries with them. Mmmm that sounds good. I may have to try making a recipe out of that ;)
ReplyDeleteWoah! I love that you brought home all of those baked goodies with you. I seriously thought about trying to bring cupcakes home with me, but didn't want to bring them all the way across a ferry, drive to the airport and then the long plane ride home. Maybe I should try it sometime though.
Sounds like you had a great time with some delicious vegan food =)
I am a master of transporting food, including baked goods. Though cupcakes can be trickier on account of the icing. But worth it. Even if they end up smooshed, they will still be delicious!
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