Melbourne Part 2

Hey everyone. I've had a pretty light on posting month for December. I guess I needed a little break after MoFo. I barely turned my laptop on for the last week, except to download new podcasts (current favourite is Babes Watch Buffy). Things are pretty tense for me at the moment. Those of you who follow my Twitter and Instagram will know that Sahara had an ultrasound last week that found lesions in her liver and a mass in her colon. She is going in for surgery tomorrow to get biopsies. These are not good things to have. I am a bit of a wreck, so my blogging will probably continue to be sporadic. Or maybe I will blog heaps to try and distract myself from things. Who knows. Anyway, I had mostly written this second post about my November Melbourne trip, so here it is. I am going to try and finish off Melbourne before I talk about Christmas food, which may mean a while until I post, but rest assured we had an excellent Christmas feast.

Back to Melbourne! We had already managed a fairly substantial day of eating, but then it was dinner time. We had thoughts of going out to a vegetarian/vegan food truck out in Preston, but we were tired after a long hot day of walking around and the wind was getting up so we decided to go closer to home at one of my Melbourne staples, Yong Green Food, and glad that we did as things got extremely gusty and it would have been very unpleasant in an outdoor food truck situation.

We shared the Mock Tuna Nori Rolls and the Buckwheat Pancake Roll to begin with. The nori rolls were OK, but the buckwheat pancake was outstanding!





We also refreshed ourselves after our hot sunny day of walking with some Watermelon Crush drinks, which are watermelon crushed with lemon and ice. So sweet and cooling.



For our mains, Ashleigh had the Raw Kelp Pad Thai. Unfortunately the chili cashew sauce was a bit beyond her spicy tolerance (and definitely way exceeding mine), so most of this got left behind. It is just a big hunk of all the same flavour, nothing to break it up, so only pick this if you are into spicy! I ordered the Yin and Yang Charger, which is a combination of different things. Overall it was really nice, though the batter on the oyster mushrooms was tasteless and I pulled it off and just at the mushrooms, and the sauce on the tofu was sweet but a bit too spicy.





Yong Green mostly tends towards the raw dessert side of things, which does not float my boat. However earlier at Friends of the Earth I had picked up a beloved sourdough cinnamon sugar doughnut made by Crumbs Organic Bakehouse AKA the best doughnuts ever. It was delicious.



The next morning it was back to Smith & Deli. Saturday is croissant day there, and I was so excited. Originally they used to make their croissants with coconut oil, which were a no go for me. However they now make them with a vegetable blend that is perfect for me! The croissants aren't ready first up, you need to go a little later. I was still too keen and early, so I decided to have a pre-breakfast snack of a chai and some fruit. But fruit I mean a Strawberry and Cream tart, of course.



We ate our breakfast in the park (even though it was a bit nippy), and then had a stroll around Carlton Gardens to pass some time.





Then it was croissant time! They have a few different flavour options, so I got a chocolate, and almond, and a pizza croissant to take away for freezing and transporting back to Brisbane. And I got the Croissantwiches of Eastwick to eat then and there. This is a croissant with ham, cheese and mustard actually baked into it. It was amazing!! Best croissant pastry ever as well.



And of course I got some stuff to take away. Including a Blueberry Danish. And, oh look, a strawberry and cream tart!



There was actually a vegan beer and food festival on this day, though as it was cold and raining and we didn't want to get stuck with crowds we went and met with Leigh for lunch at Ray's Cafe in Brunswick (which was actually just around the corner from the festival). This was a solid plan. Ray's is not vegan, but has an exciting vegan menu.

All three of us started with the Beet Roots and Manuva Smoothies (Beetroot, Raspberry, Banana, Pure Maple, Hibiscus, Date & Coconut water).



Ashleigh had the Steam Funk for her starter (Steamed Edamame, Coriander Salt & Lemon), as it was gluten free.



Leigh and I shared the Fries Against (Beer Battered Fries, Aioli & Pickles + Vegemite Gravy, Miso Cheese & Pickles) and oh my gosh this was AMAZING!



For mains, Leigh for the Beast of Brunswick (Crispy Mock ‘Chicken’, Miso Cheese, Avocado Raita, Baby Cos, Pickled Adelaide Tomato, Pickle Aioli & Apple Relish in a Toasted Sourdough Bun)



Ashleigh got the Rojo Mojo Juju (Smoked Tofu, French Lentils, Roast Baby Potatoes,Pickled Brussel Sprouts, Almonds, Basil & Mojo Rojo).



And I got Rage Against The Tagine (Mushroom Tagine, Charred Quinoa Bread, Greens, Cauliflower Hummus, Garlic Crumbs, Smoked Tofu, Pickled Shiitake & Pea Tendrils), which was delicious!



After this, we strolled around Brunswick for a little bit. There is a bakery called Choukette that has some vegan things, and Leigh and I both got some macarons. Do not do this, they were disgusting and awful and left a foul taste and texture in our mouths. Gross. Leigh was house and cat sitting, so we went back to meet the kitties. Morgan and Buster were both delightful, especially given that I was missing my own kittes!

Cute Kitty Photo of the Post



This is the black beauty named Morgan. She is a very glorious girl!