VeganMoFo 2019 #11: I is for Izakaya Midori (Eating Out)

When Izakaya Midori, an all vegan Japanese restaurant, opened at the beginning of July I knew I had to get down there ASAP. I love Japanese food, and by all accounts this place was phenomenal. It is down on the Gold Coast, so a bit of a drive, but that has never stopped me before. So as soon as I could I jumped in the car, cranked up my podcasts, and headed down for an amazing lunch. The restaurant is in a little shopping complex, down the side. So to get to it you have to walk through the patio of a Chinese restaurant on the corner. But then you will find your way into a wonderland.

First up, check out how beautiful this place is! It is all undercover, bur fairly open air around the sides. So if it is a chilly or windy day, dress snug. They have an 'inside' and a 'patio' area. I went on a Wednesday when they opened at 11am, and by the time I left an hour and a half later they were almost full, which is great. They also have a small selection of vegan chocolate bars and lollies near the counter inside. So cute.







Now, onto the food! I ordered a whole bunch of the entrees to start. First up, some sushi rolls. As you can see from the photo above, they have some fun flavours to choose from (as well as plain avocado and inari). I went with the Asparagus and Vacon, and the Terichiki (teriyaki chicken) and avo. Two great choices!



I also ordered the Gyozaholic, which is six gyoza with Pari-Pari crispy wings. The gyoza are served in one large block, held together by delicate but cripsy and delicious something or rather. It is so good. And very easy to break into separate gyoza with chopsticks.



Two of my favourite Japanese dishes are Agedashi Tofu and Eggplant Dengaku, and they had both! The tofu is part of the regular menu, and the Nasu Miso Den was on the specials menu. Both were really good. That little spray bottle you can see next to the eggplant was yuzu spray that you could spritz onto them, it added a whole new level of flavour. I also ordered an iced jasmine tea, that you can see next to the tofu.





After all those entrees, I probably could have stopped. But I had a little room left, and given the hour long drive I wanted to make the most of my lunch there. So I ordered their Midori Ramen off the mains menu. Midori in Japanese means green, and you can see why this delicious ramen is called that. The green broth is rich, creamy, and lovely to look at!



I cannot wait to get back there and try more of their menu. If you want to check it out, they have it up on their Instagram. They have a slightly larger menu for dinner, so I'll have to get down there at night sometime as well. I want their fancy dinner sushi and their Japanese pickles! This may be my new favourite place to go down at the Gold Coast.

Izakaya Midori - Shop 7/ 50 Woodland Drive, Reedy Creek, QLD - (07) 5645 6625

Cute Kitty Photo of the Post



Behold this absolutely ridiculous photo of kittens in a bed!