Eating Out: Su Life

I know I said there would be another package-related post as my next one, but that is a little on-hold so that I can sync it up with another post. I also haven't sorted out my Perth and Adelaide photos yet, so in the meantime here is some more eating out I have done in Brisbane. This time back at Su Life. Sorry, no prices in this post. They don't have a menu online and I am not at home typing this so don't even have the takeaway menu on hand.

Mum and I went up to Su Life for dinner one night (we had tried to go to Pu Kwong but they were unexectedly closed when we got there). I will be upfront, this visit to Su Life was a bit of a disaster. They took our food to another table (who accepted it!), and we were waiting for ages until we actually got our food, and even then we never got out beloved dumplings. It was definitely an off night there. But here is what we ate.

Su Life does a vegan Taro Soy Milk Bubble Tea. The great Kuan Yin, now sadly closed, used to do this and I fell in love with it. It is like drinking cookies! This one wasn't as good as the Kuan Yin one, and they forgot to put the pearls in, but it was still fun.



I love ordering radish (or turnip or lobok or yam) wherever I go. This was the one entree (appetiser for my US friends) that did make it to us.



I ordered the Sizzling Tofu with Black Pepper Sauce. I used to get this back when Su Life was Huo Fo in the old location, and it was great. Unfortunately the sauce is now not what is was. It was OK, but not anywhere near as tasty as in the past.



Mum ordered Salt and Pepper Eggplant, after loving the S&P eggplant at Pu Kwong a few weeks before. Unfortunately this was not the same. The eggplant was cut like fries and then just deep-fried like that, so while it was OK for the first bit it went oily and mushy quickly.



So I am afraid to say this visit was a bit of a miss. But I still love Su Life because I have a standard takeaway order that we get from there sometimes when I am too tired to cook. As it happens, the next night we got takeaway! So here is our standard order. Two serves of their delicious pan-fried dumplings, Spicy Crispy Chicken for Mum (and for me to snack on a bit as well), Three Cups Tofu in Ginger Herbal Sauce for me (I just love it... tofu and veggies and mushrooms and so much yummy sauce) and rice. My dad normally orders something different each time, and this time he got the Three Treasures Bendon box. The only thing if you want to takeaway is we have found it best to go there and order, if you order over the phone you will often end up with something different.



Su Life Vegetarian Restaurant - 4/2120 Logan Rd, Upper Mt Gravatt QLD 4122 - (07) 3349 5995

Cute Kitty Photo of the Post



Say vegan cheeeeeeese!

Eating Out: Su Life

Oh my gosh! Somewhere new to share with you! OK, Su Life isn't actually new at all. I get takeaway from there all the time. Su Life used to be known as Huo Fo, and was literally five minutes from my house. Then they closed for a while and reopened as Su Life, about 10 minutes from my house. As mentioned, I get takeaway from there a lot, but I don't often actually eat there. One Sunday, after mattress and food processor shopping, Mum and I decided to stop by for lunch as it was just around the corner. Unfortunately their menu isn't online, so I don't have prices to hand.

Su Life has an extensive list of drinks. It was a hot day, so I got this Plum and Kumquat Iced Tea, which was very refreshing by very sweet!



A must for any visit to Su Life is their Pan-Fried Dumplings, which are exceptionally yummy and have a great sauce on them!



Mum ordered her favourite, Spicy Crispy Chicken. This is a pretty famous dish around Brisbane. The mock chicken is crispy and it is in a sweet and spicy sauce. Sometimes it is spicier than others. I like to nibble on a bit of this, too much and it gets too spicy for me. But it also has celery and cashews in it, which are my favourite part. It is pictured here with the rice and green tea we also got (how cute is the tea cup?).



I decided to try something new, and went with the Eggplant in Veggie Oyster Sauce. I obviously picked out all the capsicum. When this dish was hot, it was really really yummy. Though the eggplant went a bit funny as it cooled down. Probably better for sharing so everyone can gobble it up while it is still steaming.



Su Life Vegetarian Restaurant - 4/2120 Logan Rd, Upper Mt Gravatt QLD 4122 - (07) 3349 5995

Cute Kitty Photo of the Post



Flashback to Pepper, the first kitty I ever speyed back in vet school.

Eating Out: Pu Kwong and Su Life

This post is a mash up of a few visits to Pu Kwong, and one to Su Life.

Regular readers will know of my love for visiting Pu Kwong! You can check out my other visits here Of course, no meal at Pu Kwong is complete without some bean curd rolls and steamed BBQ buns to start!!





My favourite dish there, that I have ordered frequently at recent visits, is the mixed mushrooms with tofu. A giant plate of soft roasted tofu and mixed mushrooms in a great savoury brown sauce. While I am partial to bok choy, I if they replaced it with broccoli it would be the ultimate dish for me.





We almost always order the Greens In Ginger Sauce as well, because vegetables are important!



My mum is a huge fan of salt and pepper eggplant. While I find most salt and pepper things a bit too deep fried to eat more than a couple of pieces, my mum gives their version of it a thumbs up!



Mum has also ordered the Sizzling Mongolian Lamb a couple of times. It has a lovely sauce, and the vegan lamb chunks are a good texture.



Dad ordered the Combination Chow Mein once, which came with lots of different mock meats. I steered well clear of the mock seafood (I just don't like it), and I prefer the noodles once they have softened a bit in the sauce. But my dad really liked it.



Last time we went, my mum tried a crispy chicken dish. I think it was called Shangdong chicken, but I can't find the menu online anymore and it isn't in my takeaway menu, so I am not sure. Anyway, it was crispy fried chicken strips on top of crispy fried greens with a sweet sauce. A lot of fried, even for my mother. Definitely a dish for sharing with a crowd!



It has been a while since I have been to Su Life. We used to get take away from there fairly regularly, though not for ages. And I have only actually been there a couple of times. You can see my other Su Life experiences here. Su Life can be quite hit and miss, so if you find a dish you like there, it is best to stick to it and keep ordering. The one thing they do that is consistently amazing is their Pan Fried Dumplings. They are great, with a tasty filling and a nice sauce. Mum and I had lunch there a while ago, so we of course started with some of those.



I thought I'd try something light, with the Mini Miso Steam set. It ended up being pretty big! Also the soup was so hot, and there was a flame underneath it that just would not let it cool down. I burnt my tongue so bad! I almost thought I was going to scar my oesophagus and stomach, it was so hot, no matter how much I tried blowing on the spoon!



Mum stuck to her favourite, the Spicy Crispy Chicken. This is probably the most famous dish that Su Life has. The spice level can vary widely, from a bit of heat to super hot, though I always brave a piece or two to see if it is too much for me. I really like the celery and the cashews in it!



Pu Kwong Vegetarian Restaurant - 2796 Logan Road, Underwood, Queensland - 07 3841 8999

Su Life Vegetarian Restaurant - 4/2120 Logan Rd, Upper Mt Gravatt QLD 4122 - (07) 3349 5995

Cute Kitty Photo of the Post



I am not sure what I did to deserve this judgmental look!

Eating Out: Buddha's Birthday at South Bank

I have quite a bit of catching up on my Eating Out posts... this last weekend I had friends visiting and we ate our way around Brisbane for two and a half days! However, there are a few things to get through before we get to that. A while ago, I went to Buddha's birthday at South Bank. This is held every year, and includes a vegetarian food festival as well. It isn't all vegan, so you do need to ask around, but there are lots of vegan options. It was a horrible, cold and rainy day. And I was ready to bail on the whole thing, but my Mum was keen to go, so we went. Just for a little bit of food, trying to stay out of the rain (there really were no undercover areas for eating). On the plus side there were not many people there! Normally it is packed. Please excuse the bad photos, they were taken balancing an umbrella and the food and my phone.

I started with a steamed vegetable bun from a random stall, which was hot and yummy.



There was a stall selling cups of five skewers, so I got a random assortment of the vegan offerings. I wasn't the biggest fan, the mock meats were not the greatest quality, and one of them was seafood-like, which I don't enjoy.



I also got some yummy radish cakes from the Su Life stall.



Mum ordered a Satay Burger from the Vege Rama stall, which wasn't good. The sauce was just at thin curry sauce, no obvious peanut to it. And the patty was meh.



We also found a sweet potato chips stall, and ordered some. Though instead of being the proper chips/fries that we were expecting, and that other people had been walking around with, they were more like chips/crisps... OK briefly but then just very oily.



We decided to spread out through South Bank for some sweets. Normally I go to Beach House for vegan ice cream, but I decided to give Gelare a try. Unfortunately no vegan cones, so you have to get cups. Most of the flavours are fruit based sorbets, but they did have a chocolate and a green tea one as well. I got Strawberry Fields and Banana Caramel scoops. The strawberry one had that very strong, almost too sweet taste that I find sorbets often have, but mixed in with the banana one it was like a nice strawberry ice cream.



I also stopped by Doughnut Time to try their Matcha Made In Heaven vegan doughnut. The slight bitterness of the matcha actually helped bring down the sweetness of the glaze. It is my favourite glazed one I have had from there.



Gelare South Bank - 3 Grey Street, South Brisbane, Queensland - (07) 3255 1314

Doughnut Time South Bank - 186 Grey Street, South Bank, QLD

Cute Kitty Photo of the Post



Just another one in my series of 'Sahara on the blanket' photos. Don't worry, next post I shall start a series entitled 'Dim Sim on her back on my lap'... you don't want to miss it!

Eating Out: Buddha's Birthday Festival (with bonus NASA at Night)

Every year there is the Buddha's Birthday Festival at Southbank, which includes a vegetarian food stall fair. Not everything is vegan, but there are a lot of vegan goodies to be found there. The majority of the food there is Asian, not surprisingly, but there are burgers and chips and what not if you are after something else. I go there for the Asian food, though I struggle every year with choosing what to eat! So much food, so little stomach space! Last year I didn't get to go, it was just on a bad weekend for me, but you can see some of my visits from previous years here and here.

It was a rainy day, but thankfully had stopped raining by the late afternoon when I met up with my friend Amy. It was perfect, overcast, cool, and not very crowded thanks to the earlier rain. Of course we started by doing a walk through and trying to pick out what we wanted. We started by sharing a classic, the Steamed BBQ Pork Bun. This stall at the festival does the biggest, fluffiest ones ever, and I have been thinking about them ever since I was there two years ago. They didn't disappoint.



We hydrated with some fun drinks. Amy got a Watermelon Lemon Juice, and I had a Black Plum Juice. According to the sign, black plums are boiled and filtered to get the juice, then liquorice, osmanthus, and sugar are added. What is osmanthus? I just looked it up and sore it is a herb used in Chinese medicine. I don't think it detoxified my body (thanks liver and kidneys for doing that), but it was delicious.



I was feeling under the weather, so some soup seemed the way to go. Especially given the actual weather! I saw a Japanese stall that had some Kitsune Udon, and that was all I could think about. And it was delicious! I also found out that stall belonged to a restaurant that is super close to my house (and is also on UberEats to my house) and has some vegan options on their regular menu. GThis is very exciting, because I love Japanese food most of all!



Amy was also feeling like soup, and picked up a laksa from another stall.



I was still a bit peckish, and could eat a bit more. I happened to bump into a friend there who recommended I try some sticky rice. Wrapped in a bamboo leaf and stuffed with tofu, peanuts, and mushrooms I thought this was delicious. Unfortunately, the one that Amy got seemed to be stuffed with mostly peanuts, which wasn't so much fun. Please excuse the terrible photo, the light was fading at this point.



We weren't only there for food. It happened that this day, the fourth of May, May the fourth, coincided with a Museum At Night event for the NASA Exhibit at the QLD Museum. So after eating we headed in for an over-18 (read, no kids, hurrah_ trundle through the museum. It was a fascinating exhibit, with lots of cool stuff about space. Also a lot of photos and stories of white men, which was a bit disappointing. One small plaque with some white women. WHITE MEN ARE NOT THE ONLY PEOPLE WHO CONTRIBUTED TO SPACE TRAVEL. Below I share a few photos, including one of me being a serious space scientist, a teeny tiny capsule that makes me claustrophobic to think about, and Jabba the Hutt. It was Star Wars day after all!







And no trip to the museum is complete without saying hello to our friend the Muttaburrasaurus.



Cute Kitty Photo of the Post



My best friend gifted me this wonderful soft, warm, heavy jumper. It is wonderful to wear. And Dim Sim thought she'd try it out as a blankie as well.

Eating Out: Michael's Oriental

With the closure of close-to-my-house favourites Su Life and Pu Kwong (RIP beautiful bean curd rolls), it was with great excitement that I heard about the vegan menu at Michael's Oriental. This place is literally around the corner from me, a three minute drive! And they deliver! Sounds perfect, right? After getting a delivery from them last year, it seemed like the perfect place to go for dinner with the family when my brother and his girlfriend were visiting at the beginning of this year. (Though at the end the owner came out to talk to us about the meal and have a chat and please I don't want to talk to anyone let me be an anti-social hermit and scurry off home after I finish my meal in peace.)

Keen to maximise the experience, I ordered some Peking Duck Pancakes and Sweet Corn and Chicken soup to start. I love peking pancakes, and these were very nice. The soup came in what looked like a huge tureen, but ended up being a warmer with a smaller bowl on top. It took a while for it to cool down enough for me to eat it without scalding my tongue, but it was good soup.





I was glad I ordered two starters. When my main came out, the Vegan Char Kway Teow, I couldn't eat it. It was unexpectedly so spicy and hurt so much. But thankfully my brother was able to eat it. I have had Char Kway Teow at heaps of other places before, and it has never been spicy, so this was a shock! So I had some steamed rice and some of the greens in garlic sauce (not pictured) that we had ordered for my main. Ahhhh, just like the old days of being a vegan. Speaking of spicy, my brother also ordered the Ma Po Tofu off the vegan menu, but I didn't try any because spicy!





On their last night before going back to the UK, we ordered some Michael's to be delivered. We ordered Cashew Chicken, Hokkien Noodles, Singapore Noodles (which my brother ordered with wide rice noodles), vegetables in garlic sauce, and vegan fried rice. Sadly, this was... not great. Very oily, not a lot of flavour, the vegetables were so overcooked they were just mush. Needless to say, it has kind of turned me off from ordering from there again. I have tried most of the things on the vegan menu I can, they have heaps and heaps of spicy dishes I can't eat. Oh well. It is there in a pinch! And a lot of other people like it, I assume they can eat the spicy things, so my opinion may be skewed. Plus I did like it the first time we ordered from there, so who knows. Perhaps a bad day.



Michael's Oriental - 223 Padstow Rd, Eight Mile Plains, QLD

Cute Kitty Photo of the Post



Food may sometimes be disappointing, but Jed never is. Check him out looking smart in his bow tie!

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).