It's been a long time since I've been to Vegie Bar. I remember a brief romance with their Mee Goreng starting back in 2000 under the influence of a girl who took me there. I never thought vegetarian could taste so good back in those days.
Fast forward 15 years later and the institution still stands, although much less niche and more standard. Because it was 330pm this day, a full meal was unnecessary, but a few snacks were ordered to tide things over before dinner later.
- Raw Malaysian Curry (daikon, carrot capsicum & vegies tossed in lemongrass & coconut raw curry sauce, served with bloomed wild rice & currants, snowpea shoots, coriander & lime) $17.5 - essentially raw vegetables with satay sauce. I suppose I underestimated what "raw" meant in this dish but I know this is not the type of "curry" I like to eat;
- Samosa (filled with mild vegetable curry, served with tzatziki & fresh chilli sauce) $5 - nice, hot and crispy;
- Rice Balls (blend of brown rice & finely chopped mixed vegies, topped with peanut satay sauce) $7.5 - excellent firm outsides and delicious chewy textures centres.
I wasn't hungry enough to experience all Vegie Bar has to offer so will have to leave it for another time to test my memory of mee goreng.
01-2016
After moving house and not having a fridge or cooking facilities for a while, eating out becomes a little tedious and a bit of a chore. As vegetables tend to be the least value for money or (in many places) the least exciting dishes, one becomes quite devoid of vegetable nutrition. Enter us back into the dinner realms of Brunswick Street.
- Mee Goreng (hokkien noodles wok-tossed with vegies, tofu, sauteed potato in a lightly spiced peanut sauce) $17 - as excellent as I remember with thick noodles and sauce and solid ingredients;
- Moroccan Stew (rich tomato & chickpea stew with roasted eggplant, currant & almond couscous, mint yoghurt, marinated cucumber, hazelnut dukkah & fresh parsley, served with warm pita bread) $16 - the dish mainly tasted of tomato to me with hints of other middle Eastern elements;
- Vegan Nachos (oven baked corn chips topped with vegan cheese, Mexican black beans, tomato salsa, spring onion, guacamole, jalapenos & vegan cashew sour cream) $16.5 - a nice snack but not overly exciting to me especially given the price. I suppose the vegan part makes it more expensive and unique (and difficult to make);
- Crispy Green Salad (blanched snow peas & green beans, toasted hazelnuts, pomegranate seeds & snap-dried mandarine with an umaboshi, tahini & orange dressing) $12 - great combination of textures and flavours.
These 4 with a serve of rice balls were too much for a hungry 3. Interestingly Vegie Bar do not allow you to take away leftovers (however they seem to allow takeaway orders - not sure how that works...)
They've stood the test of time and even though not many other dishes appeal to me, I'll happily go back for the rice balls and mee goreng. I've been meaning to try Yong Green Food nearby but each time they've been closed.