james test

June 27, 2017 Our mate Kate recently suggested The Yarra Hotel as a potential venue for our book club. The two factors in its favour are that this pub has half-price vegetarian meals every Monday and Tuesday night, and room for dogs in the beer garden. We figured we'd best test the food and pooch space before our next club meeting. The menu has abundant veg*n and gluten-free options, all pretty well labelled; the veg dishes are often matching pairs to more traditional meaty ones. It's hearty fare: six kinds of burger (with a veg patty that can be subbed into any one), parmas (chicken or eggplant), ribs (pork or vegan mock), toad-in-the-hole (beef or veg sausages).  Kate was excited to see Hungarian-style cabbage rolls ($11) on the menu. The vegan version is stuffed with mushrooms, then served with pickled peas, dill sour cream, and a beetroot puree that was most unexpected and most appreciated by Kate. Michael took on the vegan hoisin ribs ($12), a thick and flavoursome wodge o...

August 16, 2015 We had a rare reason to be in Abbotsford on Sunday morning, so we finally returned to Admiral Cheng-Ho for a second visit. Not a great deal has changed since we stopped by in the first week they were open - it's stylish, busy and the menu is all veg (and mostly vegan). Cheng-Ho takes coffee very seriously, with an array of bean and brew choices - I'm a philistine, and just ordered a straight-up soy flat white. Cindy branched out, with a chai latte - it was a bit disappointing, with the main flavour coming from the dusting of cinnamon on top. The food menu has changed a little since our first visit, but the basic shtick is the same - the umami mushrooms that we first tried at sister-venue Monk Bodhi Dharma are still an option and there's dishes featuring beans, bircher muesli, avo on toast and chia pudding. The zucchini pancakes from our first visit are gone, replaced with the Crazy Jimbo ($16.50), which I ordered. It features a couple of discs of slightly d...

It's no secret that I enjoy a faux meat treat every now and then, and Bodhi Cafe's been on my restaurant wishlist ever since Kristy blogged about it . We were surprised to see this sleek and inviting cafe empty when we arrived at 6:30, and expected that we might see a few more customers later. The menu offers a handful of deep fried entrees then runs the gamut of rice, noodle and soup dishes. Most, though not all, include a faux meat - chicken, lamb, beef and seafood all get a mention. We started off by sharing a duck roti roll ($5). It was a little small for the price, but undoubtedly tasty - the modest amount of salty faux-duck was combined with shredded lettuce and mayonnaise, then wrapped with a hot and flaky roti. Goodbye KFC cravings! Bodhi also offers a wide range of flavoured teas and coffees. Kristy recommended the kumquat tea ($6) and I was willing to give it a go - it's cute and sweet, and had a pithy edge. For my main meal I ordered the vegie chicken rice (...