
























A vegan kitteh in the kitchen






































Kumera Ginger Purse - Sweet potato & ginger pastry filled with corn, soy beans, shiitake mushrooms, carrot and pickled radish

Tofu Taro Balls

Spinach Rice Paper Rolls - my least favourite because I don't like cooked spinach

Mock Calamari - I was hesitant to try these but they didn't taste fishy and they had a good texture to them

Tofu

Dumplings - my favourite dish, I love the flavour of these

Bbq Mock Pork - I think this was bbq faux pork witha sweetened hoi sin brown sauce, yum!

I think these were tofu skins

Dim Sims

Fried Rice Paper rolls - these were interesting, the outside was crispy, the insides were soft but I didn't like the sauce they came with, it was a bit smoky and sweet

Dessert! Coconut pumpkin balls, tapioca mango pudding, agar purple taro pudding and black stick rice in pandan leaf - I didn't like the purple one, it had a weird texture, but the coconut balls and sticky rice were quite nice

And more coconut pumpkin balls but these were also coated in sesame seeds and fried - these were good

All of this was enough for 6-7 people and we each paid about $13, such a great meal for a very low price! I can't wait to have yum cha again!
We then went next door to Vegan's Choice, a vegan grocery store. They sell cakes, ice cream, lots of frozen meals from Green Gourmet, mock meats, vegan cheeses, as well as burgers by Greenfields and a range of vegan products.

I got a scoop of coconut ice cream because it's one of my favourite flavours but they had a whole range includinng unusual flavours like green tea and black sesame.

And we spotted a cute cat, hanging out in the store :)

I also bought some frozen dumplings and a bar of Plamil's new chocolate with mint white chocolate chips, it's VERY minty!



I had a salad for an entree, it was made up of mixed greens, red endive, cucumber, sun dried tomatoes and avocado, now that's a salad!


I also went to dinner that night for a friend's 26th. He chose Rider, a new mexican above the Hopetoun Hotel in Surry Hills and he let me know they are flexible regarding their menu. I looked them up and was very excited to see that they even have "Vegan or gluten-intolerant? All diets catered for" on their menu, win! I emailed them just to be sure and they said most of the menu can be done for vegans and gluten free as well.
I didn't bother uploading the photos I took as the lighting was terrible, they were either dark or fluorestant with the flash, so just imagine yellow and blue corn chips with salsa and guacamole to start as well as baby corn cobs. Then while everyone had quesadillas, I got my own plate with a yummy burrito filled with rice n beans. Then everyone else got tacos and I again got my own plate with two soft tacos filled with roasted capsicum. The taocs were a little flavourless but the burrito and corn cob were yum-oh. Everyone finished with churros so I ate the fresh strawberries, dusted with cinnamon sugar, that were on the churros plate ;)
I would definitely eat there again and I really appreciate the fact that they cater to vegans willingly and that they used the word vegan on their menu!






Jumps Racing, held in Victoria, has been in the media for a while now. There have been many horses die, 3 just this week and so it has been suspended with a decision to be made next week. Two newspapers in Victoria are running online polls, please go and vote YES to banning Jumps Racing:
http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,25442562-661,00.html
http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2009/05/07/1241289288759.html
People involved in Jumps Racing are speaking out about how much they care for their horses but one trainer went so far as to say he will shoot his 6 horses and present their heads to the Racing Minister if Jumps Racing is banned. That's not classified as caring, it's crual and he shouldn't be allowed near animals, ever again.
Rachel and Pip have both blogged about this as well. Send the links to your family and friends and ask them to send the letter as well.