VeganMoFo 2018: The Pond, Brighton

Posted on September 26, 2018 by Jenny

Cuisine: Taiwanese

All I knew about The Pond before my trip to Brighton this summer was that it served Taiwanese street food, so I wasn’t expecting it to look like the typical trendy British pub. But there was something very pleasant about the combination of the two, and I am clearly not the only one who thought so – every time we walked past this place, it was packed to the rafters.

And deservedly so, because the food was delicious. Really, is there anything more exciting than bao buns? I may only be saying that because they’re quite the rarity on the Prague vegan scene, but still. The Pond has four savoury and one sweet vegan option, plus a few plant-based side options too.

We ordered one bao bun each, and I opted for this tofu classic: excellent crispy tofu, a lovely, sticky hoisin sauce, spring onions, chopped peanuts, and cucumber. It was such a classic combo, really flavoursome and balanced. I would have been happier to tuck into another one of these, but to be honest one was pretty filling.

Dr HH went for the apple wood smoked tofu, which was a good slab of smoked tofu with some nori, mayo, pickle, and sesame. He felt that mine was better, but I actually really liked the smokiness of his. I’d say they’re both solid options.

And who can turn down tempura cauliflower?! Well actually, it turned out to be general tempura vegetables, mostly cauliflower and spring onion stems (?!) in a lovely light batter. This was a very tasty accompaniment to the bao buns. Here’s to more Taiwanese options hitting the UK soon!

What’s the best bao bun filling you’ve had? Are tempura spring onion stems a thing now?

 

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VeganMoFo 2018: Vegan Yes, London

Posted on September 25, 2018 by Jenny

Cuisine: Fusion (Italian/Korean)

Wherever I am in the world, I like to stick my Happy Cow app on and see what the nearest options are. That’s how I came across Vegan Yes, which is near Brick Lane, where we usually stay when we’re in London. “Italian-Korean fusion?” I sneered as I read. “Ugh, kimchi lasagna?!”

“Ooooh, kimchi lasagna!” exclaimed Dr HH, who has basically never encountered a (meat-free) food he wouldn’t try. So, off we went.

It looks innocent enough, but there is indeed kimchi in there. I was brave enough to nibble a tiny bit, and it was too weird for me. I’m not keen on either pickled or spicy food, so as far as I was concerned this was sullying a perfectly good lasagna, but Dr HH really enjoyed it. As well as enjoying the heat from the spices, he also thought the kimchi helped improve the texture with a bit of bite. He concluded that he wouldn’t go out of his way to recreate this or find it again, but it was certainly an interesting experience.

By comparison, the straight up bolognese lasagna was flavoursome, especially the parmesan on top, but also quite soft and sloppy, lacking a bit of bite. It was a solid option though. I really liked the nicely dressed spinach leaves and the homemade bread on the side, too.

Dr HH also went for the fusion dessert: gnocchi with chocolate and gochujang sauce – it was a tasty, sticky sauce, with a nice extra crunch from seeds on top. To me it looks like an insane portion size, but he tucked it all away with ease.

And I played it safe (again) with a non-fusion dish – and I don’t regret a thing! This mochi just delicious – like a marshmallow covered in chocolate! I was tempted to get some more to take away, but as I was trying to minimise my plastic use I resisted.

Takeaway seems to be the done thing – it’s a small place with limited seating options, but they were doing a roaring takeaway trade. While we were in they were offering free slices of bread to everyone waiting, and the Italians who were running it were very friendly and welcoming indeed. It seems like a place worth supporting, and if you’re feeling brave, give the fusion dishes a whirl!

Would you try kimchi lasagna? What’s the boldest fusion dish you’ve had?

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VeganMoFo 2018: Jerk Shack, Manchester

Posted on September 24, 2018 by Jenny

UPDATE: THIS RESTAURANT CLOSED IN 2022

Cuisine: Caribbean

Isn’t it exciting to visit an omni place where half of the options are vegan? So it is at Jerk Shack, a fun, canteen-style restaurant right in the centre of Manchester. It was really vegan-friendly, with the staff checking that we wanted all vegan accompaniments and pointing out all the plant-based options. And there were indeed plenty of them!

Despite not having a clue what breadfruit is, I ordered the breadfruit curry. It turned out to be quite potato-like, which can only be a good thing. It was a really delicious dish with a nice bit of heat – I really needed that cooling vegan coleslaw on the side (they have both vegan and non-vegan coleslaw, I believe, so do specify when you order). The rice and beans were nice too.

Dr  HH got the jerk jack fruit, which was quite a thin sauce poured over some nice tender jack fruit. It was really tasty and he liked the seasoning, though he felt that the thinness of the sauce meant that the flavour wasn’t that evenly distributed. We would both happily order our dishes again though.

We also got a couple of these teeny sweetcorn fritters, which were a very pleasant bite!

All in all, there was really flavoursome food and friendly service, and the set-up was quite shack like! I was pleased to see it was a popular option with local workers – I daresay the city centre location doesn’t hurt. I’ve seen quite a lot of Caribbean stands at vegan festivals and food markets in London, but I believe this was my first time actually tucking in. And clearly, I’ve been missing out!

Did everyone know about breadfruit except for me? What are your top vegan Caribbean finds?

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VeganMoFo 2018: Club Mexicana, London

Posted on September 23, 2018 by Jenny

Cuisine: Mexican

I had great plans for the Mexican entry in my VeganMoFo adventure. I was dying to go to The Spreadeagle vegan pub in London, but every time I went to London either the kitchen was closed or they were fully booked. I was delighted to finally get my reservation for an early dinner in July (before going to see The Flight of the Conchords, so it was shaping up to be the perfect evening)…but then several hours before our booking, they told me there had been a mix up and they wouldn’t be serving food when we arrived. I was bitterly disappointed, but it all worked out in the end – Brett and Jermaine restored my spirits on the night, and the next day Club Mexicana helped me tick off this cuisine, and did it with style!

This is a little stall in Camden market which we had already eyed up while visiting Young Vegans a day or two earlier (top tip: if you find yourself hungry in London, head for Camden Lock Market. I probably could have found half of my cuisines there!).  Due to the market location, there is a small menu and no fixed seating, but you should be able to find somewhere nearby to perch.

We split a couple of dishes, starting with this jackfruit burrito. I know jackfruit has really taken off in the UK (one of my omni friends was raving to me about how it’s just like pulled pork!), but to someone living in Prague it’s still enough of a novelty that I have to order it whenever possible. And, oh, it was good! The burrito was huge and really nicely seasoned without being too spicy. It was a little salad heavy for my tastes (or perhaps the leaves just weren’t that well distributed), but the jackfruit and beans were very tasty.

The real star of the show, though, was these fish tacos. The tofu fish was beautifully crispy, with a great texture and flavour. They were perfectly sized too, and not as messy as I’d feared.If you’re in the vicinity, you really must swing by and try these.

While you’re in the market scoping out the other vegan options, you can always admire this vegan too!

What’s your favourite Mexican vegan spot?

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VeganMoFo 2018: Sojahaus Setia, Nuremberg

Posted on September 22, 2018 by Jenny

Cuisine: Indonesian

This was definitely one of the more exciting plates I had on my culinary adventures this year! Sojahaus Setia quite a small and friendly establishment, though it is my unfortunate duty to report that it was an absolute sweat box in there on a toasty June day. I’m also sad to say that I was their only customer on a Friday at 6pm – though they close at 7pm, and I’m not sure how European it is to eat that early.

They just serve one daily dish, which is made with homemade tofu and tempeh. I didn’t catch the name for this dish, but I can describe the various components: along with the obvious mound of rice, we had a refreshing little carrot and cucumber salad, some tofu in a nice, mildly spicy sauce, extremely thinly-sliced tempeh, some veg in a peanutty sauce, and a very flavoursome little patty. Everything was really tasty, and I found the tempeh especially intriguing – it was so thin and crispy, and I’ve never seen tempeh prepared that way before.

Actually, I hadn’t realised before that tempeh was an Indonesian dish. I’ve since discovered a vegan-friendly Indonesian restaurant in Prague which also serves incredible tempeh, and now I have a whole new appreciation for Indonesian cuisine. It helps that I believe tempeh to be the best meat substitute around.

It was a fun, fresh dish, and only cost €6 per portion – they even let me get another portion to takeaway as poor old Dr HH was bedridden. Nothing perked him up like seeing this feast!

Is tempeh the best meat substitute? How much do you love Indonesian food?!

 

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VeganMoFo 2018: Blue Nile Cafe, Manchester

Posted on September 21, 2018 by Jenny

Cuisine: Ethiopian

Stretford, as I may have mentioned before, is not the most happening part of Manchester, so I was quite surprised to hear through the vegan grapevine that it was home to an Ethiopian restaurant with vegan options. The restaurant is not in the most appealing or accessible location, even by Stretford’s standards, but the food was top notch and if you’re in the area you should definitely stop by.

When we were arrived, we were told that all the vegetarian options were also vegan. So we ordered the spring rolls (are they Ethiopian?!), and were given some bonus samosas too! Both were really good and crispy, with the samosa filling a bit more exciting but a bit spicier.

We accidentally over-ordered out of confusion. We got this bowl of shiva, which was a thick, rich, bean stew. Dr HH loved it and described it as “warming”; after three mouthfuls I was on fire and couldn’t taste anything else. If you’re similarly averse to spicy dishes, this one may not be for you!

And we also ended up with this big mixed injera plate containing lots of food. There was some quite standard veg – potatoes, carrots, beetroot, and cabbage – alongside some more exciting stews – chickpeas and spinach, a kind of spicy lentil ragu, and some saucy mock meat – and some staples – rice, crusty bread, and injera. The veg was a wee bit boring, but everything else was really exciting and beautifully seasoned! I always relish the opportunity to try lots of different things like this.

All in all, it was a lovely, unlikely little spot. Service was super friendly too, and we’ll be happy to go back next time we’re home. I’d never had Ethiopian food until I went vegan, but now I’m a big fan of it. When we’re travelling we always keep an eye out for an Ethiopian spot, because we seem to be guaranteed good vegan options there. And they are never stingy with the injera!

Do you agree that Ethiopian is one of the best cuisines for vegans?

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VeganMoFo 2018: Cook Daily, London

Posted on September 20, 2018 by Jenny

UPDATE: THIS RESTAURANT CLOSED IN 2022

Cuisine:Filipino

This was another cuisine that I was not expecting to be able to tick off – I went to the Philippines when I was vegetarian and didn’t find any traditional dishes to try. But Cook Daily in London serves a vegan adobo dish which you can order with either mock chicken or tofu puffs. Full disclosure: Dr HH ordered this, then had to switch with me because I accidentally ordered a spicy dish and could not handle it. Anyway, he chose the tofu puffs, and added the spring rolls and special sauce as well.

I have actually attempted to make adobo once before, but chickened out of using the full amount of vinegar recommended because it sounded insane. It turns out I should have had faith in the recipe, because vinegary adobo is officially delicious!

This adobo was served over brown rice, and was extremely flavoursome. It was lovely and sharp from the vinegar, the vegetables were fresh, the puffs were spongy, and everything was flavoursome without burning my taste buds like the dish I’d foolishly ordered. It was an extremely well-crafted, well-seasoned dish, and I was pleased to confirm that Cook Daily is every bit as good as I’d heard.

What other veganisable Filipino dishes are out there? Have you found a vegan Filipino restaurant?

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VeganMoFo 2018: Satsang, Prague

Posted on September 19, 2018 by Jenny

Cuisine: Thai

Thai cuisine is one of the most frustrating for me, as so many dishes seem like they really could or should be vegan, but they aren’t on account of the fish sauce. So it’s always a relief to find a completely meat-free restaurant that serves Thai food. Satsang is a vegetarian restaurant with some solid brunch options and a Thai-heavy evening menu, with a vegan pad thai plus three different kinds of curry, all vegan.

I spent a while agonising over what to choose, but Dr HH did not. As soon as he read that the green curry was the spiciest, his mind was made up! He declared it a very good curry – not mind blowingly spicy, but spicy enough, and full of good stuff like tofu, aubergine, and mushrooms. He’d be happy to have this again.

I was also very satisfied with my pad thai. I love the fact that pad thai often comes with the various toppings all separate and off to the side so that I can incorporate them as and when I like. Why aren’t more dishes served like that?! Again, the tofu was great and it was a really flavoursome, filling dish.

So, hurrah for fish-free Thai food! As our old spot in Prague (Thai Box Food) has closed down, I can see Satsang becoming a regular haunt.

Have you ever been caught out by fish sauce in “vegan” Thai food? What’s your favourite Thai dish?

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VeganMoFo 2018: V Rev Vegan Diner, Manchester

Posted on September 18, 2018 by Jenny

UPDATE: THIS RESTAURANT CLOSED IN 2022

Cuisine: American

Americans may be offended by this, but to a lot of Europeans, American cuisine just is fast food and burger joints. I’m embracing the stereotype! And I mean, it’s called a diner – what could be more American than that?!

V Rev is something of a Manchester vegan institution, and some of the locals seem weirdly proprietary towards it in a way they aren’t towards all the other vegan places around town. On the one hand, it’s great that people are passionate about it. On the other, it’s rubbish to see people attacked for expressing any less than 100% complimentary opinion about it. I wrote a lukewarm review of V Rev in its old premises. In autumn 2016 it moved on to a bigger and better location, and I think it’s fair to say it experienced a few teething problems, generally more with the staff than the food.  In autumn 2017 it closed due to flooding, and I finally visited it in December when it reopened with a new menu and real plates instead of plastic baskets, at last.

My expectations were quite low from the negative reviews, and as such V Rev was comfortably better than expected.  Some of the complaints were that it was always impossible to get a seat and that the tables are too close together – we arrived for an early lunch, but even by the time we left there were still free tables, and we felt there was a respectable distance between them.  The other main complaint is the waiting times, and even when we were the only customers we still had to wait over 30 minutes for our food, which I feel isn’t unreasonable but just starting to push it perhaps.  The food was warm when it arrived, which we’d heard wasn’t always the case.

There were two chicken-style burgers on the menu, and three or four beef.  We both went for chicken.  This was my southwestern one, which had some spicy mayo, a good slab of cheese and some delicious fried onions. 

Dr HH got the kenan and kale, which had added avocado – always a smart move! We both enjoyed our burgers, but found it a shame that both chicken options were quite similar.  We also found the seitan patties a little tough in places, but generally approved of that good crispy exterior.  Yum!

All the burgers come with regular fries for £1 and loaded for £2. I got the regular ones and thought they were the perfect fries!  Dr HH went bold with the poutine fries, which he really enjoyed.

This probably would have been enough to fill us up, but I believe vegan law states that if you see mac n cheese balls on the menu, you have to order them.  So we did, and I regret nothing!  They were crispy and delicious, and I’m trying to figure out how to recreate them.

There’s quite a tempting cocktail menu, but as it was barely midday I didn’t feel that I could indulge.  Instead, we shared a cookies and cream milkshake.  The thin, watery milkshakes are another common grievance I see online, and to those complainers I simply say: stir!  A good stir resulted in a consistently thicker and creamier milkshake, which was totally delicious.

All in all, V Rev was better than its detractors would have me believe, but not quite the vegan haven that its biggest supporters claim.  It’s definitely getting there though, I think.  My biggest complaint on the day was that the restaurant was absolutely freezing – we had to keep our coats on! Bear that in mind if you’re visiting in the colder months!

If  you’ve been to V Rev, what was your verdict? And what does American cuisine suggest to you?

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VeganMoFo 2018: The Real Greek, London

Posted on September 17, 2018 by Jenny

Cuisine: Greek

When I was mapping out this theme for VeganMoFo, I made a list of cuisines that I could easily tick off (Indian, Italian), and those that I could try to find but would be unlikely to succeed in – Greek was one of those. Besides using a Greek cookbook for a month, I don’t have much experience with Greek food since giving up feta when I became vegan. So I was very happy when I accidentally happened upon this Greek chain in London that had just introduced a vegan menu.

The vegan options were fairly extensive – numerous cold and hot mezze dishes, plus two heartier souvlaki wraps, and three dessert options (and yes, one of those is baklava). It’s very much a sharing sort of place – just order a few nibbles and tuck in. I like that kind of eating, but it depends on having a relaxing atmosphere where you can leisurely peck at food while you chat with your companions. The Real Greek (or at least the Covent Garden branch) is decidedly not that place.

The tables are squeezed in very close together, and there must be some problem with the acoustics that makes the whole place deafeningly loud – I did not feel at ease the whole time, hollering at Dr HH, whilst trying to prevent our neighbours from hearing our every word as well. Nor could we really take our time – we ordered three hot mezze dishes, and they arrived five minutes after we placed our order. On the one hand, it’s nice to get quick service. On the other hand, that’s suspiciously fast.

Of course, the most important thing to consider is the food itself. We couldn’t resist these chickpea filo triangles, which were flavoured with cumin, turmeric, sun-dried tomatoes, and chilli. You probably don’t need me to tell you how good that pastry was. Just look at it! The filling was nice, and the sun-dried tomatoes were definitely the winning touch. They really elevated this, flavour-wise.

Pastry craving satisfied, we decided to focus on recognisably Greek dishes to round out our meal. So we went for these gigandes plaki, or giant beans, in a tomato sauce. The sauce was very rich and herby, and I’d definitely recommend it. It’s just a shame that it (along with our other two dishes) was so heavily garnished with dill. I can’t stand dill, and I hadn’t realised it was so big in Greek cuisine.

And you can’t go for Greek food without getting a moussaka! This one was made with potato, courgette, aubergine, and jackfruit, and it was also nice and flavoursome. Not ideal for sharing, of course, but still tasty. It is worth noting that all of these hot dishes were served lukewarm rather than actually hot, which was a bit disappointing.

All in all, the food was tasty, but the temperature and the atmosphere let it down a bit. And you’d probably have to spend quite a bit of money (or order one of the dips with bread) in order to fill up – we shared these three courses because we just wanted a light meal, but if you were properly hungry you’d definitely need a couple more. I was disappointed not to have room for the baklava, and I’m not sure I’ll be willing to return to see if it’s any good.

Have you ever been to a restaurant that was too noisy to be enjoyable? And what’s the best Greek dish?

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