07 August 2013

Brekkie:

Oats, macadamia & honey cluster w/almond milk & spoonful of pb

Snack from Food Co-op, Union House (1st Floor) at Uni Melb, Parkville, Melbourne, Australia:

Soy chai tea, pumpkin + tofu pie
(Went here because I love vegan food, but I'm so used to American vegan foods that I think this place is a bit lackluster. Apparently the soy chai here is amazing, but it tasted more like milk. I could smell the aroma, but what spices were in the tea were heavily masked by the soy. Quite disappointing. Their pumpkin + tofu pie is apparently also a big hit, but I found it to be a bit bland - and I'm quite the master of bland food. I didn't expect the crust to be flaky, since if they were truly vegan they probably used coconut oil, applesauce or something like that, and it's a lot harder to get the flaky texture without fat. But the whole wheat crust was good and I loved the caraway (?) seeds on top. They did get the filling to crust ratio correct, and I enjoyed the texture and aroma of everything. Too bad that couldn't translate to delicious bites. I've heard their hot plates and brownies are good though, so perhaps I'll give them a second chance. I've never been afraid to try vegan foods before this, but after trying this place out, I'm afraid of disappointment. But come on, how can a vegan place mess up brownies? Right? That's practically the first vegan-ised dessert! I think.)

Close-up of the filling

 Snack from Plush Fish, Union House (Ground Floor) at Uni Melb, Parkville, Melbourne, Australia:

Salmon roll w/wasabi
(Heard this place and Egg Sake had decent sushi, but since I had Egg Sake yesterday, I decided to try Plush. They were just preparing for lunch so there weren't too many options, but luckily, they had what I usually get anyway. I find it strange that the sushi here is sold in large rolls instead of cut up. Chopsticks are provided, but who would use chopsticks on this monstrosity? Anyway, the fish tasted fresh and individually, each component was alright. I wasn't impressed by their combination into a roll though. First off, the rice was not proper sushi rice. I'm not a sushi fanatic, but even I know that was just regular rice. And the ratio was way skewed. I'm guessing they put a cucumber stick and avocado pieces in there to make it more like a CA roll, so I'll excuse that. But WHY WOULD THEY PUT MAYO INSIDE A SALMON ROLL?! Ugh, I hate mayo. Raw salmon already tastes kind of avocado/mayo-esque so I don't understand the triple fatty hit! If I had ordered some random crazy concoction like a Sushi Monster roll or something - I totally made that up - and it has "special sauces" based on mayo, I'd understand. But a plain, regular salmon roll!?! I can't even. And I couldn't even scrape off the mayo. So digusted. I can't believe there was mayo in my salmon sushi roll. Noticeable mayo! I was so freaked out that I nearly burnt my brain out on how much wasabi I ate. That was one thing they did well. The wasabi was very flavourful.)

Close-up of one of the rolls

Snacks from Food Co-op and Sweet Tooth, Union House at Uni Melb, Parkville, Melbourne, Australia:

Vegan apple spelt roll from the Food Co-op
(Another disappointment. Smelt amazing, especially after I heated it up but the taste was lacking. The apple to roll ratio was skewed, but the texture was nice. I think this would have tasted so much better if they had distributed the apples a bit more evenly and added more spices. It wasn't sugary, which was good, but the apples provided most of the flavour. A little cinnamon and nutmeg or anise or something never killed anyone. Toward the last half, I was just eating a spelt roll.)

1/2 scoop of boysenberry ice cream, 1/2 scoop of espresso gelato from Sweet Tooth
(Both were a bit too sweet. The espresso had a really nice, strong flavour but the boysenberry tasted more sugary and artificial. They tasted good blended together though!)

Combining the two.

 Snack:

Green ginger tea w/a warm malted choco² chunk walnut cookie

Snack:

Quinoa & oatmeal cooked w/cinnamon, milo powder, bit of pb, cayenne pepper & black pepper and topped w/prunes, walnuts, Greek yogurt & cinnamon
(Mmm so good. I was going to make a "frozen" Greek yogurt parfait but got caught in the rain and was freezing. This mixture might sound disgusting, but it was actually really good! Quite savoury with a subtle kick of hotness, sweetness and tartness. Mmm.)