Tofu International: In the Mood for Tofu

Will and I finally made it out to Macro Wholefoods in Richmond. It was nice, but definitely not like the Wholefoods I came to love in America. It's the only type of supermarket I actually like being the size of small town. I found most products to be unaffordably expensive; I think I'll just stick to the Vic Market -- it's closer. While we were in Richmond, we stopped by Tofu International, which was a place I considered seeking employment during my stint of unemployment back in January. I'd never actually been to Bridge Road in Richmond, so seeing this little shop was actually quite comforting.

This food establishment is a bit on the cozy side and offers food options that are all vegetarian. The range of food wasn't extensive nor was it particularly mind-blowing. It was exactly what I expected from a food shop named Tofu International. It's a neat little place to get some healthy vegetarian fare while shopping in the area and people watch whilst doing so. There are 3 options: small, regular and large plates. The small portion is a typical tapa-sized bowl and the medium is perfect for a hungry stomach or to satisfy two "I'm not really hungry, but I could eat" stomachs. The medium plate was $13.00 and with each size plate one can choose any of the dishes available behind the counter. We settled on a Chinese tofu dish, an apricot-flavoured cous cous salad, saffron roasted potatoes and a broccoli and mushroom option. The tofu dish was by far the best served with a light ginger-soy consomme, although, one can never really go wrong with roasted potatoes, especially if they are to be enjoyed with lashings of a mysteriously flavoured tofu dip. There are also various souvlaki options available.

At $13.00 a plate I probably wouldn't make this place a "favourite", but it's definitely worth giving this little relaxed environment a shot when you're ravenously hungry after outlet shopping.

Tofu International
78 Bridge Rd
Richmond 3121 VIC

2 Reviews in 1: Soul Food & Shakahari

In the past week or so Will and I have visited two vegetarian establishments to explore their culinary offerings. Unfortunately no photos were taken.

Soul Food Cafe

273 Smith St
Fitzroy 3065 VIC

Phone: (03) 9419 2949

This little hipster cafe is located in a rather grungy area of Fitzroy as we passed many suspicious characters hanging outside the local Tab on the way their. It somehow transported me back to my days in Madrid. The inside of the cafe had a homey, comfortable feel to it and once inside we weren't sure whether to seat ourselves or wait to be seated. Once we sat down, we also weren't sure whether we'd be waited on or if we ordered at the register; it was the latter because there weren't any menus for us to browse. We quickly scanned the cold display of foods available, which was a bit scarce due to it being the end of the night for them (around 8:30 pm), and decided upon a roasted eggplant pizza and a curious little dish called Haystack, both averaging about $12 a serve. The pizza was self explanatory, lacking in the vegetable department, heavy on the cheese, but graced with a lovely thin wholemeal crust that much a 'crunch' with each bite. The Haystack was an interesting little serve of a tasty, yet dry legume-nut filling wrapped with puff pastry topped with a sweet sultana sauce with cumin undertones. Without the sauce it would have been difficult to swallow. The food was satisfying overall, but not a place I'd go to for dinner before a night out on the town. The ambiance was so mellow I became sleepy, but the chai for two we ordered picked me right up.

Shakahari Vegetarian Restaurant
201 Faraday St
Carlton 3053 VIC

We'd walked by this little wonder heaps of times and only just now took the time to visit the establishment. I was familiar with the interior as I'd gone in on a previous occasion to drop off my CV. The inside of the restaurant is reminiscent of a Thai teak wood house with its dark wooden furniture and green foliage. The menu was small but obviously showed their dedication to using seasonal produce. The beverage menu was a decent size and included a selection of Rieslings, so I was sold on that alone. We settled on the Satay sticks of tempeh and tofu and the Croquettes, both mains priced at $17 each. When the dishes arrived at the table we were rather pleased with the presentation: stark white plates, eye-popping colours and neatly arranged edibles. Presentation is something that vegetarian restaurants are usually not noted for, but Shakahari earned extra points in that regard. The clientele here is not as young and hip as Vegie Bar, but more aligned with Soul Mama in St. Kilda. Overall, it was a great experience; it's as close as one can get in Melbourne to vegetarian fine dinning.