Michael signed up for Sydney's City2Surf this year, and we used it as an excuse to have a long weekend in the city. It rained heavily and incessantly so, run aside, we focused on indoor activities like the White Rabbit Gallery and Golden Age Cinema. We didn't let it get in the way of good eating, either!

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We arrived in Sydney just in time for lunch, and found casual Thai restaurant YOD to be the closest all-veg option to our accommodation. YOD has a dozen $15 lunch specials, but we were ready to splash out on a couple of the numerous full-price mains. I was over the moon with the colours and flavours of my Kao Klug Ka-Pi ($19.90, pictured above). Even the mound of jasmine rice was dotted with fermented soybeans and rich with flavour, let alone the veg mince, sweet and chewy barbecue strips, crispy-fried enoki, bright chopped salad veges and chilli. Happy to be in hotter weather, I teamed the plate with a coconut smoothie ($10, also above). Michael's Ga-Prao ($19.90, pictured below) looked more modest, but was a deceptively tasty medley of eggplant, mushrooms, tofu, mock meat and veges in a Thai basil sauce that was heavier on the black pepper than the chilli.

   

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We had a lovely evening catching up with Herbal Gill and her Significant Eater. Gill booked us into a new vegan ramen restaurant named Towzen, and we're so lucky that she did! As a queue built along the block, we were able to skip right in to our reserved seats. Six varied ramen bowls head the menu, all enriched with plant-based milks. The aroma surrounding us nudged Gill to select the truffle ramen ($35), while Michael took on the Si Chuan Tan Tan Men ($32, pictured above) where soy meat, mushrooms and other vegetables were swirled in an oat milk broth flavoured with sesame paste, peanut paste and chilli oil.

As a group, we shared okra ($12) and lion's mane mushroom karaage ($20), and drank house-made sodas flavoured alternately with yuzu and strawberry ($10 each, pictured below). Everything was prepared with care and precision and served at reasonable speed. (Luckily we also grabbed a drink at the neighbouring Papa Gede's Bar before eating, so we'd had plenty of time to chat.)

   

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I've been following Don Fred on instagram for a while, and we booked it in for another dinner. At night Don Fred is loud, crowded and dimly lit, with a very friendly host. Though it's Italian, there are zero pizzas and two pastas on the menu - rather, there's a series of veg-based shared dishes with a few appearances of mock meat, and half a dozen focaccia sandwiches with thoughtfully composed fillings. We had a pleasant time with the polpetz on polenta chips ($28) and the garlic green beans ($16), but the biggest plate and biggest success was the casarecce carbonara ($26). It was tasty way for Michael to carb-load ahead of his race, though my inability to hear him and carry a conversation was a dampener.

   

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On Sunday morning, I took a bus well away from the City2Surf crowds. The Marrickville Markets were a complete washout - regrettably I didn't have the appetite for the vegan pastries on offer, and satisfied myself with a vegan chai under the verandah and a large punnet of strawberries for later. Our friend Jess had urged us to visit Miss Sina, and it was overwhelming in its own way too - very busy, with a dense indoor queue that didn't give clear sight of the numerous vegan sweet treats in the display case. (The staff were lovely, though!) I ordered a Lox & Loaded bagel ($17, pictured below) to take away and it was still in good shape when I pulled it out of my backpack, sitting in the Botanic Gardens an hour and a half later. The everything bagel had lost the crispness of toasting, but was still an excellent base for a herb schmear, carrot lox, caper verde, cucumber and dill (I asked them to omit the usual pickled onion).

   

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Radiant from a running success, Michael chose The Chippo Hotel for dinner. The all-vegan pub menu had us spoiled for choice: blooming onions, corn ribs, loaded fries, including an Irish spice bag! Salads, pasta, bangers and mash, a KFC plate, even lasagne! Somehow, we just wanted to keep it simple and chose from the six burgers. My smashed cheezeburger and Michael's zinga ($26 each, pictured above) were both solid and satisfying, and the fries were just fine. My foam-topped Frenchtini mocktail ($12, pictured below) was more memorable. I hope we get a chance to revisit The Chippo one day and order more adventurously.

   

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Our Sydney mornings were bookended by visits to A.P. House, a rooftop bakery with varied stunning baked goods. I absolutely loved the milk bun stuffed with an egg cake, cheese, onion and salted egg yolk ($18, pictured above) and hash brown ($8, pictured above), and Michael was just as pleased with the messy, oily Turkish eggs and garlic bread ($23, pictured above). The zucchini flower & ricotta focaccia ($14, pictured below) and Vegemite cheesy scroll ($9.50, not pictured) were winners, but the hot pocket ($22, not pictured) wasn't as successful. We sampled well across the sweets, too, relishing the brownie-like dark chocolate cookie ($8), Basque cheesecake ($10), candied orange brioche Danish ($11) and impeccable lemon meringue tart ($9, pictured below).

   

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Sydney wasn't its most sparkly self for us this year, but the city's restaurants served us so well. We're always happy to go back to see and taste what's new.

   

We had a strategic stop in Sydney on our way home from Brisbane - everything was timed perfectly for us to see The Weekend at Belvoir St Theatre (which is based on a novel I enjoyed very much). We haven't been to Sydney since 2019, and there's lots of old and new veg*n eating to enjoy, but this time around we stuck to venues that were convenient to our other activities.

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As if being present for The Weekend's short season wasn't good luck enough, our long-time food-blogging friend Gill had tickets for the same night! She recommended that we meet up for dinner at Flyover Fritterie before the show. At that early hour, we had the top floor of this contemporary vegetarian Indian restaurant to ourselves, although the ground floor looked full by the time we left.

Full marks to Flyover for offering six mocktails on their drinks list. Gill had their signature Thandaai ($10, right-most drink in the photo below right), a soy milk seasoned with almonds, watermelon seeds, rose, fennel, and chia seeds. Wary of the heat of the food to come, I ordered a passionfruit lassi with coconut yoghurt ($14, front-left drink in the photo below right), and Michael went for the house soda, flavoured with tamarind and raspberry ($9, back-left drink in the photo below right). 

To eat, there were fritters galore. The corn bhel puri ($20, photo below left) was a fresh and crunchy table favourite, with the coconut lime daal khichri ($24, photo above) coming a close second. Flyover also make fancy jaffles!

   

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We've been out of the loop on Shannon Martinez's ventures over the past few years - we've not properly visited Smith & Daughters since it moved (although we've stopped by the Deli to pick up sandwiches) and not crossed town for Lona Misa. Lona Misa sits within an Ovolo hotel, and so does Alibi in Sydney. The white cane felt out of step with Martinez's typically goth-punk vibes, but a few familiar items on the menu assured us we were in the right place.

   

With The Twin still front of mind, we ordered the focaccia starter ($12, front of photo above left), which was on the small side; we couldn't really taste the promised black garlic but the confit tomato and wakame-sprinkled ricotta were present and accounted for. We can always depend on Martinez for incredible croquettes ($18, back of photo above left), and these ones were flavoured with padron and (vegan) parmesan.

Michael was keen to revisit the cacio e pepe ($25, front of photo above right) and this was a well-seasoned, creamy portion. We balanced it out with charred broccolini ($16, back of photo above right) served with pickled radicchio, roasted hazelnuts, orange and aged balsamic vinaigrette. For dessert, it was always going to be quince filled doughnuts ($15, photo below). 

Alibi was a bit more formal and finicky than we usually expect from Martinez, but it was a special way to spend the last night of our interstate holiday.

   

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Between meals, we were busy! Not just with the theatre, but with three art exhibitions and an Aboriginal harbour heritage tour. (We passed the site of now-closed Bodhi several times, and remarked longingly upon it each time - the weather and our schedule would have been perfect for outdoor yum cha.) The veg*n wonders of King St will have to wait 'til next time.

I stretched my birthday celebrations nearly three months past the actual date, arranging a family weekend in Sydney with my mum and siblings. They flew from all over the world for the weekend and I picked Yellow for a special Sunday night dinner. Yellow's a well-loved Sydney fine-dining place that picked up a lot of buzz in 2015 when it shifted to an entirely vego menu. It was the perfect place for a fancy night out.

We ordered the five course banquet ($85 a head) and were easily talked into adding a serve of the sweet potato, chipotle and lime tortillas as a bonus course ($8 each). They started us off with a couple of warm-up dishes as well: the housemade sourdough with a smoky mushroom powder on top and a plate of lightly pickled veggies with a macadamia-based dipping sauce. The bread is always a highlight at fancy restaurants and Yellow is no exception.

Next up was our extra dish - sweet potato, chipotle and lime yoghurt tortillas and a serve each of the macadamia tofu with grape, celeriac and little strips of kelp. The tortillas were lovely - smoky and sweet with a hint of spice, but the tofu dish was just okay. The little bursts of flavour from the grapes were great, but otherwise it wasn't particularly memorable.

Things moved up a gear with our next dishes - charred cabbage with black garlic, dashi and mustard seeds (left) and romanesco broccoli with tomatillos, green pepper and preserved lemon. These were both great - the romanesco dish was my favourite of the night, with a brilliant mix of strong flavours and some lovely textural touches. The cabbage wasn't far behind - loaded with richness from the sweet black garlic and the almost caramelised dashi.

The final savoury dish was tempura Jerusalem artichoke with leek, black lime, sage and goat's yoghurt. This was another winner - delicately crispy batter filled with nutty, starchy artichokes with some nice tang from the powdered dried lime.

Dessert was a honeydew sorbet with yuzu curd, coconut and peppermint. This was a fresh and tangy way to finish the meal with more fun textures (although I'm always a bit disappointed when there's no chocolate at dessert).

Yellow is a wonderful restaurant - we had fantastic service all night (right down to an embarrassing candle and song in my dessert) and the food is brilliant. It's great to see an all vegetarian fine dining place thriving - they're really worth a visit.

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Yellow

57 Macleay Street, Potts Point

(02) 9332 2344
menu: introductory spiel, cocktails, banquets, a la carte menu

yellowsydney.com.au

We've just had a long weekend in Sydney and we based ourselves in Darlinghurst, a neighbourhood that Michael and I are now quite familiar with. Even so, we didn't recognise the cafe Organism just next door to Shenkin. It's got a cute, rambling vibe and a promise of waffles, so I gently steered Michael and his mum there for a small Sunday breakfast.

The menu is centred primarily around toast, rolls, bagels and waffles and there's a gorgeous display case of croissants, pies and muffins. Vegetarian options are plentiful; vegan and gluten-free options are less common but well-marked, including a lunch-time bibimbap that hits both marks.

After initially being drawn to the tofu l'ancienne roll, Michael settled on the Crush'n on Avo ($14) - a modest portion of sourdough toast and smashed avocado, topped here with tomato, feta, parsley and black sesame seeds.

There's a mini waffle menu with four different options, and I was in the mood to skip by the ostentatious ice-cream-laden ones and just get the simple ricotta version ($8). This really brought out the best in the waffle! It was lightly crisp with caramelised spots on the outside, concealing a thick seam of lemony house ricotta through the middle. A topping of maple syrup and cinnamon sugar supplied ample sweetness, and I enjoyed a rare honey yuzu tea ($6) on the side.  

I was utterly charmed by Organism, with its slightly cluttered nooks and understated meals. I'll definitely check in on them again, hopefully for a slice of pie next time, whenever I find myself in Darlinghurst again.

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Accessibility: Pretty limited! There's a steep, curling staircase with handrails to enter. Furniture is densely packed and a little rickety, a mixture of heights and back supports. We ordered at our table and paid at a high counter. We didn't visit the toilets.

My Sydney weekend wasn't all old faves; we planned some new activities and foods! The centrepiece was a night inside the Sydney Opera House's Concert Hall, featuring the phenomenal Solange. Her performance will go down as one of my all-time favourite live events (and I've tucked one more photo of her at the end of this post).

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A day earlier, travelling into Sydney by train, my weekend companion made the outrageous suggestion that we lunch at the all-vegan Gelato Blue. We did, and we loved it! I ordered a hot-and-cold doughnut sundae ($13): a warmed-up cinnamon-sugar doughnut and a large scoop of gelato joined together with wonderfully weird waffle cone limbs, all drizzled in Ice Magic-style chocolate sauce and crushed nuts. The chocolate hazelnut scoop I chose was lightly salted and very, very good - though the embellishments were delightful, methinks this gelato doesn't actually need dressing up.

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The Buddha Bowl Cafe was a nice low-key spot for Saturday brunch. It's vegan by default with a few vegetarian options (halloumi, eggs, dairy milk) available as add-ons. This place has a wholefood vibe, with all the hits (avocado, hummus, a rainbow of fresh produce) and misses (kombucha on tap, blue algae lattes, raw-only cakes) that entails. My plate was the biggest hit at the table: sourdough French toast made with coconut cream ($12), served with maple syrup, date caramel, dried coconut, coconut yoghurt and lots of fresh banana.

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A day later, Another Outspoken Female and her Significant Eater whisked me off to the very popular Petty Cash Cafe. I loved its homely, cluttered atmosphere; mismatched crockery, tea cosies and crocheted knee blankets for those of us sitting outside. Though Petty Cash does serve meat, it's made some special efforts for its veg*n customers, such as scrambled tofu, vake (fake bacon), and fluffy chia-based vegan pancakes. While I was initially drawn to the Vegan Big Brekkie, I ended up doubling down on French toast ($17.90), receiving excellent golden slices of sourdough with just enough maple syrup and plenty of crispy-then-chewy vake.

My one disappointment was that the seasonal fresh fruit I saw listed amounted to a single strawberry garnish (most likely my fault for misreading the menu), but AOF generously shared the bananas and raspberry sauce that accompanied her pancakes.

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I just had a whirlwind weekend in Sydney with a friend! Circular Quay was showing off its Vivid projections by night, and we followed the early nightfall with a couple of early dinners at restaurants we already knew and loved.

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On Friday we eased into Vina without a reservation, though it filled up and turned tables a couple times while we were settled with a local friend. Vina has had a complete refit since my first visit! The vegan Vietnamese menu is still a good one; we grazed on steamed dumplings and fried wontons ($6.80 per plate) and tentatively folded our own lemongrass mock-beef and tofu rice paper rolls ($16). The highlight was probably the bubbling vegan fish stew in ginger mushroom sauce ($16.80). Next time: the Chef's Special vegan duck.

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Our Saturday night visit to Bodhi with a fellow Melbournite was much more carefully planned. The restaurant's evening menu is a la carte, but includes many of the small shared dishes offered during their more famous vegan yum cha. We dived into the mocktail list ($14.50 each, the sweet-and-sour toilet-cleaner-blue Just My Imagination is pictured above) and ordered so much deliciousness to share! The BBQ buns ($9.50) were lighter than usual, and I loved the gua bao bun 'slider' ($17) stuffed with salt and pepper 'chicken', Malay peanut sauce, cucumber and herbs. The laksa ($25) was difficult to divide, but perfect comfort food on a blustery night.

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Though we would have gladly eaten at Bodhi three more times, we checked in to a few new eateries too; they're up next.

I arrived in Sydney right on dinner time Thursday night, and I was eager to treat myself to a fun meal after a week of mediocre catering. I was just a couple of blocks from Yulli's, where I perched at the bar and caught up on their menu. It's changed a good deal and might be better than ever! I was certainly enamoured with the naan pocket ($17.50), served with beer-battered fries and stuffed with a cluster of crispy-fried enoki mushrooms, haloumi slices, pickled cabbage, lettuce, fresh herbs and aioli.

I wandered strategically past Gelato Messina on my way back to my accommodation, and found there wasn't much of a queue in spite of the warm weather. I took a successful punt on a scoop of the special Breakfast of Champions ($5) - the cereal milk gelato was rather subtle, but I loved the sticky-chewy swirls of Milo and crushed honey joys.

Yum cha at Bodhi in the Park is always a treat, and this visit was the perfect intersection of conditions. The weather was gorgeous and we scored a table outside under the trees by a couple of wily ibis; the staff were engaged and helpful; the plates were varied and scrumptious! Fluffy mock chicken buns, dumplings dredged through sauce, crispy rolls stuffed with mock prawns, sauteed greens, cups and cups of tea, all finished with a shared glass of pandan sago with coconut milk and palm sugar syrup poured at the table. The bill here is always a little heftier than I expect (almost $90 this time), but I've not regretted it yet.

We visited Another Outspoken Female and her Significant Eater on Saturday night, and we shared a delightful meal for the second time at the all-vegan Gigi pizzeria. They generously let us pick our preferred pizzas, and we chose:

It's a remarkable and remarkably popular restaurant, with a completely different approach to Melbourne's vegan pizzeria, Red Sparrow.

This little escape to Sydney felt long overdue! We certainly crammed in as many eats as we could - it's always exciting to check out what's new, and I've now caught myself feeling nostalgic as I re-re-revisit stayers like Bodhi.

I arrived in Sydney just in time to meet up with Cindy for lunch at Shift Eatery, Sydney's answer to Smith and Deli. It's more a sit-down place than S & D, but the menu is working similar territory - lots of sandwiches and toasties, plus some salads and a cabinet full of sweets. It's all vegan and it's pretty popular, we were lucky to sneak a table before the lunchtime rush hit.

Cindy ordered the 'nothing fishy' sandwich ($12), made from chickpea and artichoke 'tuna', with house made aoili, greens and tomato. Cindy described it as a healthy version of Smith and Deli's Free Willy 2, which is a bit of a back-handed compliment (it probably didn't help that she filled up on her chilled iced chocolate with macadamia milk and 50% cocoa chocolate, $5). I ordered the 'Reuben's brother, Steve', a combo of corned beef, sauerkraut, Russian dressing, cheddar cheese and gherkins ($16). I was very impressed with this - loads of mock meat piled up with great accompaniments and toasted to perfection.

We took a couple of Treat Dreams sweets away for later and they were brilliant - their chocolate bars are available from Cruelty Free Shops we're keeping an eye out for a Melbourne pop-up soon.

We were enthusiastic enough to head back to grab a wrapped lunch on our way to the airport. We decided that untoasted sandwiches were the most likely to travel well, so I grabbed the smoked tofu (minus the pineapple, but with greens, slaw, lime tahini sauce, tomato, chipotle and mix sprouts, $14) and Cindy picked up the 'join the club' - chicken schnitzel, turkey slices, cheddar cheese, lettuce, tomato, avocado and house made aioli ($16).

These were both spectacular. Shift are really delivering some solid Sydney lunches. It'll be a regular stop on our future Sydney jaunts.

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We headed to Glebe for dinner, following some Twitter advice to check out Green Mushroom, an all-vegan Indian restaurant. We were a bit overwhelmed by the menu, which ran to something like 8 pages and spanned all manner of classic Indian dishes along with a couple of random pasta options. We were tempted by the mock lamb options and the palak tofu, but in the end had to restrain ourselves to just a couple of dishes.

We combined the eggplant and potato masala ($18.95) with a veggie and tofu biryani ($16.95) and a serve of the excellent vegan garlic naan ($3.50). The eggplant and potato dish was wonderful, with the eggplant surprisingly out-shining the potato. The biryani had a good spicy kick and a nice mix of veggies and tofu throughout. 

Prices seem a little bit excessive for Indian food, but the portions are generous (we couldn't eat all of this between the two of us) and the service was great. It'd be a fun place to take a big group to - there are so many dishes to try! It's pretty ace to have an Indian restaurant where vegans don't have to worry about ghee sneaking into things too.

It was great to check out a couple of new (to us anyway) all-vegan places in Sydney. They'll likely make it onto our repeat-visit list... that's coming up in our final Sydney post.