Ah, I'm sliding into the terrible food blogger habit of being behind in my posts. Naturally. It kinda happens since we do eat all the time anyway.
Although this time, it might have benefited me, as I managed two visits to this location, which means....yup, more food porn for everyone! And a warning of a ginormous post in your immediate near future....should you choose to keep reading!
The first visit was triggered when David told me he was going to be in Fitzroy in the evening on a Sunday that I had to pick up my mum from the airport, which David decided he'd accompany me to. Hence dinner was in order!
After perusing Urbanspoon for a while, I settled on Yong Green Food. Whilst vegetarian places don't usually immediately spark my interest, or Asian places for that matter, looking at the menu and the indolent cook's review, the concept of 'raw' meals tickled me.
This is what I love about Melbourne, unpretentious, simple and honestly, not too exciting from the outside right? I'm fairly sure if I were a resident of Fitzoy, I probably wouldn't saunter this far down Brunswick Street, or if I did, I would completely walk by without noticing. But then you open the door....
And you have one of the coolest walls I have ever seen in a restaurant. Although it does help that I am smitten with dragons. A fairly dim and earthy room, with raw and well loved wooden tables and chairs, mixed in with cherry blossom decorations on the walls and a few more cushy looking seats. It's an eclectic mix which keeps it from being 'hippy' or overtly Asian.
So everything at Yong Green Food is vegetarian. Having said that, choices here are certainly not sparse. There's almost half a page dedicated to 'raw' meals, food that hasn't been cooked at all followed by another page and a half of starters and mains, then another page even, with noodles, wraps and desserts. Phew! You have a great selection of gluten free and organic dishes as well. It was really quite sad to try and narrow it down to just a few dishes to try!
To start, a chai latte with almond milk. Have to say I couldn't really honestly taste the difference, although the texture of the milk seemed a bit different.
David got a pink smoothie with strawberries, bananas and almond milk. This was one of the best smoothies I have ever had. Everyone needs to stop going to the smoothie/boost outlets and come here instead. I don't think I've ever tasted a smoothie that's had the taste of the strawberries and bananas come out this distinctively, it was disgustingly thick in the best way possible. The only problem I really foresee is being completely filled up on smoothie before the meal starts!
We started with the 'Tofu Pocket Platter', tofu pocket filled with rice and soy tuna. I hardly call two pieces a platter honestly, but the two pieces that were there were a very very decent size. This was a very refreshing start though, I'm not sure what they marinated the soy tuna in, but it was absolutely delicious and startlingly cold.
Our 'raw' item of the night, a cashew bread sandwich. Crispy cashew bread filled with tomato, cucumber, avocado and lettuce with beetroot walnut dip and raw tomato sauce. Entirely gluten free to boot! So whilst not quite a sandwich that I was thinking of, I was in love with the ferociously pink beetroot dip and just the overall colouful and fresh appearance of the dish. Was a treat to the tastebuds too, with it's various textures. And that tomato sauce on top? It was like spreading sundried tomato all over the sandwich and with me being a bit of a tomato-phile, I was in heaven. Don't you just love knowing that you're just putting awesomely good stuff in your body too?
Next up was the Thai green curry, served with absolutely delicious brown rice. I don't remember the last time I had so much rice. There's just something about the small grains, the more wholesome taste, the rougher texture. It absorbed the curry beautifully, in which there was a surprising amount of kick (although not too much for a kid brought up in a Malaysian household. It was too much for David though), the curry and spices really came through nicely and hey, I love super soft broccoli.
I insisted we had to have dessert and chose the strawberry 'raw cheesecake' for us. It supposedly contains cashew, coconut oil, agave, almonds, sunflower seeds, sultanas, dates and coconut. The coconut certainly came through and was far more prominent than the strawberries, but I loved the density of this and the delicious crumbly cake base.
Yum yum!
After telling my mother about the place and how the menu excited me, I found myself back at Yong Green Food later the following week.
More raw dishes were had! Nachos with chia chips (chai seeds, capsicum, carrot, onion and gralic) served with cashew cream, guacamole and sunfried seeds (sunflower seeds, tomato, onion and spices). The chia chips were really very tasty (loved the seeds!) and had an interesting texture, whilst not wholly crispy, there was a nice crunch. I only wish there were more chips and more dip!
The aptly named 'rawsagne'. Layered zucchini with mushrooms, onion, cashew cream and raw tomato sauce. It really just looked like a great big beautiful vegetable cake. The zucchini was sliced so thin and was so light and refreshing I kept mistaking it for cucumber! And gosh, the cashew cream sandwiched through really added a lovely smooth texture into it, a bit of richness, but not too heavy.
Our raw 'Nutty Burger', a burger pattie made of carrots, walnuts, sunflower seeds, flax seeds, vegetables and herbs. Served with raw tomato sauce and cashew cream (there seems to be a pattern developing here...). You'd certainly think that with the abundant use of cashew cream and similar ingredients that everything would taste the same, but the way things are bound together seem to continuously be different, creating different textures.
Mum liked the idea of the kimchi pancake, I found it slightly doughy, but the flavours were interesting. The kimchi certainly came through!
Miso udon, this dish was a beast! This picture does not show the scale of this thing, it's pretty much served in a wok sized bowl! I forgot to get all the details down of this dish, but I know it had 'wheat chicken'. The broth was delicious, although I don't think it's too difficult to get miso down pat and the noodles looked quite thick and luxurious. However, the 'wheat' chicken was a bit of a let down, it really was much more like tofu than anything else.
Japanese curry with vegetables and 'soy' beef, served with brown rice. The 'soy' beef was a lot more impressive than the 'wheat' chicken found in the udon. It was quite a bit like having a really tender piece of beef, as it obviously didn't have the chewiness that you do otherwise get. I have been craving Japanese curry for a while, and I loved the thick and saucy gravy, nice and mild. That gravy over brown rice? Perfect.
Mexican chilli beans, honestly, probably the dish that least captured my attention out of all that we had. It was served a little bit cooler than I'd have liked it and for being called 'chilli' beans, there was pretty much no spice to them. More tomato and beans than anything else.
My brother, being the Japanese culture addict (which he probably got from me), couldn't resist the green tea raw cheesecake. Unlike the strawberry, the coconut was much more subdued in this variation and the green tea really came through. I just loved the goji berries on top, doesn't it just look gorgeous?
And for mum and I? A gluten free pecan pie. Oh yes. Oh yes. I can't remember what was in it, more coconut I imagine (as you could taste it) but it was a lot less dense and a little more crumbly and cake like. There was a generous amount of huge pecans in it and the cream they put on top? It made the pecan pie so delightfully moist, it was just perfect.
Phew. That's quite a lot of food. But in both my experiences at Yong Green Food, I have thoroughly enjoyed myself. It is run by some lovely Korean women, who are just so friendly and attentive. Food comes out incredibly quickly, my brother commenting it was almost like being in a fast food place! And whilst maybe some of you are wondering if only vegetables will really keep you full, they really do. My mum commented the next day that she was completely satisfied the whole night and I had gone out after the second meal to a gig, danced the whole night away and never felt second hunger pangs coming on. (Normally I do sneak in a McFluffy on a late night out....)
I think I've become absolutely smitten with the place and I admire how this place seems to be quietly doing well for themselves, being completely full on Saturday and filling up quite quickly on a Sunday night.
Although this time, it might have benefited me, as I managed two visits to this location, which means....yup, more food porn for everyone! And a warning of a ginormous post in your immediate near future....should you choose to keep reading!
The first visit was triggered when David told me he was going to be in Fitzroy in the evening on a Sunday that I had to pick up my mum from the airport, which David decided he'd accompany me to. Hence dinner was in order!
After perusing Urbanspoon for a while, I settled on Yong Green Food. Whilst vegetarian places don't usually immediately spark my interest, or Asian places for that matter, looking at the menu and the indolent cook's review, the concept of 'raw' meals tickled me.
This is what I love about Melbourne, unpretentious, simple and honestly, not too exciting from the outside right? I'm fairly sure if I were a resident of Fitzoy, I probably wouldn't saunter this far down Brunswick Street, or if I did, I would completely walk by without noticing. But then you open the door....
And you have one of the coolest walls I have ever seen in a restaurant. Although it does help that I am smitten with dragons. A fairly dim and earthy room, with raw and well loved wooden tables and chairs, mixed in with cherry blossom decorations on the walls and a few more cushy looking seats. It's an eclectic mix which keeps it from being 'hippy' or overtly Asian.
So everything at Yong Green Food is vegetarian. Having said that, choices here are certainly not sparse. There's almost half a page dedicated to 'raw' meals, food that hasn't been cooked at all followed by another page and a half of starters and mains, then another page even, with noodles, wraps and desserts. Phew! You have a great selection of gluten free and organic dishes as well. It was really quite sad to try and narrow it down to just a few dishes to try!
To start, a chai latte with almond milk. Have to say I couldn't really honestly taste the difference, although the texture of the milk seemed a bit different.
David got a pink smoothie with strawberries, bananas and almond milk. This was one of the best smoothies I have ever had. Everyone needs to stop going to the smoothie/boost outlets and come here instead. I don't think I've ever tasted a smoothie that's had the taste of the strawberries and bananas come out this distinctively, it was disgustingly thick in the best way possible. The only problem I really foresee is being completely filled up on smoothie before the meal starts!
We started with the 'Tofu Pocket Platter', tofu pocket filled with rice and soy tuna. I hardly call two pieces a platter honestly, but the two pieces that were there were a very very decent size. This was a very refreshing start though, I'm not sure what they marinated the soy tuna in, but it was absolutely delicious and startlingly cold.
Our 'raw' item of the night, a cashew bread sandwich. Crispy cashew bread filled with tomato, cucumber, avocado and lettuce with beetroot walnut dip and raw tomato sauce. Entirely gluten free to boot! So whilst not quite a sandwich that I was thinking of, I was in love with the ferociously pink beetroot dip and just the overall colouful and fresh appearance of the dish. Was a treat to the tastebuds too, with it's various textures. And that tomato sauce on top? It was like spreading sundried tomato all over the sandwich and with me being a bit of a tomato-phile, I was in heaven. Don't you just love knowing that you're just putting awesomely good stuff in your body too?
Next up was the Thai green curry, served with absolutely delicious brown rice. I don't remember the last time I had so much rice. There's just something about the small grains, the more wholesome taste, the rougher texture. It absorbed the curry beautifully, in which there was a surprising amount of kick (although not too much for a kid brought up in a Malaysian household. It was too much for David though), the curry and spices really came through nicely and hey, I love super soft broccoli.
I insisted we had to have dessert and chose the strawberry 'raw cheesecake' for us. It supposedly contains cashew, coconut oil, agave, almonds, sunflower seeds, sultanas, dates and coconut. The coconut certainly came through and was far more prominent than the strawberries, but I loved the density of this and the delicious crumbly cake base.
Yum yum!
After telling my mother about the place and how the menu excited me, I found myself back at Yong Green Food later the following week.
More raw dishes were had! Nachos with chia chips (chai seeds, capsicum, carrot, onion and gralic) served with cashew cream, guacamole and sunfried seeds (sunflower seeds, tomato, onion and spices). The chia chips were really very tasty (loved the seeds!) and had an interesting texture, whilst not wholly crispy, there was a nice crunch. I only wish there were more chips and more dip!
The aptly named 'rawsagne'. Layered zucchini with mushrooms, onion, cashew cream and raw tomato sauce. It really just looked like a great big beautiful vegetable cake. The zucchini was sliced so thin and was so light and refreshing I kept mistaking it for cucumber! And gosh, the cashew cream sandwiched through really added a lovely smooth texture into it, a bit of richness, but not too heavy.
Our raw 'Nutty Burger', a burger pattie made of carrots, walnuts, sunflower seeds, flax seeds, vegetables and herbs. Served with raw tomato sauce and cashew cream (there seems to be a pattern developing here...). You'd certainly think that with the abundant use of cashew cream and similar ingredients that everything would taste the same, but the way things are bound together seem to continuously be different, creating different textures.
Mum liked the idea of the kimchi pancake, I found it slightly doughy, but the flavours were interesting. The kimchi certainly came through!
Miso udon, this dish was a beast! This picture does not show the scale of this thing, it's pretty much served in a wok sized bowl! I forgot to get all the details down of this dish, but I know it had 'wheat chicken'. The broth was delicious, although I don't think it's too difficult to get miso down pat and the noodles looked quite thick and luxurious. However, the 'wheat' chicken was a bit of a let down, it really was much more like tofu than anything else.
Japanese curry with vegetables and 'soy' beef, served with brown rice. The 'soy' beef was a lot more impressive than the 'wheat' chicken found in the udon. It was quite a bit like having a really tender piece of beef, as it obviously didn't have the chewiness that you do otherwise get. I have been craving Japanese curry for a while, and I loved the thick and saucy gravy, nice and mild. That gravy over brown rice? Perfect.
Mexican chilli beans, honestly, probably the dish that least captured my attention out of all that we had. It was served a little bit cooler than I'd have liked it and for being called 'chilli' beans, there was pretty much no spice to them. More tomato and beans than anything else.
My brother, being the Japanese culture addict (which he probably got from me), couldn't resist the green tea raw cheesecake. Unlike the strawberry, the coconut was much more subdued in this variation and the green tea really came through. I just loved the goji berries on top, doesn't it just look gorgeous?
And for mum and I? A gluten free pecan pie. Oh yes. Oh yes. I can't remember what was in it, more coconut I imagine (as you could taste it) but it was a lot less dense and a little more crumbly and cake like. There was a generous amount of huge pecans in it and the cream they put on top? It made the pecan pie so delightfully moist, it was just perfect.
Phew. That's quite a lot of food. But in both my experiences at Yong Green Food, I have thoroughly enjoyed myself. It is run by some lovely Korean women, who are just so friendly and attentive. Food comes out incredibly quickly, my brother commenting it was almost like being in a fast food place! And whilst maybe some of you are wondering if only vegetables will really keep you full, they really do. My mum commented the next day that she was completely satisfied the whole night and I had gone out after the second meal to a gig, danced the whole night away and never felt second hunger pangs coming on. (Normally I do sneak in a McFluffy on a late night out....)
I think I've become absolutely smitten with the place and I admire how this place seems to be quietly doing well for themselves, being completely full on Saturday and filling up quite quickly on a Sunday night.
Yong Green Food
421 Brunswick St Fitzroy
Fitzroy, 3065
421 Brunswick St Fitzroy
Fitzroy, 3065
Posts
oooo that's a BIG statement saying its the best smoothie...i'm SOOO there!!! =)
ReplyDeleteand looks like they have quite the twist on their foods ...mmmz
Glad you liked it so much! Especially if I was partly responsible for influencing your decision to go there, haha. Love how this post is such a full experience!
ReplyDeleteYum! I've never eaten at a raw restaurant - rawsagne, love it :) It looks delicious. Great pics!
ReplyDeleteHeidi xo
Ah the dreaded food blogger plague. We all slip behind on our posting. And yes, I've done the same thing where you end up going somewhere twice because you're so behind on a post.
ReplyDeleteHi, i'd like to add your image to Vegetarian Victoria's new Restaurant listing! Please message me if you approve!
ReplyDelete