24th February 2010

Ghandi Curry House

10 Little Stanley St, South Bank, Brisbane

During the days of the Empire on which the sun never set, Indian cooks devised a number of dishes calculated to please the British palate: a kind of fusion food, Raj style! Among these is mulligatawny soup, which the Ghandi Curry House does well. The lentils are pureed and nicely spiced, and soft rice lurks at the bottom of the bowl. There are also large samosas, where lentils are to be encountered as well as the usual mix of vegetables. The main dishes include Vegetable Kolapuri, in which carrots, green beans, peas and green capsicum swim in a tomato-based sauce. Some curry afficianados may find this dish a wee bit bland. The spinach paneer is worth ordering for its beautiful deep green colour alone, but I’m told the taste is very good too.  Located in the middle of a tourist area, this restaurant offers some unusual takes on a wonderful cuisine.

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15th February 2010

Loving Hut International Vegan Restautant

2/1420 Logan Rd, Mt Gravatt, Qld

The entire VVOC team converged at the Loving Hut for lunch, and we all enjoyed oursleves. There is a very good range of openers, among them a creamy corn soup with silken tofu and mushrooms, the corn largely dissolved to create a beautiful smooth texture; the slightly sweet Inari sushi, in which finely chopped veggies with rice come wrapped in tofu skin; Vietnamese rolls of sprouts, carrot and parsely wrapped in rice paper, and, unexpectedly, perfectly respectable popato chips with a side dip. The favourite main dish was the Loving Wrap, which consists of tofu and mushrooms in a tofu wrap, and comes with generous serves of vegetables and rice. A number of the dishes listed on the menu contain ingredients described in such terms as vegetable protein and soy protein; by and large we prefer to steer away from such concoctions, although for some people, particularly those new to a non-meat diet,  they can be very welcome.  All in all it was a great lunch, as good food was shared in the best of company.

Loving Hut on Urbanspoon

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7th February 2010

Yim Thai Restaurant

100 Marsh St, Armidale NSW

I’ll never forget the first time I tried tom yum soup. Nothing in my experience had prepared me for the intense taste coming from the mixture of lemon grass and lime leaves, but it was obviously the product of people who knew very well what they were doing, and since then I have always enjoyed raising a spoonful. At the Yim Thai the soup comes thick with mushrooms (Tom Yum Hed), which provide hearty bulk without getting in the way of the flavour. The restaurant also offers vegetarian curry puffs filled with carrot, potato, peas, corn and onion; there are tasy enough, but much milder than the soup. The main dishes include Tofu Tod, in which deep fried tofu comes with a plum sauce, Pad Thai tofu, and a variety of other dishes. In fact there are 17 dishes in the veggie section of the menu, which should be enough to keep the inhabitants of the beautiful Athens of the North happily eating for some time.

Yim Thai Restaurant on Urbanspoon

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6th February 2010

VVOC Meeting Minutes 6/2/10

Today we shared a lovely lunch at The Loving Hut.

1. Thanks to John for his restaurant reviews.

2. Thanks to Jacki for her ongoing work with campaigns.

3. Jacki suggested we put up a post featuring our t-shirt and bag as an activity.

4. Vasilios is going to put up links to two articles he has written; “Being Orthodox and Western” and last year’s Easter article.

5. John has offered to lend Helen a book : to assist in writing a posting about fasting.

6. John is going to write a review of The Loving Hut and has kindly offered to host our next meeting.

7. Discussed the book “Dewey“, a wonderful story of a library cat in IOWA.

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4th February 2010

Highlighted Campaign for Summer 2010

We have all I am sure been saddened to hear of the tragedies which have occured to people and animals alike in the recent Haiti disaster.  It is heart warming to me to see that the government of Haiti actually requested the assistance of WSPA (World Society for the Protection of Animals) – that in the horror of all that has happened to the people of Haiti, and the immense amount of assistance that is required to aid the population, that the welfare of animals has not been forgotten.  The Animal Relief Coaliton for Haiti (ARCH) has been formed to deal with the Haiti crisis and is led by WSPA and iFAW (International Fund for Animal Welfare).  More information can be found at the WSPA website – www.wspa.org.au

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