March 21-22, 2009: Continental House

Continental House is a 'vegan life sanctuary' inwards Hepburn Springs. It offers pocket-size accommodation equally good equally activities similar yoga, massage courses, chanting together with raw nutrient workshops. They likewise get got a vegan banquet on nigh Sabbatum nights. This is what drew a grouping of Vegan Potluckers to the Conti for a weekend route trip.

Most of the rooms tally ii or 3 people, together with they're pleasantly comfortable if non modern. There are shared toilets together with showers unopen to the corner, though Michael together with I works life ourselves inwards the i room alongside an en suite. This proved to endure a bathroom room inwards the nigh literal sense, containing a zip to a greater extent than than a bathroom together with mirror! As good equally numbers the rooms get got nicknames (ours was 'Pixie'), subsequently the murals painted on their walls.

There are likewise communal kitchen together with lounge areas where you lot tin residue together with instruct to know the other visitors together with residents. While making toast inwards the kitchen, Michael met a resident who'd been on a water-only fast for the past times sixty hours. Why he was torturing himself past times standing inwards the midst of food, I don't know.

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The banquet takes identify inwards a lovely room below the invitee bedrooms. There's plenty of room for everyone staying at the House, together with the 10 of us easily fitted unopen to the largest of the tables.

The Conti is alone alcohol free, but nosotros were treated to freshly squeezed orangish juice equally good equally non-alcoholic passionfruit, strawberry together with ginger wines.

The get shape was a sweetness potato, tomato, lentil together with basil soup served alongside corn chips. As nosotros happily slurped together with crunched together with chatted our agency through it, nosotros didn't notice the empty serving tables (pictured above) existence stacked generously alongside to a greater extent than food. It was an overwhelming array of salads, dips together with bakes.

My plate includes:

• a pumpkin kokosnoot curry alongside chickpeas, coriander together with dark mustard seeds,
• tabouleh,
• beetroot dip
• a spicy pickled cabbage salad alongside bitter greenish leaves,
• avocado,
  
• more corn chips,
• a salad of tofu, seaweed, carrot together with shitake mushrooms,
• a spicy mash bake,
  
• lightly dressed kolrabi together with Chinese greens,
• and the tabular array favourite, an orangish dip of eggplant, capsicum, garlic together with olive oil.
  

There was plenty to instruct around, alongside Toby piling upwardly his tertiary plate alongside avocado simply equally I was finishing my first.

And of shape at that topographic point was dessert: fruit salad topped alongside banana icecream together with terra firma cashews.

This variety of banquet is hardly contest for Melbourne's degustation greats. Rather, it's stuffed amount of home-made hippy goodness, what you lot powerfulness expression to abide by at a Hare Krishna eating theatre (though alongside less deep frying). The tranquil setting is plenty to gear upwardly anyone at ease. That is, if your catch doesn't coincide alongside a raucous Vegan Potluck route trip!

Address: ix Lone Pine Ave, Hepburn Springs
Ph: 5348 2005
Alcohol free
Price: $70 per person, accommodation together with vegan banquet
Website: www.continentalhouse.com.au

March 22, 2009: Himalaya Bakery Too Cafe

Our post-banquet post-pub morning time at The Conti was spent inwards diverse ways: I desire for a wander through Hepburn Regional Park, a committed gang got upwardly to suffer a massive yoga session together with everybody else waited to a greater extent than or less getting hungry. By the fourth dimension everyone had saluted the Sun sufficient times it was getting on towards xi together with the less flexible alongside the grouping were dying of hunger. Luckily, having rounded the whole gang upwardly it was but a brusk campaign to Daylesford together with our breakfast appointment at Himalaya Bakery together with Cafe.

They hope a broad attain of vegetarian together with vegan baked products, including pastries, cakes, muffins together with breads, along with amount breakfast together with tiffin menus. Everything is well-labelled, together with in that location are plenty of vegan together with gluten-free options both on the menus together with inwards the bakery case. Everybody with prior Himalaya sense raved close the smoked tofu pies together with the cherry danishes (more on these later), but nosotros needed to foremost things off with something hot together with delicious.

Cindy together with I basically ordered the same thing: mushroom scrambled tofu ($11) - a deliciously herby mess of tofu together with mushrooms fried upwardly into a big gooey scramble. Cindy was smart plenty to append a side social club of herbed potatoes ($2.50), which I happily stole past times the forkful. Outstanding.

I'd been pushing for either a smoked tofu pie or some assort of delightful dessert, but the charge of breakfast was but also heavy. Instead, nosotros packed upwardly a delicious accept habitation bundle for dinner: 2 smoked tofu pies together with a cherry danish to share.

To hold upwardly honest, the pies were a piffling disappointing - a chip on the dry out side together with a piffling brusk on the tofu. It was likely skilful for us that they were liberally packed with piffling vegie pieces, but I was looking for something a chip to a greater extent than rich together with tofu-y.

Contrastingly, the danish actually hitting the location - fruity together with sugarry, with some of the tastiest vegan pastry you'll e'er find. We likely should get got swapped the social club together with dived into 2 of these together with but ane of the pies.

The Himalaya is a fine vego house - perfect for a belatedly breakfast. The staff teach a piffling overrun at busy times (to hold upwardly fair, it's likely non frequently that a grouping of x wanders inwards looking equally ravenous equally nosotros did), but they're friendly together with helpful together with the nutrient to a greater extent than than makes upwardly for it.

Address: 73 Vincent Street, Daylesford
Ph: 5348 1267
Price: $5 - $13
Website: www.himalayabakery.com

July 24, 2010: Lake House

Michael lately as well as real generously treated me to a weekend away inward Daylesford, including a repast at Lake House.  This two-hatted eating theatre takes pride inward its seasonal menus that purpose local ingredients, as well as they impressed me equally much ane time again when I saw that their 'menu of pocket-sized vegetarian tastes' is printed as well as presented to every diner amongst the omnivore's version.  (There's ane vegetarian entree as well as ane principal on the a la carte carte du jour too.)

We loved the atmosphere hither - non overly formal as well as actually buzzing on a Sat night, without whatsoever demand to weep across the tabular array to endure heard.  The featured paintings yesteryear Allan Wolf-Tasker (husband of Lake House's executive chef Alla), crowded with lusty folk on a nighttime out, laid the musical note well.  The service was a funny mix - professional person as well as distant inward ane instance, hence warm withal inexperienced from others.

We started with an amuse bouche of mushroom veloute.  It was silky smooth, with goose egg distracting from the earthy flavour of mushrooms.

Course release ii kicked upward the earthy factor, with a salad of heirloom beets.  Combining roasted beetroot with walnuts, greens as well as creme fraiche is goose egg new, but it's e'er a winner.

The crisp crumbed poached egg, peppers, olives as well as capers were a footling to a greater extent than novel.  Y'all know I don't tending much for eggs at breakfast but if anything was ever going to instruct me at that spot it'd receive got to endure a crispy-crumbed shell.  And it did!  I loved the crunch, the richness, as well as the counteracting acidity of the tomato-based condiment underneath.

The mushrooms, inward consommé as well as brioche, were to a greater extent than my means from the start.  The brioche was all buttery toast with a soft, warm centre.  In contrast to the creamy veloute, the consommé tasted deeper as well as sweeter, with flecks of herb (chives?) on transcend brightening it up.

It was most refreshing to come across about inspiration from Asia when they brought out the Japanese custard, miso roasted eggplant as well as vegetable tempura.  I loved the diversity of textures as well as the abrupt shots of saltiness as well as ginger inward unlike mouthfuls.

For me, the spinach ricotta tortellini with pumpkin as well as walnuts that followed felt unnecessary.  Not exclusively was I getting quite full, but my sense of savour buds were but non develop for these stodgy European flavours hence presently afterwards the salty soy.  The cheesy pasta, pumpkin as well as lentils didn't move together quite hence good equally I would receive got expected.  I suspect that Michael mightiness disagree, but afterwards the Japanese custard I was develop to air current downwards with something fresh as well as fruity.

More richness was to come!  The cheese course of written report featured ii styles of blueish cheese accompanied yesteryear pinot poached pears as well as dark pepper crisps.  Blue cheese is a pungent as well as pretty divisive delicacy; it's in all probability impossible to plate it inward a means that's universally pleasing.  I was real happy to alternate betwixt the trouble solid white-ish cheese as well as a sweetness fresh fruit but the daubs of darker cheese (hidden at the bottom of the pictured mounds) absolutely floored me.  It was strong stuff.

Finally, dessert; quince soup as well as love icecream.  Separately these items were both exquisite.  The quince hadn't been interfered with also much, all soft as well as syrupy as well as fragrant.  And the icecream must've been churned with the highest lineament bee regurgitation inward all of Hepburn shire.  But together they were smack-in-the-mouth-sweet, a flake much fifty-fifty for this dessert fiend.  (If I'd had my selection of the dessert menu, I would receive got loved to receive the Lake House 'gaytime', an Amaretto parfait with almonds, dates, apricots as well as curry.)

While few dishes hither marking major conception points (Japanese custard as well as the elusive gaytime dessert excepted), Lake House puts on a rather lovely vegetarian show.  Given their loyalty to the seasons, I'd endure most interested inward returning inward summertime for a unlike laid of flavours as well as a daylight-savings persuasion over Lake Daylesford.  But Victoria boasts about mighty fine regional dining, as well as nosotros mightiness tempted elsewhere earlier then.

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You tin also read near Lake House meals on blogs Crushed Guava, eat tori, Words as well as Flavours, Saucy Thyme, Glampacker, tummy rumbles, doublecooked, The Gourmet Challenge, The New Epicurean as well as Winos as well as Foodies.

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Address: King St, Daylesford VIC

Ph: (03) 5348 3329

Fully licensed

Price: vegetarian tasting carte du jour $115 per person, $70 for matching wines

Website: www.lakehouse.com.au