Edit 25/04/2017: Enlightened Cuisine is directly rebranded as Vegie Kitchen.
On Sabbatum nighttime nosotros met upwards amongst or so friends to feast on the Chinese-style mock meats at Enlightened Cuisine. The educate banquets are ever tempting, but nosotros resolved to do our ain Mighty Banquet of Probably Way Too Much Mock Meat.
The get-go plate to larn inwards held fried dim sims ($4.50) together with they were gobbled upwards quickly, stuffed amongst a white mock meat that didn't gustatory modality of much.
Next came the highly anticipated sesame prawn ($4.50). This toast is deep deep-fried crispy together with golden brown, all the agency through to the mysterious white 'prawn' filling.
There were also chicken satay skewers ($5.50), which I idea were a fighting undercooked inwards the middle. (Still it could locomote worse - they weren't undercooked actual chicken.)
The get-go principal to larn inwards was or so impressively sizzling pepper steak amongst mushroom ($17.90). The steak slices were homogeneous but tender together with the sauce was for sure heavy on the pepper. It wasn't likewise strong, though, providing lots of seasoning without sticking inwards my throat.
I used upwards my ordering selection on that ol' Aussie fave, lemon chicken ($16.90). I was delighted that the sauce wasn't sickenly sugariness together with had a proper lemon sourness to it. Alas, the battered chicken was soft together with doughy again. Maybe I require to permit this custom go.
By contrast the plum sauce duck ($16.90) had an unremarkable gravy together with superlative meat texture, crisp on the outside, simply a piffling nobbly, together with 'flesh' amongst a fighting of chew but no rubberiness.
Once the steamed rice ($2.20 pp) supplies waned, or so wag ordered a platter of particular fried rice ($13). I could barely comport on it, though I admired the charred corn kernels.
I did honour room together with sufficient encouragement for dessert. I shouldn't bring bothered, though - the pineapple fritters were bloated together with heavy amongst far likewise much batter. I ended upwards much the same, fifty-fifty though I didn't complete the bowlful. And would y'all believe that 2 of our set out ordered more prawn toast for dessert? And they suffered less regret than I. Amazing.
We ordered amongst abandon together with our mouth (for 4 people, including drinks) came to $171. That's non cheap, but nosotros ate well... perchance non nutritionally well, but for sure inwards slap-up quantity together with amongst much enthusiasm! Enlightened Cuisine has been highly consistent inwards the 4 years we've been visiting - the slap-up dishes bring ever been slap-up together with the few less wonderful ones disappoint for just the same argue each time. The expression staff are distant but never rude.
Enlightened Cuisine volition non accommodate all moods together with tastes but it's a please when the correct people, appetites together with dishes collide. Especially when someone orders prawn toast.
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You tin read close or so of our previous visits to Enlightened Cuisine: one, two together with three.
This eating seat has received many reviews, almost unanimously positive, since together with then from Vegan About Town (three times!), easy every bit vegan pie, More Cheese Please, tofu inwards disguise, apmmryyu, Vegetarian Life Australia together with MelbourneStaycation.com.
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Enlightened Cuisine
113 Queensbridge St, Southbank
9686 9188
veg entrées $4.50-5.50, mains $14.90-25.00, desserts unknown
Accessibility: The entry is apartment together with wide; there's a reasonable sum of infinite betwixt tables. There's tabular array service together with bills are paid at a high counter. From memory, access to the toilets is narrow together with includes a step.
