Yong Green Food

Yong green food is a vegetarian/vegan restaurant created by people wanting to make a difference. It has a really nice vibe about it. The food is organic, eco-friendly and no living beings are hurt in the making of these incredibly delicious meals. My brother suggested the place (him being vegetarian and all) and I had some doubts at first (me being a meat eater and all) but I eat my words, I was pleasantly surprised.

It’s a humble space with oriental artwork on the wall. And it is perfect for people with special requirements or preferences because each dish on the menu states if it is raw, vegan, organic, GF, NGO (no garlic and onion) etc.

They have lots of drinks available, you can opt for a smoothie, juice or probiotic drink or alcoholic beverages like a beer, wine, soju or sake. My sister had an organic lemon lime bitters, which was delish. I’m not usually a lemon lime bitters gal but this one was particularly good. They also had detox shots in turmeric, sprulina and acai. We tried the turmeric one, which was really nice. I thought it would taste like curry or something (which would be weird) but no it almost tasted fruity like. My brother got the Purple So Mac, which was Soju, Mountain goat organic steam ale & green apple syrup. It was yum but it was strong. When we were leaving I noticed lots of people had jugs of cloudy white liquid which sort of looked like rice water. Turns out it was rice beer and apparently it’s milky, semi-sweet and tangy said the menu. Definitely on my list to try next time.

We had some nachos to start with, which were a little different to your usual nachos. Instead of corn chips they had chia chips. They had a good crunch and a grainy texture just like corn chips. Then they had the three classic nacho sauces, guacamole (really good guac), cashew cream (sour cream sub) and sunfried seed sauce (salsa). It was inventive and tasty.

The homemade kimchi gyozas were marvelous. I loved them. The dumpling case was soft and a little sticky like fresh handmade dumplings and the filling was really tasty. It was served with a chilli soy sauce. So delicious!

I was excited about the rawsagne. And yes rawsagne is a raw lasagna. It doesn’t have layers of pasta sheets because lets face it no one wants to eat raw pasta. Instead it had thin slices of layered zucchini w mushrooms, avocado, cashew cream (like creamy béchamel) & raw walnut bolognaise. It was really yum and somehow didn’t taste raw. It almost replicated the texture of lasagna. It was interesting concept and totally delicious.

The fried nori rolls were filled with tofu, vegies, sesame leaves and mung bean noodles (kinda like vermicelli). They were wrapped in nori (which has quite a strong seaweed flavour) then dipped in a light rice batter and fried. It was nice.

The organic buckwheat crepes looked so pretty and colourful. The crepes were thick for crepes, i'd say they were half way between a crepe and pancake. They were nice and fluffy. They were filled with braised shitake mushrooms, cabbage and sprouts. It was accompanied by a wasabi soy mayo, which had a subtle mustardy bite. It tasted really earthy and healthy it was nice.

The tofu katsu was delicious! Everything on the plate went together well. The fried tofu patty was made w shitake, veggies and arame (sea oak). It was battered with organic quinoa and fried. Yum! And it was served w biodynamic brown rice, coleslaw and house made katsu sauce and pickle. It was really good.

All of the desserts except the ice creams were raw vegan, organic and GF. The tiramusu was amazing. It tasted like tiramisu and somehow had the texture of tiramisu too. It didn’t have sponge fingers but somehow they managed to incorporate something that replicated the soaked sponge texture. It was exceptional. Loved it! It had organic spiced rum, espresso, brazil nuts, cashew, agave, dates, raw cacao powder and coconut butter.

The chia pudding was really good. The chia seeds puff up which create an interesting texture. It’s sort of like little sago pearls with a chia seed in the middle. It was topped with a mixed berry coulis, which had a fresh berry taste. And a dollop of cashew milk, which had a similar texture to coconut milk. It was a good dessert.

I thought the green tea ganache might be like a thick fudge but it was more like a slice. The texture was coconutty like a macaroon with a slight green tea flavour. It was good. It was made with macha, brazil nuts, goji berries, coconut, agave and covered in raw chocolate.

The raw white chocolate cheesecake was smooth and creamy. It was more creamy than tart, it was delish. It was made with cashews, raspberries, agave, cacao butter, macadamia nuts and coconut flakes.

I was so impressed with the food. There were lots of surprises and it was an eye opener for me that vegetarian/vegan food can be so delicious. My brother may be onto something after all. It was so yum that I seriously left the place considering being a vegetarian. Hmm not now but maybe in the future. There's that saying, ‘be the change you wish to see in the world,’ Ghandi had the right idea and I think this restaurant does too.

I heart Yong Green Food!

Olives x

Yong Green Food
Address: 421 Brunswick Street, Fitzroy VIC 3065
Website: http://yonggreenfood.com.au
Phone: 03 9417 3338
Trading Hours: Mon: closed, Tue-Sun: Lunch 12pm-4pm Dinner 5pm-10pm (except Wed closed for lunch and Sun dinner closes at 9pm)