Crave Sushi, Terrigal

Just a quick note to tell you about a new cafe in Terrigal. Crave Sushi has taken the place of a cafe (which I can't recall the name of) that was stupidly trendy & overpriced.

Unfortunately it seems to have maintained the status quo. While the staff were very friendly the day we visited (in complete opposition to what other reviewers have described), the prices are high, even for Terrigal standards. This is no fine-dining Japanese restaurant and offers nothing different from a standard Japanese takeaway that you would get on every corner in Sydney & Melbourne.

But, it still offers vegans another choice on the Coast, so I thought I should share. Here are the vegetarian inside-out rolls - crammed with lots of yummy tofu & fresh vegies.

I would still recommend vegans go to Body Fuel for a decent meal, but, if you find it closed (as we did), Crave at least offers a healthy alternative.

Crave
16 Church St, Terrigal
7 days, breakfast & lunch; dinner on the weekends in summer (call for exact times - 4384 6751)

The Bamboo Buddha, Holgate

There are 2 places on the Central Coast where vegans can get a decent meal. The first is Gnostic Mana in Woy Woy, blogged about here. The second is The Bamboo Buddha in Matcham/Holgate. As luck would have it, I'm currently working in Woy Woy & living in Matcham, so in terms of vegan noms, I'm not doing too badly :-)

The cafe is nestled in an oasis of gardens, gallery/gift shop, tiny native nursery & really is a pocket of serenity. I'll let the photos do the talking.

This is the first entrance from the road.

You then cross a small courtyard to the second entrance.

Some of the outdoor seating.

There's no table numbers - just colour-coded buddha statues. It's a cute idea, but does make it difficult for the wait-staff to find the tables in the large open space.

The important bit - the food. The one let-down? No actual vegan items on the menu. It's something I've never experienced in a vegetarian cafe. The waitress (who happened to be the owner) couldn't tell me if anything could be made vegan & had to ask the chef. The chef was very friendly & came out to speak to me - recommending 2 items that could be made vegan by removing certain ingredients - a burger & a curry.

I was happy with the chef's suggestions, but still annoyed overall. You see, I'm one of those people who doesn't like to cause a fuss. I enjoy being able to order straight off a menu without having to go through the whole rigmarole of talking to a chef or making substitutions. Normally, a vegetarian cafe is the one place where that can happen. Unfortunately, there's also no vegan dessert options.

Anyway, moving on, I went with the chickpea & lentil burger, made vegan by taking away the sour cream. This was delicious - heaps of fresh salad, a lovely relish & scrumptious toasted macadamias. My dad - a staunch meat-eater - had one too & even he enjoyed it!

Here are some more photos of the beautiful surrounds - greenery.

This man-made creek meanders through the cafe & gardens.

One of the decorations.

Despite my complaint about the menu, I still think this is a place worth visiting the Central Coast for. The only thing to keep in mind - it's mostly outdoors so ideally you should visit on a sunny day. There is some undercover seating - but it's not enclosed & can get chilly.

The Bamboo Buddha
221 Wattle Tree Rd, Holgate
Wed-Sun, 9am-5pm (now possibly open 7 days, according to a new sign outside the cafe)
www.bamboobuddha.com.au

Gnostic Mana, Woy Woy

So, I've left Melbourne, maybe temporarily, maybe forever, I'm not too sure yet. I'm about to head overseas for 4 or 5 months, so the food posts will dwindle a little, though there's bound to be some great vegan finds along the way.

I'm starting a new travel blog, which I'll tell you about soon, but for now I'm back in my old stomping ground of the Central Coast, NSW.

Gnostic Mana is part of Gnostic Corner*, a small urban hippy haven in the sometimes rough environment of Woy Woy (the town so nice they named it twice!).

Woy Woy has really copped it over the years, particularly from comedians (everyone from Spike Milligan, whose mother lived there & who famously described the town as the 'largest above ground cemetery in the world'; to Felicity Ward, who went for the more modern styling of 'a train station wrapped in a titty bar'). Poor old Woy Woy. Sure, at night it can get a bit dodgy, but it has actually grown into a pretty nice place in recent years. It's surrounded by beautiful national parks & has lots of lovely waterfront to enjoy.

And Gnostic Mana is definitely worth making the trip for. It's not a 100% vegetarian cafe, but has lots of vegetarian & clearly-marked vegan options on the menu. The staff are friendly, the coffee is probably the best on offer on the Coast (not outstanding, but at least consistent), the food servings are large & the atmosphere is comfortable. They have lots of outdoor seating too, like this courtyard:

which has this mosaic on the wall that I love:

Here's just a few samplings from the menu - I'm working in Woy Woy at the moment, so there's been more visits than these that I have forgotten to photograph.

A vegan roast vegetable wrap. Tasty, but I was disappointed as the menu promised toasted pine nuts, and they were missing. A nice, light lunch.

The scrambled tofu. Simply served with spinach, rocket, sundried tomatoes & turkish toast with Nuttelex (I love cafes that serve Nuttelex - these small touches really make the difference). A couple of things stood out for me - the seasoning largely comes from tabasco, not soy sauce as is usually the case. This provides some pleasant heat & makes for a lighter taste overall. Also, the tofu is grated, not cubed - this also makes the meal lighter & somehow tastier.

The best thing on the menu, in my opinion - Vegan Breakky Wrap. This was all kinds of awesomeness I can't put into words. So stupidly simple yet so delicious. Fresh toasted Turkish bread, mushrooms cooked to perfection, fresh baby spinach, a hash brown & tomato relish (which I think is the secret ingredient). This is such a wonderfully healthy alternative (except maybe the hash brown - but you know, it's good to have a small amount of fried food sometimes) to the breakfast offerings made by certain fast food chains and I love it! I also suspect it would be a winning hangover cure.

Last but not least, Gnostic also has a range of vegan baked treats - I've managed to resist so far - but I just love that they are there if I want them.

Gnostic Mana
31 The Boulevarde, Woy Woy
7 days, 8am-5pm
www.gnosticmanacafe.com.au

* which also includes an organic grocer, a natural therapies practice, a florist, a gift shop and a hemp clothing shop.