December |
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Saturday 17th: Formal Dinner at Enlightened Cuisine in Southbank |
113 Queensbridge Street
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A huge number of vegans and vegetarians celebrated Christmas, the Summer Solstice, or simply the end of a big and exciting year at the combined Vegans Unite! and Vegetarian Network Victoria December Banquet. The venue is arguably the most beautiful and elegant of all the meat-free restaurants in Melbourne, serving fabulous mock-meat dishes in the Chinese Buddhist tradition. All items on the menu below are vegan, despite their titles. The menu was carefully chosen to represent a variety of flavours and textures. The ingredients of the 'meat' products are discussed in greater detail at www.ecuisine.com.au.
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November |
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Friday 25th: Dinner at Global Vegetarian in Ormond
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499 North Road
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You must try this place if you haven't already been! It's located next
to Ormond Station, and the food is cheap, freshly made and rarely fails
to please.
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Saturday 12th: Dinner at Pronto Bronto's in Fitzroy |
95 Smith Street
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Wow, we have finally reached the big 30! Yes, thirty people enjoyed the delicious burgers and vanilla slice and cheesecake on offer at Pronto Bronto's. Despite there being so many of us - it was standing room only for a while - the evening wound up close to midnight. A fantastic time was had by all. Thanks to Cameron and the girls at Pronto Bronto's for putting up with our incessant ordering. |
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October |
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Sunday 30th: World Vegan Day Melbourne |
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World Vegan Day was just amazing!!!! There were hundreds and hundreds of people, and there were even two bunnies. |
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Friday 28th: Pre-World Vegan Day Dinner at Soulmama in St Kilda
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10-18 Jacka Bvd
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Soulmama must be commended for doing everything possible for the Vegans Unite! crowd to enjoy their evening. The service was second-to-none, the food selection was almost wholly vegan, full of colour and flavour, and just so vibrant. Alongside the eating, there was a great deal of story-telling and keen listening, with vegans, including international guests, uniting over far too much food. |
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Sunday 16th: Very Long Lunch at Cafe Tarrango |
61 Glenhuntly Road
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A very mellow afternoon was spent sitting in the Tarrango courtyard by some very lazy vegans! The long lunch turned out to be three hours long, and no-one felt that we had overstayed our welcome. Tarrango's seems to be the only place in Melbourne which on-sells Las Vegan cakes, and that brought a fine conclusion to the eating part of the afternoon. |
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September |
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Friday 30th: Dinner at The Vegie Bar in Fitzroy |
380 Brunswick Street
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A really good night was had at the Vegie Bar by almost 20 hungry vegans. Despite being a bit overwhelmed by unexpected numbers, the venue was reasonably gracious and managed to cater for all of us. As always, we were reminded that most venues can still be absent-minded when it comes to the limits of the vegan diet, and being clear and to the point when ordering is necessary at all times. The sign of a welcoming venue is no doubt how they deal with customer problems, whether of their own making or otherwise, and the Vegie Bar passed with flying colours despite being immensely busy. |
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Saturday 24th: Laser Tag |
Dark Zone Laser Games
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Out of all the immensely enjoyable activities Vegans Unite have tackled, I have to be honest and say that Laser Shooting won out as my absolute favourite, and stands out for many of the other participants. Group cost is $7 for 1 game, $13 for 2 games and $17 for 3 games, you can play as many games as you like, each game lasts 15 minutes, last year we were all bowled away with how much fun it was and ended up going 3 games. |
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Sunday 11th: Not Dinner at Cafe Tarrango
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Shop 8 63A Fitzroy Street
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The dinner at Cafe Tarrango did not go ahead as planned, but Melbourne vegans still united at the old favourite - Veg Out Time in St. Kilda. As is our tradition, we were the last diners to leave after filling ourselves with delicious fresh food and great conversation on topics such as vegan eating overseas and the place of pet ownership in a vegan utopia. The lure of vegan sorbet down the road was no match for the need to avoid the pouring rain, and so we look forward to our next visit to the area and its vegan-friendly gelateria outlets! (Tarrango will make a great lunch venue early in 2006 instead.) |
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August |
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Sunday 28th: Afternoon glow in the dark mini-golf |
Shop 9070 Knox Ozone (opposite JB Hi Fi)
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Vegans Unite have putted before but even glow in the dark mini-golf is something new to us. This is what the blurb on their website says: Puttz is surreal sensory entertainment in a dark dream zone where the only visible objects are you, your putter and an amazing neon landscape. Puttz is not just mini-golf, it's your chance to illuminate your inner champion in an atmosphere where darkness reigns and everything glows. With 18-holes of black-lit, wildly-coloured fun, each presents a new challenge and exciting theme. Come down and Putt a round. No matter what your age or handicap, Puttz is fun at its most massive |
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Friday 26th: Dinner at The Vegie Hut, Box Hill |
984 Whitehorse Road
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A Melbourne mock-meat institution, The Vegie Hut is always full of appreciative diners. |
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Saturday 13th: Dinner at Lentil as Anything at the Spot Bar & Bandroom, Brunswick |
133 Sydney Road
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What an amazing concept - pay as much as you think the food is worth! This is the second Lentil venue in Melbourne, and it's the only one big enough to hold all of us hungry vegans. The menu is not terribly extensive but makes up for it in variety. |
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July |
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Friday 29th July: Dinner at Sharma's in Malvern
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257 Glenferrie Road
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Sharma's is a place where you go to for wholly vegan Indian food. We suggest calling in advance and taking away your prize - it's cheaper and quicker! Nevertheless, those in attendance for this dinner had a great night catching up and generally veganising. |
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Saturday 23rd: Karaoke evening at Goldband Karaoke Lounge |
1A Bank Street
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A rip roaring, hoot of a time with a bunch of vegans who can't sing in our own karaoke lounge room. Soon after getting over the initial shyness, we all sang as a group and danced and generally were silly. |
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Sunday 10th: Long Sunday Lunch at Soulfood Cafe in Fitzroy |
273 Smith Street
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A great afternoon at Soulfood. |
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June |
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Friday 24th: Dinner at Veg Out Time |
Shop 8 63A Fitzroy Street
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Celebration of the Winter Solstice (and the return of the sun) or Xmas in June at this icon of veggie fast food. |
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Saturday 18th: Bowling at Boxhill AMF |
Corner Nelson Road & Prospect St
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'Let's Bowl, Let's Bowl, Let's Rock 'n' Roll!'
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Sunday 12th: Dinner at Enlightened Cuisine Vegetarian Restaurant |
113 Queensbridge Street
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A warm winter's night saw vegans uniting over an extended feast! Enlightened Cuisine did not fail to impress with an awesome array of exciting dishes. With great conversation and extremely full stomachs at the end of the night, this dinner was a great success. Once again, Enlightened Cuisine lived up to its reputation as one of Melbourne's best meat-free venues - worth every cent! |
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May |
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Friday 27th: Vegans Unite! Second Birthday Banquet
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183 St Georges Road
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Melbourne vegans have been uniting for two years, and the Moroccan Soup Bar, winner of the 2005 Cheap Eats Award, was pleased to host the second birthday banquet to celebrate this fact! |
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Saturday 21st: Dancing (at The Star Bar) |
160 Clarendon Street
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Vegans dancing in a smokey nightclub. Just goes to show that vegans can do anything |
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Saturday 14th: Dinner at Sampoorna Vegetarian Surprise |
73 Station Street
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Well, what a huge night at this smallish venue! Almost as many diners as last year filled up the City of Whitehorse's 2004 Shop of the Year in the Food Hygiene Assessment Awards. Yes, Sampoorna is clean and airy, yet it's really the food and the service that made the night such a treat. Thanks to owner Praveen for being so accommodating to so many of us on the night. You must give Sampoorna a try if you haven't been there already. |
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April |
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Friday 29th: Dinner at Asian Vegetarian Restaurant
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606 Station Street
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Many new faces turned up to enjoy the fresh tastes of this bright, hassle-free restaurant. Numbers grew throughout the night and conversation was flying all over two joined-up tables. The cashew mock chicken was a popular dish while many opted for the choices provided by the Banquet. As always, we closed the restaurant with the party continuing on the footpath outside! |
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Monday 25th: Bike Ride Main Yarra Trail |
Dickinson Reserve
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After some date changes to avoid the weather we did our bike ride on Anzac Day as Sunday was windy and Monday ended up being perfect bike riding weather, so it was all good in the end. |
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Sunday 17th: Lunch at Vegetarian Orgasm
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59-61 Gertrude Street
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A 'long lunch' |
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March |
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Friday 25th: Dinner at Bo De Trai Vegetarian Restaurant |
94 Hopkins Street
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A big night as always! Bo De Trai is surely for the adventurous vegan only: only one of the staff - the male cook - speaks decent English, so if you have any questions about the food you're going to eat, go straight to him. Prices are quite reasonable, but the venue is anything but lavish. And for those not really into mock flesh, watch out - the seafood dish made some of us think we were at the fishmarket! |
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Saturday 12th: Dinner at Vegetarian Nirvana Cafe |
486 Bridge Road
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A small but vocal vegan crowd got to sample some of the best food that Nirvana has to offer. The koftas were delicious, and diners should ask if a particular dish can be made vegan, even if it is not listed as such. There are even hard-to-find vegan rotis available. The hosts are more than happy to cater to all tastes and should be congratulated on putting on a great night! |
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Sunday 6th: Picnic at Studley Park |
Boathouse Road
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The last picnic of the season. What a great summer it has been. |
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February |
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Friday 25th: Dinner at Global Vegetarian
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499 North Road
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A great crowd of 18 ripped into some delicious dishes straight off the wok. Eating was mixed with discussion of recipes and yoga styles, arguments about ingredients, the making of acquaintances, and general fun and games. As always, we closed the restaurant! |
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Sunday 13th: African dance class & Wala
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Stage Lawn
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There was booty shaking to the 'vibrant dance style direct from Ghana that erupts when the excitement of percussion meets soaring vocal harmonies in the 'dance of life'. |
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Saturday 12th: Dinner at White Lotus Vegetarian Restaurant
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185 Victoria Street
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Relaxing with mock meat and knowing that not even the coffee is served with cows' milk! |
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January |
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Saturday 29th: Dinner at Veg Out Time |
Shop 8 63A Fitzroy Street
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Despite the weather and the parking a good nite was spent in StKilda. We talked till late outside the Gelati Bar. |
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Sunday 23rd: Picnic at Darebin Parklands
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Darebin Parklands
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Quoits !! Zylo and we broke the vortex. |
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Saturday 15th: Chris Tanner's Virus with Julie O'Hara
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Stage Lawn
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Lots of vegetarians all getting together. For the active there was the vortex to cause all manner of injuries and frisbee, with tunes in the back ground. We had a fairy running around and it was quite late when we all finally wandered off. |
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![[Vegans Unite! Melbourne]](images/vu.gif)
2005 events
