December: Saturday 16th: Buffet Banquet | ||
| What: | Come and celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah, the Summer Solstice, or simply the end of an exciting year at the combined Vegans Unite! and Vegetarian Network Victoria Buffet Banquet! | |
This event will be an all-you-can-eat vegan buffet and the menu choices cater to all tastes. In order to give this banquet a sense of celebration, guests are asked to wear formal attire. It will also be a great introduction for omnivores to the wonders of animal-free food,
so feel free to bring your non-veggie friends: all are welcome! | ||
| Where: | Enlightened Cuisine, 113 Queensbridge Street (near the corner of City Road), Southbank, Melbourne. Melways map: 1D L6 | |
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. | ||
| Food: | 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 but are essentially wheat gluten (or seitan) and soy beans. | |
Feel free to bring your own alcoholic or non-alcoholic drinks if you wish to drink something other than Chinese tea or water. There is no corkage charge for this event. | ||
| Cost: | all-you-can-eat buffet at $25 per guest. | |
November: Friday 24th |
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| What: | Election Eve Dinner | |
| Where: | Gujju's Cafe and Chaat House, Shop 1, 141 Waverley Road, Malvern East | |
| Food: | Gujurati vegan cuisine - quite distinctive and relatively new to Melbourne. Many gluten-free dishes and some OGF dishes available. | |
| Cost: | $20 should see you full. | |
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November: Sunday 12th |
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| What: | Yum Cha Lunch | |
| Where: | Natural and Healthy Vegetarian Restaurant, 747 Doncaster Road, Doncaster (right near Manningham City Council Chambers) | |
| Food: | Meat-free yum cha cuisine (basically, a whole lot of entree-size dishes), some with mock meat ingredients. Main meals are available if you desire something really substantial | |
| Cost: | $20 should see you full. | |
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October: Sunday 29th | ||
| What: | World Vegan Day Melbourne | |
| Check out all details at www.worldveganday.org.au | ||
October: Friday 13th |
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| What: | Pre-World Vegan Day Relaxing Dinner | |
| Where: | Soulmama at the St Kilda Sea Baths, 10-18 Jacka Bvd, St Kilda, Melbourne | |
| Food: | World cuisine. www.soulmama.com.au. | |
| Cost: | $20 should see you full, more for dessert. Collect your tray and pay for the amount you wish to eat. | |
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September: Friday 29th |
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| What: | Dinner | |
| Where: | Lentil As Anything - 328 Victoria Street, Brunswick, Melbourne | |
| Food: | Organic food from Ethiopia, Somalia, and Eritrea. | |
| Cost: | Pay as you feel. | |
September: Saturday 16th |
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| What: | VNV Trivia Night | |
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August: Friday 25th |
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| What: | Dinner | |
| Where: | Vegie Mum, 27 Village Avenue, Doncaster | |
| Food: | Chinese and Malaysian mock-meat style. | |
| Cost: | A filling meal will cost no more than $20. | |
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This venue was absolutely packed as the hungry Vegans Unite! table sampled offerings of well-known and not so well-known Chinese delights. It was great to see a huge variety of people all around us obviously relishing the mock-meat tucker. The service was highly professional and the food was tasty and filling. |
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August: Sunday 13th |
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| What: | Lunch | |
| Where: | Veg Out Time, 366 Chapel Street, Prahran | |
| Food: | Fresh, sumptuous Asian cuisine. | |
| Cost: | A complete meal can be enjoyed for less that $10. | |
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This was the first time that Vegans Unite! visited the relatively new Chapel Street Veg Out Time. We were treated to a great array of fresh, colourful, tasty, and extremely affordable food. The unseasonal warm weather made for a rather languorous and most enjoyable couple of hours. |
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July: Friday 28th |
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| What: | Dinner | |
| Where: | Enlightened Cuisine, 113 Queensbridge Street, Southbank (just near the corner with City Road, under the Kingsway Overpass) | |
| Food: | Chinese mock meat. | |
| Cost: | from $10 upwards. | |
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Despite being devoid of the usual ravenous crowds this venue attracts, EC put on a great show for all of us hungry vegans, with food coming out very quickly and to the usual high EC quality. Thanks for a great night as always, guys! |
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July: Saturday 15th |
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| What: | Lunch | |
| Where: | Vegetarian Nirvana Cafe, 486 Bridge Road, Richmond (close to the corner with Burnley Street). More details at www.nirvanacafe.com. | |
| Food: | Classic Indian fare. | |
| Cost: | $10-$20 for a decent meal. | |
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Just a quick word of advice for this venue: don't bother ordering off the menu at lunchtime as the lunch deal is cheap and the food plentiful straight out of the bain-marie (if that's what you're after). |
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June: Friday 30th |
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| What: | Dinner | |
| Where: | The Vegie Bar, 378-380 Brunswick Street, Fitzroy. Keep in mind that parking is absolutely atrocious around this most popular night-time entertainment strip. If driving, take care of all relevant parking restrictions and be prepared to park a few minutes' walk away even early in the evening. | |
| Food: | World cuisine | |
| Cost: | Up to $20 for a three-course dinner. Meals can be enjoyed for under $10. | |
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As always, this venue was packed, but the staff worked hard to keep everyone happy and deliver the food very quickly. The burgers are an amazing meal in themselves, but even better with chips. Don't forget that there are daily specials as well as the set menu. |
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June: Sunday 18th |
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| What: | Yum Cha Lunch | |
| Where: | Asian Vegetarian Restaurant, 606 Station Street, Box Hill. The venue is just on top of Box Hill Station. | |
| Food: | Yum cha is Chinese for 'finger food', but a bit of this and a bit of that tends to fill you up without you noticing. It's quite different to eating large portions or a big bowl of the same meal. If you haven't tried vegan yum cha before, come along. (There is no problem if you want to order normal menu items also.) | |
| Cost: | $15 should leave you feeling quite full, $20 even fuller. It's 'pay-as-you-go' kind of ordering. | |
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Asian Vegetarian Restraurant put on a great lunch. The staff had to cater to ever-increasing numbers of vegans, and the lunch party morphed from one to many tables. With incessant ordering and playful children, the event had a celebratory feel. Do try the Yum Cha here if you haven't yet: the food was really very good. |
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May: Friday 26th |
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| What: | Vegans Unite! Third Birthday Banquet | |
| Where: | Sampoorna Vegetarian Surprise, 73 Station Street, Burwood (just north of the corner with Burwood Hwy), phone 9888-9010. | |
| Food: | Tasty and fresh Indian food. The menu will include dishes from all the food groups, rice, and dessert. The owner is very considerate of all palates - please advise me of special requirements with your RSVP or call the venue directly in the week prior to the event. | |
| Cost: | $20 (All you can eat buffet) | |
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What a massive birthday celebration! A fantastic turnout with 31 of us mingling and getting to know each other - in all respects, growing the vegan community in Melbourne. Although the food was somewhat less than exciting (and more than a little late for our stomachs), Sampoorna did deliver an all-you-can-eat experience. |
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May: Sunday 14th |
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| What: | Lunch | |
| Where: | Soulfoods Cafe, 273 Smith Street, Fitzroy, Melbourne | |
| Food: | Salads, veggie burgers and other savoury treats, great vegan muffins and cakes. Light but nourishing and deceptively filling cuisine. | |
| Cost: | $10-$20 (only if you are truly ravenous) | |
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A huge (and unexpected) turnout of 20 hungry vegans saw the staff at Soulfoods put to the test. Most of the food was quite nice, but for those who haven't tried it, Soulfoods pizza is really a pita bread topped with bits - not quite the pizza you might be craving for, despite the yummy Cheezly cheese topping. As with most venues, be mindful of what you order and what comes to your table; always mention to the wait staff that you are vegan and that all food you are after should be dairy-free. A highlight of the dinner was the Booja Booja truffles courtesy of Jeremy from Vegan Perfection - thanks for that amazing experience! |
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April: Friday 28th |
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| What: | Dinner | |
| Where: | Global Vegetarian, 499 North Road, Ormond (Melways ref: 68 E8). The cafe is located about 100 metres from Ormond Railway Station on the Frankston line and is very close to a stop for the 630 bus. | |
| Food: | Cuisine from around the world - Chinese, Indian, Japanese, Italian. A great variety of flavours, textures, and ingredients. | |
| Cost: | All mains cost $8.80. Vegan dessert is always on the menu. A 3-course dinner (if you can squeeze it in) will cost less than $20. | |
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Despite a very slow start to the night - just 2 lonely vegans - we grew to 11 by night's end. One lesson learned was that Global Veg really is a seriously busy venue. At 7pm, the place was crammed with diners. Things get better after 7.30, but the venue closes at 9.30! The food was cheap and tasty as always, and it's so refreshing to see it come straight from the wok to the table. |
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March: Friday 31st |
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| What: | Dinner | |
| Where: | Vveating Vegetarian Place, 6/53 Kingsway, Glen Waverley (just near Glen Waverley Station) | |
| Food: | Chinese mock-meat cuisine; vegan fish and chips! | |
| Cost: | could be less than $10, but more substantial meals can cost up to $20 | |
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Well, there's not much to say about this place other than there were only 6 of us there, and feeling unloved by hardcore vegans as well as many other less hardcore people, Vveatings has now closed!! A salutary lesson for all - don't forget to visit your local (or not-so-local) meat-free venue or it too will close its doors permanently... Vale Vveatings. |
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March: Saturday 18th |
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| What: | Dinner | |
| Where: | Cafe Tarrango, 61 Glenhuntly Road, Elwood, Melbourne | |
| Food: | Organic world cuisine, from bain-marie and made to order; many dessert options available | |
| Cost: | $10 for basic fare, up to $25 for the works including dessert; alcohol extra of course (it is licenced) | |
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Cafe Tarrango put on a really good show for our dinner. Knowing that they would have hungry vegans to feed, the bain-marie was filled with all-vegan delights, and this, combined with the organic ingredients used in their kitchen, means that Tarrango really are very high on the list of Melbourne venues which aim to please the vegan palate. Congratulations to the crew at Tarrango for giving us their best! |
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February: Sunday 26th |
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| What: | Picnic Lunch (and afternoon fun) | |
| Where: | Studley Park, Kew | |
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A great afternoon by the Yarra River at Studley Park. |
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February: Saturday 11th |
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| What: | Dinner | |
| Where: | Plush Pizza, 85 Burwood Road, Hawthorn | |
| Food: | Many vegan pizza toppings, including vegan cheese; garlic bread; lasagne | |
| Cost: | Total could be under $10 | |
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A wonderful and peaceful February night greeted us as we carried our Plush pizzas to the nearby park. The guys at Plush did a sterling job, and hopefully this establishment will continue to prosper as it is the only pizza parlour in Melbourne dedicated to the vegan cause (and even the dairy cheese is rennet-free for those who are not yet vegan!). We discovered the novelty of the vegan pesto pizza as well as the other Plush pizza varieties. Don't forget that Plush doesn't really have any sitting space, so it's 'order and go' at Plush (although if you ask nicely you can manage to eat on the premises). |
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January: Friday 27th |
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| What: | Dinner | |
| Where: | Veg Out Time, 63a Fitzroy Street, St Kilda | |
| Food: | Thai-Indian-Chinese-Malaysian noodles/rice/curries. A la carte meals also available. | |
| Cost: | Total could be under $10 | |
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![[Vegans Unite! Melbourne]](images/vu.gif)
2006 events