201-203 Faraday Street
Carlton
Victoria 3053
We hadn't made a booking at Shakahari, but got a table towards the back of the restaurant easily enough when we visited on a Friday evening, although the front section was quite busy. From the outside the modern paint job and signage contrasts with the pair of old terraced bungalows that house the restaurant. The melange of styles continue inside with some foliage to soften the lines. the one downside of being near the back, were the drafts from the tricky to open door to the toilets which require a trip outside.
The menu isn't huge, but most dishes were tempting., We kicked off by sharing the vegan mushroom hemp dumplings. These are individually filled with a mixture of mushroom and hempseeds and then poached in a lemon grass and galangal flavoured soy milk stock laced with fresh Thai herbs. The flavours and textures were wonderful, but both components weren't very warm.
The millet souk savier, was a Moroccan Arab dish cooked with black olives and fried chilli onion in veggie stock. It was served with a mildly spiced chick pea stew and assorted baked vegetables including eggplant, purple and orange carrots, swede and quince in herbal oil, topped with wilted rocket. The hearty dish certainly went down well.
I went for the vegan nonya curry, which came served across a plate and tray. The porcelain featured the turmeric brown rice, leaves, mustard fresh pear chutney and pappadam.
The Malaysian flavoured curry of mixed vegetables including cauliflower and courgette, cooked in spiced coconut stock with fresh lemongrass, galangal and ginger flower was in one half the of the metal tray. the other side held a green split pea dhal. I enjoyed all the components, but would have loved a little more kick in the curry and perhaps a mango chutney rather than pear, but perhaps the British Indian curries of my youth have tainted my thinking!
The staff seemed pretty busy all evening, but the service was friendly and timely. The bill came to $76.50 including a couple of drinks. I'd certainly be happy to check out some of the other veggie offerings on the menu next time we are in Carlton.
Carlton
Victoria 3053
We hadn't made a booking at Shakahari, but got a table towards the back of the restaurant easily enough when we visited on a Friday evening, although the front section was quite busy. From the outside the modern paint job and signage contrasts with the pair of old terraced bungalows that house the restaurant. The melange of styles continue inside with some foliage to soften the lines. the one downside of being near the back, were the drafts from the tricky to open door to the toilets which require a trip outside.
The menu isn't huge, but most dishes were tempting., We kicked off by sharing the vegan mushroom hemp dumplings. These are individually filled with a mixture of mushroom and hempseeds and then poached in a lemon grass and galangal flavoured soy milk stock laced with fresh Thai herbs. The flavours and textures were wonderful, but both components weren't very warm.
The millet souk savier, was a Moroccan Arab dish cooked with black olives and fried chilli onion in veggie stock. It was served with a mildly spiced chick pea stew and assorted baked vegetables including eggplant, purple and orange carrots, swede and quince in herbal oil, topped with wilted rocket. The hearty dish certainly went down well.
I went for the vegan nonya curry, which came served across a plate and tray. The porcelain featured the turmeric brown rice, leaves, mustard fresh pear chutney and pappadam.
The Malaysian flavoured curry of mixed vegetables including cauliflower and courgette, cooked in spiced coconut stock with fresh lemongrass, galangal and ginger flower was in one half the of the metal tray. the other side held a green split pea dhal. I enjoyed all the components, but would have loved a little more kick in the curry and perhaps a mango chutney rather than pear, but perhaps the British Indian curries of my youth have tainted my thinking!
The staff seemed pretty busy all evening, but the service was friendly and timely. The bill came to $76.50 including a couple of drinks. I'd certainly be happy to check out some of the other veggie offerings on the menu next time we are in Carlton.
