In my last post I introduced two places for vegan eats, in this post I am going to write what we eat in town. VegeRama is a chain that has several outlets around town which serves ready-to-order food. And Vegeme is an Asian restaurant that has mostly vegan options that could be quickly cooked and served.

VegeRama

VegeRama is a local chain specializing in vegetarian food in Brisbane, many of which are also vegan, gluten-free and nut-free (good they indicate that on their food labels!). Depending on the locations, the joint can either be a sit-down restaurant or a simple take-away counter.

When we were walking around the CBD we got really hungry, so we decided to give the take-away counter in Myer Center a try.

A hot dish counter serves curries, lentils, pancakes and balls. A cold dish shelf has various salads and desserts on display. All food were served in paper tray, and you can eat in nearby dining area.

We tried Mongolian, Brown rice, Dahl Makhani and Thai pumpkin. The Mongolian was a curry style stew with vegetables and fake meat chunks, very tasty, it was probably my favorite of all in this plate. The Dahl Makhani was a mixed of black lentil and red kidney beans, it’s ok. The Thai pumpkin was yummy although a bit too sweet after a few bites.

Three salads in small sized box: Sesame BBQ, Pad Thai Rice Noodles, Veggie Boost. They were delicious, although a bit mild. I felt that a bit more salad dressing might spice them up. The Pakora ball was very good with crispy surface. It’s made of onion, silver beets and potato mixed with Indian spice. It was our favorite of the plate.

We also ordered a slice of pumpkin cheesecake. It had a cookie bottom, creamy and soft pumpkin main layer, and a thin white sugar cream layer on the top. The cheesecake was very soft, had a melt-in-your-mouth texture, nicely seasoned with pumpkin spices, slightly too sweet for us, although for people with a sweet tooth this should be absolutely the right treat.

VegeRama at the Post Office square also serves French fries and vegan burgers. We tried the Euro burger and it was quite good. The bun seemed to be wholewheat so it was a bit dense, although the burger patty tasted quite good and chewy together with vegan mayonnaise, fried onions, tomato and rucola leaves. My only complaint might be that it was a bit too big to bite into, so you can imagine that it was made for a big eater, lol. The fries were more or less ok, but nothing thrilling. It was good that we were also served with healthy salads.

As a whole I think VegeRama is a nice chain that offers healthy salads, Indian style vegetable stews and fried stuff and mostly vegan desserts that I am sure many would crave a little during traveling. The chain stores are conveniently located in city centers, so it’s easy to get your stomach satisfied when you are hanging out in downtown.

• Address in Myer Center: Level E/Myer Centre, Level E 91 Queen St, Brisbane City QLD 4000, Australia
• Address in West End: Shop 2a/220 Melbourne St, West End QLD 4101, Australia
• Address in Adelaide St: Post Office Square, Shop 30, 217 Adelaide Street, Brisbane City QLD 4000, Australia
• Address in Westfield Carindale: f21/1151 Creek Rd, Carindale QLD 4152 Australia
• Website: https://www.vegerama.com.au/

Vegeme

Vegeme is a small Asian vegetarian restaurant in West End, Brisbane. A few blocks away from the galleries and museums in the South Bank, this one is a perfect place for some quick lunch.

The restaurant has both indoor and outdoor seating areas, and the decoration is simple. On the wall are some vegetable themed painting. Most tables are black, with colorful stools around. They also have a big wooden table for a big group of people to dine together. The menu has typical Chinese, Thai, Southeastern Asian and Japanese influences, many are already vegan and gluten-free, many of the rest can be made vegan or gluten-free when requested. The staff were super friendly and attentive and our dishes were served quite quickly.

We tried sesame noodle soup, with shiitake mushrooms, bok choy and goji berries, flavored with ginger and toasted sesame oil. They mentioned soy protein in the menu but we didn’t find any pieces in our dish. The noodle was typical thin white noodles you can easily find in Asian market. The soup was tasty, although flavoring was slightly too mild.

Deep-fried king oyster mushroom strips tasted pretty good!

The dry noodle dishes with stir-fried greens and sprouts, seasoned with five spice and peanut sauce. The taste was ok, but noodles tended to be way too soft and didn’t have a nice texture I normally associate with “dry noodle” dishes.

Deep-fried soy chunks. Another typical Chinese mock meat snacks. Crispy and yummy as always. Although those were probably ready-to-eat products, as they all tend to taste very similar wherever we ordered this in Brisbane. I have to say when it comes to mock meats, Chinese products were probably one of the best at the texture. Many of my non-vegan friends swear they would eat more vegan food if they get to eat those more often.

If you are into quick Asian lunch or afternoon snacks, or if you plan to have a lazy afternoon featuring gallery or museum visiting in South Bank, Vegeme is a nice choice around the block. Overall I wasn’t impressed with the food themselves, but it’s a nice and casual place to hang out for vegans and vegetarians.

• Address: 9/220 Melbourne St, South Brisbane QLD 4101, Australia