Comments Off
I would like to share a few vegan-friendly eateries that I haven’t been to. I had no room for vegan eateries during my visit. Next time when I’m in Wellington, these will be the next vegan eateries I will stop by. If you would like to view my other posts on Wellington vegan restaurants, view here.
Location & Hours for Kreuzberg Summer Cafe
We dropped by the cafe during our visit, but the owner/guy said that there was no tofu available. So it was a bit disappointing since we wanted to try their vegan smoky tofu burger, which costs 10 NZD.
Location & Hours for Heaven WoodFire Pizza or Heaven Pizza
It was a random passing. I tried Hell Pizza, but not Heaven Pizza yet. I noticed there was a special wrap labelled “VEGAN” on their chalkboard outside, so I thought it would be vegan-friendly. That’s somewhere I would try if I am back to Wellington. After looking at their menu, there are few that come to mind as being vegan-friendly:
- Mediterranean Pizza(v):Lebanese herbs, olive oil, fresh tomatoes, olives, onion – $8 small / $12 large
- Antipasto platter (v): A combination of olives, sun-dried tomato,pickled aubergine and hummus served with woodfired flatbread – $11,90
- Green (v): Lettuce, cucumber, rocket, mesclun and pine nuts in a vinaigrette dressing – $7,90
Location & Hours for Olive Cafe
Categories: New Zealand, Restaurants | Tags: Heaven pizza, Heaven Pizza Wellington, Heaven Woodfire Pizza, Kreuzberg Smoky Tofu Burger, Kreuzberg Summer Cafe, New Zealand vegan retaurants, Olive Cafe, Olive Cafe Cuba Street, Olive Cafe Wellington, Vegan Heaven Pizza, vegan Miam, Vegan Smoky Tofu Burger, vegan-friendly, veganmiam, veganmiam.com, Wellington vegan restasurants
Comments Off
This post is also mentioned in The London Vegetarian blog. Thank you Preeti, a sweet darling! You can follow her on Twitter!
I find it a bit frustrating when a vegan-friendly restaurant does not have a website or an online menu, especially if you are new to Wellington or not a local. I’ve seen a few food pictures from some random bloggers, but not the menu itself. Midnight Espresso is probably one of my top cafe/restaurants I’ve been to in Wellington, New Zealand.
Location & Hours
- 178 Cuba St, Te Aro 6011, New Zealand. It was on the most prominent streets in Wellington, the Cuba Street.
- 7.30am-3am Mon-Fri, 8am-3am Sat & Sun
- You are probably looking at $10-20 per meal if you are from the U.S. Save plenty of money if you plan to go there!
- Plenty of local Kiwis with curiousity and questions. I had few men asking me what I do and if I was writing for an article, hehe.
- I love sitting with the front windows open. It’s actually a calming setting for a restaurant food reviewer and food photographer.
Menu
While there’s no visible menu online, I’ve photographed their menu which was written in colourful chalk. There were few vegan meals on the menu, and also on the special menus. You should also keep an eye out on these today’s snacks/meals that were displayed in glass section near the cashier (they usually have few vegan snacks out there randomly such as vegan lasagna or cake).
Here are some vegan dishes from the chalk menu I’ve written down for you just in case if you cannot see the picture clearly below (keep in mind that the menu items may change variably):
- Vegan Hash Stack (with mushrooms, tomato, toast, spinach, hash browns, avocado and vegan mayo)- $16,50
- Garlic Mushrooms on Toast (can be made Vegan) – $11
- Vegan Mayo Side – $3
- $4 Side Dishes (You need to ask the staff to make it Vegan) – 2 Hash Browns, Grilled Tomatoes, Mushrooms, Spinach, Avocado, Marinated Tofu or Hummus
- Gluten-Free Bread – $2
- Scrambled Tofu tossed in Seasonal Veggies and Sweet Chili Sauce – $12
- Vegan Nacho (with bean mix and vegan mayo, avocado, salsa and hummus) – Large $18
- Hummus & Pita, ask to make it vegan (with Kalamata olives and veggies) – $9
- Tossed Garden Salad with Marinated Tofu & ask to make it vegan – $12,50
- Stir-Fried Veggies cooked in Thai Coconut Sauce – $12
They do offer fresh juices, soy milk shakes as well as coffee/espresso with soy milk options.
Dishes I’ve Tried
Dish #1: Vegan Hash Stack (with mushrooms, tomato, toast, spinach, hash browns, avocado and vegan mayo) – $16,50
It was one of my favourite dishes at Midnight Espresso. It is actually amazing how a New Zealand cafe can make vegan mayo because that is a plus to the dish. These hash browns are like potato fritters in such buttery chive flavour. I love everything on the dish.
Dish #2: Special Tempeh Burger & Delicious – $13
It was on their special chalk menu. But $13 was pretty high for a small tempeh burger unfortunately. It was a plain tempeh with vegan pesto sauce and veggies in the burger. I don’t see any vegan mayo. It was a light burger, but I wouldn’t try it again for the price. It’s nice to see a vegan local tempeh burger in Wellington.
Dish #3: Vegan Banana-Maple-Coconut Cake – $6. I’m not sure about the price, errr.
It was actually an interesting looking cake! The frosting wasn’t too heavy. I tasted a lot of bananas in it, but not much coconut in it. Not sure if I want to eat it again. A bit heavy when I reached the last pieces. But I wouldn’t dare touch a vegan chocolate cake. I’m not a huge chocolate cake eater. Please pardon my photos since they were taken with a smaller digital camera in the late evening.
Dish #4: Scrambled Tofu tossed in Seasonal Veggies and Sweet Chili Sauce – $12
I was hungry for a huge breakfast meal since I didn’t had dinner that other night. The tofu scramble was in fact too sweet for my taste due to the sweet chili sauce. The veggies were plain, but I sadly have to admit it was a plain tofu scramble with sweet chili sauce. I probably prefer something spicier or yeast-like. It was actually a big plate, great for two!
Dish #5: Side Dish for 2 Hash Browns (Made Vegan) – $4
After I liked my Vegan Hash Stack plate the other day, I wanted to try these vegan hash browns. But they tasted a bit different and disappointing, perhaps they need a vegan mayo side dish for another $3. Seems a bit ridiculous for $4 two small vegan hashbrowns and $3 vegan mayo = $7 plate. Maybe it was cooked by a different chef that day. I don’t know why, but it tasted greasy potatoes with no chives or flavour in it.
Dish #6: Vegan Tofu Bun – $6
I’ve to admit I made the right choice, picking that lonely vegan tofu bun off the display area (that was off their chalk menu). It was made fresh that day for $6 compared to a small $13 tempeh burger that other night. It was a very good tofu burger with wild rocket salad and vegan pesto. It is claimed vegan according to a staff. I really hope to see this tofu burger again.
Categories: New Zealand, Restaurants | Tags: 178 Cuba St Te Aro 6011, Central Wellington, Cuba Street, Midnight Espresso, Midnight Espresso Bar, midnight espresso cafe, midnight espresso cuba street, Midnight Espresso tempeh burger, midnight espresso tofu bun, midnight espresso vegan cakes, Midnight Espresso Vegan Hash Stack, New Zealand, New Zealand vegan restaurants, old fashioned potato hashbrown, Scrambled Tofu tossed in Seasonal Veggies and Sweet Chili Sauce, vegan Cuba Street, Vegan Hash Stack, vegan hashbrowns, vegan Miam, vegan midnight espresso, vegan Wellington city, veganmiam, veganmiam.com, Wellington City, wellington midnight espresso, Wellington vegan, Wellington vegan restaurants
1 Comment »
We passed this local Italian bakery in Wellington, New Zealand often near Wellington Harbour and finally tried some of their focaccia flatbreads and bagels: Pandoro Panetteria Bakery.
Location & Hours
- 2 Allen Street, Wellington, New Zealand. It was within walking distance from Museum of New Zealand.
- Mon – Fri 7:00am – 5:00pm / Sat – Sun 7:00am – 4:00pm
“Pandoro has operated in New Zealand for 19 years being set up by its original founders to produce and retail the highest quality authentic Italian artisan breads and cake…Since then the operation has expanded to five retail outlets in Auckland and a duplication of the operation in Wellington with a wholesale bakery and two retail outlets.” – Pandoro website.
(This is a roasted onion + olive focaccia flatbread. Price: $4,30 NZD)
My favourite focaccia flatbread was rosemary and roasted onions. It smelled really good and tasted just right for an Italian focaccia! I didn’t like the olives and roasted onions too much (hint: I’m not a fan of olives). Each focaccia flatbread costs $4,30. The plain focaccia flatbread costs $3,20. Top it up with hummus from a grocery store and you will be filled for a meal already!
If you feel like having bagels, there are varieties such as sesame or poppy-seed. Each bagel costs $2,00. I would get a focaccia because of the portion size plus with lots of flavour. I didn’t like how the bagels taste really thick in dough, but they are great for sandwiches such as hummus, fresh salsa and vegetables.
Categories: Bakeries, New Zealand | Tags: Allen Street, New Zealand bakery, Olives and onion focaccia, Pandoro Allen Street, Pandoro Bakery, Pandoro focaccias, Pandoro Panetteria, Sage and onions focaccia, vegan bagels, vegan flatbreads, vegan focaccia, vegan Miam, veganmiam, veganmiam.com, Wellington bakery, Wellington focaccia
2 Comments »
Please pardon me if I only have mentioned a few groceries in Wellington, New Zealand due to the fact that I only stayed there for three full days. But I’ve come to realise that the value of groceries in New Zealand are no different than the ones in Australia, or in other words, they are both quite expensive especially if you are from the U.S. Perhaps Australian groceries have a better way of labeling ingredients, speaking of salad bars and such.
I.e., I was surprised that Anzac cookies in New Zealand contained animal fat, while in Sydney, most of them do not (after reading ingredients).
Grocery #1: Commonsense Organics
It was a very small organic supermarket or grocery store. I do like the fact that it has familiar vegan products such as hummus, tofu, cheese, etc. They carry a small selection of vegan products in the back of the grocery, which you should be looking at in the first place.
I was very amused by the “Marinated New Zealand Tofu”, which looked like a nice package, but I couldn’t even see what it looked like inside. This sort of bothered me. Most of the local vegan New Zealand products (i.e., vegan meat or sausages) are fully packaged with nice labels without any “inside” visuals. I would like to see what they looked like though. For example, I could see what Tofurky deli slice looks like.
Grocery #2: New World Metro on Willis
It was the only nearest grocery store from the hotel I stayed in Wellington. There were some local vegan meat packages that I really want to try. I haven’t tried them because I don’t have a kitchen nor the time to cook during my 3 full-day stay! Unfortunately, I cannot imagine how I can afford these local vegan meat if I am living in Wellington for a few months or so.
There was one of the interesting vegan products I really liked: New Zealand’s Tasty Pot such as Roast Veg HotPot (with sweet potato, pumpkin, chickpeas & chermoula dressing) or All Your Greens (with Asian noodles, broccoli, edamame beans & ginger dressing). For more nutrition and ingredient details, check out Tasty Pot Co.’s website. They do offer meals, salads and soups in cute microwavable pots, plus all of them are refrigerated.
To know if any of these tasty pots are VEGAN, look at the back of the these cute tasty pots and there will be a visible statement: SUITABLE FOR VEGANS, which was pretty helpful. Not all flavours of these vegan tasty pots are available at this grocery. They can also be found at another larger grocery store known as, “New World SuperMarket.” New World Supermarket are pretty large supermarkets, but they offer some different flavours of tasty pots you may not find at Metro at Willis. So be sure to check out “New World SuperMarket”, not just “Metro on Willis.”
I tried Tasty Pot Co.’s Orzo Salad (with spice-roasted carrots, almonds and coriander) and bought it from New World SuperMarket. It tasted really good. There was a strong spice infusion in the orzo salad including the roasted carrots. Fabulous flavour within. I wish I tried more of the varieties of Tasty Pot.
Besides just Tasty Pot Co’s products, there were other interesting local products such as hummus at Metro at Willis. I only tried one of them: Delicious Lebanese Snack, Hummus with Garlic (pictured as below) and it was a bit too tart for me (lemony). It would be good if it was used as a spread on salty bread. I would try the other hummus products, but never had the time to. My stay in Wellington was very limited (3 full days).
I tried some interesting vegan-friendly New Zealand chips. I thought these chips tasted very strong for potatoes. I.e., the salt n’ vinegar chips was so-so, but I couldn’t taste the saltiness of the chips. The sourness of vinegar overpowered the flavour.
If you are looking for some vegan desserts, Metro at Willis offers some dairy-free ice cream or sorbets. I checked the ingredients to ensure there were no eggs, and I figured they are vegan. One of them was Fruju Fruit Whip. They come in different flavours, but one which I found at Metro at Willis: Whipped Pineapple in a Passionfruit Sorbet Shell. I was tempted to buy them, but I don’t have a proper freezer at the hotel.
The other one was New Zealand’s dairy-free Lite Licks ice cream such as “Hokey Pokey” which was also wheat & gluten free. I had regrets for not trying them all, but the prices were already too high for me to afford and consume a bucket of vegan ice cream within a day, especially on a cold chilly day! I would try them if I am back in Wellington!
I also liked these cute local new Zealand beverages, “Charlie’s” My favourite one was Mango-Orange lemonade because it wasn’t too tart or “quench” as these lemonades.
There were other local beverages you should try out:
Grocery #3: New World SuperMarket
- This is the same as the city supermarket, “Metro at Willis”, but they are larger supermarkets. You can find them anywhere in Wellington.
- 7am to Midnight, Everyday
Categories: Groceries, New Zealand | Tags: 260 Wakefield Street, Charlie's Mango Orange Lemonade, Commonsense Organics, Commonsense Organics supermarket, Commonsense Organics Wakefield, Fruju Fruit Whip, Lite Licks hokey pokey, Marinated New Zealand tofu, Metro on Willis, Metro on Willis Street, New World Supermarket, New World Wellington City, New Zealand, New Zealand vegan, Quench Lemonade, Stefan Lepionka and Marc Ellis, Tasty Pot All Your Greens, Tasty Pot Co., Tasty Pot New Zealand, Tasty Pot Orzo Salad, Tasty Pot Roast Veg HotPot, vegan Commonsense Organics, vegan Fruju Fruit Whip, vegan Lite Licks, vegan Miam, vegan sorbet shells, vegan Tasty Pot, vegan Wellington groceries, veganmiam, veganmiam.com, Wellington, Wellington groceries, Wellington supermarkets, Wellington vegan, Whipped Pineapple Passionfruit Sorbet Shell
Comments Off
It was nearly our last day in Wellington, and my partner picked up some nice vegan-friendly sushi off Woodward Street and it was a small take-away sushi restaurant called, “Sushi Bi.” There was no respective website for Sushi Bi or any menu I can find unfortunately except for public online restaurant reviews such as Menu Mania, but I can only tell you what we’d discovered.
It is cheaper to purchase after 16:00 at 50c each, rather than $1 (NZD), which was a great deal for yummy sushi-to-go snacks! Sometimes lines can be long, so be prepared to show up as quickly as possible! The staff members at Sushi Bi were friendly, so if you are a vegan that can’t eat egg or fish, just tell her that!
Types that I tried were vegan:
- seaweed salad
- pumpkin or squash with lettuce and shredded carrots
- shiitake mushrooms with lettuce and shredded carrots
I also find it fascinating that these vegan-friendly sushi have a lot of veggies in it compared to these boring typical avocado or cucumber makis you will find in the U.S. Thanks a lot, New Zealand, you opened my eyes to trying beautiful sushi! It is also actually very nice that they provided white ginger rather than coloured ginger (pink), but these pink ginger aren’t usually vegan sometimes.
For more reviews or posts on other vegan-friendly restaurants in Wellington, view here.
Categories: New Zealand, Restaurants | Tags: New Zealand vegan, New Zealand vegan restaurants, pumpkin sushi, seaweed salad vegan, shiitake mushrooms sushis, Sushi Bi, Sushi Bi vegan, vegan Miam, vegan sushi, veganmiam, veganmiam.com, Wellington sushi, Wellington vegan, Wellington vegan restaurants, Woodward Street, Woodward Sushi
