Yong Green Food – 421 Brunswick St Fitzroy 

The vego stalwart of Brunswick St is undoubtedly the Vegie Bar, that place where even the meat eaters like to go – but if I were to tell you that a small, Korean, vegan, raw-food café has opened down the road, would it get your pulse racing?

It should. Yong Green Food, is the new darling of the true vegans, I only know this because my own vegetarian, scooter riding, yoga teaching friend adores it, and finally convinced me to go along. To even things up, I took a carnivorous raw-food skeptic, who was determined to interrogate the staff on how they justify the benefits of not applying warmth to their ingredients. Problem was, he quite enjoyed what was on offer.

It’s small, and it’s a bit hectic. There’s no bookings, and we had to go have a drink down the road until they called us for our table. Are we off to a good start?

Important note – it’s not all raw. The menu starts with a great selection of fresh juices and smoothies, they’re not cheap at $8.50 but it’s comparable price-wise to a glass of wine, it’s gloriously fresh, and it’s good for you. The Dragon Ascent juice of carrot, apple, beetroot and lemon was as refreshing as it sounds, but the thick, sweet mango lassi was the highlight.

The menu starts with those raw options – and you really have no idea what you’re going to get. Before I mention anything else, it has to be said when you’re eating at Yong you’re very much aware that it’s healthy food, there’s no denying it – it tastes, looks, feels wholesome. But, it’s also tasty and complex, and for me it was enjoyable. I was continually surprised how they got the same base ingredients of like cashews to resemble sweet cream with dessert, cheese sauce for pasta or a firm cheesecake filling.
The Raw nachos came comprised of chia seed chips – much thicker and not quite as crispy as their corn equivalents, the guacamole was the same as you’d have anywhere else, but the tomato/sunfried seed sauce was what made it. A great, smoky, salsa type concoction full of flavour. Cashew cream replaced the more traditional sour cream, and I could have done without it.

Rawsagna was the real hit with our resident carnivore. Encased in paperthin slices of soft zucchini, it featured layers of mushroom, onion, zucchini, a wonderfully tasty raw tomato sauce, and béchamel again created from raw cashews – it wasn’t hot, but somehow it really did capture that evocation of lasagna. It was seriously good.

From the starters the Kimchi Sushi platter was just like the brown rice sushi you get all across Melbourne at the moment, these featured tempeh and came with a great tangy soy mayonnaise. Kimchi gyozas were a bit difficult to eat, but I loved the rich filling of tofu, mushroom, onion, garlic and spring onion and the sesame infused soy dipping sauce complemented the steamed dumplings perfectly.

The dragon bowl was supremely healthy with an abundance of assorted vegies, tofu, and brown rice and the oomph coming from a powerful red chilli paste. The Thai Green Curry was surprisingly authentic, nothing to distinguish it from the vegetarian version you’d get in any Thai restaurant, except maybe that now familiar brown rice.

Now comes the shocking admission I’ve been trying to avoid. Despite the protestations of my vegetarian friend, I ordered mock meat. “Why not? It’s there as an option”. “Because”, he replied, “if you want meat you should just eat meat”. I don’t care, I had a great BBQ burger. Served on fresh, warm, super-light foccacia, there were lashings of coleslaw, satay sauce, and funny little slices of marinated soy beef. Weird on its own, but stuffed all together in my mouth - it was a great filler, and reminiscent of a pulled pork roll I had just last week at Mt Buller (creamy coleslaw and all!).

Lastly, you can’t leave without trying Yong’s crazy desserts. The cheesecakes that don’t have any cheese in them are the first challenge you’ll face, these raw offerings are actually pretty tasty, but I think they should just call them something else. As nice as they tasted I couldn’t help thinking “it’s not a cheesecake, though, is it?”. The blueberry beat the green tea option to my mind. Raw Pecan Pie was brilliant, and like the cheesecake it’s not only raw but organic AND gluten free. But again, it’s not really pecan pie, which is okay but if they’d called it Coconut and Pecan Slice I’d have been equally pleased.

After a particularly big weekend, I couldn’t think of anything more enticing than heading out for a wholesome, filling meal that didn’t leave me feeling guilty for ever leaving the house. It remains that if you always order the steak, and you’d eat your own finger as long as it was deep-fried, this isn’t going to be the place for you. But if you like a change, and want your vegetarian food with a bit of spice, variety, and character – then you’ve got to try Yong Green Food.

PLAY: Ela Carte with Ross and John

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