201-203 Faraday Street, Carlton
Phone (03) 9347 3848
Shakahari has been on our Must-Dine-List for ages, and I’m so glad we finally made it (where’s the beef posts have been ever so convincing). Shakahari, for those who don’t know, is the Hindi word for “vegetarian”, and as such, that’s exactly what you’ll find at this gentle vegetably haven far from the annoying touts on Lygon Street.
Dan started with the Tale of Avocado Rolls ($13.50), one of their signature dishes of fresh avocado and red capsicum rolled in thin eggplant slices and fried in a rice tempura batter. While the rolls themselves are a little on the bland side, they are saved by a vibrant and picquant coriander and sesame puree.
I chose the agnolotti dumplings ($14.50), which were more dumpling than agnolotti so far as the pastry casing was concerned. They were filled with a delicious mash of caramelised pumpkin, crushed pinenuts and soy cheddar and were panfried on a hotplate. It came garnished with chilli oil, reduced balsamic and a fresh salad of herbs and sliced red peppers. It was a truly delicious dish.
Dan, with his constant hankering for laksa, chose the Green Laksa Siam ($19.50) – a fusion of thai green curry and laksa. It had a mild amount of heat, and was full of green tea soba noodles, spinach, mushrooms, sprout, tofu, tempeh and seitan.
I chose another of their signatures, the Croquettes Madam Fang ($18.50). The crispy patties were made of mashed yam, potatoes, soy grits, roasted macadamia nuts, szechuan turnip, green beans and coriander. It was is served with a tangy cumquat chilli sauce, kimchi, tofu puffs and greens.
For dessert, I chose a cherry chocolate pudding with maraschino liquer flavoured mascarpone cream ($13.50). It was a simple dessert – very homestyle.
Dan got the winner though – a special of tofu brulee ($13ish). It sat on a brown sugar toffee syrup, and was topped with crushed pistachios. It was fantastic.
The service at Shakahari can be rather relaxed, but saying that, it is ever so friendly. We sat in the courtyard out back, and were entertained by actors from La Mama Theatre next door, who were practising songs before a performance. Fantastic.
New blog post: Shakahari http://tummyrumbles.com/2009/04/shakahari.html
Aw, I’m glad you enjoyed it so much! We’ll be taking my Dad and his wife there this weekend. I must convince them that we don’t need to cross to Brunetti for dessert – I want that tofu brulee!
It’s on my list of p[laces to go, but despite pointing it out to a cohort of vegetarian friends, I have not made it there yet myself… sounds ever so inviting though.
That tofu brulee totally struck the right chord for me!
the age did a review on it lately and the reviewer did not seem to like it. I have always wanted to try it though… and it does look good.
Hi there Cindy – The tofu brulee really is fantastic, although I don’t know whether I’d be giving up Brunetti. You’ll at least need a coffee and a petits fours afterwards!?
Hey Jdg – it had been on my list for ages too, and I’m glad I finally made it! It was really nice – although as I said, one must also have a rather relaxed attitude in regards to service.
Hiya Stella – actually, I want to try and make it myself. It really was fantastic.
Hey Ran – yes, I did read that review (and admittedly, I’d eaten at Shakihari a week or so before), but I don’t know whether I wholeheartedly agree. Yes, it’s not Vue du Monde, but it’s not meant to be. I think there potentially could be hits and misses on the menu, and I think we were fairly lucky with our ordering (we’ve only been once, so I really can’t speak of all the dishes). But opinion after all, is opinion. And on my one visit, well, we enjoyed it!
I like the way you think, Mellie.
that pudding looks good – last time I went it was 45 degrees and I really wanted some of their pudding but it was just too hot – so I need to go again and get my shakahari pudding fix!
I love the food at Shakahari and the tofu brulee is the best vegan dessert ever. The only thing that is odd about it is the atmosphere. There is a touch of the hair shirt about it, something very restrained, though I have managed to have some of the most memorable evenings in both the current and the last location around the corner in Lygon Street (that, um, almost got us thrown out both times for rather rowdy behaviour).