Dough-NOTS!

Yes, donuts make me lose control. I love 'em!!! So, when I heard about a new donut shop in town that had VEGAN donuts, I was quite excited. Yes, the vegan donuts were a perk, but heck... we all know that donuts make me fall off the vegan wagon.

Kreg and I checked out Buddha Belly Donuts in Sarasota last Sunday. We figured we'd pick up a few breakfast treats and then take the doggies for a walk (to burn off some of those fry calories!) I ordered four vegan donuts (two pink coconut and two oreo cookie) and one "regular" plain donut (this was my benchmark donut). The "benchmark" donut was kinda dry and a little tough but it was sorta light in texture. I'd give it a 6.5 out of 10 (with 10 being the best).

The vegan donuts were super heavy (a little heaviness is to be expected, and I was prepared) and the dough lacked salt. The donuts weren't greasy, so that's a plus, but they didn't really have any flavor and the texture was tough. The pink coconut topping was ok (I'm sure the pink food coloring wasn't natural), but it was too sweet. Same thing goes for the oreo topping plus it was so thick that it crumbled off before I could take a bite. Vegan donuts 4 out of 10.

It's cool to support local businesses but you've got to have a great product. I was really disappointed that the donuts weren't up to snuff. Will I go back? I don't know.

Hot, Soft & Fluffy Buns!

I think I may have mentioned in my profile that I like soft, doughy, bready things. Yeah, I love 'em - if I could roll myself up in dough, I WOULD!

Well, steamed Chinese buns and shui mai totally fit the bill! It's always such a treat for me to go to a vegetarian dim sum restaurant because we don't have any in the Sarasota area. Heck, it's so hard to just find a veggie dumpling here!

We found Legends Vegetarian Restaurant a couple of years ago on our first trip to Hawaii. So, it was a no-brainer that we'd be going back! I couldn't wait to sink my teeth into a soft, fluffy bun. The dim sum menu changes daily, on the day that we visited we had a choice of: a veggie filled bun, that was stuffed with chopped mushrooms, taro and cabbage; a "faux pork" char sui bun (which is a wheat gluten "meat" seasoned with a Chinese barbeque sauce; shui mai stuffed with taro, mushroom and cabbage; and a bean curd wrap (a veggie stuffing wrapped with a soy skin).

I'm all about the bun, so we had three orders of steamed buns (two of the char sui, one veggie) and an order of shui mai. The char sui bun was our favorite, the sweet barbeque sauce and soft bun melted in your mouth. I liked the veggie bun a lot (Kreg, not so much ... he likes the sweet stuff!) The filling had a nice flavor, slightly salty with more of a mushroom flavor and a starchiness from the taro. This one could have used a little dipping sauce since the filling was dry, but all we had was some soy sauce.

The shui mai were awesome as well. The wrapper was nice and thin, and the filling was not sticky. Same thing here with the dipping sauce, it would have been nice to have a choice of something other than soy sauce.

I definitely could have eaten two more buns and maybe another order of shui mai, but I was saving some room for a bubble tea! And there are a ton of boba shops in Honolulu's Chinatown.

Legend's also has a large menu filled with "faux" meat and veggie dishes. I can't say how good the dishes are as I've never tried any. But if the dim sum is any indication of the quality then the other dishes have to be great! Next time I'm in Honolulu ... I'll be ready for my bun.



Legends Vegetarian Restaurant
100 N. Beretania St., #109, Honolulu, Hawaii
Phone (808) 532-1868
open for lunch only, closed on Wednesdays

Finally, A Faux Pho!

I've been jonesin' for a vegan Pho for soooo long. Every time I go to my local Vietnamese restaurant, Pho Cali in Sarasota, I'm teased by the tofu and vegetable Pho ... it's on the vegetarian part of the menu, so you would think it's veggie ... um, think again. They use chicken stock. Boo! I've asked for a veggie stock, but they won't do it (they're weird that way).

Anyway, while in Oahu recently, Kreg and I found the Saigon Noodle House in Kailua and my dreams of a veggie Pho finally became a reality. And man, that soup was freakin' GOOD! It was so worth the wait.

My faux Pho arrived in a huge bowl. Loaded up with tofu (which was pressed, marinated, and yummy), fresh veggies and rice noodles. Served on the side were bean sprouts, basil (which looked and tasted like Thai basil) and lime. The broth was good, but a little bland ... a good base to start building flavors. I added some hoisin sauce, then the Sriracha hot sauce, the basil, bean sprouts, etc. Outstanding. I enjoyed the entire bowl, right down to the last slurp!

Besides having the veggie Pho, we also tried the papaya salad with tofu, veggie sandwich with tofu, and curry tofu with eggplant.

Everything was fresh and delicious. The papaya salad was so refreshing. The flavors exploded in your mouth - citrusy, salty, and with a little bit of sweetness. The different textures of crunchy peanuts, crisp green papaya and smooth marinated tofu worked so well together. The tofu was some of the best I've ever had. It was firm but not hard and it had a slight smokiness.

Next up was the curry tofu and eggplant, this was Kreg's choice. We weren't sure what to expect, since there are so many different types of curry. This one was a yellow curry and sort of reminded us of a cross between an Indian curry and a Singapore curry. The tofu was fried and had a really nice soft texture inside. Watch out though because this dish had some heat. The kind of heat that doesn't hit you at first but then sneaks up the back of your throat. I like hot foods, so it didn't bother me. Kreg on the other hand, found it a little too spicy. So, to cool his mouth down a bit, he decided to order the veggie tofu sandwich. This was a small baguette stuffed with veggies and marinated tofu. Simple, effective at putting out a mouth fire and yummy.

As far as ambiance goes, the place is pretty utilitarian. Nothing fancy here ... mismatched dishes, plain tables & chairs, fluorescent lighting, and one wall covered with illuminated photos of the food. It's a locals place -- casual, come as you are -- and we loved it. The staff were fantastic, they totally got the vegan thing which is a joy. We didn't have to worry about fish sauce, etc. And, you cannot beat the prices ... nothing was more than $7. In fact, we enjoyed this place so much, we were back the next day for lunch!!! (We had combo plates -- papaya salad with veggie spring rolls for Kreg and vermicelli salad with spring rolls (Vietnamese bun) for me. So much food, so good, and only $6.25 each.)

My only regret ... I wish we would have found Saigon Noodle House at the beginning of our trip rather than at the end!



Saigon Noodle House
Enchanted Lakes Shopping Center
1020 Keolu Dr
Kailua, HI 96734

i love my bobas!

mmm, got tea? in tampa has got IT going on!!! those bubble teas are great. i ordered four bobas yesterday. kreg thought i was nuts, but that didn't stop him from trying all of them. we had two snow varieties, almond (awesome!!!) and chocolate mint (yucko.). after that we had two juice tea bobas, passion fruit (yum!) and then i did a little mixture of passion fruit and fresh squeezed grapefruit (super-duper yummmmm!!!). that one tasted like a saints alp juliet special. oh, and i tried the tofu nuggets ... another winner. so soft on the inside, yet crispy on the outside.

i love GOT TEA!

www.got-tea.com

gobble gobble

we celebrated our thanksgiving at sublime (a really cool vegan restaurant in ft. lauderdale). the food was awesome, well, except for the desserts, and we were able to sneak sake in. she was such a good girl, she slept in her bag and didn't make a peep.

it was the first time i've eaten in a restaurant on thanksgiving. it's weird not having any leftovers or the house smelling of food for two days, but it was fun and we had a totally vegan meal! the highlights: the stuffed gardien - totally yummy; and the mashed sweet potatoes with ricemellow topping - mmmm!

eventhough the meal was really good and we had a fun time, i prefer to stay home. next year, tofurkey, family and friends!