Have you ever thought about joining a group of people walking to multiple vegan food venues and sampling their finest? Josh and I were lucky enough to get invited on a Vegan Tour of Melbourne by the new company – Melbourne Vegan Tours which is run by the lovely couple, Jess and Dan.
Our tour began at Rice Paper Scissors in Brunswick St Fitzroy, where we enjoyed a Bloody Mary (Josh and I had a virgin one!) and devoured an eggplant bao which was a soft white bun housing delicious crispy fried eggplant. Just thinking about it makes me salivate. We had a great chat with the other tour participants and found that we all had a lot in common.
Our next stop was a short walk away and ending up at Finas Vegetarian. Dan was also pointing out other places with vegan options along the way. I’ve recently discovered that Finas is onion and garlic free which is great for those that avoid them. At Finas we got a plate with some salt and pepper tofu, a rice paper roll, a spring roll and some sweet chilli dipping sauce. My favourite was the rice paper roll! After the last bite was taken from the lucky last person in our group there was a surprise announcement from Dan that apparently the last bite had not yet been taken. We were all informed of another delicious sample of raw salted caramel cheesecake. Finas have a whole cabinet dedicated to delicious and drool-worthy cakes, which are hard to pass by!
After Finas we took a stroll down to Vegan Style Oz – an all vegan shoe shop, which also sells handbags and some beauty products. I was pleasantly surprised to see the prices were reasonable – the same as what I would expect to pay for a decent pair of new shoes. They had all sorts of styles in there – from casual, to work to hiking and many in between! There were a lot of fake leather products made out of pineapple and mushrooms! Who would have thought!? Well, that wasn’t all – apparently, the latest trend coming out in the shoe world is shoes made from tofu!
From there we went up the road and crossed over near the Veggie Bar and headed towards Tahina. This place from the outside is very deceiving for as we entered we were guided straight through the cafe out the back door to a beautiful courtyard that was very calming and relaxing to be in. We cooled off with a refreshing drink of our choice and then shared plates of food, including a creamy, silky hummus topped with pine nuts, some excellent falafels, a cauliflower dish and some warmed pita bread. It was a fantastic feast!
By then we were feeling pretty full – but we weren’t finished yet! The ‘walking’ tour really helps you prepare for the next meal because the sample sizes are fairly big. The last stop was the amazing Girls & Boys Dessert Bar! What a wise decision when it is time to wrap up on a sunny afternoon. We each got to choose a flavour. Josh got choc hazelnut and I got raspberry and Lychee. They always have different and delicious flavours, and also they have soft serve, which you can get covered with either chocolate or sherbet. An absolutely perfect way to end a perfect afternoon!
Melbourne Vegan Tours can cater for specific dietary requirements, such as gluten-free and onion or garlic free.
As well as the Fitzroy tour that we went on, Melbourne Vegan Tours are now doing tours in Collingwood, St Kilda, the CBD and on the Mornington Peninsula! It’s a fantastic way to try new places around Melbourne and also meet new people. No-one else in Melbourne is doing tours like this – whether you’re a local or visiting from interstate or overseas – we highly recommend these tours! Meet amazing people and spend the afternoon sampling vegan food! You can book a tour HERE.
