On birthdays and vegetarians

[alias_sqbr]

First: it is gelignite and mandragor2003's birthdays in the next couple of days and I have gotten them absolutely nothing. Sorry guys, I've been struggling to just get my head around my current situation which has been very distracting, and my brain (which is not at it's best at present) has been remarkably unhelpful everytime I remember and try to decide what to get you. Do either of you want a steampunk clock thingy? :)

Second: To the vegetarians on my flist, specifically the ones who would consider coming to a hypothetical party for my own birthday, where are some restaurants in perth which do a moderately good buffet and offer acceptable vegetarian food? Note that, for me, "moderately good" implies it has meat, sorry :P(*) Last year (year before?) we went to the local pub which was fine for me but has one of the worst vegetarian spreads ever and you all looked rather sad, so I'm hoping a compromise is possible. I know how sad I am when people have parties at restaurants where there's nothing/little I can eat (ie most of them, thus buffet, where I can pick out what I want and nibble at a little bit of the bad stuff too)

EDIT2: Keep in mind I and Cam's multiple food issues. It's been so long since I could eat indian etc buffet it didn't occur to me people would suggest it. Unfortunately, pretty much all I can eat is chinese/japanese/korean/vietnamese (ie most asian food which doesn't contain coconut, chilli, lots of fat, or tofu)(**), italian/greek, and european style buffets since they serve slabs of plain meat and vegetables. And even there I have to pick out a lot of ingredients most places, which is why I like buffet.

(*)If nothing else, I have yet to encounter a vegetarian buffet which didn't make me feel REALLY ill afterwards. And, well, it's my birthday, and I like meat.
(**)I realise there's probably lots of other little countries whose food I can eat, but I'm just thinking of the ones who get dedicated restaurants here. Malaysian chinese is ok too, but not the sort of malaysian food with lots of coconut. Thai and indian are OUT.

Comments

[tommmo.livejournal.com]

Hmm, that's a tough one. The only buffet-style restaurant I ever go to is Annalakshmi, but obviously that doesn't fit your definition of a "moderately good" buffet :P

[alias_sqbr]

Heh. Yeah, indian food has to be the absolute worst, there is pretty much nothing there we can eat apart from the bread :/

[arcadiagt5.livejournal.com]

Does it have to be a buffet restaurant?

And are there any Ethiopian restaurants in Perth?

[alias_sqbr]

Yes, but I don't really like ethiopian food :) (Also I think it contains cumin)

EDIT: Also, doesn't HAVE to be buffet, but because there are very few dishes I can eat without discarding large portions (generally leaving me with plain meat and vegetables, which can be a bit dull) I find I enjoy buffets more.

[fred-mouse.livejournal.com]

I'm struggling to think of any. The one in Freo that used to be Miss Maud's wasn't there last we went. There is a very small place in Kardinya that fails your 'moderately good', in that it is exclusively vegetarian (with lots of soy substitute stuff). There is an Indian restaurant in Melville (or one of the close suburbs) that does a nice buffet, and I think that there was a reasonable amount of vegetarian stuff, but we have mostly eaten a la carte there (and I find that Indian is a good option, as there are usually a variety of vegetarian meals on the standard menu).

However, I don't really know anything more convenient to you.

[sonictail.livejournal.com]

The red turban in cannington does a really nice indian buffet, but i'm unsure about the vegetarian content...

Analakshmere? Oh bugger, spice >.

[alias_sqbr]

Unfortunately pretty much the only indian dishes I or Cam can eat are bread and rice :/

There's a miss mauds in the city, though.

[sonictail.livejournal.com]

Umm,

For vegetarian I would reccomend "That Little Mexican Place". it's not buffet but the breakfast / lunch menu is (apparently) good for vegetarians, one of my friends liked it as there was some choice for him to have, and the food and service are delicious

http://www.thatlittlemexicanplace.com.au

oh yeah, spicy, eh... I would consider it to be mild... give their site a looksee.

[alias_sqbr]

Ah, unfortunately (as I should have made clear) pretty much all indian and mexican food contains cumin, which makes Cam really ill, as well as multiple things which make me ill.

[stephiepenguin.livejournal.com]

source foods (http://www.sourcefoods.com.au/) is a cafe in Highgate. It's only open for breakfast and lunch but having just quickly skimmed the menu it might meet all your requirements. Also I really love Source, it's a great restaurant and they do fantastic brekkies.

I don't like their webpage, though.

[alias_sqbr]

Wow, that is the Worst Webpage Ever. Three clicks and lots of loading to get to the list of links, which is UNMARKED.

*ahem* Anyway.

Like most "modern australian" restaurants they look like I could find something to eat there, so are a good idea should I go out for lunch with a vegetarian friend, but I'd still have to pick and choose quite a bit and would end up unsatisfied. The breakfasts look better, but I'm not a big breakfast person :)

Still, while they're not me-friendly enough for my own party, I will definitely keep them in mind since I can see them being useful to know about.

[vegetus.livejournal.com]

Jaws sushi train is buffet-ish?

[alias_sqbr]

It is (and I like 'em, though they've gone down hill a bit recently), I'm not sure they suit large-ish groups though. *checks site* Hmm, they do functions, but thats a bit more formal than I was thinking.

*thinks DIM SUM* *remembers that Dim sum tends to suck for vegetarians*

[vegetus.livejournal.com]

Dim Sum is awesome. I don't know of any places in Perth that have a decent range of veg things though.

[lizbyrd.livejournal.com]

Ooh, are there any dim sum places in London that have a decent range of veg things?

To Sophie: I will let you know if I think of anywhere but I don't usually eat at places that do buffet, so I'm not sure...

[vegetus.livejournal.com]

Not that I know of... But I know of a great place in Fiji...

Peking Palace does have some nice dim sum type things of their menu like steamed dumplings and mock chicken drumsticks and mock bbq spareribs.

[lauredhel.livejournal.com]

How about a breakfast buffet? They typically usually plenty of fruit and pastries and bread products as well as eggs/tomato/mushrooms/beans/hash browns/cereals/pancakes. Miss Maud's, the Pines at Ob City, etc.

[alias_sqbr]

Hmm, that is a possibility. It would mean getting distantcam out of bed early though, which is a challenge :)

[shehasathree]

i'm in melbourne, so absolutely no help whatsoever (unless you come to melbourne and want to know about food places here), but omg empathy for this issue. trying to match up my food needs with friends' is nigh on impossible (assuming we're gonna try to eat something yummy, rather than boring). i have food intolerances also (lactose and fructose, mostly, which rules out onion (which is in almost everything) and wheat. also, high-fat stuff doesn't agree with me. so gluten-free pizza without the onion is one of the few take-away foods i can eat and i'm ever-so grateful that there happens to be such a place down the road from us.)

[alias_sqbr]

*takes a moment to bask in the memory of the awesomeness of Melbourne food*

I find japanese is often good for everyone (I've yet to meet anyone who can't eat rice, and it doesn't have much msg) but sometimes that's just not what you feel like...

[shehasathree]

lol! casking, is that like quaffing, so...drinking in the gloriousness of the memory? ;p

yes, Japanese can be good (but i hear on the sometimes-it's-not-what-you-want thing; it's pretty much the only thing i can eat on campus that isn't out-and-out junk-food (which of course isn't good for me either)).

[alias_sqbr]

I see no mention of "casking" in my comment! I have no idea what you're talking about! :)

[shehasathree]

:D
couldn't help myself!

[baby-elvis.livejournal.com]

It's not buffet, but how about Ninniku Jip? Korean and Japanese

http://www.ninniku.com.au/index.html

[alias_sqbr]

Oh, thankyou, they look nice.

But that makes me think: I've always wanted to try out the big "They cook in front of you" thing at Seizan. HMM.