Wai Kika Moo Kau Review

I visited this quirky little vegetarian and vegan café for the first time with my friend from the shard trip a while back. Its name aptly sounds like “Why Kick a Moo Cow?” implying that we don’t need to harm animals to sustain a happy and healthy life. I have since been there two more times and thought I would write a review on one of my visits. The café is located on Kensington Gardens in the North Laines of Brighton. They have plenty of vegan options as well as vegetarian which is great as it means my non-vegan friends would still be able to come and thoroughly enjoy their meal (not that they wouldn’t at a 100% vegan restaurant) but it just offers them more choice.

The café looks very welcoming from the outside and as soon as you walk in the door and hear the reggae music you are instantly in tune with the chilled vibe that this place emits. Simultaneously you are greeted with a mix of gorgeous smells coming from the open kitchen towards the back of the restaurant. I love being able to see where my food is coming from and know that the kitchen is right there. The look of the café is very cool with lots of different art work all over the walls as well as posters advertising events all over the South East. They also have t-shirts for sale and a board that displays children’s drawings which I thought was cute.

We were greeted and told that since we had come in when they were switching from the breakfast menu to the lunch menu, they would be with us in bit to take our order. This took about 15 mins but they did apologise. They have a range of food available on the menu as well as 2 different special boards that advertise the quick lunch option or just what they have that’s on offer for that day. I have been here for breakfast and can recommend the vegan pancakes as they were delicious! They came with maple syrup however I would have liked to have seen an option of berries maybe. Anyways back to this visit. I ordered an orange and lemon juice, which I have to say has to be one of the best combinations EVER, while my mum ordered a strawberry milkshake. I didn’t try it for obvious reasons but she assured me it was very tasty.

For food my mum ordered the vegetarian mini breakfast while I opted for the vegan option of the full breakfast. About 5-10 mins after we ordered I had realised that I had forgotten to ask for mine without the nasty baked beans (sorry baked bean lovers) and since we could see into the kitchen I noticed they hadn’t made our food up yet so my mum politely asked the waitress if I could still have mine without beans and that was absolutely fine, thank the heavens haha. The food came about another 5-10 mins later and it smelt delicious. It is nicely presented and was just the right amount. I have to say their vegan sausages are the best ones from a restaurant that I have ever tasted. They are crispy on the outside but soft and chewy on

the inside just how I like them. How could you like them any other way? Everything else was cooked perfectly and the tofu here is also really tasty with a texture that melts in your mouth and fits well with all the other components of the dish. Fair to say I finished it all off easily!

We were too full to try any of the sweet stuff they had on offer but it definitely looked delicious and I will be trying some the next time I go back. I would say that the restaurant could be a little bit cleaner just in the corners of the room and such but it wasn’t overly unclean and it didn’t affect our meal in anyway, as the kitchen area looked clean. Overall the meal was amazing and I will definitely be returning and introducing new friends to this gem.

You can find more information at their website here.

See you next week

Catrina x

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How To: Vegan Snack Bars

Okay so this recipe is super quick and easy and for the main flavour the ingredients can be interchangeable so you can use your wildest imagination and use any types of ingredients to create whatever flavours get your taste buds tingling! For this blog post I have used orange infused cranberries, orange zest and a splash of orange juice to get a rich flavour of the amazing combination of cranberries and orange, however I have made it before with Medjool dates which are just as tasty if you’re a date lover like myself. This recipe makes around 12 small bars or 9 bigger ones, as you can see to the left, it just depends on how you cut it after it has cooled!

All the ingredients you’re going to need for this recipe are as follows:

-5 tablespoons of almond butter (I prefer smooth but if you want an extra crunch go for crunchy)

-8 tablespoons of agave syrup however if you don’t like things too sweet I would say 6-7 are fine too.

-4 tablespoons of raw demerara sugar

-50 grams of soya margarine (I use Pure’s sunflower version for cooking)

-150 grams of rolled oats (I think the smaller oats you can get the better)

-2 tablespoons of rice flour

-150 grams of orange infused cranberries

-however much orange zest you desire, I use about half an orange’s worth

-splash of orange juice

The oats, cranberries, 
orange and rice flour.

For the toppings you will need:

-110 grams of raspberries (or as many as you prefer)

-30 grams of walnuts, chopped (recommended but I love them so I cover the top in walnuts haha unfortunately for this time of making them we only had a small amount left in the bag, sad times.)

That’s it! Let’s start the prep process, it takes around 10 minutes depending on how much you dally. It’s fair to say I’m a dallier.

Step 1: Measure out the almond butter, agave syrup, margarine and the sugar into a saucepan. Add a splash of orange juice. Leave this for now.

Step 2: Measure out the oats, flour, cranberries and orange zest into a bowl.

Step 3: Heat the mixture in the sauce pan on a very low setting and stir until it has all melted.

Step 4: Add the bowl of ingredients to the saucepan and mix well until all the ingredients have combined to have a sticky texture.

Step 5: Transfer the mix onto a lightly oiled shallow baking tray. Use an 18 x 28 cm (7 x 11 in) tray however mine is slightly bigger so I only used around ¾ of the space. Whatever size your baking tray is just spread the mixture until you reach your desired thickness. Level the mixture with a dampened metal spoon and have some water nearby to keep dipping it in. Don’t worry if your mixture is slightly watery at the edge it will dry in the oven.

Step 6: Once you have spread the mixture to your desired size make small indents and put the raspberries wherever you want. I opted for straight lines but you could arrange them however you wish. Then scatter as little or as many walnuts as you chopped evenly over the mix.

Step 7: It is now ready to go into the oven! I have a fan oven so I set mine to 170°C, (355 °F) if you don’t set it to 190°C (375°F), or gas mark 5 for 15 mins or until the edges are golden brown,

Step 8: Take the mixture out of the oven and leave it for 10 minutes. Then score where you are going to cut the bars. Then allow the mixture to cool before completely cutting the bars and voila you have 12ish vegan bars that are great combined with lunch, a treat after dinner or just when you’re feeling peckish and want a quick snack!

I hope you make this recipe and thoroughly enjoy them just as much as I do. If you do swap ingredients around such as peanut butter instead of almond butter and other food like banana and raisin as the main ingredients I would love to know (and see pictures!) of how they turned out, let your imaginations run wild!

See you next week

Catrina x  

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Vegfest London 2015 and The View from the Shard

On the 11^th October my vegetarian friend Stephanie and I visited London Vegfest at the Kensington Olympia. We were really excited as we made our way on the over-ground and arrived at the event at 1pm. It was so busy when we walked in we could hardly move and queueing to get lunch was a nightmare. After 10 mins I finally got my Vegusto farmhouse hot dog that I had been craving since the Brighton Vegfest earlier this year! The texture of the hot-dog is not quite the same as meat but personally I find it softer and you won’t find any nasty pieces of gristle. Paired with a soft bun and onions it is a perfect way to fill up but I didn’t stop there haha oh no I tried and was fit to bust on plenty more food.

As we walked around the stalls I spotted my well-loved moo free chocolate company who specialise in creating chocolate that tastes milky and creamy. My ultimate favourite is the mint flavour but there was an orange flavour I had yet to try so I tried a sample and I just HAD to buy a bar. They taste so smooth apart from the chunky bits of the flavouring which add the perfect crunch. They are the perfect treat after a long day or when you need a little pick me up. 

We wondered around for a couple of hours, there was plenty to see! Lots of different food and products to try. The atmosphere at these kind of events is one that Stephanie and I have grown to love. Everyone is very relaxed and while the event itself is full of hustle and bustle with people buying the last of this and their favourite of that, overall the event has a very peaceful loving vibe and it’s a great place to meet new people who have the same values as you. There were also lots of food demos and talks going on that anyone could take part in or watch.

As Stephanie sat down for a bit of savoury food I couldn’t help but try the falafel from a nearby stall called “Falafel in a box. They are not too spicy which I loved because I definitely cannot take the heat! They were quite mild and had a really nice blend of spices to pair with a blob of hummus on the side. They were filling and so nice that I had to buy a bag of the mixture myself! Each bag has around 100 falafel balls. I will try them at home and let you know how they turn out! To wash down the snack I had a Dirty Elvis smoothie from the company Damage Limitation. You can see the ingredients in the photo below. It was so smooth and chocolatey and the added date flavour sealed the deal for me.

As we walked past Paradise I couldn’t help but buy their “Rawtella” chocolate and hazelnut cake and as it was nearing the end of the day I also got a blueberry layer cake for only £1 extra. What a bargain. The raw chocolate cake was so rich and creamy perfectly paired with the bitter layer of biscuit at the bottom. It tasted very hazlenutty and for all the nut-lovers out there it would definitely be a favourite. The blueberry cake was so fruity with real blueberries dotted throughout which broke up the creamy texture and added a burst of sharpness. Again the cream was complimented by the slight bitter taste of the biscuit.

It was a very good day and everyone was in such high spirits as the event wound down and we were so glad we went we definitely will be going to the one in Brighton in February! The Brighton Centre is a lot smaller than Kensington Olympia so is nicer for those who don’t do so well with such big crowds of people! All in all it was an amazing day with such an amazing sense of purpose and peacefulness.

After the event we travelled across London to London Bridge. From here we had planned to visit The Shard as I had purchased gift tickets for Stephanie’s birthday. We arrived a little bit early and walked over towards London Bridge and got great photos of the sunset. 

With such a nice background I decided to do a little OOTD.

Coat-Primark 
Top-Forever 21 
Skirt-Ubran Outfitters 
Shoes-H&M

My Unicorn Broach is from a small funky shop in Brighton and I think it really brightens up a plain coat or cardigan. And I just love unicorns. 

The skirt didn't come with the mushrooms.
 They are iron patches and I just think they
add a really cute twist to the outfit.

I love trees and all things leafy
  hence two of the rings here. They 
   are both from Sainsbury's while the 
blue one is from a market shop in Zante.

The view from the top of The Shard was amazing! It definitely is worth the money and I would recommend going at night time to see all of London lit up. We got Pimm’s to sip while we looked out the window on the 72^nd floor on the expanse of London. It was such a nice way to end our day. It really is peaceful to look out and think about all those people going about their lives. I know everyone says it but people really do look like ants from that height haha. It gives you a funny feeling in your stomach to stand right next to the window and look straight down almost like you’re going to fall. If you ever have the chance I would say go for it, it might seem expensive but the view is priceless.

If you would like to watch my vlog of our day click here.

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Loving Hut Review Brighton

The Loving Hut is a 100% vegan restaurant part of a Japanese chain, quickly opening restaurants around the rest of the world, inspired by Supreme Master Ching Hai. On their website, http://brighton.lovinghut.co.uk/uk-brighton/home/,  they describes the resturant as “a beacon of light for a healthier, compassionate, peaceful way of living” which I can definitely confirm to be true. They are also concerned with the environment and have lots of interesting and important information on their website about the environment and why more people should transition to veganism, for themselves and the planet. Definitely worth a read if you have a spare minute or two.

The outside of the restaurant is bright, colourful and inviting. It certainly doesn’t look out of place in this vibrant part of Brighton. The menu is displayed in the window, for curious eyes to look over, as well as several posters about veganism. As soon as you walk in the restaurant it has a very clean look and I was more than happy to sit at their impeccable white table to choose what I wanted to eat. The menu has a variety of options from an all-day breakfast choice, to the traditional fish n chips or Japanese inspired cuisine. Enough choice to ensure all tastes are catered for. They also have a child menu which impressed me, meaning they can enjoy their own plate of food easily without a special request.

My mum and I decided to share the Mix Platter of Hut Snacks and the sweet potato fries. I opted for the green smoothie while my mum had the berry. The waitress was very polite and we hardly waited any time for our drinks and food at all bearing in mind we were one of two parties in the restaurant. The platter looked very impressive as she brought it to our table, and I couldn’t wait to try it. It was made up of the Satay Skewers, Crispy Wontons, Spring Rolls and Sweet and Sour Soya Balls. I know that fake meat isn’t everyone’s cups of tea but this company have even tricked tourists in Japan to think that this food is chicken. It might not be overly healthy but it sure does taste good.

The coating on the wontons, rolls and balls was crisp on the outside and soft just before the filling. The balls were so tasty especially dipped in the sauce and my recently turned vegetarian mum couldn’t believe that it wasn’t chicken. They were definitely my favourite while for my mum the skewers had her hooked. The texture was just like that of chicken and the flavour was a perfect combination of spices. 

Overall we were very happy with our meal and just one plate and fries had filled us up nicely. Well my mum that is. Even though I was just full I just had to try some of their vegan soft whip ice-cream as I haven’t seen that offered anywhere else in Brighton so far. Needless to say it was delicious. It was not as smooth as normal Mr. Whippy but I actually preferred the texture as well as the nutty undertones that came through. The swirl of a fruity sauce on top just added that extra sweet note.

This is an amazing restaurant for vegans especially if you have just transitioned or are thinking about it as they offer meals that taste virtually the same as the ones you’re used to having. Plus offering a wide range of different meals to try too. This means that I would be happy to take any of my vegetarian or non-vegan friends here knowing they will fancy at least one item on the menu. Now the tricky part, to convince them to go to a 100% vegan restaurant! Haha. I would definitely recommend this place to anybody no matter what food you eat but of course definitely vegans. If you live in Brighton or ever visit it is a must go.

You can find them at 48 Gardner Street, Brighton, BN1 1UN and they are open seven days a week 11am-7pm.

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