It's World Vegan Month and Bistro Sixteen82 at Steenberg Estate is embracing this growing lifestyle with a new vegetarian and vegan summer
menu.
I never thought I’d see the day when I’d be the one asking for the vegan menu, but I did last Friday.
I was two days into my 30-day vegan challenge (I’m on day 11 now and counting).
My colleague, Viwe, had no idea what to expect other than three courses of tasteless veggies. Thankfully we were wrong.
I started with marinated artichoke with beetroot, grilled courgettes, pumpkin seeds, sundried tomatoes and herb vinaigrette.
This dish didn’t only look appealing but tasted great, too. I loved the crunchy texture from the pumpkin seeds and the burst of flavour from the herb vinaigrette.
Marinated artichoke with beetroot.
Viwe’s broccoli tataki with marinated shimeji mushrooms, corn, spring onion, wild rocket, chilli and soy vinaigrette failed to impress.
The vegetable flavours were too pungent.
With the mains, I chose another winner – tempura vegetables with avo, wild rocket and balsamic syrup.
The veggies are deep-fried in a light crispy batter, which I absolutely loved.
Viwe’s vegetable stack came a close second.
Tempura vegetables.
This colourful dish is perfect for a light summer lunch.
Ending on a sweet note, we had the only vegan dessert option – a bowl of fresh summer berries, juicy citrus and a berry coulis.