Ms W had been there before and liked the food. I liked the sound of the cafe - such a cute name for a vegetarian eatery.
Even on a rainy day, ACD was quite full with lots of locals taking refuge from the drizzle. The menu is a mix of your typical cafe fare (all day breakfasts, pasta, sandwiches/wraps) with a mix of Asian dishes (bento boxes, dumplings, mock meats, etc).
Ms W went for salt and pepper 'squid'. A light, crisp batter and perfectly seasoned. The texture of the squid was like most mock meats - a slightly chewy/firmish texture. As an omnivore, I would have much preferred a plate of real s&p squid.
Ms W also got this omelette pancake thingy (sorry, I can't remember the name of the dish). I had wanted to get this myself, so there was a bit of food envy on my part. A very generous omelette that's filled with shredded cabbage, savoury seasoning and I think some flour to give it some body. It reminded me of a vegetarian sausage roll. It had a very tasty eggyness about it.
I went for the mock duck bento box. The mock duck was a bit more chewier and oily than the squid and had a bit of chilli kick to it. It came with some stir fried vegs and pickled brocolli stalks. It was an okay bento box - not great but not bad.
Overall
ACD is a nice place for a vegetarian meal. Kudos for offering a dining experience for herbivores. The service was friendly, but seemed a smidge slow on the day.
While I don't mind eating mock meats, I was a bit disappointed that as a vegetarian cafe it didn't offer more creative dishes without the use of mock meats - bring on more dishes like the omelette wrap!
In terms of price, this was a bit more pricier than I had expected for a mid-range cafe. While I acknowledge that the cost of produce is more expensive these days, I tend to expect a vegetarian dish would (on average) cost less than its meat-based equivalent. Also, ACD has a dessert range which are about $12-$15 each. For me, that's a very pricey dessert for a mid-range cafe. I'd expect to see those prices for a more upscale establishment. I'd be interested to hear your views on this - do you expect to charged less for a vegetarian meal?
Verdict
Food – 6.5
Service – 7
Ambience – 7
Price – 6.5
Address
A Caterpillar's Dream
Shop 4, 26 Princess St
Kew 3101
Telephone: 9939 6133
2 comments:
I agree with prices for vegetarian food. Vegan lamb is more expensive than vegan chicken or beef, and vegan prawns are more expensive than vegan fish.
It's not the real thing, it cannot (IMO) follow the pricing of the real deal. They play with your expectations of what is more expensive.
Hi Anon, yep, I'd be willing to pay more if the veggie food was more than just mock meat. If they made, say a vegetarian lasagne, and had roasted the ingredients and made the sauce from scratch, then I'd totally be willing pay more.
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