I was recently invited to sample the new menus of The Ganga Cafe and Barat Lifestyle Vegetarian Restaurant. Both are situated next to each other, and under the same management too. I covered The Ganga selection yesterday; now on to the fusion Mediterranean experience at Barat!

Dish names in order:

🌱 Roasted Pumpkin Soup, made with a coconut cream base and infused with ginger

🌱 Curried Couscous with baby carrot and asparagus

🌱 Vegan Carbonara made with coconut cream and base of pistachio

🌱 Vegan Omelette with Vegan Fried Cheese Balls

🌱 Coconut Ice Cream with homemade caramel

🌱 Verdict: The couscous could have afforded to carry a more robust curry flavour. This was pretty much all the constructive criticism I could offer. Anything that conventionally features dairy, from the soup to the pasta, was incredibly rich and the taste of coconut was only vaguely discernible. The fried cheese balls are honestly the best plant-based cheese I’ve had in my life. (I’ve actually been to Barat once before and I returned my dish believing that I was given dairy cheese. They had a hard time convincing me that it was vegan!) The omelette is chickpea-based and delightfully moist and moreish. The ice cream is smooth and velvety with a clean finish.

🌱 Yes, yes, YES. This is what good food is all about. The perfect marriage of the chemistry and creativity. I had a memorable experience at Barat and looking forward to exploring more of what it offers in future visits.

Thank you for having us over!