Gluten Savvy

 I’ve just started a new job in the City so it’s time to start poking around for lunch time spots. I’m not too far from Hardware Lane, so I wandered down there and discovered a crêperie that advertises "gluten-free, lactose-free and vegan available on request". I have to say that French crêpes cooked on the side of the road with a little jambon and an egg broken over them have been a favourite of mine since I was an exchange student in Paris too many years ago to mention. So I went in and asked whether it was possible to get gluten-free and dairy-free all in the one crêpe… Continue Reading »

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Most gluten-intolerant diners are thrilled if they can find a good café with GF options marked on the menu. The idea of completely gluten-free restaurant that caters for allergy sufferers is almost too good to be true. Yet nestled in the trendy Westgarth strip in Melbourne is just such a paradise. Continue Reading »

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Seafood laksa is one of my favourite foods in the world. If you haven’t heard of laksa, you’re in for a treat: it’s a sweet coconut curry soup with a secret ingredient, the spice galangal. Random noodle shops will claim to do a laksa, but it’s most often a Singaporean imitation that is a thin yellow soup rather than the substantial creamy rich orange colour of the real Malaysian thing. Continue Reading »

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We went there on the basis of an article in The Age, looking for pavlova, a famous Australasian dessert consisting of meringue, cream, strawberries, kiwi fruit and passionfruit. The few restaurants that carry it tend to do fancy “interpretations” instead of the traditional pav your Mum would have made. Not Green Refectory. Continue Reading »

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Right at the front of the Federation Square atrium, in the centre of Melbourne, Tjanabi is a very upmarket restaurant serving indigenous and local produce. Four of us settled in for a full three-course meal and shared everything.

I’d e-mailed in advance with our booking mentioning that I was gluten-intolerant. When we arrived, we mentioned it to the waiter, who said that the chef had prepared a list of what I could eat on the menu. He came back and read from hand-written notes: the news sounded good. Most of what I was interested in was fine.

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Nepalese food has always been a favourite. Happily, like a lot of Indian food, the main dishes are mostly gluten-free. Sadly, of course, you have to avoid the breads, but what’s new? Continue Reading »

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Yum Cha — what Americans call Dim Sum — is risky for the gluten-intolerant. If you’ve never tried it before, it involves pre-prepared dishes on plates and in bamboo baskets being wheeled around a room and offered to patrons. As each server arrives, they tell you the name of each dish they have on their trolley — barbeque pork or steam bun, for example. Unless you speak fluent Mandarin or Cantonese, you’ve got a good chance no one will understand what you’re asking about. Continue Reading »

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Zadin is a family-run restaurant serving authentic Vietnamese dishes in the heart of San Francisco’s Castro District. Although it is by no means a gluten-free affair, the menu features a number of gluten-free options, all marked GF. Continue Reading »

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Named for the South Indian crepe made of rice and lentil flours, Dosa is a haven for gluten-free eaters. Although their entire menu is not gluten-free (ask and they’ll give you an allergen cheat-sheet that tells which allergens are in which foods), Dosa’s focus on South-Indian cuisine reveals just how versatile gluten-free grains are, and how core those grains can be in some cultures. It’ll make you feel like other cultures’ foods were made for your tummy. Continue Reading »

Tags: Indian

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Quince is an unassuming café in Clifton Hill but away from the main clutch of cafés in Queens Parade. A few years ago, the café changed owners and the new family — owner Jan and her business partner, daughter Rachel — have embraced the alternative side of the neighbourhood while still providing the staples for the weekday lunchtime mothers’ crowd who delight in the toy corner and the babychinos. Continue Reading »

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