Dr Jasmine B. MacDonald (00:00):
Hey there and welcome to 'My mate in...'. On this show I catch up with friends from all over the place and talk to them about their favorite cafes or restaurants or bars, and just try to get some kind of local insights into cool places to go and try. Uh, so today I'm catching up with my friend Nahisha, uh, who is my mate in Moonee Ponds.

Nahisha (00:23):
Hi.

Dr Jasmine B. MacDonald (00:23):
Very cool to have you here today. So are we talking about a cafe, a bar or a restaurant?

Nahisha (00:30):
Um, we're talking about a cafe.

Dr Jasmine B. MacDonald (00:31):
Okay, awesome. Which cafe is it?

Nahisha (00:33):
It's called the Olivia Spring Cafe. Um, and it's a Moonee Ponds and it's a recent find that, um, I've been to a few times now. Um, so my husband's vegan and that has been a bit of a challenge for us in terms of finding cafes that, um, yeah, suit his dietary requirements. Um, and often we find when we go to cafes, there aren't many vegan options, um, and it's always a bit of a struggle. So this was great to find something local cause we live in Moonee Ponds. Um, and it's Vietnamese inspired.

Dr Jasmine B. MacDonald (01:11):
Ooh.

Nahisha (01:12):
Yeah. Um, and the one thing that my husband also doesn't like is just, he finds breakfast things quite boring...

Dr Jasmine B. MacDonald (01:19):
Uhhuh.

Nahisha (01:19):
People don't sort of go out there with their options. And so this place does breakfast options, but also I guess, lunch things as well through the day. Um, so it'll have like spring rolls or different types of soups or salads. Um, and yeah, everything in the cafe is vegan, so...

Dr Jasmine B. MacDonald (01:39):
That's awesome.

Nahisha (01:40):
Yeah.

Dr Jasmine B. MacDonald (01:41):
So, um, I think, you're pretty safe to go to places in the Northern suburbs and get vegetarian food, but it's kind of surprising, I think how it can be challenging to go somewhere when someone's vegan and have options. Like plural . Um, so yeah, I, I, um, I see that and I go out with a friend, um, after workout sometimes and take him to cafes that we like and he'll ask even just for something to be changed on the menu and they'll say, oh yeah, you're vegan. Do you want us to take the bacon off and add halloumi? And we just both sit there and go, like, they try to be nice, so no, thank you. And then they walk away and we have a chuckle ,

Nahisha (02:23):
It's definitely a challenge and you are right. You know, there's often quite a lot of vegetarian options, but trying to make something vegan, um, is a lot more difficult.

Dr Jasmine B. MacDonald (02:32):
Yeah. And you said this is a new find, but you've lived around the area for a while. So how did you stumble across it?

Nahisha (02:40):
Um, I was just Googling like vegan cafes near me,

Dr Jasmine B. MacDonald (02:44):
Out of necessity.

Nahisha (02:47):
Yeah. Um, and this one came up and I think it's, um, so those who know or dunno Moonee Ponds. Well, it's, it's at the end of Puckle Street on Mount Alexander Road. And I guess for us, we never typically ventured that far up the road.

Dr Jasmine B. MacDonald (03:02):
Uhhuh.

New Speaker (03:02):
Um, so hadn't sort of stumbled across it or walked past. Um, but there are so many cafes in Moonee Ponds, so, um, yeah, it was good. It was just literally a Google search and, and it came up and I was like, great. Something actually super local. I don't have to drive to get there. Um, so, and it's really easily accessible, um, you know, by public transport. Um, it's right by Moonee Ponds Junction.

Dr Jasmine B. MacDonald (03:29):
Right.

Nahisha (03:29):
So, which is a tram stop, I think it's the 82 and the 59 tram uhh like a little bus depo there. Um, and I guess it would be maybe a 10 minute walk from Moonee Ponds train station.

Dr Jasmine B. MacDonald (03:41):
Oh, nice. Good spot then.

Nahisha (03:43):
Yeah.

Dr Jasmine B. MacDonald (03:44):
So when you go, what do you order. If I were gonna go, what would you recommend?

Nahisha (03:50):
Um, they do this really awesome tofu scramble.

Dr Jasmine B. MacDonald (03:54):
Oh nice.

Nahisha (03:55):
Um, and yeah, they're sort of smashed avocado underneath it. Um, I've had tofu scramble, something like I make at home and a challenge for me is making it in a way that it's not super dry.

Dr Jasmine B. MacDonald (04:07):
Mm-hmm .

Nahisha (04:07):
Um, but this one was amazing. Um, you know, it wasn't dry at all. I don't know what spices they use, but yeah. Full of flavor kind of like spinach, tomatoes with it. Um, it's great. Another thing that they do while there it's really popular from, I've seen lots of people order it, but they do banh mi.

Dr Jasmine B. MacDonald (04:25):
Oh, nice.

Nahisha (04:27):
Yeah. And they have options that are sort of tofu based.

Dr Jasmine B. MacDonald (04:30):
Mm-hmm .

Nahisha (04:30):
...a lemon grass and chili, but they also do, um, kind of mock meat options. So yeah, they have this kind of like shredded, uh, I think it's pork. Um, but obviously vegan. Um, and I don't actually dunno what it is, but the flavors and the taste it's pretty convincing.

Dr Jasmine B. MacDonald (04:47):
Yeah.

Nahisha (04:48):
Yeah. It's good.

Dr Jasmine B. MacDonald (04:48):
Heck yeah. Is there, um, often the limit with banh mi can be, you've just got tofu, like if you're not gonna eat meat. So I love that there's a bit of variety there for people who don't eat meat. Okay. So what about drink wise? What do you order?

Nahisha (05:02):
Um, I love coffee. Uh, so my go to as an almond, flat white.

Dr Jasmine B. MacDonald (05:07):
Mm-hmm .

Nahisha (05:07):
um, but one time I went, I did have a turmeric latte with almond milk. That was really good too.

Dr Jasmine B. MacDonald (05:13):
I don't think I've ever tried a turmeric latte.

Nahisha (05:15):
Ah, you should give it a go.

Dr Jasmine B. MacDonald (05:16):
Is it similar to like ground turmeric that you'd, you know, like might put in a curry or something.

Nahisha (05:21):
Yeah. Kind of like I've made them at home just with turmeric I think I just like the flavor.

Dr Jasmine B. MacDonald (05:26):
Yeah.

Nahisha (05:26):
But I think there's a bit more of a spice mix to this one. Um, but yeah, it was good. And coffee's good too.

Dr Jasmine B. MacDonald (05:33):
I'm wondering if there's anything else like you would add for people to know about this cafe?

Nahisha (05:40):
Yeah. Look, I'd say it's definitely family friendly.

Dr Jasmine B. MacDonald (05:43):
Nice.

Nahisha (05:43):
Um, so it's, it's a small cafe. It's very minimal. Um, but uh, in a great location. They have, um, so I have a son, a three year old son and they have, um, a little book corner.

Dr Jasmine B. MacDonald (05:56):
Oh cute.

Nahisha (05:57):
So yeah, every time we go in, he grabs a book and sits at the table and reads it. So it's good to have something to entertain him while we eat. Um, I actually think the name of the cafe, um, is the owner's daughter.

Dr Jasmine B. MacDonald (06:12):
Aww.

Nahisha (06:12):
Yeah. There's um, sort of on the wall kind of like some of her awards from school.

Dr Jasmine B. MacDonald (06:17):
Aww, that's sweet as.

Nahisha (06:18):
Yeah. Really sweet. Um, so yeah, it's definitely a kind of family run sort of yeah. Family friendly place.

Dr Jasmine B. MacDonald (06:26):
It gives you that kind of community vibe when you see stuff like that. And then even if you don't know the family or the owners, you kind of, you feel in a little bit.

Nahisha (06:34):
Yeah. For sure. For sure. It's keep little spot. I'm glad we found it.

Dr Jasmine B. MacDonald (06:37):
Yeah. That's awesome. So listeners hear this episode decide they're gonna go visit Moonee Ponds. Is there anything else around that cafe that you would say, hey, while you're here, check out this park or this shop or maybe another cafe or restaurant or something?

Nahisha (06:52):
Yeah. Look, Moonee Ponds is a great spot and you're definitely spoilt for choice. Um, so there's a Moonee Ponds shopping center. Um, you know, it's got Coles, Woolworths, but also kind of clothing shops and stuff.

Dr Jasmine B. MacDonald (07:04):
Cool.

Nahisha (07:04):
There are like so many cafes and so many restaurants. Like Mount Alexander Road itself, um, you know, whatever you are into, um, there's like Greek restaurants, theres like, um, you know, steak and seafood places. There's um, you know, like Korean barbecue places. It's just very...

Dr Jasmine B. MacDonald (07:25):
That's a massive mix of stuff.

Nahisha (07:26):
Yeah. very spoilt for choice. Um, lots of wine bars.

Dr Jasmine B. MacDonald (07:30):
Nice.

Nahisha (07:31):
Yep. Um, there's one called, um, Strange Lovers Wine Bar. Um, and that's a really cool spot, really intimate. It's got indoor outdoor seating, extensive wine list. They do cocktails to, um, kind of intimate vibe inside. Cool for a date night.

Dr Jasmine B. MacDonald (07:48):
Nice. Well thank you for coming and having a chat to me. Um, can we make a date to go to this cafe together?

Nahisha (07:53):
Yeah, sounds good.

Dr Jasmine B. MacDonald (07:54):
And then obviously the wine bar afterwards. .

Nahisha (07:57):
Perfect. Yep. Let's book it in.