Yulli's, Surry Hills

During #meatFreeWeek back in March a bunch of hungry food bloggers gathered to feast at Yulli's - a popular vegetarian restaurant in Surry Hills.  The restaurant was PACKED and I'm guessing that not everyone crossing the threshold was veggo (half our group were meat eaters).  The food is so wonderful here that even diehard omnivores seem to flock to Yulli's.

Although the food is wonderful, the seating here is not the best.  Awkward tables and (for me) uncomfortable stools -- but I guess that's a good way to keep turn over high. Get in...eat your fill..and make room for the next lot of hungry diners. Being a...not small person...I'm always nervous of these little itty bitty stools...what if I eat one too many dumplings and break my seat?

We decide to go for the banquet - a steal at $35 - as it means someone else has made the difficult ordering decisions for us. Big thanks to Tara for letting me use her food photos for this post - can you believe I was TOO far from the food to be paparazzi.

Our feast kicks of with three scrumptious entrees. First we have a row of plump, savoury steamed leek + ginger dumplings with fresh plum sauce and my all time favourite cheese - pan-fried Haloumi. We're served a really interesting twist on Thai money bags that are filled with sweet tasting Edamame and Coconut.  I'm so impressed that fellow blogger Martyna went home and replicated these her own unique that very same weekend!

The second course has a plate of super crispy salt and pepper tofu with green papaya salad.  A lot of people are down on tofu but I'm not sure why? I love the silky texture of tofu especially when it has a nice, crunchy batter. The papaya salad is tart, fresh and + sour and totally counterbalances any "fried-food guilt" associated with the tofu.  A plate of crunchy Falafel accompanies the tofu - and it's lovely and crisp on the outside and fluffy on the inside with that wonderful nutty flavour that makes falafel so appealing.

I absolutely LOVED the porcini mushroom and haloumi pizza - the saltiness of halmoui is totally addictive to me. I couldn't detect much porcini, but there were olives and plenty of squeaky haloumi - perfection. The pizza was accompanied by a refreshingly light pear and orange salad that was studded with pieces of sweet pineapple.  The final main dish was a really great eggplant involtini - this dish was so filling and substantial that I think any die hard carnivore would struggle to believe it was 100% meat free.

The dessert platter was a delicious sight - a few little morsels of sweet things is the perfect way to end a perfect dinner - white Belgian chocolate caramel slice, chocolate fudge brownie and a little square of baked New York cheesecake with rhubarb sauce.

Yulli's is at 417 Crown Street, Surry Hills.  Phone them on 9319 6609.