Bodhi Restaurant Bar, Sydney CBD

My first gourmet vegan and vegetarian food experience in the city.  Bodhi Restaurant|Bar is hidden between St Mary's Cathedral and the swimming pool, near St James' station - thank you Google maps! - and serves genuine vegan Yum Cha for lunch, and a selection of oriental tapas-style dinner dishes from Tuesday to Sunday. They were established 24 years ago, and the restaurant has both mood-lit indoor and tranquil outdoor seating.  Everything is prepared fresh daily, using Australian organic produce, as their philosophy is to be an environmentally friendly and sustainable business.

Mocktail - no mocktail menu up on their website, so spoil yourself with a surprise like I did - this one was so fresh with citrus and berry notes - delish!

Malaysian mushroom rendang, served with a mantou bun. 

Gluten free, $13.50. 

Beautifully made chewy mushrooms, resembled beef jerky/biltong except not as sticky and hard a consistency. The buns are sweet, great for dipping in that lovely mildly spiced rendang dressing - would definitely recommend trying this tapas dish. 

Smoked soy, orange, coconut, chilli and coriander betel leaves. 

Gluten-free, $8. 

Betel leaves, one of my favourite herbs that are used in Vietnamese cuisine, mainly to make bò lá lốt - creamy marinated beef mince wrapped in betel leaf and then char-grilled. And Bodhi's use of the fresh betel leaf's bitterness and slight tang to complement the fusion of fresh citrus and spicy combination of flavours of the filling is sensational - definitely makes this dish the winner entree tapas for me.

Chickpea battered sweet potato and tofu served with 'sour cream' and sweet chilli sauce. 

Gluten free, $13.50. 

Moderately large portions that consisted of mainly either sweet potato and tofu.  Was quite bland, would have loved a bit more seasoning - maybe a spicy aromatic curry seasoning or even taco seasoning to flavour the potato/tofu.  I enjoyed the chickpea batter, but I wouldn't recommend this dish on your next trip to Bodhi.  It's kinda like a potato fritter/scallop, but not as thin and crunchy, which is what I would have preferred. 

Brown rice and salted black bean cakes, beetroot coulis, sauteed mushrooms and baby spinach. 

Gluten free, $21. 

The super crunchy exterior of the cakes encapsulates a rich soft and creamy interior, this texture achieved by the softness of the beans and rice. Garnished with fresh vegies, the sweet and mildly citrusy coulis well complements the cakes in taste and colour.  A little dash of salt would have made this dish even better.  A beautifully presented dish, would definitely recommend.

Slightly pricey at $30-40pp, but eating such fresh, light and healthy dishes (deep fried chickpea batter is rich in protein!) was enjoyable indeed, it didn't leave me with the guilty heavy multi-course meal feeling, as portion sizes were just right for two, and Bodhi's service is great too.

Website: http://www.bodhi.id.au/ 
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Bodhi-Restaurant-Bar/145049932208860