Monk-ey Magic

Any ‘Famous’ or ‘New Weekly’ diet section will tell you to avoid processed carbs, always carry a bottle of water, and, above all, whatever you do, AVOID BUFFETS.

And I would agree. If not for the health detriments of stuffing your face with seconds, thirds, fourths, etc, because ‘you need to get your money’s worth’, then to avoid the images that the word ‘buffet’ conjure; a giant plastic Sizzler sign, greedy grubby children with chocolate & bacteria covered faces, and putting those tiny marshmallows on everything.

I would say that’s the kind of buffet those trash magazines are talking about. At least, I hope they are. Because ain’t no glossy cover going to discourage me from taking advantage of the buffet provided by the gentle, generous, Hare Krishna caterers of Perth. You know, I’ll agree attentively with those rags on all other topics, like the state of Ashton Kutcher’s butt hair or how to get married, but there is a limit! ... I digress...

My history of Hare Krishna food involves stingy donations at Anna Lakshme on Barrack St (which I feel genuinely bad about, my friend claims ‘student discount!’), or going three days exclusively eating from the Hare Krishna stall at music festivals. Lunch at Govinda’s on William St felt comparatively classy.

First of all, it’s a set price. $10, those bastards! (or $8 concession, but I didn’t have the heart to try and wheedle the $2’s difference). Second, there is a constant stream of official looking productive persons (you know, people with proper jobs who don’t just scab the central heating from restaurants/bookstores/cafe’s all day) taking advantage of the $4 take-away special.

[delectable halva....and i don't even really dig desserts!]

So, this slightly upper-crust version of Hare Krishna servings is a little skewed compared to my hazy memories of stall-food at Southbound. Nonetheless, you’ve got the key elements - spicy fried potato in a mild gravy, pepper water, an overly yoghurt-y strawberry lasi, poppadums and halva in custard sauce. And you can shove as much of this down your monk-lovin’ gob as you can, just like ‘New Weekly’ told you not to. With certainly more flavour and variety than your average HK buffet, I don’t even care that the pakora is a dollar extra, this is good value.

The only thing this buffet is missing is mini marshmallows.

Rating: 5 chickpeas outta 5. Look, it’s not that hard for a strictly vegetarian place to cater to vegetarians, hence it’s a lot easier to give this rating out. Plus it’s cheap n’ tasty. I really can’t knock off anything.

The Deets: 194 William St, Northbridge