As soon as I saw on Vegan About Town that Monk Bodhi Dharma’s french toast had changed from featuring bananas to featuring poached pears (pears! The most delicious of all fruits!) I knew that I had to beat a path of sample them. The Boy and I managed to concoct a reason: celebrating our halfversary. Halfversary is the halfway point between your actual anniversary. Use this new occasion to extort breakfast dates out of your significant other!
The pear french toast is pretty much exactly the same as the banana version apart from the fruit substitution, so there’s still the citrus mascarpone and the pistachios, although the syrup that accompanies the poached pears is the result of a primarily cinnamon and bay leaf infusion. The other difference is how the dish leaves you feeling after you’ve consumed it. The banana version was so rich that that I felt quite full and bloated afterwards (deliciously bloated though!). The pear toast, on the other hand, might be the most perfectly filling dish ever, sating your hunger yet leaving your tum as light as a feather.
The Boy had some corn-based fritters, beautifully plated with a lovely big smear of basil pesto and some roasted cherry tomatoes. His meal appeared, I looked away to behold my plate of delicious pears and toast, looked back – and the fritters had been INHALED! Completely gone! “Were you hungry?” I asked. “A bit, yeah,” replied The Boy with a grin. I took that as a sign that the fritters must indeed have been as delicious as they looked, and The Boy indeed was very approving of both the food and the surrounds.
I also took home with me a raspberry vegan muffin (the sweets cabinet had been calling to me all through breakfast, I could resist it no longer!). I ended up sharing it with my mum and dad, and after the shock of discovering that it was vegan, my dad decreed it to be THE BEST MUFFIN HE HAD EVER HAD! Mum and I weren’t arguing; it was beautifully soft and moist, and liberally stuffed with raspberries. Truly glorious.
So yes, Monk Bodhi Dharma, once again thumbs up all round.
Monk Bodhi Dharma
Rear 202 Carlisle Street, Balaclava
Ballroom Blintz 
That French toast is so good! And I still haven’t tried the muffins there, but the look so wonderful!