Gaijin - Bendigo

We were told that the Bahn mi bao at Bungalows cannot be made vegan. Instead, we exchanged our order for vegan sushi rolls. The cassava chips without mayo and rice pudding were also vegan options available on the menu.

We initially looked at the menu and noticed it mentioned asking about vegan options, so I called and spoke with Laura who was very helpful in pointing out all the vegan choices. Almost everything that can be made vegan includes tofu. The bao bungalows come with mayo, so remember to request it without. The food was delicious, especially the baby, bibimbap, and rice pudding. We will definitely be returning. (Review updated on April 24, 2020)

I appreciate that they offer some vegan options, but unfortunately the Bibimbap dish was not truly vegan as it contained Kimchi and egg. They did not offer vegan substitutions like vegan kimchi or egg, avocado, etc. The dish did not resemble a traditional Bibimbap and lacked the authentic flavors. The rice paper rolls were also disappointing, lacking key ingredients like mint and coriander, with a limited amount of tofu and mostly salad and noodles. They initially claimed the spring rolls were vegan, but upon further inquiry, we discovered they were not as they contained a sriracha sauce with non-vegan ingredients.

I appreciate that they offer vegan options, and the sushi was decent. They were open when many other places were closed, and the staff were friendly. However, the bibimbap can only be made vegan by removing the kimchi and egg, without any replacement options like vegan kimchi or egg or avocado. It didn't resemble a traditional bibimbap, and lacked the characteristic stone bowl. Instead, it tasted like a bland soy sauce stir fry. The rice paper rolls were also disappointing, lacking mint or coriander and containing minimal tofu, mostly consisting of lettuce and noodles. While they claimed the spring rolls were vegan, they later admitted that they contained a sriracha sauce made with bone char sugar, rendering them non-vegan.

I was informed that the Bahn mi bao buns could not be made vegan, so we switched our order to vegan sushi buns. The cassava chips without mayo and rice pudding are both vegan options.