mr natural vegetarian pizza, fitzroy north

Bean sprouts on pizza? Curry sauce?

Let's get it out of the way right from the beginning, Mr Natural Vegetarian Pizza on the quiet end of Brunswick St, North Fitzroy is not a place for pizza purists. Their pizzas are so loaded with toppings that the crust almost drowns under the juicy weight of all those ingredients - some of which can be quite unorthodox. However, if that's how you like your pizzas, or if you don't mind either way (I fall into this latter category) then read on to assess whether you may find them worth checking out if you're in the neighbourhood, especially for those after gluten-free or vegan options.

It's the Razorback!

On yet another rainy spring day we called to make a pick-up order for two medium pizzas. Simon, who has had their pizzas before, decided on one that he is familiar with, the Razorback, and I, the newbie, went with the Natural for the obligatory eponymous introduction to their pizzas...

The Razorback, to me, sounds like haphazard Chinese takeaway on a pizza. Beanshoots, corn, tofu? Really? And with cheese? But surprisingly, I liked the combination.

The Natural, on the other hand, is an odd mix of spicy Indian (potatoes, vindaloo curry sauce) and Mediterranean (olives, feta). Yet again, it somehow worked for me.

And here's the Natural.

The pizzas here are very hearty and filling, with interesting flavour combinations. However, they can be quite wet and/or greasy, which makes them less appealing than they would be otherwise. It's a mix of pros and cons and personally I still feel undecided on my verdict. Don't you just hate when that happens!

Other notes: Pick-up orders are approximately a 20-minute wait, they're open only in the evenings, certain deals are available on different days (check the website), and there's also a store in St Kilda. 



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malaymas, fitzroy north: a little piece of malaysia

It's always great to find a place that serves authentic Malaysian food in Melbourne, so I'm very happy that I found Malaymas. Located on St Georges Rd in North Fitzroy, it's a fairly unassuming little restaurant that serves up great hawker-style dishes, mostly around the 10-dollar mark. I've been there twice now, and I'm definitely planning on a third visit.

The first time we went, I got the fried kueh teow and Simon had the nasi lemak special with beef rendang curry. Simon took the liberty of tasting the fried kueh teow while I was taking photos and commented on the smoky flavour. It was at this point I knew we were on to something good. And they are: one taste of these sultry wok-fried rice noodles and I was sold. The only thing that was missing was the crispy lard - the fried pork fat that I do so adore. Then there was the nasi lemak special, which Simon thought was alright but not excellent. They did forget the peanuts - an oversight he picked up on before I did. That boy is learning fast about Malaysian food. I am so proud of him. He is, however, still immune to the awesomeness that is sambal (spicy savoury chilli paste), something I happily excused that night, as Malaymas does a mean sambal, and it was mine, all mine! I didn't get to sample much else from his plate but hey, I think I got the best bit anyway.

fried kueh teow

nasi lemak special with beef rendang

For drinks, I had the sour plum (which was probably more salty than sour) and Simon had the longan. These were cool and refreshing, a nice complement to our food.

sour plum drink and longan drink

Just over one week later, we were off to Malaymas again. Simon was keen on more fried kueh teow, so we got that. But I wanted to try at least a couple of things different to what we had last time, so we ordered hainanese chicken rice and har mee (noodles in spicy prawn broth) as well. It turned out to be quite a lot of food for the two of us!

The hainanese chicken rice was pretty good - the chicken was succulent and the chilli-ginger dip was a decent version. However, the rice was slightly on the dry side - I remedied this by spooning some of the flavourful soup over it. Meanwhile, the har mee was prawny and pleasing. I can also report that the fried kueh teow was as delicious as we remembered from the first time.

hainanese chicken rice

har mee

As you can probably tell, I'm suitably impressed with Malaymas. Not quite Malaysian perfection in all the dishes, perhaps, but where they get it right, it's splendid! It shouldn't be too long before I return for round three, and I do hope it continues to impress.



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