Restaurant review: Plant'd pop up at Monster Kitchen and Bar

When my daughter became a pescatarian about seven years ago I'll admit I explored the world of fake meat. If I was cooking the family tacos, a handful of not-mince for her meant I didn't have to cook a separate meal. I occasionally looked for a burger patty that wouldn't taste like cardboard, perhaps a not-chicken schnitzel here and there. But I still didn't really see the point.

So many of us have grown up with the whole idea of meat and three veg that it seemed wrong to serve a meal without "meat" on the plate and I guess that's why I felt I still had to.

But over the years she's opened my eyes to many things, including the improvements in the world of plant-based protein. They're not all grey, flavourless, chalky replacements.

So we were interested to see that for Vegetarian Month, celebrated in October every year, Monster Kitchen and Bar, as part of the Ovolo Group of hotels, had collaborated with Bloom Providore, a gourmet plant-based protein "inspired by meat, created for chefs", for a pop-up menu.

Ovolo's "Year of Veg" kicked off in October 2020 where venues across the group transitioned to vegetarian-only menus, at that time thinking it was only for a year. Two years on they admit it's been more successful than they anticipated and they are running with it.

This pop-up features four dishes created by the chefs from four of Ovolo's hotels, using the Bloom Providore mince inspired by beef. There's also product inspired by pork and lamb if you're interested.

From Michael Jackson at Brisbane's Za Za Ta comes herbivore dumplings. Jiwon Do, from Alibi Bar and Kitchen in Sydney's Woolloomooloo comes san choy bow. Planta cocido is the offering from Isa Raku Lona Misa in Melbourne while Canberra's own Matthew Bentley has developed stuffed savoy cabbage in the Monster Kitchen and Bar kitchen.

All four are available alongside the regular Monster menu but we decide to try all four of them.

We're seated in the bar area, one of my favourite spaces in Canberra, with its eclectic collection of chairs, stools and tables. I wonder why we're not in the dining room and then I remember it's a Tuesday night. The main room is open Thursday to Saturday, but tonight everyone seems happy with the move. It's busy too, a little noisy. At times it's hard to hear what the waiters are telling us about the dishes, some of them might need to talk a little louder, but my daughter, who works in hospitality herself, knows first hand that unless service is terribly poor it's best to cut everyone a little slack in this post-COVID world.

First up are the dumplings ($28 for five). Why five? There are two of us, obviously, and also they're delicious, our favourite dish of the night. They're served with pine nuts and crispy sage leaves, dotted with little cubes of pumpkin in quite a traditional combination. They're more tortellini than dumplings really, the pasta filled generously with the mince. It's all nestled on a bed of yogurt which adds a tartness and we like it all.

There's also an odd number of san choy bow ($21 for three). This dish was always a family favourite pre-pescatarian days and my daughter has missed it, she says. She likes these ones, done with spring vegetables, Chinese sauce with peanuts and some thinly sliced red onion for texture. I would have liked to see the inspired by pork mince used here for variation. But they were a nice bite, clean and crisp, a generous portion inside the lettuce leaf.

Planta cocido ($34) is a twist on the traditional Spanish dish, cocido, a meat and vegetable stew. Here it's the mince and Jerusalem artichokes. Neither of us have ever cooked or eaten artichoke and we're pleasantly surprised. It's firm but not tough, cut into wedges as such, in a rich stew like served with the mince. It's on a bed of cauliflower puree, smooth and well-seasoned, a little kick from a salsa macha.

Canberra's offering, the stuffed savoy cabbage ($29), brought back memories of my grandmother who was a whiz with meals like this. Cabbage or capsicums, zucchinis from her garden that she'd missed which had turned into marrows, stuffed full with what was loosely termed savoury mince.

I liked this dish. There was something kind of classical about it, with a sweetness from apple compote, tartness from some kimchi, a bite from some sriracha emulsion.

The pop-up menu is only available until October 31. Perhaps a few of the dishes will be incorporated onto the regular menu which we're keen to get back and explore.

I can imagine exploring, and invention, happens a lot in the kitchen at Monster. While you would think it would be restrictive not cooking with meat, the menu here suggests the very opposite. Perhaps there is a freedom to it all us carnivores are yet to realise.

Address: Ovolo Nishi, 25 Edinburgh Ave, New Acton

Phone: 62876192

Website: monsterkitchen.com.au

Hours: breakfast, Monday to Sunday, 7-10.30am; dinner, Thursday to Saturday, 6-10.30pm; bar, seven days, 2-10.30pm

Owners: Ovolo Group

Chef: Matthew Bentley

Noise: Depends on where you're sitting, the bar area was noisy this night

Dietary: Most definitely vegetarian