Have you heard about the ‘secret’ (or not so secret now) vegan menu at Morks? Eat Canberra’s newest contributor and chef, Lucy Ridge, recently checked it out. Morks is a popular Canberra restaurant and they were recently awarded a chef’s hat from the Good Food Guide. Here’s what Lucy thought…
In my experience, dining out with vegetarians and vegans can too often be an awkward exercise with unhappy compromises. Either the vegos end up with limited choice, or everyone has to commit to a fake-tofu meal. I recently had a restaurant tell me they could probably put together some kind of mushroom risotto for a vegan if they really had to. Cue exaggerated eye roll. Come on guys, its 2018. Have options.
A solution is at hand, however, as I was delighted to discover that Kingston Foreshore favourite, Morks, has a ‘secret’ vegan menu. I say ‘secret’ (in quotes) because it’s pretty well known by the vegan community (they all talk, have secret meetings etc.), and the staff are very excited to tell you about it. The menu consists of more than just a few altered dishes. There are three entrees, five mains and even a dessert.
Background Info
Morks first opened at Florey shops in 2008 and for many years they were a fine example of the culinary gems located in suburbs all around Canberra. My housemate’s family have been big fans since the very beginning and are now able to smugly say that they were eating at Morks before it was cool.
A change in location to the Kingston Foreshore in 2013 has introduced Morks to a wider group of Canberrans and they’ve reaped the benefits with multiple awards and mentions in Lonely Planet, Good Food Guide and more.
Despite being a proudly family-run establishment, Morks is far more than your standard Thai takeaway. The menu is contemporary and classy. No pad thai in sight! They source sustainable ingredients and the menu changes regularly with the seasons. These guys are proud to be part of a sustainable, inclusive and diverse community (and they also really like dogs).
Thai cooking usually relies on fish sauce to balance flavours and to add that underlying salty-umami situation. I’m not sure how they’ve managed it but they’ve done a brilliant job of substituting other flavours to create vegan dishes that still feel authentically Thai.
What we ate
Now I’m not vegan but I was more than happy to forgo meat for the evening in order to share the maximum amount of dishes with my vegan dining partner.
To begin the meal, Tessa had the Chinese Eggplant Tortilla. Having been served one too many soggy veggie stacks in her life Tessa is, controversially, not a huge fan of eggplant. She happily conceded, however, that if more eggplant was served like this she would eat it all the time. It was sticky, sweet, spicy and…
“Hella Good” – Tessa, professional vegan.
I couldn’t resist the (not vegan but vegetarian) Sweet Potato Dumplings, which came in a fragrant Panang Curry. The dumplings were perfectly pinched with chewy wrappers and smooth sweet potato filling. A few bits of crunch in the curry sauce and lots of baby shiso leaves finished the dish very nicely.
For our mains, we shared three dishes:
- Charred Wombok, Chilli & Peanut Salad,
- Wok tossed Bok Choy, Shiitake, Chilli & Tofu, and
- Old School Fried Rice
The charred wombok salad was beautifully balanced and full of contrasting flavours and textures. The wombok was warm and rich, and the peanuts added great crunch. Lots of fresh herbs lifted the whole dish and made it feel really fresh and light.
The bok choy and shiitake dish was nice, but not outstanding. It’s a little less inventive than some of their other dishes, however, the flavours were great and again, very well balanced. If you wanted to have it as a side, or share with a less adventurous dining partner then this would still be a nice plate to have on the table.
A big winner of the evening was the old school fried rice. Plenty of the usual vegetable suspects were thrown in with very thinly sliced shiitake mushrooms, a liberal sprinkling of crisp fried eschallots, fresh herbs and a wedge of lime. I can imagine myself devouring a full serve. It was so comforting and moreish. Fried rice is often extremely oily, leaving you feeling drenched and heavy, but this was fluffy and light with just enough oil to linger on your lips.
My only disappointment was that the main dishes were uniformly mild, despite chilli being name-checked on the menu. I understand that lots of people might prefer less heat but we were both looking forward to a little fire. Perhaps next time it’s worth asking for extra spice!
There is a vegan dessert option but we were delightfully stuffed. So we didn’t try the Pikachu- *I choose you* (mango sorbet). Next time…
If you’re with a hungry group, you can also choose the secret vegan banquet so you can try a bit of everything. 
Service, Staff and Overall Vibes
The staff at Morks were super friendly, knowledgeable and enthusiastic. Tessa got a fist bump in vegan solidarity. I was delighted to see BeerLao on the menu, and the staff indulged me as I insisted on keeping the empty bottle on the table for aesthetic purposes (yes, I was ‘that guy’). We were taken care of by the staff and, despite our ravenous impatience, the food came fairly quickly.
What I loved most about the experience at Morks was the way that dietary requirements were celebrated, rather than treated as an inconvenience. I’ve eaten there with friends previously who have a number of intolerances and the chefs have taken a sharpie to the menu in order to re-write dishes to suit their needs. The secret vegan menu is a sign of how eager they are to provide options for all their customers, no matter how picky they are! There were also a number of gluten or dairy free items noted on the menu.
In a nutshell, it was damn good. Morks has fantastic food, excellent service and f@#$ing awesome choices for the vegetable lovers in your life.
Details
Address: 18/19 Eastlake Parade, Kingston
All images were supplied by Morks. The original version of this article first appeared on Eat Your Vegetables.
About the author:
Lucy Ridge is a chef, a writer, and a local Canberran. She writes about food, travel and sustainability on her blog at Eat Your Vegetables.Amelia Bidgood
Amelia is the Founder and Editor of Eat Canberra and the Founder and Managing Director of Eat Canberra Food Tours. She's a qualified journalist, presenter, freelance writer and also runs a boutique communications agency working with small business owners on all things social media, content creation and marketing. She's taught cheesemaking classes, judged hospitality and tourism awards, completed the WSET Level 1 Award In Wines, loves to cook and has travelled to 23 countries. She's also passionate about mental health and has recently started studying to become a Counsellor.