admiral cheng ho

Eating vegetarian while you are in your 20's and do not have any religious or actual medically diagnosed health problems is choosing to be cool. I joke (half joke) with my friends that I am 70% vegetarian. So technically, I am 70% cool.

Admiral Cheng Ho is the sister cafe of the wildly popular (but such a pain to access if you don't live in the area) Monk Bodhi Dharma.

We got here on a windy September morning and were surprised at how cozy this place was.

It was bright, airy and unpretentious. I tend not to drink coffee because it makes me super high and ostensibly hit people in the face in my excitedness. But I have second hand information that it is very, very good here. The gravity with which ACH takes coffee is evident in the fact that half the menu is about bean varieties.

Despite the waitstaff all looking like they belonged in a special magazine for beautiful hipsters (one exists, yes?) the service was not great. Maybe I am spoiled by the super peppy wait staff at other Melbourne cafes - I felt that here the staff didn't know the menu very well nor were very enthusiastic. Maybe just hung over from partying with other beautiful people?

Northside quinoa pancakes

Umami mushrooms

Food was great. Pancakes according to 1405 tasted "healthy" - I think quinoa is still an acquired taste. I liked it. It was very dense and satisfying.

Mushrooms were a highlight. I loved that everything was vegan so even the cheese was made from cashews. Super vego-luxe.

As we left the cafe we saw what looked like a motorcycle rally - men, women, children, riding bikes. Wearing leather on what was now becoming an unseasonably hot day. God, north side, you're cool.

Admiral Cheng Ho
325 Johnston Street
Abbotsford 3067
9534 7250