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Since being gluten-free, and also being very sensitive to MSG, I’ve found Chinese and Japanese foods to be mostly off-limits. Particularly due to their love of soy sauce, which almost always contains wheat. However, I was very thrilled to find out at a family dinner that many of the yum cha items at the Oriental Tea House are in fact gluten free - including some of their dumplings! And they were so delicious. I loved the Honey Pepper Eye Fillet Steak and the Chicken dumplings the most. The staff were very helpful - you need to ask which items are gluten free but they’re happy to list them for you. So, if you fancy something a little different in a relaxed, calm atmosphere, head down to Chapel St and order yourself some dumplings. However, you best book first because they’re very busy.

You can download their menu from the website. They also sell teas and a variety of gift packs as well as having a Chinese medicine practitioner in-house.

455 Chapel Street, South Yarra.
New store opening December in 378 Little Collins Street, CBD.
www.orientalteahouse.com.au

Do you miss the sweets from your younger days such as  Strawberries & Cream?  Milk bottles? Jelly Babies?
Thanks to Sue Shepherd you can now purchase packets of gluten-free sweets online (they are also egg-free, dairy-free, soy-free and contain no artificial colours).  I bought a packet at the Gluten Free Show and they taste exactly as I remember them.  So then I ordered a few packets online to keep in the cupboard.   They took about 1.5 weeks to arrive and I’ve already polished off a packet of Milk Bottles (naughty me).

They’re a great idea as a treat for gluten intolerant kids, particularly at parties.

Go to www.foodshow.com.au, click on Products and then click on Confectionery (note to the developers of their website: Don’t use frames!  Then I would be able to link directly to the Confectionery page).

www.foodshow.com.au

The Moroccan Soup Bar isn’t a bar - they don’t even serve alcohol - apparently seldom serves soup, doesn’t have a written menu and doesn’t serve meat. However, I’ve known about it for a while and was very keen to try it out. Fortunately, last week I got the chance with my husband and another couple.

After a pleasant half-hour wait at a nearby bar for a table we managed to get in (this was a Friday night). The usual routine at this restaurant (unusual everywhere else) is that the staff talk you through the menu options, preferences for ingredients and dietary requirements. We didn’t mind being surprised so instead we asked for the banquet and I made sure there would be gluten-free options. I was told this wouldn’t be a problem.

And it wasn’t. The Moroccan / Middle-Eastern food, familiar to me from Lebanese cuisine (my sister-in-law is Lebanese) was delicious and I was given separate gluten-free alternatives to the ones that usually aren’t. Being vegetarian there was nothing we didn’t like and it wasn’t too heavy.

On arrival we were greeted with a cup of fresh mint tea. The meal started quickly with flat bread and dips (with carrots for me to dip with), moved on to an array of tasty rice, lentil and split-pea based dishes and finished with a cup of their strong, delicious coffee. We polished everything off and left with full, satisfied tummies and money still in our wallets (the banquet is a bargain at $17 per person).

This restaurant has won many awards, including from the Cheap Eats Guide. I definitely recommend to anyone, with any dietary requirements, to try it out.

183 St Georges Road, Fitzroy North, 9482 4240

The 2nd annual Gluten Free Wheat Free Food Show is on at the Exhibition Buildings, Melbourne on 20th-21st October 2007.  Visit http://www.coeliac.com.au/gluten-free-food-show.html for details.

Caffe Si started out as a GF foodstore but later expanded to a small cafe with sidewalk tables. They sell their own brand of items as well as others. Soups, pies, pizza bases, cakes, tarts, biscuits, slices, quiches ready to eat or take home and all delicious. Try the coffee cardinal, it’s divine!!

Orrong Road (Alma Rd Junction), Caulfield North

www.caffesi.com.au