The Raw Kitchen - new premises

I blogged about the Raw Kitchen before but felt a new post needed to be made since their recent reinvention. Not only have they relocated, but they have also gotten bigger.
They are now situated at 181A High Street Fremantle, in what looks like a warehouse. The interior is all high ceiling, open faced brick walls, chain link fences and shipping containers. The tables range from long wooden ones, to booth styles, with seats that look like they have been ripped out of old buses. Sad to say that the other seating seems to range from small wooden chairs to metal ones. Common denominator - all pretty uncomfortable. I was really hoping that with the new venue, they would have ditched those chairs that were obviously built to hold primary school aged kids.
Your cutlery and water gets served to you in glass jars and brown bottles, and the food on small wooden boards and little enamel dishes.

The whole look is a cross between rustic and recycled, which does not appeal to me at all. But then, that is just personal taste, I guess. Just so long everything looked and was clean, that's what matters the most to me - and this place certainly passed that requirement from what I noticed.

We were seated at one of the long wooden tables. Although this new location is much larger than their old one, the place was VERY busy and I understood that having such big communal tables saves on space. Having said that, I didn't really like sitting at a table, facing strangers while I ate. Oh well.

Apart from the food (which I will get to in a moment), the new Raw Kitchen also features the 'Sea Container Gallery' that displays pieces by local artists and craftsmen, which can be purchased.
Yoga and fitness classes, as well as raw food preparation classes are also on offer and I do believe there will be film nights planned.
The new venue also has a bigger shopping area where there are all sorts raw and non-raw  packaged food items - many of them vegan, plus books, gifts, toiletries, etc.

We found the service to be mostly good. Having only just reopened, a LOT of people are curious to see the new place, and so the place was already very busy when we arrived a little before noontime. Nevertheless, we were seated almost immediately and our orders were taken in a timely manner. The only gripe I have is that when ordering, we asked the server if there was any egg in the 'mayo' in two of the dishes we wanted. She kept saying 'There is no dairy' in any of our dishes. I had to point out to her that egg was not dairy, which gave her pause. To her credit, she did go and find out for us. The verdict - NO EGG is used in ANY of their dishes. This of course begs the question  - why do they not mark this on their menu? Their menu is marked as completely dairy free, and where honey is used, it is marked. Why not mark things as completely egg free or just use the 'vegan' tag, and be done with it? Surely, they realize that a big number of their clientele are vegans? 

For our entree, we opted for the Aromatic fennel seed roasted chats with lemon juice. 

I'm a big fan of potatoes and these were lovely. Cooked just right. Obviously, this wasn't a raw entree. Infact, there were quite a few new items on the menu and quite a few were not raw. This may bother some raw food purists and it didn't bother me one bit.

The other entree we had was the Tempeh snaps. These were strips of cooked tempeh, made from lupin and not soy, sitting on top of cooked cauliflower. The dish came with a tasty garlic and caper aioli. I am not big on garlic but found their aioli to be mild on that front, so I enjoyed it very much.

For drinks, I opted for the Blue Moon smoothie, which featured blueberries, banana, lavender, agave, and almond milk. It was delicious. You could certainly taste the lavender but it was not overwhelming.

My partner had the Dream Juice which was a mixture of pineapple, lime, young coconut and apple.

For the mains, we had a lot to choose from. I ordered the club sandwich. 

As you can see from the photo, it was jam packed! Between two layers of dehydrated flax bread, was an assortment of goodness - marinated mushrooms, mango salsa, raw cashew 'mayo', tomatoes, lettuce, cucumber, alfalfa sprouts and onion. (I forgot to ask them to leave the onion out, so just picked it out as best I could.)
The sandwich was delicious but be warned - eating was tricky business. a mixture of hands and cutlery had to be employed.


My partner had the Raw pesto pasta, which featured radish, fresh basil, avocado, capers, sundried tomatoes and baby spinach.

After all of that, we didn't have room for dessert. There was plenty on offer - tarts, cakes, slices, balls, etc. Maybe next time!

The Raw Kitchen is open Mon-Thurs 7.30am - 4pm. Fri-Sun 7.30am - 10pm

Mebourne: Las Vegan

Las Vegan is a small cafe and bakery, situated on Smith Street, Collingwood, in Melbourne. It was walking distance from the CBD and happens to have two vegan shoe stores very close by (one just up stairs, infact!), so we thought we would hit all three vegan establishments in one go. (More about the vegan shoe stores in another post.)

The food on offer had a home cooking feel to it, which was nice. There was a choice of various wraps, burgers, salads, calzones, desserts, drinks, and various hot meals.

My partner opted for the 'Fish the Dish' Burger, which featured battered vegan fish, lettuce, cucumber tartare sauce and mayonnaise - all vegan of course! The buns used are baked daily and are available in white or brown.

Whilst he got stuck into that, I tucked into my meal of mince on rice. This was a plate full of mushroomy mince over brown rice, with a salad on the side. Sounds like an odd combo, but I loved it and cleared my plate.

I definitely aim to eat there again next time I am in Melbourne. They are open Tuesdays to Sunday. For full details on their hours, check out their website, which also includes more information on their menu.

Melbourne: Vegie Bar

When looking up places to visit while in Melbourne, one of the names that kept coming up was The Vegie Bar, so my partner and decided that we would go there for lunch one day. We were warned that they get very busy and to have to queue up and wait to be seated was not unusual, so we got in there a bit before noon. When we arrived, there were already patrons in there but we were able to be seated straight away.
I wasn't really keen on the decor. It had a strong rustic look about it which I am not keep on, but it was quite spacious, at least.

The Vegie Bar is a  vegetarian cafe but has lots of vegan options, including raw vegan. There are also gluten free options. Their menus cover breakfast, lunch, dinner, drinks, and desserts.

We opted to share some avocado on gluten free toast, off the breakfast menu. Simple but delicious.

Then I had Baked Field Mushroom dish which was vegan and gluten free. This featured a marinated field mushroom, filled with roast sweet potato and quinoa mash, topped with vegan cheese. It also came with a tomato, onion and olive stew and a rocket and beetroot salad.  Needless to say, I enjoyed it very much!

I forgot to make a note of what my partner ordered, but as you can see from the photo, it looked pretty good and involved corn chips, guacamole, rice, salad and I am guessing a Mexican bean concoction. He definitely enjoyed it.

The Vegie Bar is located at 380 Brunswick Street, Fitzroy which is walking distance outside the Melbourne CBD.

Their opening hours are 7 days a week. Check out their website for exact opening times.

We will definately be going back the next time we are in Melbourne!

Melbourne: Trippy Taco

My partner and I went on a short vacation to Victoria recently, and we were determined to visit as many vegan or vegan friendly stores and cafes as we could manage in the short time of just a few days. Before we went, I did some homework and had a list of places to go to in Melbourne. Oddly enough, I missed out on hearing about Trippy Taco. A local told us about it while we were over there. I was a bit dubious, as we all know how much cheese and meat is involved in Mexican food, but I was assured that this place was vegetarian with lots of vegan options. So we decided to check it out.

Trippy Taco is situated on 234 Gertrude Street in Fitzroy. (We discovered a lot of the stores and cafes we wanted to visit were in that vicinity.) It is a very small cafe, with a little bit of outdoor seating. We were lucky enough to nab a table for two and the whole time we were there, there was a constant line of people waiting to order.

The menu was a pleasant surprise. No meat, plenty of vegan options, and gluten free options, too. We had a choice of nachos, several types of tacos, quesadillas, burritos, tamales, and taquitos. Both my partner and I went with the last option - the taquitos. Gluten free and vegan, these 3 crispy, rolled up corn tortillas were presented to us, topped with guacamole and salsa. There was also a lovely and unique salad on the side. Inside the actual rolled up corn tortillas was a bean mixture and I was happy to say that the meal wasn't too hot. Infact, we saw bottles of chilli sauces around the cafe, of various strengths, being used by patrons. Our guess was that they left each patron to add the hotness to their meals, as they saw fit.

Trippy Taco also do a breakfast menu, with vegan options - Breakfast burritos, quesadillas, tacos and huevos rancheros. There are also a few sweets on offer, though not all are vegan. Oh and if you are into booze, they offer a few different beers, tequila, sangria and margaritas. 

They do phone orders and takeaways, as well as dine in. We SO wished we had a Trippy Taco here in Perth! 

For the full menu and opening hours, check out their website.

Swan Valley Cafe - Italian flavours menu

Recently, my partner and two friends went out to dinner at the Swan Valley Cafe, on a Friday night. We had the set menu which was Italian themed, and included an entree, a main and a dessert, with vegan and gluten free options - all for $45 a head.

For the entree, there was a choice of Pea and Basil Soup, served with a garlic rubbed gluten free vegan dinner roll OR Avocado and Olive Bruschetta, which was also gluten free and vegan.

All but one of our group opted for the bruschetta. It was by far the best I have ever tasted! Packed with olives, avocado, capsicum, cherry tomatoes and herbs, all on gluten free bread. My partner loved it so much that I am sure he would have been happy to have just eaten a few slices more of that for his dinner - it was that good!
One of our party had the Pea and Basil Soup and reported that it was very tasty, indeed. See photo below.

For the main, the choice was between Tempeh Lasagna with a green side salad, or Pumpkin Risotto with a green side salad. Both were vegan and gluten free. I opted for the former, even though I often find that tempeh does not quite agree with me, for some reason. Turned out that I was pleasantly surprised as this dish gave me no problems at all. It was rich with a gorgeously creamy white sauce on top. I have no idea what it was made of (my guess is perhaps cashews) but you would have been hard pressed to better it or realize that it was not animal based.

For dessert, I had a slice of a very rich, very dark chocolate cake, topped with a sort of almond toffee crisp. The base was of a biscuity type, that you often see in cheesecakes.  The cake was so smooth, so creamy, that it almost felt like I was eating chocolate mousse, instead. On the side was a small amount of cashew cream, that went with the cake beautifully. Here is a photo. I wish I had managed to take a better one, to do it justice!

We have heard that these themed set menus change from time to time, with Morrocan, Spanish, and Mexican being offered  on some Friday nights. I would suggest keeping an eye on their Facebook page or website to keep abreast on which theme is offered on which Friday night. Also note that within each theme, what is offered on the night, might vary. I noticed that what we had on this particular Italian themed night, varies a bit from what is offered on an upcoming one.

Cafe: Salad Bar at Loving Hut, Victoria Park

I have blogged about Loving Hut before. Since then, I have had the pleasure of visiting that establishment several times over. They are always coming up with new additions to their menu, so revisiting them is a real treat. When we heard that they had opened up a self serve salad bar at their Victoria Park store, my partner and I made a bee line for it.

The bar is situated at the front window of the cafe, and we noticed that it was catching people's attention as they wandered past. On offer were various fresh vegetables such as lettuce, cherry tomatoes, carrots, cucumber, etc. plus various salads such as cous cous and roast vegetable, spicy potato and bean mix, and quinoa with pumpkin and spinach. Also on offer were various sauces,  lemongrass tofu and tempeh, lentil polenta, tandori bites, and cubes of vegan cheese.

The takeaway bowls come in two sizes and we noticed that they are made of biodegradable materials, which was great.

Whilst I was at it, I also ordered some hot food to have with my salad.

My partner and I tried a little bit of almost everything from the salad bar, and all of it was delicious!

We topped off our lunch with some soft serve icecream in a waffle cone. My partner opted for the vanilla which is super creamy. I had the mango, which was not quite as creamy. It had a soft sorbet kind of feel to it, instead. Still, it tasted REAL, if you get my meaning - real mango and not just flavouring. And it was perfect for a hot day.

The best news of all is that Loving Hut in Victoria Park, is now open 7 days a week:

Mon-Fri: 10am to 2.30pm
Weekends: 10am to 4.30pm

You can keep up with what's new and see lots of mouth watering pictures of their dishes on their Facebook page. Check it out!

Cafe: PAWS falafel bar

Not only do PAWS have a hot food and a raw food section to their cafe, but they now also have a falafel bar. My partner and I went down a few days ago to check it out.

Now, I have had a few falafels in my time but I have to say this one was a cut above the rest.
Here is why:
You get a choice of 3 condiments - spicy salsa, a coriander sauce, and a super creamy garlic sauce. I opted for the last two and my partner had all three in his.
The falafel mix is made from scratch, and it shows.
The vegetable fillings are crisp and fresh - a mix of tomato, black olives, and red and green cabbage. You can pick and choose what you want in yours. We opted for the works, plus the option of having some vegan cheese thrown in too.
The bread is light and tasty, with just enough crustiness to it without being dry.
Oh, and you can rest assured that it is all vegan!
Also, the guy who runs it (Alex) was friendly and you could tell he took pride in his product and service.

The cost of a small falafel wrap is $5, and I think the large was $7-8 .
We found the small was the right size for lunch but if you have a bigger appetite, go for the large.

PAWS is located on the corner of Beaufort and Aberdeen Streets in the city. Open 7 days a week, with Mondays from 11am to 8pm and the rest of the week (Tues-Sun) 11am to 4pm.

Cafe: Loving Hut, Victoria Park

Loving Hut is an international chain of cafes and restaurants that are completely vegan. The eastern states have had Loving Hut for some time now, and I had been hearing good things about them. This year was Perth's turn, with a Loving Hut cafe opening in Victoria Park.

My partner and I scooted down there soon after they opened, and had lunch. The cafe is small, but there are tables inside and out. The decor is bright, light and welcoming. There is also a 'mini-mart' at the cafe, selling vegan food products - a lot which we have never seen before. The staff are friendly and courteous. We definitely good a good vibe from this establishment.

As for the food...there was a lot to choose from. Infact, I could not choose, so I opted for a plate with a little bit of four different dishes on offer!
There was a coconut friend rice, a spaghetti dish, a tofu and veggie stur fry and a ginger and pumpkin curry. All were delicious!

My partner opted for a plate of spaghetti and a sausage roll, plus a 'meat' pie. Not a bit of greenery in sight! Tee hee. 

I was too full to have dessert but I did have a taste of his soft serve chocolate icecream in a waffle cone. It was so delicious! Smooth, creamy and the cone itself was yummy, too. There was also a berry variety on offer and I have heard that there is now  'cookies 'n' cream' , apricot, and raspberry flavours available. These may be for a limited time, however, so get in quick for them!

Loving Hut cafe is situated on 366 Albany Highway, in Victoria Park. Their opening hours are Wednesday to Sunday, 10am to 4.30pm.

There are gluten free, organic and raw vegan options available and they also do beverages. 

My only complaint about this cafe is that it is not situated closer to where I live! 

The Raw Kitchen Cafe - revisited

Earlier this year, I visited this cafe in Fremantle but had only had a dessert there. As lovely as that was, I knew I had to go back to have lunch.

This time, I was keen on trying their raw zucchini pasta. I am glad I did! When my order arrived, a large bowl was set in front of me, filled with a delicious looking pile of goodness. The zucchini noodles were long, and tender and mixed in with mushroom, kalamata olives and a rich marinara sauce. The fresh basil and the macadamia 'parmesan cheese', topped it all off very well.  (Note that in the photo below, I had already started eating before I remembered to take a shot of it! That's how keen I was to try it out! Oops!)

For drinks, I sampled the 'Choc it to me' smoothie which was thick and tasty with its banana, raw cacao, agave and almond milk.

I was pretty full but then had to have a bite of a raw 'cherry ripe' - type of slice. It was yummy but perhaps a bit too sweet for me. My partner, however, had no problem demolishing it!

I know that I will need to pay The Raw Kitchen another visit soon, as my friends orders the Nachos and it looked so good, that I knew I had to come back to try that! 

What a work of art!

For opening times and location, check out their website.

The Juice Beetroot Cafe

A coworker told me about this cafe, telling me how good it was. She warned me that if I went, I should go by noonish, as it is quite popular and by the afternoon, there is not much food left.

 It took me a while to find the time to get down to Fremantle on a weekday ( and it had to be a weekday, as they are only open Monday to Fridays - 10am to 4pm), to check it out.

It is easy to miss, as it is situated in a lane way, called Tum Tum Tree Lane, off High Street. The sandwich board sign by the road helped us to spot it, though. Was pleased to see it mention so many appealing things on it.  We quickly scooted in to see what was on offer for lunch. There was already a queue but that was okay, as it allowed us the eyeball the many types of salads at the counter, plus check out what hot foods were available.

Both my partner and I opted for a large bowl each of various salads. Let me just say that we were rather taken aback by the size of these bowls. They honestly did not look that large until they were filled - and they were filled to brimming fullness!

On offer were a noddle based salad, roast veggie salad, chickpea salad, pasta salad, rice salad, and so very much more. (There was a vegetable lasagna but this was vegetarian and not vegan.)

There were curries and tofu burgers on offer but the salads just took too damn fresh and good to pass up so we had as little bit of almost all of them between the two of us.

They were delicious! I had so much in my bowl that I only managed to eat half of it and the rest I had put into a container and took home for later.

It is a pity this cafe isn't open on weekends, but if you find yourself in Fremantle on a weekday, I recommend you pay them a visit. Just make sure you get in early!

Cafe: CNR

This cafe is situated on Lake Street in Northbridge, under the big screen in the plaza. My partner and I went to check it out after we heard good things about it by vegans and raw food vegans.
The interior is spacious with tables, chairs, and a sofa or two. There is also an outdoor dining area. The service was prompt and friendly. And the food? Oh the food!

Firstly, let me just say that although this is not a vegan or even vegetarian cafe, I do like the fact that their menus are organized in a way that if you are a vegan or vegetarian, you only need to look down one side of the menu instead of having to scroll through the whole thing.

I was in the mood for a vegan breakfast so went with that. This consisted of roasted field mushrooms, tomatoes, fries, macadamia cheese, gluten free toast, house baked beans, and onion jam. Let me just say that those baked beans were the best I have ever tasted! The macadamia cheese was a real treat but be warned - it is very rich!
The portion size was just right and I felt I got value for money.

My partner ordered the Sunlover smoothie which we shared. It was sooooo smooth, having just the right consistency. We had to pace ourselves with it, so not to down it all at once. There is quite a range of drinks available with most suitable for vegans.

To go with the drink, my partner ordered the Major Mushroom Burger which is a tempeh based burger with vegetables and a side of fries. He enjoyed it immensely, finding it to be delicious and filling.


A special mention of the fries : they appeared to be roughly handcut and were so delicious! Next time I go to CNR, no matter what we order, we are also having a side order of these.

We will definitely be going back to CNR as there are so many other vegan options to try out, including the raw food.

Their opening hours are:
Mon-Fri: 7.30am to 3.30pm
Sat-Sun: 8am to 4.30pm

Eden's Vegi Cafe - Subiaco

My partner and I were meandering through Subiaco a few days ago, when we stumbled across this cafe. We had never noticed it before and as we were in the mood for some lunch and the sign had 'Vegi' in it, we thought we would enter and investigate.

The cafe is mostly a salad bar, where you can choose to dine in or takeaway, and choose the amount of salad you want and what exactly goes into it.  We grabbed a large bowl each and proceeded to fill it up with various ingredients - all which looked fresh. Not all the ingredients were vegan - there was some dairy based sauces and cheeses available. I got the impression that the cafe was at the very least, vegetarian but to my dismay, at the end of the salad bar, I came across some cold deli meats. What a surprise and shame.



 Still, we continued on and also ordered some patties, all which were vegan. I had the Lentil & Vegi patty which turned out to be tasty and rather spicy. The sides to it were so fresh looking that I made sure those went down the hatch too!

As we ate, we studied the menu and were pleased to see it was clearly marked as to what was Vegan and what had a Vegan Option. Also, for those with allergies or intolerances, Gluten Free was another label used on the menu.

Along with the salad bar and a la carte items, there were also a range of drinks on offer, including organic teas and coffees, soy smoothies and juices.

We shall definitely be returning to this cafe.

Address: 151 Rokeby Road, Subiaco
Open: 8am - 3pm Mon-Fri

Annalakshmi on the Swan

Although Annalakshmi describes itself as being vegetarian, it is vegan friendly. The issue of ghee is always to be considered when it comes to Indian food, however I do believe they have stopped using it and most of what is on offer is fine for vegans. [Update: a vegan has reported that he came across one dish that had dairy yoghurt in it, so be wary.] If, like me, you are unsure of what something is and what is in it, ask the staff there or take along some friends who do know their Indian cuisine - like I did!

The food varies depending on what time and day you go, but there usually is on offer various rice dishes, curries, salads, dahls and soups. When I went for lunch, I did have to skip the dessert as it was not vegan, which was a shame.
I found the soup that I had was a bit too sour for my liking, but the cabbage based salad was delicious and the curry not too hot for a lightweight like me! Also, the rice was perfect!

This venue operates on a serve yourself basis and you can go back for refills (as I did!). You also pay the amount you wish to pay. The one thing this establishment asks in return is that you do not load up on food that you may not eat. Waste of food is a no-no, and rightly so.

The staff are volunteers and money raised by this endeavor goes to fund medical assistance and food for the underprivileged in India.

Annalakshmi is situated on the Perth Esplanade, near the Bell Tower, so the river views from this venue are lovely. For opening hours, check their website, and while you are there, check out their cooking classes and their events page, as they sometimes have performers and special guests.

Raw Kitchen Cafe - Fremantle

This lovely little cafe is central to Fremantle but is tucked away in the Piazza Arcade so you have to look for it. Having heard good things about it, we had to go and check it out.We already had lunch elsewhere, so we decided to stopped into The Raw Kitchen cafe for something sweet.

My partner ordered the Minty Moment Smoothie which I ended up sipping from. From the first mouthful, we both described it as tasting 'very real'. I know that sounds strange, but after having tasted this raw drink, it makes you realize how fake and artificial big brand, mainstream versions are. This drink contained raw cacao, fresh mint, agave, vanilla bean, almond milk and ice. It was divine!  Checking out the drinks menu, we noticed that none were made with honey, as some raw food places are known to use. Instead, agave is used for sweetening, which makes them vegan suitable. And, for 2 dollars extra you can get superfood boosts included in your smoothie. This includes spirulina, wheatgrass, chia, etc. Oh, and I loved the use of glass straws - something I had not used before.

Whilst my partner sipped his smoothie, I got stuck into a slice of raw vegan cheesecake. The one I had was apple, maple and cinnamon and was delicious! Not sickly sweet, super creamy and a right balance of cinnamon used. I also loved the fresh apple slices on top. They went very well with the cake.

I do hope to be back there again soon, to try out their savories, such as the raw pasta. They also offer raw soup, club sandwich, pizza, nachos and salads. All of their menu items are dairy, sugar and gluten free.
Because I am fairly new to raw food cooking, my mind just boggles at the creativeness of some of these items. The cafe offers raw cooking classes and inside, there is a small selection of specialist raw food ingredients and equipment.

The Raw Kitchen Cafe is open Wednesday - Sunday. Check out their website for opening hours and address.