Friday, March 30, 2012

Our Trip to PAWS (People & Animal Welfare Society) in Perth

It was a beautiful sunny day on our trip to Perth, and I was keen to have lunch with T at a place I had heard great things about - the People & Animal Welfare Society in Perth.
Part cruelty free shop, part cafe, part activist space, and entirely non-profit, this place is known to do some great lunches of both the raw and cooked vegan variety. Although T is a native of Perth, this was his first time here. I highly recommend checking out their website (at the bottom of this post) as they have heaps of information, an online store, and they do so many great things for the community! 

Our Table
The inside of PAWS is decorated nicely, although the business-like large tables provide an unusual seating arrangement for dining. As it was a seat-yourself and order at the bar arrangement, we chose to sit at a table near the exhibition wall which was featuring a dementia/aged care themed group of photos. This review is on the food though, so let's get started! 
It was quickly decided that we would order one medium raw plate and one medium cooked plate and share. These plates included a little sample of each of the dishes on offer, and they were a great way to be introduced to the food of PAWS.

Medium Raw Plate






The raw plate had a mix of salads, topped with a slice of their delectable raw pizza and a few raw seed crackers. I have been eating raw pizza wherever I can get it for years, and this is up there with the best! It was so flavourful and fresh... a totally guiltless indulgence. The best part about eating raw food is that you never feel too full or heavy after eating it, and I love the feeling that I get that I have done something really great for myself!

Medium Cooked Plate 
The cooked plate came with fluffy jasmine rice and a few curry-like dishes- some with faux meat chunks and some vegetable based. From memory there was a coconut chicken curry, a yellow curry, and I cannot for the life of me remember the third! The important part is that they were all tasty and filling, and great value for the $8-9 that I think we paid.

After the cooked food it was onto dessert!! I am a massive cheesecake fan, which sometimes makes vegan life difficult... but it's experiences like the one I had at PAWS that made me feel like I'm not missing out. We ordered a slice of beetroot-chocolate raw cheesecake ($6), which was a bit out of character for me as I am not a fan of beetroot. T loves it, so I thought I'd humour him and give it a try. Let's just say the cheesecake was so amazing that we started eating before I even got to photograph it! I am so crazy about this slice of cake that I think that access to it is pretty much worth the plane ticket to Perth. I can't wait to get back here and have more!!


The Best Raw Cheesecake in the WORLD

People & Animal Welfare Society(click for website, info & online store)
Address: 120 Beaufort Street Perth WA 6000
Ph: 08 9228 2435

PROS: Fresh delicious food, very affordable prices, being able to shop and eat at the same place, proximity to Perth CBD, great lolly/sweets fridge, that cheesecake, friendly staff.

CONS: The odd table settings made intimate lunches difficult, they probably don't ship that cheesecake to Melbourne.

PAWS City Cafe on Urbanspoon

Saturday, March 17, 2012

Pupcakes for Hairy Hounds Playground!


A few weeks ago I agreed to bake 200 (180 vegan + 20 gluten free vegan) cupcakes for the 5th Birthday Extravaganza of Hairy Hounds Playground, a dog daycare that my friend owns in Williamstown. They came out great despite making me slightly crazy (a big shout out to my BEM800 mixer that made life a lot easier), and were a hit at the party (so I'm told). Here's a few snaps of them both in progress and completed! If you're wondering, the fur is toasted coconut, the ears are licorice ropes cut in half, the eyes are vanilla frosting with non-dairy chocolate chips for pupils, and the noses are chocolate chips as well! Apologies for the photos not being top notch, I was pretty frazzled and amazed that I even remembered to photograph them!

Pupcakes without mouths!
Finished Pups

Thursday, March 15, 2012

Mmmm Pancakes

I was really craving some pancakes and since T and I had the luxury of this Thursday off, I decided to whip up some of my favourites. Pancakes are traditionally breakfast food in the US and for me, serving them with ice cream (Australian style) is very weird. I personally prefer them slathered in crunchy peanut butter so that it melts a little and then drizzled with maple syrup! You can't beat the combination of sweet and salty!!

Anyway, after a quick google search I used this recipe and added in some chopped banana, chocolate chips, and a pinch of cinnamon. They were a perfect way to start the day alongside a hot cup of coffee!