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.


La Cena en Los Amates

     While T & I are vegan most of the time, evvverry once in a while we break our veganism for particular exceptions that we deem very worth while. For us it's been part of how transitioning to a diet free of animal products has been a bit more doable. Different things work for different people, and allowing ourselves these occasional "cheats" has made the whole thing seem a bit less extreme and easier to keep up with during the other 99% of our lives.
     I bring this up because our most recent cheat was at Los Amates, a Mexican restaurant in Fitzroy. Los Amates is probably my favourite Mexi place in Melbourne- to me it seems the most authentic, both food and decor wise. Almost every other attempt at Mexican food I've tried in Australia (with the exception of another favourite, Trippy Taco) has been something with beans covered in tasty cheese and jalapenos, and seems to be based on some weird Australian speculation of what Mexican food might be like. Los Amates, on the other hand, makes their own authentic salsas (including Molé sauce!), uses ingredients like nopales (cactus) and black beans in dishes, and overall is usually on par with the food quality and taste that I've experienced in Mexico and the US. Also there is a Latin American grocery across the street that sells lots of authentic, imported ingredients for your home experimentation!

     Anyway, I digress. We met our friends C & J who were visiting from Brisbane here for the first sitting at 6:30pm. Upon arrival we were told that we needed to be finished by 8pm, which was a bit of a surprise as they had said 8:30pm over the phone. Understanding that most restaurants do hold two sittings and knowing that they fit our booking in at the last minute, we said we'd try our best (secretly knowing there wasn't much of a chance of dinner happening that quickly). We ordered a jug of sangria to sip on while we caught up with C & J, took in the brightly decorated surrounds, and decided what we wanted for dinner. Luckily, a few minutes after bringing our drinks, the host told us to no longer worry about the time limit, which was good news and definitely made the experience more enjoyable! 
     One glass of sangria in and T & I still couldn't figure out what to order, so we ended up splitting the indecisive person's dream, the vegetarian combination  platter for two ($36). It was incredible! On the plate was a great array of little bits of their best stuff including sopes, quesadillas, molletes, empanadas, and bean taquitos. I got my fill of my favourites (those nopales and black beans I mentioned before!) and was perfectly full by the end of the meal. We washed dinner down with yet another jug of sangria and left very happy campers. I love this place and can't wait to go back- I think next time we'll see what they can make vegan. 

LOS AMATES (click for website & menu)

Address: 34 Johnston St, Fitzroy VIC 3065 

Ph: 03 9417 0441

PROS: great fresh authentic Mexican food, morish sangria, fun atmosphere, wait & kitchen staff that actually speaks Spanish, oh and that amazing MOLÉ sauce!! Also they sell their salsas in jars if you can't get enough while you're there.

CONS: Mexican beers that are overpriced as compared to some other restaurants, Occasional long wait for food (although not on this occasion), slight confusion over the sitting time lengths

Another Awesome Dinner at the East Brunswick Club

One of my favourite places to have a meal out at is the East Brunswick Club. The EBC just looks like any Melbourne pub that serves great beer and pub meals-but there's a twist. The twist is that there is an all vegan/vegetarian menu that allows us cruelty-free eaters to take part in the full Aussie pub experience- parmas, burgers, even fish and chips (and their chips are really moreish)! Almost every time I go there I order some version of the parma, which is a slab of amazing wheat gluten fake chicken covered in crispy golden breadcrumbs, vegan cheese, and whatever toppings said variation includes! The Americana Parma that is pictured to the right is topped with vegan ham and American-style mustard. All parmas come with a side of chips and salad to round out your meal.

Vegan Americana Parma

Vegan Fish & Chips

T's Vegan BBQ Burger & Chips

Vegan Choc Peanut Butter Cheesecake

The quality at the EBC is always consistently high- the only thing I've noticed is that the wait can be a bit long when they are busy, so it's best to get there early. The EBC also features $12 Jugs, Parmas, Burgers & Pastas on Mondays (vegan & regular) and $12 Parmas on Tuesdays during trivia. And by the end of your meal, if you haven't filled up on a parma, burger, or other yummy vegan pub fare, there's even an exclusively vegan dessert menu! This time I shared a slice of decadent Chocolate Peanut Butter Cheesecake with T. It was to die for!!

THE EAST BRUNSWICK CLUB (Click for website & menu)
Address: 280 Lygon Street, Brunswick East VIC 3057
Phone: (03) 9388 9794 ‎

PROS: Great food selection, $12 Buck Mondays, Trivia Tuesdays, Good beer, High quality vegan food, Amazing cheesecake, etc.

CONS: Sometimes quite slow when busy, Hipsters frequent this place.

Vegetarian Phở Hunters, Rejoice!

With the cold weather in Melbourne making me reminiscent about my time in Southeast Asia last year, I was really craving some Vietnamese food. The problem was that vegetarian/vegan phở is not easily found amongst the countless Vietnamese shops around Footscray (my local mini-Asia) and Richmond (the closest/most accessible east-side version of Footscray). Experiencing a motivating craving and being the relentless researcher that I am, I was determined to finally get the job done. I read review after review of noodle restaurants until I found one that seemed suitable and had a good amount of vegetarian options- Thanh Nga Nine, 160 Victoria St, Richmond.

After a short tram ride from the city, T & I arrived there a bit earlier than expected and while the staff was still eating their own dinner (oops!). We ordered a couple drinks and had a look through the menu, slightly overwhelmed by how many items were on it! While there is a dedicated vegetarian section, there are also other vegetarian dishes scattered throughout the regular, gigantic menu. Luckily the staff member serving us was helpful and explained what the specialties were and what we could eat. We ordered the vegetarian version of the "Vietnamese Pancakes" (see below) as a starter, a bowl of vegetarian phở for me as a main, and Salt & Pepper Eggplant for T as a main.

The "Vietnamese Pancakes" came out first, and I'm using quotes because I've never seen anything like these before and they didn't resemble what my American mind conjures up when I think "pancake". They were crispy rice flour based half-shells filled with a custardy mung bean paste, smooth coconut cream, crispy fried onions (I think) and a few other ingredients I can't remember, and were served with amazing dipping sauces (one was coconut based and the other chili based) that allowed you to tailor each pancake to your particular preference. These ended up to be a perfect mix of crispy, soft, sweet, salty, and hot for me. I imagine they would be a love-it-or-hate-it dish for most people as the texture combination and taste are quite foreign to Westerners! Luckily I loved them, even though they were a wee bit more oily than I usually like my food to be.

When I was presented with the platter of bean sprouts and lime that signified the impending arrival of my Phở, it was a similar anticipatory feeling to when the house lights go down in a venue just before the band you've been waiting to see is about to play. Nerdy and excited? Yes. Warranted? Also yes. I had been wanting to eat vegetarian phở for years, and my time had finally arrived. Although I don't have many previous experiences with vegetarian phở in Melbourne, I thought my soup was great! It really hit the spot on a cold and grey wintery evening. There were a few different types of mock meats in there, more noodles than I could probably eat in 24 hours, and a deliciously spiced broth.

T's salt and pepper eggplant was also amazing- a great juxtaposition of crispy batter with silky eggplant, garnished with spicy and fresh chillies and herbs. No complaints there!

Overall, we both enjoyed ourselves and will have a hard time deciding whether to order the same things because they were great, or new things just to try them!

Pros: huge portions, good variety for vegetarians, helpful staff, interesting and delicious dishes, affordably priced.

Cons: the hunt for vegetarian dishes littered throughout the menu in non-vegetarian designated areas is a bit exhausting, and some dishes are slightly too oily for my liking, but that is extremely subjective.

Thanh Nga Nine

160 Victoria St, Richmond

03 9427 7068

You can find their menu online here-

http://www.agfg.com.au/guide/vic/melbourne/melbourne-eastern-suburbs/richmond/restaurants-dining/thanh-nga-nine-vietnamese-restaurant-bar