Busselton

September 20-23, 2016

After our time in Perth and Fremantle, we headed down the south coast to spend the rest of the week in sleepy Busselton. We'd imagined a beachy holiday, but WA's weather didn't really oblige. Instead, we had a quiet few days lounging around our apartment reading books and eating treats and generally kicking back. We didn't come to Busselton for the food, but we took our chance to explore what was on offer.

We started off by checking out The Fire Station, a bar and restaurant in a gorgeous old building.

It's cosy inside with a fire going and a steady stream of customers. You can swing by to try the impressive array of craft beer and local wines, or settle in for a meal. We had no trouble getting a table on the two nights that we stopped by, but I'd guess things would get pretty hectic when summer rolled around.

The menu is very gastropub, with a selection of pizzas, pastas and some meatier options. There are enough vego options to go around, but vegans will struggle.

Cindy ordered the pan fried gnocchi with Swiss brown mushrooms, cherry tomatoes, burnt butter, sage & goats cheese ($24).

It was a lovely meal: plump fluffy gnocchi with lots of earthy mushrooms and a few bursts of freshness from the tomatoes. 

I took on one of the vego pizzas, with parsnips, honey, goats cheese and a rocket and horseradish pesto ($22). This was another success - a crisp, light base with an inventive combination of toppings.

The Fire Station really impressed me - it had classy pub food in a charming setting, with friendly staff and a great selection of booze. We stopped by for a drink on one of our other evenings in town just to enjoy the atmosphere - it's definitely worth a visit.

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The other noteworthy place we ate at in Busselton was Mana Kai Cafe, an almost-vegetarian place (there's one salmon dish I think) tucked into a little arcade. They're a daytime eatery, with a range of made-to-order breakfast and lunch options, plus a stack of pre-made goodies in the display cases. There are plenty of vegan options. 

We started out by sampling their fancy drinks - a detox juice (celery, mint, parsley, cucumber, kale and pear) for me and a citrus blast (lemon, lime, orange, apple) for Cindy. At $9 a pop these aren't cheap, but they're refreshing and delicious. 

Cindy cobbled together a lunch by combining a savoury muffin ($5) with handcut potato skins with a combo of chutney and garlic yoghurt dressing ($6).

I tested the kitchen out a bit more with the Asian bowl - marinated tempeh, rice noodles, kim chi, carrot, sprouts, corn, red cabbage and greens with a miso and ginger dressing ($15.50).

This was a delight - loaded with fresh vegetables and bursting with flavour thanks to the kim chi and the miso dressing. A perfect counterbalance to all the pizzas I ate over our holiday. 

Mana Kai was heaving on our visit and they seemed to be equally popular with locals and tourists. It's great to see a vego place doing so well outside of the big cities. I'm sure it's a haven for vegan visitors to Busselton. 

We had a nice quiet few days in Busselton, enjoying a day tour around the Margaret River area and sneaking in quite a few visits to the wonderful birdhide on the Vasse River - some photographic highlights are below.

Bread in Common

September 17 & 19, 2016

The eating highlight of our time in Fremantle was Bread in Common. It's a converted warehouse with long communal tables and a no-bookings policy that reminded me of Garagistes, and we took a punt on it for a fancy dinner.

The sharing menu is a good one for vegetarians, and solid for vegans too (we overheard one sitting next to us and he seemed to be a regular!). Gluten-free folks also have plenty to choose from but the severely allergic may wish to proceed with caution - this restaurant is clearly proud of its bread and operates as a flour-dusted bakery as well as a restaurant.

We were in the mood for cocktails - Michael enjoyed a negroni ($17) served with a huge ice sphere and I tried their burnt lime mule ($18). Unlimited bread comes with a $2 per person price tag, and the first section of the menu is an array of little foods that complement it. Although we ordered the sweet garlic butter with fennel salt ($2), we strongly suspect that we received the unflavoured butter - it was still pretty good. Even better was the vegan-friendly white bean puree swirled with rosemary and saltbush ($4).

A plate of orange and purple carrots ($19) was made sweet and sour with compressed rhubarb and sprinkled with pumpkin seeds. Late season mushrooms ($20) were much more savoury, flavoured with shallots, miso, edamame and blue cheese then crowned with mustard leaves.

Our favourite was the sweet potato dish ($21) with artichokes, macadamias, capers and verjuice - it captured sweet and savoury equally and expertly.

For dessert, Michael took a rare trip into cheese platter territory ($32), gleefully picking his way through a Cambray Farmhouse cheddar, Onetik Bleu de Basque, Auvermont Bleu, Le Marquis Chevre, toasted breads and a glass of Hekate Passito ($13).

I skipped over the chocolate and strawberry desserts I'd usually go for to try their bread and butter pudding ($18). The promised ginger wasn't as strong as I'd hoped, and the condensed milk was fun but not striking; I was neither thrilled nor disappointed. (I later learned that they make their own Oreos and have a twinge of regret for not trying the chocolate dessert.)

While these were certainly special-occasion prices, we were satisfied that we received a special-occasion experience, from the service and setting to the vegetarian dishes and the extravagent extras.

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When our hopes of visiting vegetarian cafe Juicy Beetroot fell through a couple of days later, Bread in Common was an easy fallback breakfast. To our surprise, the prices at this time of day were no higher than we'd paid for breakfast at other Perth and Fremantle cafes. I tried their version of the ubiquitous avocado smash ($17), which came with a lemon sliver, abundant fresh peas, a few purplish-green leaves and some sadly burned and too-tough-to-cut sourdough toast. I found the perfect smoothie to drink with it ($8), a slushy pale green glass of coconut, apple and lime.

Michael decided to reprise the mushrooms ($21). In the morning they're served richly with taleggio, mushroom ketchup and wholemeal toast.

Michael easily convinced me to pick something from their sweets list. The jam and chocolate hazelnut (read: Nutella) donuts ($5 each) were just fine, nothing special. I really should have ordered one of those housemade Oreos, huh?

It was probably lucky that we entered Bread in Common ignorant of the widespread hype (see blog posts below, for example). Their incidentally-veg dishes were bright and tasty, and their high-end-but-casual style wasn't too pretentious. Eating out in Perth is frequently expensive, and in this context Bread in Common feels like even better value.

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This restaurant has already had massive blog coverage, albeit not from a veg*n perspective. It's won fans on Awwyum Productions, The Food Enthusiasts, iMasticate, 1 Hungry Banana, Perth Cafe Culture, ChiGarden, The Provocative Couture, Foodvixen, The Chef, His Wife and their Perthfect Life, JKP, Lion in the Wild, 4 In Our House, Lei Lady Lei, all the little extras, Laura's Mess, Milktea Eats, AngelaMichella, The Illusive Femme, Chomp Chomp, Ministry of Gluttony, My Funny Valentine, frenchtoastandindiepop, Feed Your Soul, Perth, One Bite More, Wino sapien, libertineeats.com, Christobel and Love Freo. 

Reviews are more mixed on BLK's Food Blog and FoodPorn Journal, then distinctly disappointed on Morsels, WenY Wonders Why, Perth Food Blog and Taste Test - Food.Life.

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Bread in Common
43 Pakenham St, Fremantle
(08) 9336 1032
dinner, breakfast
http://breadincommon.com.au/

Accessibility: They've been mindful in their design - wide flat entry and clear corridors, although tables can be densely packed. We ordered at the table, also paying there for dinner but paying at a high counter for breakfast. Toilets were gendered but included a third fully accessible option.

Fremantle

September 16-20, 2016

After my work duties were done, Michael met up with me in Perth so that we could enjoy a week off together. We spent the first half in Fremantle - here are six places we ate while there.

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After setting down our gear, we walked down to the Little Creatures Brewery by the water for dinner. They've been bought out by Lion Nathan since I last visited nine years ago, and the food had a 'gastropub for the masses' feel that echoes that history. To their credit, food service was startlingly efficient - each dish was presented to our table less than 10 minutes after we'd ordered it.

We shared a large slice of grilled haloumi ($9.50), a so-so beetroot salad with spiced yoghurt, walnuts & freekeh ($12) and a wood-fired pizza topped with mushrooms, garlic & tallegio ($19). If we'd stopped there, we probably would have been satisfied. Instead we requested a couple of regrettably large desserts: for me, an enormous triplet of icecream sandwiches ($14) studded with chocolate cookies and top'n'fill-style caramel; for Michael, a too-sugary apple strudel ($14) with vanilla curd.

The brewery remains enormously popular, we suspect with tourists more than with locals.

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Saturday morning was our best chance to wander the Fremantle Markets, sipping juices and picking up whatever we fancied for breakfast. We loved the vegetarian arepa ($11) from Kachapas, which was golden-fried and stacked with black beans, melting cheese, shredded veges, a fried plantain and several sauces (psst - they do a vegan version too). Again we were over-ambitious and subsequently struggled to finish a golden-layered feta borek for second-breakfast.

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Sunday breakfast at Moore & Moore was, in spite of the name, more measured. This charming, artsy cafe adjoins a gallery and cobbles together comfy pre-loved furniture in little nooks, sneaks through a moody warehouse passageway and spills out into a ramshackle sunny back garden. It was here, out the back, that Michael feasted on The Avocado ($18), which in addition to its namesake featured grainy toast, grilled haloumi, poached eggs and a lovely broad bean and olive salsa.

Meanwhile I had eyes only for the Grilled Potato Cake ($19), which was crowned with asparagus spears and a citrus dressing. The staff were kind enough to exchange the standard eggs for mushrooms on my request. If we lived in the neighbourhood, we could see this cheery, relaxed venue becoming our local.

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After a day dining with quokkas, we stuck our head in Run Amuk Hotdogs for a quick, early dinner. They make their own vegan, gluten-free sausages analogous to their meat-based bratwursts and they'll stick one in any of their hot dogs for an extra $1. The sausages taste great and have a firm crust, but their inside mushiness gives away that there's no meat here.

I went traditional and ordered my hotdog with just onions, tomato sauce & mustard ($10.50), while Michael tried their formula for Mischief ($14): tomato relish, guacamole, cheddar, baby spinach, tortilla chips, jalapenos & sour cream. The fries ($4) and coriander-lime aioli ($1.50) were on point, and the house-made lemonade ($5 each) was a good choice - I had no hope of tackling their Reese's Peanut Butter Choc Shake after all this!

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Michael's google skills happened upon a Monday night food truck gathering Under The Bridge. Although the evening was chilly, a live band and 3 trucks drew plenty of families, students, holiday-makers, and - to Michael's delight - their dogs.

We carefully selected one sample from each stall. Flying Falafels fry their flagship food well and pair it with a nice tahini dip ($10). Comida do Sul had a hearty Prato Feito Vegetarian plate (~$14) of bean sausage and roasted yam, black beans, rice, pan-fried kale and fresh tomato salsa. The street-food star was Eat No Evil's crunchy-skinned crushed potatoes ($8) with chipotle mayo and some herby-sprouty sprinklin's.

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On our last morning we hulked our luggage to The Attic and gamely left it out front while we ate breakfast upstairs. Though they have folks order and pay up front at the counter, the ambiance fits with Melbourne's exposed-brick coffee roastery scene.

Michael took on their smashed avocado with feta, cherry tomatoes and mint ($17.50) with a poached egg ($2). I slowly chewed my way through a lovely bowl of grain-free cacao & nut granola, coyo, strawberries and kiwi fruit with the help of a little almond milk ($14)... best served without a side of nutritional nonsense.

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As you can see, we ate handsomely in Fremantle! Though specifically vegetarian restaurants are limited (and completely absent from this post), we noticed many places with thoughtful options and even welcoming notes to vegans. It had us feeling right at home.

Perth

September 11-15, 2016

After a week in Fukuoka, I'm now reporting from Perth! It's been 9 years since I explored this city in any meaningful way, although Michael stopped in just last year. My work commitments had me located right in the city centre, eating lots of in-house catering but allowing a bit of time to wander about and seek more exciting veg options. Here are four of those.

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I had Sunday to recover from my travel and prep for a busy week ahead. Most of Perth seemed to be in recovery mode too - the streets were quiet, although a smattering of burger joints were well attended! I was tempted to join in when I saw haloumi burgers filing out of the Little Bird Cafe kitchen, but I satisfied myself with their more conventional brunch menu. It reminded me of Melbourne's Glass Den, where meat-based dishes sit alongside green brekky bowls, maca-spiked almond milk smoothies and raw vegan cakes.

I took on their signature vegan buckwheat pancake ($20), which was listed to include banana, coconut and cashew cream. I was thrilled to get a lot of other fruits besides, although I preferred not to eat the greenery. The pancake was lovely, just a little crispy on the outside and cakey in the middle, primed to soak up some maple syrup. Although there was a lot going on, the plate was lacking a little depth - I would have welcomed a hint of bitterness, sourness or charring to round everything out. Nevertheless I was very happy to be eating a variety of gorgeous fruits in a friendly, bustling cafe.

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Michael recommended that I seek out Utopia in Northbridge for some mock meat and bubble tea. It's set back from the James St footpath, but once found proves to be an enormous cafe with dozens of menu items, as well as fridges stocked with mock meats and desserts that you can take home with you. The menu includes photos of every dish - noodles and soups, stir-fries, sizzling plates and, to my surprise, fish and chips.

Overwhelmed and seeking to narrow my options, I focused on the cheap Chef's Specials which come with a serve of rice. The sweet & sour chicken rice with crispy chicken ($11.50) was pretty standard and over-sweet, although there's always some illicit pleasure in eating a main dish with pineapple (*pulls face at Michael*). My lychee tea with aloe vera ($5) was equally fun and sugary - I really brought that on myself.

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I noticed Indonesia Indah very close to my hotel, and promised myself I'd pay them a visit when I saw tempe listed on their menu out front. Unfortunately it was no longer included on their up-to-date manu inside, but there remained a dozen other veg-friendly dishes.

I picked out the sauteed tofu with egg ($11.90) and added some steamed rice ($2.50). The fried tofu pieces were served in a thin, tangy gravy the held wisps of egg, sauteed onions and tender green vegetables; it was all scattered with golden fried shallots. I was confused to see few other customers enjoying this great food, but perhaps it's more popular at lunch time.

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On my final night in the city I walked beyond Utopia to Lotus Vegetarian, which I'd enjoyed in 2007. I unintentionally but fortuitously entered its sibling restaurant Sri Melaka, which serves Malaysia vegetarian foods. There's also a neighbouring vegetarian grocery, closed at night, to round out the business triplet.

Here I chose a small but rich plate of roti paratha and chicken kapitan ($11). The two rotis were piping hot and fried to flaky perfection, perfect for dipping into the oily curry. The medium-spiced curry bowl had plenty of diced mock chicken and just one wedge of potato. Sour pickled vegetables were a welcome contrast, although they added another layer of chilli. Thank goodness for aloe vera juice!

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These Perth meals made for fun mini-escapes during my work week. It's been a relief to clock off entirely since then - stay tuned for holiday eats next.

December 1, 2007: To eat or not to eat?

Which of these two pictures gets your mouth watering?

On the left is a cake of soap.

On the right; chocolate stones.

November 25 - December 2, 2007: Perth

I spent last week in Perth, mainly at a conference. You didn't even notice, did you? (Maybe Vida did - I regretfully turned down her invitation for a bakery excursion and then took up to 5 days to respond to comments.) I prepared some posts before I left and Michael faithfully published them throughout my time away, so I hope there's been a fairly seamless flow of material regardless.

I generally ate well in Perth - the catering at the Convention Centre was of high quality and offered some variety for a vegetarian, although I did accidentally consume an anchovy in what appeared to be a spinach quiche (blergh). Dining at the official conference dinner was far less impressive - a carvery and overcooked veges served buffet-style under heat lamps. Here are a few highlights from the nights that we delegates foraged for ourselves...

Annalakshmi
Jetty No. 4 Barracks Square (behind the Bell Tower), Perth

This is a pay-what-you-feel vegetarian Indian restaurant in the vein of Melbourne's own Lentil As Anything. Instead of ordering from a menu, the food is laid out buffet-style for you to serve yourself. It's the luck of the draw whether you'll be lined up as fresh chappati are brought out and quickly scooped up by your fellow diners, but you can always return for seconds on the multiple curries. Just be sure to save room for a small cup of the sweet condensed milk dessert.

What sets Annalakshmi apart from the Lentil As Anything chain is its atmosphere and location. Inside this is a lavishly decorated Indian restaurant. The plastic furniture outside may be less genteel but the view over the Swan River ensures it's the most popular seating. We enjoyed a vivid sunset as we ate (pictured top).

Little Creatures Brewery
40 Mews Rd, Fremantle

This glass-walled microbrewery by the sea must be Fremantle's worst-kept secret. Even on a Wednesday night it was packed with punters! Although I didn't photograph the food we ate there, I think Little Creatures deserves a special mention because it caters to vegetarians much better than Hobart's Cascade Brewery bothered to. There were FOURTEEN meat-free gastropub dishes, from modest sharing plates of marinated olives and feta through to gourmet pizzas and my pick, a toasted open mushroom and avocado sandwich with chips and salad. Don't miss out on the frites - they are thin and crispy with the skin left on and served with an excellent mayonnaise. Brew of the night was Rogers' amber ale.

Lotus Vegetarian Restaurant
Units 1 & 2, 220 James St, Northbridge

Lotus is a 100% vegetarian Chinese restaurant offering a huge range of faux-meat dishes from $10-$22. There's some tofu and vege-only dishes available as well, but the six-page menu is dominated by 'chicken', 'fish', 'pork', 'duck' and 'beef'. This was my dining partner Tracy's first encounter with faux-meat and I was thrilled to see how much she enjoyed the experience. She judged her crispy-skin BBQ 'duck' to taste exactly like the real thing, though the texture was subtly different. My honey sesame 'chicken' was the best faux-fowl I've ever eaten, with the battered balls moving from fryer to table in what must have been seconds. They were piping hot, super-crisp on the outside and perfectly tender on the inside (faux-meats can often get a bit rubbery with over-cooking). A sparing squirt of honey sauce added some extra sweetness without drowning out the other flavours and textures. A few dollars extra for steamed rice and a pot of Chinese tea and you've had a damned fine meal.

Lotus also offers an all-you-can-eat buffet for ~$17 and has an adjoining grocery store with take-home frozen faux-meats and other vego goodies.

William St, Northbridge

Northbridge seems to have a seedy reputation and it does have a smattering of massage parlours, broken windows and drunken backpackers. But the northern end of William St also offers a multitude of Indian and Asian grocers, which Tracy and I took great delight in browsing through. In addition there's Mela Indian Sweets & Eats, decorated in bright Bollywood style and featuring a dessert cabinet resplendent with all kinds of bite-sized treats. The menu of mains is more restrictive, with only three vegetarian curries, but who cares when you can get a vegetarian thali plate for $12.50? It comprised of sambar, chickpea curry, potato and pea curry, dhal, lots of raita, rice, bread, a pappadum and a sweetened condensed milk dessert. We were too stuffed to even glance at the sweets cabinet that first lured us through the door.