Lunch at The Raw Kitchen Cafe with Kari

Just prior to my travels to Western Australia I mentioned to Kari from Bite Sized Thoughts that I would be spending some time in Perth and was delighted that she was eager to meet up. Kari and I started blogging around the same time and have exchanged many comments on each others blogs over the past two years. Kari suggested lunch at The Raw Kitchen Cafe due to their vegan friendly menu in addition to Fremantle being an interesting location for a tourist.

I was very keen to venture into a raw food eating experience as there is NO WAY I could ever see the man dining out for this type of food.  In fact, my eating preferences normally lean towards hot food and I rarely eat salads as a meal yet I’ve wanted to try raw food after hearing so many positive things about it. After reading a few reviews on Urbanspoon about The Raw Kitchen Cafe and a glowing blog post by Bex from Vegan Sparkles, I became infatuated by the concept of a raw vegan pizza. How on earth was a raw pizza going to compare with a standard vegan pizza?

Kari kindly met me at the rental house, drove us over to Fremantle and navigated our way through the streets to the bustling cafe. Whilst the raw pizza had been on my mind for weeks, my decision was almost swayed when we were in the queue as I watched an array of mouth watering meals being taken to the tables. Raw nachos, falafel plates and bowls of pasta made with zucchini noodles all looked amazing. The spinach, basil and avocado soup and a raw club sandwich sounded great too. Everything on the menu was appealing yet I knew I would be regretful if I didn't try the pizza so I stuck with my original plan.

The slice of raw pizza ($9.50 per slice, $17.90 with salads) was on a dehydrated buckwheat base spread with a tomato capsicum salsa. It was topped with mushrooms, tomatoes, avocado, onions, dollops of a deliciously creamy, tangy macadamia and cashew based cheese and fresh basil. This pizza was incredible, a mind blowing taste sensation which had so many different flavours and textures going on. It was unlike any pizza I have ever eaten before and I mean that in a good way. The buckwheat base was slightly difficult to cut into although this was a very minor complaint.  

I ordered the slice of pizza with salads which ended up being the same types of salads Kari had selected for her bowl. My favourite was the Thai Papaya salad which was bursting with flavours of fresh coriander, mint and basil amongst the carrots, snow peas and green papaya noodles. The Tarragon salad was largely based on beetroot and it was slightly too earthy for me. I thought it was interesting to begin with but my taste buds grew bored after a while. We both ordered coffees and I found my double espresso with home made cashew and macadamia milk ($5.50) to be the most impressive coffee that I tried anywhere in Perth.

After lunch Kari took me for a wander through Fremantle. We stopped off at The Round House, the oldest public building in Western Australia which was originally opened as a gaol (with 8 cells) in 1931, 18 months after settlement. It was a fascinating but slightly eerie place with loads of interesting historical information to take in. I kicked myself later for forgetting to take photos here. On the way home, Kari gave me a container of smoky roasted almonds which she had made for me as thoughtful snack for the rest of our travels. Half of the batch was demolished by the man in an instant before I insisted that some restraint be shown. The rest of the nuts did last a considerable while longer and given their popularity I will definitely be trying out Kari’s easy recipe soon.

Kari promptly wrote up her thoughts about The Raw Kitchen Cafe and the afternoon we spent together. As it was her first time meeting another blogger in person I wasn’t surprised to read that she felt slightly intimidated as it's a feeling I have experienced in previous meet ups. Kari certainly didn’t come across that way to me, I thought she was a lovely confident interesting person and I thoroughly enjoyed the conversations we engaged in.

Thanks again Kari for the wonderful afternoon, the raw food experience and the lovely smoky almonds. It was an absolute pleasure to meet you in person and I hope we cross paths again one day!

The Raw Kitchen Cafe

Shop 14, The Piazza Arcade

36 South Terrace, Fremantle