A rainy Sunday brought me to the Fremantle Markets for a sneaky taster of what fresh produce Freo has to offer.
We were meeting friends later in the afternoon for a few drinks on a Sunday Sesh but I wanted to walk through the Freo markets and see what goodies I could find!
Normally I would not go past Michelle’s Crepe’s – where you can order any sweet or savoury crepe your heart desires or chose one from the menu board. I usually get a crepe filled with too many ingredients to list so that the crepe is bursting with filling and fills me right up!
Today I wanted to try something different from the Markets.
I had read a blog post about the Raw Kitchen in Freo not too long ago and wanted to try their “Raw Pizza.” At $8.70 PER SLICE I felt this purchase was not for my stomach but for the greater good of my blog. (I had to try it out of curiosity!!).
This Raw food fad interests me and I understand why people find raw food and vegan food a “healthy” path to take, however I am not sold on the “research” into claiming that eating raw makes you feel more energized…I decided to give this “raw food” a go regardless.
The dehydrated buckwheat base was covered in a thick layer of sundried tomato pesto which was very strong. For a usual tomato paste base that is typically on a pizza, this is okay as it compliments the toppings, but pesto is different. Pesto you only need a thin layer, and I just felt a little sick by the end of the second bite.
The pizza was topped with very few slices of mushroom, tomato, olives and freshly chopped basil. The strange ingredient was a nut cheese which was very creamy and tasted a little like sour cream.
Overall the experience was a little disappointing. Firstly, I was still very hungry after my one slice of $8.70 raw pizza. Secondly, the pesto combined with the “nut cheese” was too strong and overpowering for my liking. It was too rich. Thirdly, it was way overpriced. I get that the pizza was raw…but doesn’t this take less time than putting the pizza in the oven??
The only positive I can’t think of is that I enjoyed the crunchy dehydrated buckwheat base; the texture reminded me of a cracker or biscuit.
I guess I didn’t try any desserts like their cocoa balls or cheesecakes on offer or their raw smoothies/juices…which could have swayed me otherwise…
Probably wouldn’t go back, and definitely not if there is Michelle’s Crepes on offer.
Have you ever tried the Raw Kitchen in Fremantle?
Tell me your experiences on raw food!
I thought this pizza was delicious, but everyone has there own tastes so I can understand that you thought otherwise. I believe the price reflects the time invested in making the pizza. You mentioned that to make a raw pizza it would take less time then to put it in the oven, this is not necessarily the case. The base of the pizza is dehydrated, a process which takes hours. Also the 'cheese' is made by hand and is not as quick as grating up some cheese and sprinkling it over the pizza. I can also understand how you may still feel hungry after the pizza slice, however if you were to work out the calories contained and added a drink you would probably have a perfectly balanced lunch. Many people in today's society are overeating and hunger can often be mistaken for desire of food or thirst in some cases.
ReplyDeleteI have only been twice so am not a biased raw foody. If it's healthy food you are looking for I can't think of a better place to eat in Perth.
However, if you are after something cheap, that's tends to your taste buds but may be unhealthy off to Michelle's crepes you go. I do love crepes but I have recently become more concerned for my health then my taste buds
Thanks for your feedback :-)
ReplyDeleteI can certainly understand the process behind the base and cheese now that you have explained this a little. Unfortunately with the amount of excercise I do, I cannot justify one pizza slice for lunch and can guarantee this is not over-eating! I am a little exception with the amount of food I eat though... I should definately give this place another go, have you been to CNR cafe in Northbridge? I hear this place also does a lot of raw/vegan/vegetarian food.
I don't think a crepe is the worst thing you could have for lunch. Especially if you were to get a chickpea/wholemeal/lentil batter and add plenty of veggies :)
Would you recommend another dish to try from Raw Food Kitchen?
Thanks!
No I haven't tried CNR, I'll have to look into it. They do chickpea or lentil batter for crepes?! I really need to get out more. As I think I mentioned I have only been to the raw food kitchen twice. On Sunday I had the nachos which I thought were great. The nacho 'chips' were super crispy and the 'sour cream' sauce was quite strong but I believed balanced the amount of tomato and avocado well. Again not the cheapest of dishes compared to other places but if you think about the process of dehydration and the types of ingredients used and how good they are for your health I personally can justify the amount spent. I also had the chocolate cheesecake, this was very rich and if I wasn't sharing with a friend that insisted on getting the chocolate one I would have chosen the other type of cake (it looked like a more traditional cheesecake). The chai tea was beautiful, it really tastes like chai spices, not the commercial powder that is used in most cafes
ReplyDelete:)
Yeh Michelle's crepes do chickpea, lentil and wholemeal batters for their crepes! Very yum!
ReplyDeleteYou're right, when you justify the amount spent on your health, there should be no limit to pay :)
I love a REAL chai tea! I make my own using black tea leaves and the ground spices of cinnamon, star anise and cloves. Absolutely delicious! :) It is leaps and bounds ahead of the sugary sweet powered Chai Latte mixtures or chai syrups that a lot of coffee shops use.
I ate at the Raw Kitchen some time ago (you may have read my blog post) and really enjoyed it. We tried the pizza, the nachos and the zucchini "pasta". (I have a bad tendancy to over order!) Being a sufferer of many food allergies it was brilliant to find a cafe that had no gluten soy or dairy in sight...I could eat it all!
ReplyDeleteSo at Michelle's crepes - do you mean they have gluten free crepe mix also or does this still contain wheat flour?
I have read your blog post on the Raw Kitchen :) I really want to attempt making Zucchini pasta one day! I can understand in your respect that finding a cafe like this would be quite exciting! have you tried CNR cafe in Northbridge? I hear they do a lot of raw/vegan/vego/gluten free dishes :)
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure if Michelle's crepes have entirely gluten-free crepe mix but I know you can have lentil, chickpea and wholemeal batters - not sure if this means they are also gluten free or not. I would think they would you know... Worth asking, they are ever so lovely whenever I go to add one million and one ingrediants to my crepe ;)
oooh yum....you are making me seriously crave crepes now! I can't imagine they would be able to get around the cross contamination issue unless they had a separate hot plate just for GF? I haven't tried CNR yet...it's definitely on my wish list though (which gets longer and longer each week!)
DeleteYeh true, it would be difficult to dedicate 1/3 hot plates to gluten free as they get so busy they are usually using all three hot plates at rush hour!
DeleteOh gosh, my wish list doesnt ever end! haha such a classic foodie! :)
I am never hungry after Raw Kitchen, you know you need to pay $15-20 but its delicious and satisfying, you feel amazing after, and you dont need to feel bad about eating dessert there. But at CNR I was disapointed in the unbalanced flavours of their raw "Laksa" soup which was more like "lime-coconut" with minimal veggies. Their pizza also doesnt compare to Raw's... Similar price and I was pretty hungry after. The difference between Raw Kitchen and CNR I think is that the owners at Raw ARE vegan and highly raw, and understand the right textures and portion sizes required when eating raw food, but CNR is just experiemting and may not have the same experience needed for eating raw food as a "meal". Its great to see other places trying it out its definitely the way forward for cafe's
DeleteThe buckwheat needs to be soaked overnight, then the dough made and mayed out evenly on a tray which is then dehydrated for 2 days. Cashews used in the cheese are also not cheap.
ReplyDeleteEating a slice of pizza on its own may not be filling, but if you couple it with a side of salad, or a smoothie, you will still be paying <$20 and feel full as well as healthy, and really that isnt a high price to pay in Fremantle for a decent lunch with quality ingredients.