Happy new year everyone!
I spent three weeks over Christmas and New Year visiting family in Perth and had an amazing time. The weather was fantastic, so there was lots of swimming and exploring. We also had a holiday within a holiday and spent a few days down in the beautiful Busselton, Dunsborough and Margaret River.
It was also my first time in Australia, and one of my favourite things to do when I travel is to see what vegan foods are available. I was assured by family that I wouldn't starve, and looking at Happy Cow and Perth Vegan Eats on Instagram this was confirmed! I didn't get as many photos as I would have liked, I was too busy having fun!
Flights
I flew with Etihad from Dublin to Abu Dhabi and then Abu Dhabi to Perth (and back again!), which took a long time! Between the two flights it is about 18 hours! I can't remember what all my vgml meals were, but there was a bit of variety and everything was edible. The only thing I wasn't sure about was the little containers of margarine that didn't have any ingredients on them.
Supermarkets
I love looking around supermarkets when I travel to see what vegan stuff is available, and Perth did not disappoint! Coles and Woolworths had so many choices! Tofu, tempeh, refrigerated and frozen veggie meats and burgers (although not all were vegan), soya yoghurts and ice cream, snack bars, Vegemite yeast extract, Nuttelex vegan spread, bulk-buy nuts, veggie sushi and lots of other things. In summary, Aussie supermarkets are bigger and better stocked than what I'm used to. We ate at home alot, so it was great to have burgers and sausages that I could throw on the barbeque. I also found my beloved Sweet William dairy-free white chocolate, it seems to be stocked in some supermarkets. I also loved the vast array of cereal bars, and brought alot home, just to have something a bit different for my lunches.
Eating out
My impression of Perth was that healthy options are popular due to the fitness-orientated outdoor lifestyle which is afforded by the weather and coastal landscape. So lots of cafes and restaurants have vegan options.
The highlights were;
Açai smoothie bowls in Health Freak in Scarborough and Nature's Harvest in Cottesloe
Chocolate CocoWhip at the Freemantle market
Garden burger in the chain restaurant Grill'd
The massive, amazing ramen bowl in Lucky Chan's Laundry and Noodle Bar in Northbridge
Vegan nourish bowl in Pixel in Subiaco
Vegan lemon poppyseed bread from The Fat Duck bike shop and cafe in Busselton
When travelling down around Dunsborough and Margaret River I did grab a few sandwiches from Subway, just out of convenience as we were doing lots of walking and driving. I don't mind veggie delites, but I would love if Subway had houmous or a vegan-friendly veggie burger. In Australia they have avocado as an option, so that livens it up a bit. In Margaret River we went to a chocolate factory nestled amongst the wineries, where I picked up some nice mint dark chocolate.
As it was so hot I couldn't handle hot drinks, so I drank alot of iced coffees. It seems like some coffee shops make an iced coffee with ice cream and syrup, so I did have to specify that I just wanted coffee, soya milk and ice. I got some nice iced coffees from Gloria Jeans and Jamaica Blue.
I couldn't resist popping into La Vida Vegan, the vegan grocery in Perth, to have a look. There was a great selection of stuff, especially refrigerated, that I would have loved but couldn't buy as I wouldn't have been able to bring them home. They were having a sale on chocolate as the hot weather had melted some of their stock, so I got a bar of Seed and Bean's coconut and raspberry chocolate.
Vegemite tastes like marmite, but not as thick
My haul of cereal bars
My haul of chocolate
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