Fremantle and raw food excitement

A little while ago, I mentioned that I owed Perth an apology for not sharing its frozen yoghurt delights in a timely manner.

As it turns out, I owe Fremantle an even bigger apology.

As Perth's historic port city, located at the mouth of the Swan river, Fremantle is a town in its own right. It has a reputation for being arty and somewhat bohemian, and is home to museums, book stores, historic buildings, a good indoor weekend market, some wonderful cafes and restaurants, and what may be Perth's best fish and chips.

As a child, it was a relatively frequent weekend visiting spot. We'd play at the park, perhaps go to the maritime museum, visit a book shop, and (if we were lucky) have afternoon tea.

As a teenager, I enjoyed catching the train down and wandering around the shops, having lunch or getting ice cream, sometimes seeing a movie.

And then I stopped going. My shopping trips these days are usually goal oriented, time limited, and better suited to artificial shopping centres or the predictable city centre. I did make it to the Fremantle Chocolate Factory this year, but even that was a goal-focused trip, and I didn't venture into the main town centre.

The downside of this, of course, is that I forgot what Fremantle had to offer. It may not allow for quick trips for a specific item, but if you have time, there are lane ways to explore, markets to browse, small shops to delight in - and a large number of cafes in which to take a break.

I remembered this recently, when I had a spare few hours, we were in the area, and I headed to the Fremantle markets for fruit and vegetable shopping.

Suffice to say, I went home with more than fruit and vegetables.

My first discovery, which led to extreme over-excitement, was The Raw Kitchen Cafe. Everything is vegan, dairy free, wheat free, sugar free, gluten free, and raw. I still can't believe I hadn't heard of it.

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As I had recently eaten lunch, I wasn't able to enjoy the menu to its full extent. If I had been able to, there would have been plenty of lunch choices (sandwiches, soups, salads, and raw pizza!), smoothies with a variety of nut milk and flavour options, and hot drinks made with almond milk. Almond milk!

And then there are the desserts.

Raw vegan cheesecake. Raw vegan chocolate mousse cake. Raw cocoa, fruit and nut truffles.

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I ended up buying two of the truffle balls to take home, in mint chocolate and jaffa (chocolate orange) flavours.

I had half of each flavour with Mr Bite, and was most impressed. I'm not sure he was quite as thrilled (he described the mint version as a "chocolate mint health ball", bless him), but they certainly won me over. Beautifully flavoured, not too sweet, and just the right amount of chocolate.

They also sell vegan / raw products.

Like this.

Raw coconut chocolate butter with chilli and goji berry.

It was amazing.

The chilli is subtle, but lingers, tingling just slightly. It pairs incredibly well with the rich chocolate, the coconut undertones, and the faint goji flavours. The combined product is chocolatey but not too chocolatey, slightly spicy, slightly sweet, and definitely very, very good.

You might think the rest of Fremantle would be a disappointment after this start. But it wasn't! Beautiful fruit and vegetables, cafes that may be non-vegan but still look delightful, bakeries with a multitude of bread options (organic, sourdough, rye), small quirky gift shops, lots of books, and a relaxed atmosphere that was a stark contrast to the shopping centres and department stores I usually find myself in.

Fremantle, I am sorry. I won't forget you again.

And I will be back for that vegan chocolate mousse cake.

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