Perth birthday freebies

Everyone loves freebies, and who’s more deserving than the birthday boy or girl!

Here’s a round-up of all the things you can score when your birthday comes around (I hope you can eat a lot because there’s a lot of free food up for grabs).

There’s also bound to be things I have missed so leave a comment if you have more to add to this list!

• Nandos will give you a whole free birthday meal on any day during your birthday month. You must become a member before your birthday in order to receive your voucher via email.
• Boost Juice Vibe Club members receive a free original size juice on their birthday. This offer can also be claimed on one of the two days either side of your birthday.
• Grill’d Relish members get a free drink on their birthday with the purchase of a burger. (I’ll admit after the first two this one is a bit of a let down, at least throw some chips in there!).
• But wait it gets good again… San Churros will delight you with a free churros for two on your birthday. You do need to be a member of their El Social club, but even if you sign up on your birthday you can still claim your free churros – now you’re talking!
• Jamaica Blue gives members a free slice of cake to celebrate their birthday. You can sign up on your birthday in store and claim your cake right away. Plus, new members also get a free coffee – morning tea sorted!
• Muffin Break members can score a free birthday muffin.
• Join the Eat Fresh Club at Subway to receive a free lunch.
• The Outback Jacks Birthday Club gives members a free main course meal up to the value of $35 during their birthday month. However, it’s only valid when two or more main meals are ordered. If you book a table for four or more there’s also an extra birthday surprise (I have no idea what this is but if anyone does let me know in the comments).
• Cold Rock gives VIP members free ice cream and a cake voucher. You must have been a member eight days before your birthday in order to redeem your free ice cream and for 35 days to receive the voucher.
• It’s time to get something good into you… Sumo Salad’s Sumo Society will give you a free salad on your birthday. You must collect a membership card from in store to sign up.
• Gloria Jeans grants members a free drink on their birthday.
• Panchos in Victoria Park and Mount Lawley will treat you to a free birthday meal and dessert if you join their VIP Gringos Club. You must present your birthday letter to receive your freebies, but you can do so any time during your birthday month.
• Finally, if you still have some room head to the Spud Bar to claim your free birthday spud or salad, but only after joining The Secret Society of Spud. This freebie can be claimed on your birthday or the two days either side.

Happy birthday and I hope you enjoy your food coma! If you didn’t make it all the way then you’ve got something to aspire to next year.

 

Fair ladies at Fairbridge

Our state is so beautiful. Whether it’s the bustling city, the rough and tumble of the red outback or the tranquility in the lush south I can’t help but find myself in awe of the beauty that surrounds us.

I spent the last stormy weekend on a retreat, with a bunch of beautiful women from my church, at the quaint Fairbridge Village near Pinjarra.

This was a wonderful time to get away and share connection with one another and hear and experience some powerful things God wanted to do over that weekend.

The first morning we woke to the great storm of 2016. The thundering of rain on the tin roof of the dorm while I was cocooned in my sleeping bag was the most cosy sensation.

Although the rain pelted down and the wind was fierce it didn’t dampen our moods in the slightest. And for those like me who love winter weather, made it all the more enjoyable.

During a period of free time, my lively and lovable friend Jordi and I ventured out of Fairbridge, through debris on the road from the storm and into Pinjarra.

We had a quick squiz in an op shop and enjoyed a little walk around one of the town’s churches and then by the Murray River. It was a gorgeous place and we took some snaps that were quite insta-worthy (that is how you rate quality pictures theses days). Enjoy!

Social media: The time cruncher

Everybody’s pet peeve is the same. I can almost guarantee you.

While one person might think their’s to be traffic jams, another person finds people who take more than the designated 12 items through the express checkout simply unbearable, or still another feels ridiculously slow internet upload speed is the worse thing they can bare. All these frustrations have one thing in common.

Time.

None of us like to have our time wasted. And almost anything that really annoys us has to do with this.

I’d say this has a lot to do with being largely impatient people, living in an instantaneous world. But it also has to do with the intrinsic value placed on our time.

When I started working full time I valued my time far more highly than I had before, because I suddenly had much less of it. Most of the hours from Monday to Friday had been written off for work and so now I found myself with precious few hours each night and on weekends that were mine to decide what to do with.

These hours are quickly filled however, with other commitments, simple necessities such as cleaning and organising meals, exercise and training, and the remainder dedicated to catch ups with friends and some time for myself to read and relax.

Whenever something unexpected comes up, I can be fully aware of it cutting into my quickly disappearing free time. Making the most of my time is the main reason I switched from driving to work every day, and consequently wasting almost 10 hours a week in traffic, to catching public transport and fitting in an hour of reading or listening to a podcast on the way to work and then another hour on the way home. My commute is now often the highlight of my day.

Several days ago I made a list of all the things I spend my time on, in an effort to find places where I can declutter my life and spend more time on the things I really care about.

I was slightly disappointed to find there was really hardly any wiggle room to cut anything at all, deeming it all too important.

Although, one small but significant user of my time could be amended and that was social media.

I wrote down the use of social media platforms on my list as it’s something I use every day so I know full well they must take up a fair amount of my time. I’m also the type of person who will recheck my newsfeeds within several minutes of closing the application for no good reason at all.

I’ve had intentions about changing this for a while now. While I still want a social media presence, I would like to shake the hold it’s got over me where I fear missing out on something significant if I haven’t read my newsfeed all the way back to the point I finished last time.

It’s funny how protective of our time we can be and how easily frustrated we get with things that demand our time and really give us nothing in return, such as waiting in queues or having to refill out an application, when we willing chose to engage with the thing that’s crunching away at huge portions of every day and leaving nothing of lasting benefit in our lives. More often than not it actually makes us lose any bit of contentment and joy we do have about our own lives, because of what we see in our feeds of what other people have. It’s something that would not have bothered us at all if we hadn’t decided to mindlessly scroll down the newsfeed for 15 minutes before heading to work.

So if you’re like me and feel like there’s never enough time to do the things you enjoy. Can I encourage you not to waste the time when you get it just checking how everybody else is spending there’s and whether yours measures up.

Disclaimer: If I’m being completely honest I was scrolling through my social media while writing this post. It probably meant I spent twice as long writing this.

 

Roaming Perth’s north (or north of Perth)

In my head I come up with really good plans.

I mean, I have great ideas, they’re executed exactly how they should be and everyone involved has a really good time. Unfortunately, that’s only in my head.

Last week I had decided to organise a bit of a weekend adventure for John and I, to do something we wouldn’t normally do. I thought a road trip to go swimming in Serpentine falls would be lots of fun, but then I heard a billion leeches live in those waters and I thought ‘hm, maybe we’ll revisit that idea the day I need to lose a bit of blood’.

Instead I researched Yanchep National Park and discovered they have caves you can explore, koalas, hiking tracks, tearooms and a bunch of different things that I thought could be really cool to discover.

So, I told John to pack his camera and some walking shoes and that we were headed on an adventure. We left mid-afternoon, which ideally would have been a bit earlier but I had other things i had to get done that morning.

By the time we arrived we were about half an hour too late for the final cave tour for the day, which was a real bummer. I thought that would be the highlight of the trek up that way and was now a bit annoyed that the ‘adventure’ I had talked up lacked much venturing.

Despite my poor planning skills (to check when the cave tours actually operated) there was still some cool things for us to see like the super cute snoozing koalas and plenty of kangaroos around the park.

A lady at the visitors centre showed us a collapsed cave system on the map that we could still visit on our own, so we drove through the park roads to have a look.

We arrived at the entrance to a cave, which was closed for a private function, but we had a quick little peek through the corridor and saw it beautifully lit up with fairy lights – apparently people can host their wedding receptions inside one of the caves.

Nearby we found a track and eventually stumbled upon the collapsed cave system, which was huge walls of limestone surrounded by shrub and trees.

On the way back to the car we heard lots of rustling in the bushes and out bounded a whole mob of kangaroos (sir Google tells me that’s what a group of roos are called).

It was pretty cool to be out in the bush just us and the wildlife. There are also huge numbers of black cockatoos at this park and they made quite the racket our whole visit.

After leaving the park we headed for Two Rocks. I’ve seen countless pictures of it but have never seen the famous King Neptune statue from the old Atlantis theme park in person, and since we were already so north we thought we might as well.

As luck would have it today it was closed, but of course it would be open tomorrow. Still, I didn’t even know it was something people could still visit but it did appear visitors can walk the stairs to the base of the statue at certain times.

I wasn’t exactly sure of how to get there either but once we came into Two Rocks there’s no missing it, it looms overhead quite impressively, if not a little creepily in John’s books.

With the gate closed for another day we bid our farewell to King Neptune and headed back to Yanchep for a quick dip in the ocean, eagerly devoured fish and chips for tea and headed back to the ‘burbs.

It’s only half an hour from home but Yanchep felt almost like a country getaway for the day and offered some great hidden attractions for Perthians to explore.

That does raise a question though; is Yanchep in Perth’s north or north of Perth?

Perth’s most quirky iced drinks

Summer is well and truly upon us and with the unrelenting heat bearing down you’ll want to find a place to cool off. Treat your tastebuds and refresh yourself from the inside out with a cool drink or icey treat from one of Perth’s many delectable eateries.

Walking around the City of Perth I soon discovered just how many wonderful places there are to sample and enjoy.

There are old favourites cafes, cute and quirky nooks and streets of hidden gems.

While the good old-fashioned ice coffees and spearmint milkshakes are readily available when it comes to cool summer treats for 2016 it’s all about the simple cold brew coffees as well as more eccentric flavour varieties.

Max + Sons

Situated in Perth City’s freshest dining precinct Globe Lane, or 140 William Street, Max + Sons is bright little café and the perfect place in this thriving hub to grab a coffee on the go or stay for a chat.

If you’re craving that coffee kick but the stinking hot temperatures have you desperate for an alternative to the toasty beverage then swap your regular cup of joe for a revitalising cold brew.

This cold coffee option is rising in popularity all around the city and Max + Sons provide a great take away or dine in option for $5.

Because cold brew involves steeping coffee grounds in cold water and leaving it to infuse for long periods of time there is some bitterness associated with the flavour of cold brew.

Max + Sons’ cold brew wasn’t overpowering in terms of coffee strength and although there was a little bitter aftertaste it was a mostly smooth and refreshing.

For the tea drinker Max + Sons have their home made iced Yerba Maté tea for $.4.50.

A caffeine free, Brazilian medicinal tea with lovely subtle flavours, the Yerba Maté is easy to drink with light flavours that provide a nice hydrating alternative to water.

In addition, the café sells small glass bottles of their house made juices for $8.

Juices vary each day but there are normally a handful of flavours to choose from including a green juice, summer fruits, watermelon, orange/apple/turmeric and beetroot/apple/ginger.

Location: Shop 23, 140 William Street Perth

Open: Monday-Friday 6.30am-4pm and Saturday 9am-4pm

Website

Willie Wagtail

There were several things that stood out to be about this sweet little place.

The first was the location. I had never before noticed this café sitting opposite Jamie’s Italian on William Street.

With only small signage facing the street, the café sits tucked away with its entrance a little corridor that leads to a courtyard of tables and chairs.

The second thing was the friendliness of the staff who all clearly held such a delightful passion for the job.

They eagerly explained the differences between cold brew and cold drip coffee and gave advice on the best ways to make both.

Thirdly Willie Wagtail’s cold coffee menu is as extensive as your own imagination. By that I mean if you can think something up the staff here are prepared, and excited, to make it happen for you.

On their written menu are iced long blacks, iced chais, iced chocolates and iced teas.

Enticed by the varied menu I sampled a few of their exotic delights including the Ethiopia di Bello, a milk chocolate, strawberry and plum cold drip.

This iced coffee was silky smooth, full of flavour and reminiscent of a liquor. Perfect for those who like striking flavours, it had a much more refined taste than that of a cold brew.

Next was their iced long black of the dark chocolate and date variety. The coffee was quite strong and would be perfect for someone seeking a cool sharp coffee hit.

I also sampled their much lighter cold brew mixed with sparkling water on ice, colourfully named the Willie Tingle.

All cold drips, brews and iced long blacks are $4 for a small or $4.50 for a larger size.

There’s even an assortment of cold drip devices on display to view and purchase to make your own concoctions at home.

Location: 131 William Street

Open: Monday-Friday 6.30am-4pm

Website

Moana Coffee

One of my favourite places to dine, Moana Coffee served up the goods in the iced delights department on a sweltering day.

Tucked away above Hay Street mall, this charming little café is a hidden gem inside the renovated Moana Chambers building.

For the tea drinker Moana has a green sweet treat in the form of iced matcha for $5.50.

The best thing about this milky drink is while it tastes deliciously sweet there is no added sugar. It’s simply the delightful taste of the infused tea.

Their homemade iced orange pekoe tea is a wonderful bargain on a hot day at $2.50.

My personal favourite was the iced London fog ($4.50). Essentially a cold version of a white Earl Grey tea, this drink has beautiful fruity and floral aromatic flavours.

Moana’s cold brew comes served in cute little 200ml glass bottles for $5.50 each.

There is a great selection of flavours to choose from including, Sparkling Lime and Ginger, Almond Milk and Maple and Classic Sparkling Orange.

There is also a larger 500ml bottle of cold brew concentrate available.

I sampled the Sparkling Lime and Ginger and found the addition of the sparkling flavour to give the coffee more of a hydrating feel.

The ginger flavour is what hits you on the first sip, followed by the kick of the coffee in the aftertaste.

It’s handy to know that if you bring the bottle back on your next visit you’ll get a 50 cent discount off your next cold brew.

Location: Upstairs in the Moana Chambers building at 618 Hay Street

Open: Monday-Friday 7am-4pm, Saturday 10am-3pm and Sunday 11am-4pm

Website

Little Angel

For a truly unique iced dessert experience head to Little Angel at the bottom of the Exchange Tower in Perth’s CBD.

The only place in Perth to serve liquid nitrogen affogatos, known as their Nitro Affogatto, Little Angel provides an experience for all the senses.

It takes about five minutes to prepare the dessert and I would highly recommend watching it being made.

It’s exciting to watch as the barista dons gloves and glasses and carefully pours the liquid nitrogen with the gas pouring out everywhere. It looks more like a cool science experiment than food.

As recommended by the staff, and confirmed by my experience, the best way to eat the dessert is to first sample the gelato and then add the coffee to taste.

The pandan and coconut gelato was extremely smooth as a result of the liquid nitrogen and the 5 Senses Coffee was the perfect accompaniment.

It is worth trying each bit separately and then together as it brings out many flavours.

Coming in at $8 each, the price will seem steep if you are only after a coffee, but very reasonable for a coffee and an ice cream.

Currently on their menu, Little Angel have the popular pandan and coconut flavour, along with hot buttered popcorn, and their new cookies and cream flavour.

Location: Ground Floor Exchange Tower, 2 The Esplanade

Open: Monday-Thursday 6.30am-3.30pm and Friday 6.30am-3pm

Instagram

Babooshka Bar

If there were ever a place in Perth for an elaborate drink, this would be it.

Babooshka Bar rose to fame on the Perth food scene for serving one of the most ostentatious milkshakes (or rather ‘freakshakes’) this city’s ever seen.

A triple-donut, chocolate-coated bacon shake is their signature masterpiece for $20.

For those of us less daring, but still eager for something more than the old vanilla milkshake, they serve up a unique range of gourmet shakes.

Starting at $10 each is the Fruitloop and Marshmallow milkshake and their Golden Gaytime shake and for $15 you can replace a meal with their Pancake, Milo and Maple Syrup shake.

In preparation for sampling the pancake shake I passed on lunch, a move that proved to be wise.

It takes five to ten minutes to make each milkshake, as the place is popular, with several people ordering the donut and bacon delight during my visit.

As a drink and meal all rolled into one I wasn’t sure how to begin on the pancake shake, even the boss admitted that “no-one really knows” how to tackle it.

All I can say is be sure to grab some cutlery and plenty of serviettes, as this is one messy drink.

The ice cream, maple syrup and milo makes for a great combination, and hidden under the pancakes is a stack of whipped cream to top off the milkshake.

The first sip brings with it all the maple syrup drizzled through the straw, giving you a quick sugar hit.

After enjoying this huge treat, clear your schedule because you’re going to want to submerge into the food coma that follows.

Location: Arcade 189, 7/189 William Street

Open: Monday-Friday 7am-3pm and Saturday-Sunday 9am-2pm

Website

Notable Mentions

I am yet to make it to every great iced drink place in the City of Perth, so here are some that I think are still worth a visit.

Henry Saw

From peanut butter smoothies to orange infused cold drips, this little café by Perth’s museum has it all in a charming setting.

Location: 117 Grand Lane, Perth

Open: Monday-Friday 7am-3pm and Saturday 8am-2pm

La Veen Coffee and Kitchen

La Veen recently announced an exciting new addition to their menu, their own coffee granita.

This drink will be sure to keep you cool all summer long.

Location: 90 King Street, Perth

Open: Monday-Wednesday 7am-3pm, Thursday-Friday 7am-4pm, Saturday 8am-4pm and Sunday 9am-3pm

Utopia Bubble Tea

For the widest selection of iced tea flavours anywhere, you can’t go past Utopia Bubble Tea.

With sweet fruity teas, traditional milk based flavours and a range of toppings and jellies to suck up that thick straw there’s plenty for all tastebuds.

Location: 109 James Street, Northbridge

Open: Sunday-Thursday 11.30am-11pm, Friday 11.30am-1am and Saturday 11.30am-2am

Little Creatures’ comfort food

Last weekend I ventured down the long road to Fremantle to take out my newest American friend for dinner. I did a bit of research into places to eat in Freo on a Saturday night, only to discover that most of the places I have been keen on trying are only open for breakfast and lunch, so it looks like I’ll need to venture there more frequently during the daylight hours.

We ended up at Little Creatures Brewery right on the waters edge. This place is large and impressive. I’ve only been here once before a long time ago and had fond memories of the steak sandwich.We found our own seat inside among the ginormous beer kegs and a waitress soon brought us menus. A quick glance down the menu and I realised I was starving, having been on a long ride that day and forgetting to snack between lunch and dinner (that is so unlike me). I was craving carbs so I ordered a woodfired pizza.I had the cured beef, rocket and bocconcini pizza and I devoured the entire thing.The perfect size for one (one hungry little person that is), this woodfired pizza was delicious but possibly on the touch too salty side.  I loved the addition of rosemary and sea salt to the base of the thin pizza. However, with the addition of the cured beef and cheese there was quite a lot of salt going on. Thankfully I needed it that day after my exercise so it was all too easy to put away.

Allison ordered the salmon, which was an impressive chunk of fish. Unfortunately it wasn’t cooked all the way through (probably due to the piece being so thick). She still enjoyed the dish and the fries looked beautifully homemade (some with the skin still on).The payment service at the table was easy and convenient and they kindly let us split bill.

After dinner we enjoyed a pleasant walk along the Cappuccino strip before heading home.

Whisk it good

A review of Whisk Creamery

Like just about any new place I discover I found out about this little gelato gemstone in Subiaco on Instagram.

While their cronuts are particularly visually enticing, it was the new and quirky that prompted my visit. I was here to sample the mysterious looking black sesame gelato.

Served on a waffle cone the extremely creamy gelato was piped high and looked picture perfect – hence the photo.

I didn’t really know what I expected it to taste like. The only thing I really recognise about sesame seeds is their crunch, but as this was an ice cream I knew I wouldn’t be experiencing that again.

The gelato was sweet but not sickly, the texture was incredibly smooth and the whole ice cream was extremely easy to eat so it didn’t take long to devour mine. It was one of the most refreshing ice cream experiences I think I’ve ever had. Of course Whisk Creamery is also a bit of a whiz when it comes to other desserts. Their cronuts are also quite experimental, served with toppings such as caramel popcorn pieces, fairy floss and lightly burnt marshmallows.

Choosing just one thing to sample on the menu is hard, so taking a friend and trying a couple of things together might be a good idea.

Caramel popcorn cronut

The Cremino

The cronuts are filled with a generous serving of gelato in the middle, dolloped with cream before being drizzled with sauce and topped with another sugary garnish.

Salted caramel cronut

The salted caramel cronut appears to be the most popular cronut on the menu, several customers ordered it in the short time i was visiting.

This place is clearly popular but the staff are efficient. There are only a few tables inside and the atmosphere is quirky and cosy with a giant blackboard taking up one wall.

Their famous gelato is seems to be the biggest seller, with most people taking it on the go as they explore the charming surrounds of Subiaco.  

Whisk Creamery:

151 Rokeby Road, Subiaco, 6008

Open: Monday – Saturday 7am-6pm, Sunday 8am-6pm

For more enticing photos check out @whiskcreamery on Instagram.