Australia Trip - 2016

I've been a bit AWOL lately because I was fortunate enough to spend 3 weeks in Australia during November! It was mainly a social visit but I was lucky enough so sample some vegan wares...so here goes!!

Sydney

Start with the best first! The Green Lion (previously known as The Red Lion) in Rozelle is Sydney's first vegan pub! Very exciting! There was quite a bot of GF on the menu too (including GF hamburger buns), I had the nachos. My friends had the vegan hot dog, two different vegan burgers and vegan seafood basket!

Suzy Spoon's Vegan Butcher!!!! The best vegan meat I've ever had. It's all handmade and a lot of GF options such as all the sausages, ground beef, these AMAZING beef patties and the veggie balls which I had with marinara sauce and pasta. Unfortunately there is no shop front anymore but if you're in Sydney you can go to the factory in St Peters and buy straight from the door or you can order online and have it delivered most places in Australia!

I found vegan GF Special K on the shelf in IGA in Cremorne and had to try some. It tasted pretty much like regular Special K so that was a win!

Enjoyed a Calippo (Raspberry & Pineapple) - even though I wanted Orange :(

Missed Sheese and found it in the local IGA! Love it with some quince paste!

Was excited to see a vegan rally being advertised while I was there :)

I met a friend for brunch at Girdlers Cafe, Dee Why

Got this delicious juice and avocado on toast. They had some good vegan options there, not all were GF though. Right on the beach, can't beat the location!

If I'm ever in Sydney's CBD (downtown area) I always try to stop into Josophan's Chocolatiers. They have a vegan praline chocolate and a lot of their dark chocolate is vegan, such as the golf fish below. I always like to get some Chilli Hot Chocolate for hubby (which is also vegan) ;) 

I was surprised to see they now have a new cafe section as well!

My lovely brother and sister-in-law bought me some yummy treats from the Little Raw Co. in Cremorne which also has a large range of their own teas. Everything in the store is vegan and desserty but quite pricey so don't forget your wallet :)

Went to yum cha (dim sum) at Greenwood Chinese Restaurant, North Sydney. I always get Asian greens with soy sauce and sesame oil and they were kind enough to make me some plain flat rice noodles with green onion.

I met a friend for brunch at Pablo & Rusty's cafe in Lane Cove plaza. It was a cute place but it was very busy and very overpriced. I liked that they had options for my toast besides avocado, like spinach and mushrooms but they only gave me enough avocado for one piece of toast and the GF toast was a lot extra.

The Australian Hotel, at The Rocks, always a winner with GF vegan pizza options and almost every Australian beer on tap. I find it a great place to meet friends who are coming from work and there is a "ladies parlour" which is great to book if you're coming with kids.

Went to a friends house for tea and she had lavished me with a beautiful fruit platter and my favourite GF vegan cookies. Leda Minton and Choc Chip! Needless to say I stayed longer than I had intended ;)

Went to my brother's house for dinner one night and they had these Smooze GF & vegan frozen coconut desserts! They were SO good!!! Best part is you can get them on Amazon! God bless the internet!

Khao Hom Thai restaurant in Cremorne had a pretty decent selection veg options, I always ask them to make sure not to use fish or oyster sauce and not egg for dishes like Pad Thai. Needless to say I always try to eat my body weight in Thai every time I go home ;)

Plus this Pewsey Vale Eden Valley Riesling went down quite nicely with Thai food! I love getting Riesling and verdelho wines when I go home because I can never find good ones in the States. Plus in Australia the wine is labelled so you know if it's vegan (by labeling any added milk, fish, egg).

Coolum Beach, Queensland

I was lucky enough to get up to the Sunshine Coast to visit family while I was back and my cousin always knows where to take me.

Right on the beach is Raw Energy with smoothies, cakes, lunches and juices.

If you're ever in Brisbane make sure you stop in at the Brisbane Brewing Co. where my cousins Tim & Dan Searle are the head chefs and know all about vegan specialties!

Found these Fry's vegan GF chicken nuggets at Woolworths and they were SO GOOD! I wish I could get them in the USA!

Also at Woolworths I found this vegan My Life Bio Cheese!

...and this Vegan Kale, Rocket & White Ban dip!

...and these Veggie Delights Lentil Patties

My cousin and I took a little day trip to quaint Montville and found...

Castle Glen Liqueurs where almost everything was vegan! I got myself a Whiskey & Coffee Liqueur!

 Chocolate Country where they had vegan rum truffles, vegan coconut truffles and a few vegan dark chocolate slab options like jaffa, mint and macadamia :)

We had lunch at The Edge Restaurant which had amazing views. I had a vegan GF salad on the menu which I normally never choose but it was delicious and strangely filling!

Back in Sydney before I left I stocked up on a few essentials for the suitcase...

I got this Dick Smith's OzEMite because I'm still looking for a GF Vegemite alternative and this one was made in Australia so winning! It tasted more like Marmite which is fine but not what I was looking for :(

Always essential to stock up on vegan chicken salt for my fries!

I LOVE this Trident Hot & Spicy Thai Noodle Soup and I tried to fit as many as I could in my suitcase!

All Massel Stock powders are GF and vegan so I stocked up on those as well :)