Another night at Amwaj

Another night, another meal at Amwaj restaurant. I cannot proclaim my love enough for this amazing vegan-friendly establishment, and I find myself constantly craving their delicious food. On my most recent visit, I introduced a friend of mine to their food, who had been dying to go since I raved so highly about it. I was so excited to see her reaction, as she took her first bite into each delectable dish. It's a little corny, I know, but I love exposing others to wonderful food and it's a big part of the reason why I started this blog.

We started out with two appetizers. First, we had the Amwaj Peppers ($7) and then hummus ($6).

The Amwaj Peppers are definitely Amwaj's signature dish, hence the usage of their name in the dish. The flavors were seriously incredible, from the savory, well-spiced rice concoction filling to the luscious, sweet molasses topping. The peppers were boiled to perfection and were soft and juicy. The basil topping added a delightful spice to the dish, taking it above and beyond.

The hummus was also quite a treat and a lovely way to begin the meal.

The taste of tahini was strong and the consistency was so smooth and creamy. There was a light flavoring of pepper and a delicate cilantro garnish. In addition, the center of the dish was filled with a glob of oil that complimented the hummus wonderfully. To accompany the hummus, there was a slightly warm pita bread and crunchy, spicy chips. The chips were perfect on their own and tasted a bit odd with the additional spices of the hummus. The pita bread worked very well with the hummus and completely sopped up the flavor.

Next, our main dishes came out. First, we had the Vegan Pesto Chicken Tortellini ($14).

This pasta was delicious. It was quite evident that the pasta was homemade, and it had such a soft, doughy texture. The interior was even more delectable, with a garlicky, creamy pesto sauce coating slightly chewy pieces of soy chicken. The sauce worked perfectly with the savory filling, adding a contrasting sweet flavoring. I normally do not like tomato sauce, yet I really enjoyed Amwaj's version. It was very smooth and had a slightly creamy consistency.

Lastly, we had the Asparagus Artichoke Quiche ($9).

Sadly, this is the first dish at Amwaj that I did not enjoy very much. I think this can be attributed to the fact that the dish did not resemble a quiche at all, but rather a mediocre casserole dish. The crust was way too hard and difficult to eat. The interior was flavorful, but had an odd consistency that was too pasty. In addition, there were many mushrooms interspersed, which gave the dish a fungal taste, despite my picking out most of them. The accompanying salad, however, was the highlight of the dish. The vegetables were very fresh and crunchy and were coated in a light, refreshing, moderately spiced, lemony vinaigrette.

Overall, I really enjoyed the visit.  Having been to Amwaj several times now, I can honestly say the food is consistently flavorful and the service is outstanding. I really hope they can improve the quiche and make it actually taste like the real thing. Nevertheless, the meal was terrific and so perfectly spiced. It was quite a deal with the $25 restaurant.com gift certificate and only cost about $10 a person (with tax and tip). I cannot wait to go back next month and try more of their amazing food!

A Wholesome Deal At Whole Foods

Whole Foods is one of those places that I both love and hate. I love the variety of foods they carry, especially hard-to-find vegan products. Yes, I often wish their selection was even bigger, but I am thrilled to be able to purchase vegan cheese, cookies and even whipped cream all at one store. The laziness in me often heads straight to the prepared food department to fill up a container with delicious vegan salad concoctions. I hate that everything is so damn expensive. I realize that it's organic and high quality, but it is discouraging in this economy to have to pay that much for food.

Today only, Whole Foods is offering up a deal for $10 for $20 worth of anything at their store. You could easily use this on vegan beauty or food products, as they carry such an array of lovely goods.

                                    50% off Whole Foods


This deal will help make Whole Foods more reasonably priced, as very few of their products can actually be deemed affordable. They do have occasional sales, but even so, the discount is barely significant. I will probably be using this deal to stock up on my favorite faux meats and cheeses. I cannot wait to use it!

A Very Brownie Sundae

One of the most difficult things for me to give up as a vegan was dairy products. I recently saw a documentary that chronicled the reasons why dairy is so delicious and addicting. Learning about the casomorphin drug that is present in dairy products instantly reminded me of my horrible cheese addiction not too long ago. My addiction for ice cream sundaes was almost as bad, and it was so difficult to give up. I never thought that I would be able to have the creamy, decadent concoction drizzled in a warm, luscious syrup.

Enter Kind Kreme, a marvelous (almost) vegan ice cream parlor serving up drool-worthy ice cream sundaes. Even better, their Studio City location was recently featured on Scout Mob, offering up a 50% off coupon. Of course, I made sure to take advantage of the deal, and headed over as soon as it was posted. I ordered my favorite brownie sundae with mint chocolate chip ice cream and caramel latte ice cream. The scoops were very generous and coated in a salted caramel syrup and topped with generic oreo cookie pieces. This was all on top of a soft, gooey raw brownie.

The ice cream tasted very heavenly and I love that it was not overly sweet. The mint chocolate was my favorite, having a lovely sweetness with a hint of spice. The caramel sauce, however, was a little too sugary and overpowering. The oreo cookie pieces were a great contrast to the smooth ice cream, providing an extra crunch. It also enhanced the flavors, adding a nice chocolatey taste. The brownie was the star of the show, having a rich, chocolate flavor and perfect consistency.

I loved this sundae, although it ended up being a little difficult to finish. Afterward, I felt a sugar overload. Luckily, since it was raw, my body digested it fairly quickly. I ordered the small size, which I could have easily shared with another person. The sundae, normally cost $10, but with the discount only cost $5, which is quite a steal. I will definitely return, as this is one of my favorite ice cream spots. I am anxious to try more ice cream flavors and perhaps even venture to new sundae varieties.

Second Chances At Fresh East

I am a huge believer of second chances and thus after my subpar experience at Fresh East a few months ago, I decided to give them another chance before writing them off. They recently had a deal on Gather Green for $10 for $20 worth of food, which I was sure to take advantage of. I headed back there last week on another late night, as my stomach growled with intense hunger. I noticed their menu was even larger than my last visit, with tons of vegan options. I opted for Chinese food this time, hoping they would do a better job with this cuisine, as I had found their Indian food to be very bland.

I started out with the Avocado rolls ($7.50).

These were delicious. They were such a unique take on the traditional spring roll. The avocado filling was soft and creamy, with a subtle sweetness. There was a lovely seasoning and touch of salt that worked very well. The roll itself was deep-fried and very crispy. The accompanying sauce complimented the rolls perfectly, adding a delectable sweetness with a mild spiciness. These rolls were very filling and could have easily been made into an entire meal.

For my entree, I had the Spicy Garlic Noodles with tofu ($9).

I have to admit, I was very worried about how this would taste. After my last experience with Fresh East's entree, I expected this would lack much spice, despite its name. I am so happy to say that this had such a lovely, garlicky flavor, with a hint of soy sauce. It had a moderate spice, with a very subtle kick to it. The vegetables were stir-fried nicely, with a delectable seasoning and were easy to chew. The tofu was my favorite part of the dish, as it was lightly fried and slightly chewy. It made the dish taste savory and was a great compliment to the slurpy noodles.

To wash everything down, I ordered a melonade ($2).

I am a huge fan of lemonade, especially the flavored kind, so I am so glad that Fresh East offered this on their menu. The drink had a lovely sweetness with a hint of tartness. The taste of melon was very strong, but was cooling and refreshing.

Overall, I really enjoyed the meal. I am so happy that I gave Fresh East a second chance, as I never would have tried these amazing food items. I was beyond stuffed from the meal and surprisingly was unable to finish everything. I had to box up some of the food and have it as leftovers for lunch the following day. Thankfully, the food kept in my fridge and the food tasted even more flavorful the next day. With the voucher, I did not have to pay anything on top of the $10, which was a very good deal. Even better, I was able to make two meals out of it, which essentially came out to $5 a meal. I cannot wait to go back and try more of their vegan items. Here's to hoping that this meal was not a fluke and my next one will be just as tasty.

A Relaxing Evening At Euphoria Loves Rawvolution

Euphoria Loves Rawvolution is one of those places where you really need to be in a good mood and have lots of positive energy. You also need to visit their cafe on a day when you have nothing else planned and know that you will spend hours there, whether you like it or not. I went fairly late in the evening, around 8 pm, after a relaxing yoga session. I had the entire night free, so I decided to take advantage of the lax service and lose track of time. It was a little frustrating that the waiter ignored me, but I took to my cell phone and conversed with others. Finally, he came to my table and I placed my order.

About an hour later, my food came out. I'm not quite sure why it took so long for me to get my food when the restaurant was not that busy and the food is not even hot. I understand that raw food takes way longer to prepare than cooked food, but I figured they did much of the preparation ahead of time.

I first dug into the Coconut Jerky ($6).

The jerky was very delicious. It was very chewy with a slightly sweet flavor. The seasoning made it taste very savory and meaty. It had a mild spiciness, with a light curry flavoring. It had such a great texture and truly mimicked the real deal.

Next, I had my entree, the Red Enchilada ($12.50).

The enchilada was amazing. I could not believe that it was raw. Nevertheless, the wrap was a little crunchy and a little difficult to cut into. The flavorings were perfect and there was a nice contrast of sweet and savory flavorings. The mango salsa was so lush and juicy, along with the smooth guacamole. The cashew cheese was very creamy, with a light seasoning and touch of salt. The chili was so spicy and left an intense heat in my mouth. Unfortunately for me, the waiter did not return to refill my water glass while I was eating this, thus my mouth was on fire for a long while.

Lastly, I had a scoop of strawberry ice cream ($4) for dessert.

This ice cream was the perfect choice for dessert and complimented my meal very well. It cooled my mouth down from the enchilada and was very refreshing. This was some of the best ice cream I've ever had, vegan or not, and was so creamy and decadent. The ice cream had a lovely strawberry flavoring, with a hint of vanilla. I love that the ice cream was not overly sweet and did not have an artificial, chemically taste that so many ice creams have. The accompanying strawberry pieces added an extra sweetness to the dessert and provided a lovely slightly contrasting texture.

Overall, I loved the meal. Everything was very flavorful and left me feeling very light and invigorated. I enjoyed that the food did not taste healthy, yet it was so fresh tasting and energizing. I found the food to be more inventive than my last visit and the use of spices and seasonings were done so beautifully. The service definitely needs to be improved, however. With a Gather Green voucher that I used for $10 for $20 worth of food, I spent about $15 total (including tax and tip). Euphoria Loves Rawvolution is a bit overpriced without a voucher, so I probably would not return again without one.

Some Sweet Cake Pops At Sweet E's

A few months ago, I had a lovely experience at Sweet E's bakeshop with their mini vegan cupcakes. When I recently saw they had another deal for cake pops, I knew I had to snatch a voucher for myself. I had never heard of a cake pop before, but it sounded so delicious. Essentially, it's a combination of a lollipop and a cupcake and is just as amazing as it sounds. It took me three tries before I was able to get the cake pops, as Sweet E's does not always have the vegan ones in stock. It was totally worth the wait.

The cake pops came so beautifully wrapped that I could not bear to mess them up. I unwrapped them very carefully, so as not to ruin it too much. Underneath all the packaging were delectably decorated cake pops, emanating a sweet aroma.

I first tried the Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough. I ordered two of these.

This was delicious. It had a lovely chocolate frosting on the outside, with a soft, gooey cookie dough interior. The chocolate chips provided an even richer taste and were very crunchy.

Next, I had the Red Velvet cake pop. I also ordered two of these.

This cake pop was also very tasty. The frosting was sweet, but also had a slightly salty taste that balanced it out nicely. It mimicked a cream cheese frosting nicely. The interior was a fantastic chocolate cake, with a subtle taste of bean. I love that the cake pop combined both sweet and savory flavors that complimented one another perfectly.

Next, I had the Dark Chocolate cake pop.

This cake pop was very good, although it was a little too much of a chocolate overload. Nevertheless, the frosting worked quite well with the cake, as it wasn't overly sweet, but had a slightly bitter flavor. The sprinkles added a great texture, although I preferred the chocolate chips better.

Lastly, I had the Vanilla White Chocolate.

This was quite possibly my favorite of them all. White chocolate is my favorite flavor and I was so excited that Sweet E's carries the vegan version. The cake pop was so decadent and creamy. I could not believe it was vegan. The interior was just as luscious and was very soft and slightly gooey. The rainbow  sprinkled dots added an extra sweetness and a very subtle crunchiness.

Overall, I really enjoyed the cake pops. I love that the frosting was so rich and dense and the cake was moist and gooey. I also found the cake pops to be more enjoyable to eat than a cupcake and more flavorful than a lollipop. It truly combined the best of both. Normally, the cake pops cost $3 a piece, but with the discount they only cost $1.50 a pop ($9 in total). I will definitely be back for more and my hope is that vegan cake pops will go viral.

New Stock Photo Site Launching Today

Today is a wonderful day for the vegan world. A completely vegan stock photo website is launching with high-quality, professional photos.  The site has a wonderful collection of photography and will even be offering custom photography to fit the needs of professionals and consumers alike. Even better, the photos are very affordable and there will be constant sales and discounts. Vegistock is striving to be socially conscious and thus will feature certain photos where the proceeds will benefit animal charities. All of the photos are also eco-conscious and use ingredients that are both local and organic.

Make sure you check out www.vegistock.com and sign up for the newsletter to ensure you will find out about all of the great deals on the site.