Last month I was lucky enough to win a $100 gift card from Eat Canberra, so I treated my family to brunch at Paleo Cafe Canberra.

We arrived around 11:20, which I reckon had to be the worst time because the breakfast service ends in less than 10 minutes so we had to wait until 11:30 for the lunch service to begin.

I am a matcha freak and when I saw the Matcha Latte on the menu, I had to give it a try. This latte is made with house made almond milk and honey but when I tasted it I couldn’t taste any sweetness. The matcha latte was strong, maybe a bit too strong for my liking, I wanted to add some sugar to weaken the bitter matcha, but there was none available because they are refined sugar-free.

My brother was feeling a bit adventurous so he ordered a Turmeric Latte as well. The latte was made with coconut milk, cinnamon, ginger and honey. This was really warm and comforting because of the cinnamon and ginger. Once again, if we had a little bit of sugar would had been better.

As there was no sugar available, mum decided to go for a smoothie. We ended up choosing the Refreshinator from their extensive list of different smoothies. This is a milk free smoothie made with watermelon, apple, lime and mint. This tasted similar to the ‘Watermelon Crush’ from Boost Juice. But I think they might have forgotten to add the mint into the smoothie.

We ordered one of the curry of the day specials and it was a Coconut Curry Chicken. The curry is quite mild in flavour. It doesn’t look like a traditional curry, to me it looked more like a chicken stew. It is served with a cauliflower rice which was a nice change from the usual rice.

Another special they had on the blackboard was the Chilli Chicken Schnitzel with Prawns. The chicken is covered in a gluten free breadcrumb and is pan fried instead of deep fried. Besides the chicken schnitzel and prawns it also comes with a side salad and a serving of their sweet potato fries. The fries were really tasty and I didn’t feel any guilt in eating all of them because they were made of sweet potato.

To get into the full healthy Paleo mode, I ordered a salad. To be more precise, it was a Creamy Chicken Salad. This is a raw cabbage salad with roasted chicken and a creamy avocado sauce. I rarely eat raw cabbage with the exception of coleslaws, but this was so delicious I will try and replicate this at home in the near future. Using avocado as a dressing ingredient is also a first for me and it was amazing. I will be going on Pinterest to find a similar recipe.  The prawns were nicely grilled and was a nice compliment to the salad.

As we ordered our meals right after breakfast service, we had to wait around 20 minutes for our meals to arrive at the table. But before our meals arrived, one of the staff members offered everyone in store a sample of their ready made meals. These are created by celebrity chef Pete Evans. We were given the steamed Hoki fillet with coconut lime sauce and sweet potato mash. Although the sample was small it was utterly delicious. There are 6 different ready made meals available:

• Steamed Hoki Fillet with Coconut Lime Sauce and Sweet Potato Mash
• BBQ Pulled Pork with Pickled Cabbage and Sweet Potato Mash
• Beef Bolognaise
• Lamb Korma with Broccoli Florets and Cauliflower Rice
• Roast Chicken with Seasonal Vegetables and Chicken Jus
• Butter Chicken with Broccoli Florets and Cauliflower Rice.

These meals are vacuum sealed and can be stored in the fridge for up to 28 days. They are currently $13.75 each and can be purchased online or in store.

My brother ordered the Lamb Burger, which is served with rocket, marinated tomatoes and bacon with a side of sweet potato fries and rosemary and garlic aioli. As Paleo Cafe is completely gluten free, the bun they used tasted weird to my non Paleo brother. (For those wondering, I’m not a Paleo person either) Next time you go to Paleo Cafe, give this a try and you’ll understand what I mean.

Although I had a $100 gift card, it wasn’t enough to pay for everything you see here. I personally had to chip in $3. Haha. But I would still come back even if I didn’t have a gift card because their matcha latte was one of the best I’ve had in Canberra. Next time if I happen to be in Braddon, I’ll definitely drop by and buy a creamy chicken salad to take home.

There are some people who are full on Paleo enthusiasts, I don’t think I would survive a week on Paleo. But maybe whenever I want to eat something health I know where I’ll be going!!

Paleo Cafe Canberra

Address: 44/38 Mort Street, Braddon, 2612

Opening Hours:

Breakfast: Everyday 7am – 11.30am.

Lunch: Monday t0 Saturday 11.30am – 5pm, Sunday 11.30am – 3pm

Phone: (02) 6230 1069 or 0408 408 270

Website: Paleo Cafe