Last weekend, we were invited to try Fremantle’s newest crowd funded-restaurant, Kazoomies Feel Good Food, located at the harbour-side of E-Shed Markets. The owner/chef behind Kazoomies is Israeli-born chef Nimrod Kazoom. At Kazoomies, the food served are inspired by North African and Basque flavours, mothers, grandmothers, innovation and creativity.

We started off with some tapas to share – the Trio of Labna Dips, Marinated Eggplants, Mumma’s Trio. Nimrod recommended the marinated eggplants and warned us that it will be addictive. It was very addictive. Fresh in flavour with a soft, spongy texture, the marinated eggplant was well balanced with the fresh garden vegetables and saltiness from the olives and feta.

The trio of Labna Dips which consists of beetroot-fennel, smoky eggplant baba ghanoush and turmeric-garlic was very colourful and bursting with flavour. The Mumma’s Trio comprises of Jerusalem hummus, pickled beetroot and spicy pumpkin. It’s a family recipe passed on to Nimrod from Nimrod’s mother. Texturally well balanced, the hummus was nutty in flavour which marries well with the sweet pickled beetroot and spicy pumpkin. As both dips were made fresh, they were creamy and rich in flavour too. The dips also complements well with the fresh hand made pita bread which is made in house.

We tried the Falafel 8 Ballers with romesco yoghurt and green yoghurt, served on a docket holder spike on a chopping board. To reduce energy costs, the clever team at Kazoomies have a no plate policy where all meals are served on chopping boards, docket holder spikes or the pan they are cooked in. The Falafels were crispy on the outside with a lovely chickpea flavour that is well balanced with the creaminess of the romesco yoghurt and green yoghurt.

Next up was the Pumpkin Pastilla which consists of spicy pumpkin wrapped in filo pastry and dukkah. It’s a marriage of sweet and savoury flavours. One bite of the Pumpkin Pastilla and you get the sweetness from the icing sugar followed by savoury flavours from the the spicy pumpkin and nutty dukkah.

We had the Dolmades with minted tzatziki sauce. Dolmades are stuffed vegetables wrapped with grape leaves. This was our first time trying Dolmades and we loved it. It’s warm, earthy and herbaceous in flavour with the minted tzatziki sauce keeping it fresh and creamy.

Shakshuka is my comfort food and I always love a good shakshuka to make me feel warm and fuzzy. The Zaldeesh’s Red Shakshuka at Kazoomies is rated as the top 26 breakfasts in Australia by Gourmet Traveller. Poached eggs in a slow cooked tomato sauce topped with cinnamon’d kadaif lamb. It’s intensely delicious, hearty and flavoursome, bursting full of moorish flavours. The cinnamon’d kadaif lamb on top adds a sweet, woody aroma to the shakshuka along with a crisp texture and juicy lamb. It’s one of the best.

Another dish that caught our eye on the menu was the Parmi Me! which was rated as the Best Parmi in Perth on WA Today. We couldn’t resist. I am not usually a fan of chicken parmigiana but I was converted to a big fan of the Parmi Me!. Typically, you would use chicken breast for parmi but at Kazoomies, Nimrod uses the chicken thigh instead. This is why the chicken is not dry but moist and very juicy. The parmesan and rosemary crust on the outside gave the parmi its flavour and crisp textures while the red shakshuka sauce adds a punch of sweetness to it. It’s topped with blow torched cheese to give that smoked cheesiness. We could not stop nibbling on the waffle fries too! In our eyes, the Parmi Me! definitely wins the Best Parmi in Perth award.

While indulging in our feast of food, Nimrod offered us a sample of the tabouli and quinoa salad, dressed with lemon and orange juice which will be featured in the new menu soon. With plenty of zest and acidity, the salad is fresh in flavour, making it a refreshing dish perfect for summer or as a complement to any of the dishes.

We had some brownies to finish off our epic feel good feast. Nimrod cleverly adds a twist to the brownies by incorporating spices such as cumin, clove and star anise. The brownies were very rich, decadent and full of chocolate-y goodness with a strong spice flavour. If you love spices together with chocolate, you’ll love this brownie. A vanilla ice cream on the side would be really nice with this brownie for hot summery days too. 🙂

What I love about Kazoomies is their commitment in helping the community where unsold food does not go to waste. Instead, it gets distributed to hungry people in need as a part of OzHarvest. The food at Kazoomies are served with lots of love and passion where tradition meets innovation. I highly recommend Kazoomies for their feel good food where you can really taste the love and creativity Nimrod has put into every dish. We already can’t wait to be back!

We would like to thank Anna Christensen for the invitation and Nimrod and the Kazoomies team for your warm hospitality and scrumptious food!