Northern Cafe Adventures

It seems the café fairies are at it again and have been sprinkling their fairy dust to sprout more cafes in the ever so popular Brunswick East and Carlton area. Good for us, but come on café fairies, what about outer eastern suburbs! They need some family friendly café love too you know. Anyhow we’ve dropped into these two little gems just recently and found they had some special features for the wee ones.

North Carlton Canteen
1008 Lygon Street Carlton North
High Chair – Crayons and Colouring Books

Set on busy (busy!) Lygon St up past the cemetery is Carlton North Canteen. They’ve been in the area for a few months now and seem to have a good local following on the weekends already. They have a communal table, foot path seating and LOADS of staff! The girl asked us three times what coffee we’d like in the space of a few minutes, before we’d even put our bums on the seat. Having said that the service was good and they quickly bought crayons and paper out for the kids, and offered a high chair for Mr 2. I suggest if you have the wee ones go EARLY as this place fills up quick and there is not much room for a pram and kids. Great little menu for the big kids, my chai latte was smooth and zesty, which was the perfect accompaniment with my home baked Monte Carlo biscuit. Mr Bambini’s Egg and Bacon roll was HUGE, it was packed with fresh relish, salad and aioli, and gave it a thumbs up. In all it’s a fab place to visit but best to swing past during the week for a coffee, then that way you’d have the whole place to yourself.

Red Scooter Café
140 Barkly St Brunswick
High Chairs – Change Table

I’ve been driving past this gem for months wishing they’d hurry up and open. I went on my summer break, came home and guess what? They had finally swung open the doors. Red Scooter is a very spacious cafe and also has a vintage modern vibe. Mr 4 and I popped in during a weekday and we had the place to ourselves. Service was VERY friendly, the lady even brought out extra pens for Mr 4 to draw with while we waited for his milkshake, which came in a pretty cool glass. (See Picture!) My fruit toast was amazing, l got 2 enormous slabs of fruity bread for $6, which I thought was a pretty good deal. They have a middle eastern/greek influenced menu for breakfast and lunch while still featuring all of your café favourites like eggs and french toast. Red Scooter would be a perfect meeting place for new mums as there is ample room for the pram, they even have a change table in the toilets and of course the trusty Ikea high chairs. With outdoor seating and tasty ice coffees this place could easily become the new Bambini local.

Dear Mr 4

Dear Mr 4,

I love that you’ve turned into a real little person, who l can chat with over a vanilla milkshake. You’re so grown up now and we can chat about all sorts of wonderful things.

I love that you stay seated at the dining table when we go out and that you like to look over the menu, even though you can’t read.

l love that you have your own tastes and dislikes, and l especially love that you like to try new things, you might not always like them, but at least you give it a go. You always say so sweetly to me “I want a crack of that” and we happily let you.

I love your passion for colouring and crayons, and that they have to come everywhere with us when we have dinner out. Your little tongue always shows off your concentration levels by sticking out, and some days you focus so much l think you’re going to bite it right off! It really is tricky stuff this colouring.

Thanks for not running around screaming your lungs outs in a confined café space and thanks for not taking off down the street while I’m trying to pay the nice lady.

Thanks for being a good boy when we go out, it really is the little things that make your mumma happy and they mean a lot to me. 

Love Mum xo

P.S Bet you 100 bucks as soon as l post this the next time we’re out at a restaurant you’re gonna misbehave and flick food onto our neighbouring table.  Not one for pending doom but this easy street thing has to run out sooner or later yeah? xx

The Farm Cafe Re-Opens

Good things come to those who wait and the wait is finally over for the regular visitors of The Farm Café.

They threw open their doors this week to present a fully renovated brand-spanking new café. They are now rocking out full table service and a fab new menu which is loaded with fresh seasonal dishes. We popped in for milkshakes this morning and it had an amazing vibe going on, with loads of kids around along with smiling happy parents.

It might just have to become a weekly regular on our list. Oh and the kids loved a cheeky stroll around the Collingwood Children’s Farm afterwards. A must to re-visit for old and new parents alike.


WHERE ::18 St Heliers St Abbotsford
FEATURES :: Kids Food Menu :: Kids Beverage Menu :: High Chairs :: Change Table
OUR REVIEW :: See HERE
MORE PICTURES PLEASE! ::  Click HERE

 

 

Summer Loving - Had Me A Blast!

So we’re back today, officially. The summer holiday is OVER! Now back to reality. How was your summer break? Maybe you’re still on it. I’m jealous.

So our summer break was filled with visits to the beach, family BBQ's, wine, reading, a little op shopping and of course we managed to squeeze in some family friendly cafes.

While we were down the beach we managed to find two little gems which l would highly recommend for families to visit.

Kilcunda General Store

Bass Highway :: Kilcunda
Open Daily 7am-4pm
Features :: High Chair - Kids Menu - Toys - Beach Near By

Kilcunda General Store is situated on the wind swept shores of Kilcunda. This rustic general store/come post office slash café’ serves up good old fashioned country home cooking.  It’s a quaint little spot and has everything on the menu from breakfast to lunch and of course all the fun stuff in between like cakes, coffee and sweets. Everything is made on site and sourced locally, and may l say looked absolutely delish. We ordered the fruit toast for breakfast and it wasn’t some ordinary slab of raisin toast, instead it was jam packed with dried apricots, dates and dried figs. Me and Mr 2 demolished it in minutes.

For the wee ones they have one breakfast menu option and sandwiches for lunch. On the treat side of things your choice is endless with cakes, biscuits, ice-creams and bags of mixed lollies on offer. For the big kids the menu packs a punch and has loads of tasty dishes to choose from like Annie’ s Free range eggs benedict, middle eastern scrambled eggs to Free Range Burgers and Chick Pea Dahl. To keep the wee ones amused they have a box of toys and of course a high chair for little bottoms. Service was friendly but slow. Our coffees came out last and about 20 minutes after we had all finished our meals, so be warned they do run on country time.

Old Dalyston Deli
74 Glen Forbes Rd Dalyston
Open Daily 10am-3pm :: 6pm til Late :: Live Music on Sundays 2pm-5pm
Features :: High Chair :: Kid Friendly Eats - Gardens to Roam - BYO Picnic Blanket

The Dalyston Deli was a fantastic find for us. We were driving past and both went – “that place looks good!” What caught our eye was that the Dalyston Deli is a café in an old white weatherboard church. It was really quite a sweet setting. They of course offer dining inside this renovated church and outdoor seating, which in my mind is the best seat in the house. They have an outdoor bar for the big kids and loads of lush green lawn to run around on for the little kids. My boys loved exploring the gardens while Mr Bambini and l threw back a few cold ones.

They have high chairs for little ones and eats for the kids included homemade pizzas and open sandwiches. They don’t have a kids menu as such but there were loads of suitable items for the children to choose from. We loved the relaxed vibe about this place and could have settled in for the afternoon. The Dalyston Deli have daily specials and serve up a mean chicken and curry pie. Service was slick and friendly.

Homemade Icy Poles for Kids & Big Kids

 

{Image :: Eat Yourself Skinny}

Fancy a homemade frozen treat to beat the heat this summer. Sorry I’m sounding like a Dr Seuss story with all this random rhyming.

 

Without further ado here is our awesome Popsicle and Icy Pole roundup list. It features some of the coolest treats to make at home for the kids this summer. Oh and of course we didn’t forget the BIG kids, we have some special ones for you too, which you’ll find lucky last on our list. Enjoy!

 

 

Fudge Popsicles by Smitten Kitten

 

Find 30 (Yes 30!) Popsicle Recipes over at Inhabitots

Strawberry, Chocolate, Mixed Berry oh my - check Chic Mummy for some tasty ideas

Find fruity fun Pomegranate and Passionfruit Icy Pops over at Ice Tea : Sugar High

These Watermelon Ice Pops look too good to eat thanks to Eat Yourself Skinny

Look at these YUMMY Coconut Mango Creamsicles by the chic folk over at The Everygirl

The Novice Chef has my mouth watering with these lush Raspberry Cheesecake Popsicles

Martha Stewart always brings the goods, why don’t you try her Creamy Orange Pops

And I don’t think anyone would pass up a creamy Roasted Berry and Honey Yogurt Popsicles by Cookie and Kate

And of course an ADULTS ONLY treat, OMG it's a Kiwi Mojito Popsicle, we heart you Gimme Some Oven and Coffee Ice Pops by Love and Cupcakes

Melbourne’s BEST Ice Cream & Frozen Treat Spots

“Without ice cream, there would be darkness and chaos.”
Don Kardong

I’m not going to go into a long winded story about ice-cream and how much my kids love it. It’s ICE-CREAM! Of course they love it. So with their passion in mind I created this cracking list of Melbourne's best places to get Ice Cream and Frozen Treats with the wee ones in tow. I’m not going to say enjoy – cos l know you will.


Jock's Ice Cream
83 Victoria Ave, Albert Park
Walking distance to Gasworks Park and the Beach Jock's also serve up Kid's Ice Cream Cones with loads of award winning lush flavours to choose from.

Gelobar
74 Lygon Street, Brunswick East
Gelobar serve up $3 Baby Cones for the kids and also have a fancy new family friendly café opening next-door early 2013. The Coconut gelato is my favourite. Just saying.

Passionflower
Shop 2, 168 Bourke Street, Melbourne
Serves a variety of Asian exotic ice-creams and desserts. They are located a few blocks walk from the Myer Christmas windows

Casa Del Gelato
163 Lygon Street, Carlton
Choose all the colours from the rainbow at this busy ice-cream bar, they also have a large park next door with lush grass and shady trees. Tis’ the perfect spot to spend a sunny afternoon.

Fritz Gelato
Richmond – South Melbourne – St Kilda – South Yarra – Queenscliff – Lorne
Serves up organic ice-cream and gelato. They have loads of locations to choose from for city peeps and beach bums.

Orange Leaf
65 Bay St Port Melbourne
There are 16 delicious flavours of frozen yogurt to choose from and all are made on site daily. They also have colouring sheets and crayons for the kids with loads of room for prams. I also love the Coconut flavoured fro yo at Orange Leaf. Just saying, again!

Trampoline
Doncaster – Brighton – Camberwell – Chadstone Shopping Centre – St Kidila and The Royal Childrens Hospital.
I love that Trampoline have an outlet at the RCH, because sick bubs need ice-cream too! Not only do they serve up a mean gelato they also do smoothies, sundaes and ice-cream cakes for kids parties.

Yo-Chi Frozen Yogurt Bar
St Kilda
We all love a bit of organic action for the wee ones, it’s expensive but you know it made with love and good quality ingredients. This self-serve yogurt bar also offer over 20 toppings to go with your organic treat.

Yogurddiction
Food Van
Don’t run around town looking for frozen treats – let them come to you. The good folk over at Yoguraddiction are always popping up at various parks and shopping centres around Melbourne. Just follow them on Facebook and Twitter for daily location details. And here is the kicker – have an order over $30 and they will bring it to YOU! Perfect for Mother’s Groups meet ups in the park.

Lucky Pops Ice Delights
Food Van
Don’t you just love a food van – we’re just a little bit in love with them ATM. No mess. No fuss. All you need is cash and picnic blanket. Lucky Pops Ice Delights serves up homemade goodness on a stick. Using the best local produce in town these icy poles are packed with real fruit, herbs and spices to delight all ages. Follow their Twitter or Facebook page for daily locations. They could be at your local park this week! 

Other spots worth a little mention……

Story In A Cup
South Yarra
Give 15% off when you purchase a Family Tub

Goodness Me in Richmond
295 Bridge Rd Richmond
Have $3 ice cream cones for the kid's

Gioco Gertz in Reservoir

Aurora Foods in Coburg North

Lick Me Ice Cream in Camberwell

Cacao Green located in Camberwell as well as the City

Ben and Jerry’s on the trendy Chapel St South Yarra

Don’t be shy! If we’ve forgotten your favourite frozen treat spot please add it below.

Road-Test :: Cooking For your Baby and Toddler

We all like to eat healthy food and we all like to think we’re passing on our good eating habits to our children. And while we all may say with hand on heart we give our kids the best nutritious meals every day, sometimes it just doesn’t happen and things like cakes, sweets and crisps get mixed into the diet.

Well luckily there is this cook book to keep us on track. It’s filled with loads of fresh recipes and cooking ideas for when it comes to catering for the little ones.

Let me tell you all about “Cooking for your baby and Toddler” by Louise Fulton Keats. Yes you read correctly, Louise is the daughter of the great cook book icon and fresh food ambassador Margaret Fulton. So before l even start waffling on about this book you know it has street cred with a name like Fulton associated with.

The good folk over at Hardie Grant popped a copy in the post for us and we were only too happy to give it a test run in the Bambini kitchen. Here’s what we got from it.

The book is mainly aimed at young babies who are starting on solids right up to toddlers and young pre-school children. Although l must confess the whole family had the Asian Chicken Bites for our dinner the other night and we loved them, so basically some of the recipes are suitable for all ages.

The book teaches new parents how to incorporate solids into their child’s diet while offering a diverse range of ingredients, textures and flavours to try and use. It also touches on what essential vitamins and minerals should go into young little tummies for healthy growth and learning, while exploring all different types of cuisines and tastes.

Louise shows parents how to puree, whip, chop, bake, stew and mince wholesome food for your little tackers.  She even has suggested weekly meal planners, which makes mum’s job a little easier in the kitchen. With beautiful recipes on offer plus photography to match, it will change the way you think about the nightly meal and give you loads of inspiration on what to dish up the wee ones. Because let’s face it, we all get into a cooking rut, and it’s nice to try something new now and again.

Here are some of the meals we’ve be whipping up from the book.

 

Apricot and Coconut Balls

 

Asian Chicken Bites

 

 

Carrot, Potato and Zucchini Frittata Fingers

 

 

I believe it’s the prefect Christmas Gift for any expecting parent, l only wish l had been able to get my hands on it a few years ago when my babies were starting out on solids. 

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Try before you buy! Check out this yummy Salmon Cakes recipe over on the Cooking for your Baby and Toddler website. Enjoy!