{MINI REVIEW} The B.East

We were lucky enough to get down to The B.East a few weeks back to have an early Friday night family dinner.

On the menu :: BURGERS and FRIES!!

Nothing more. Nothing less. 

Their specialties are homemade burger patties, locally sourced buns accompanied with a CRACKIN selection of condiments to splash all over your double cooked fries. Drool Drool!!

The B.East is a funky, laid back establishment with sweet tunes humming through the sound system and colourful street art all over the walls to get lost in. Mr 3 LOVED looking for monsters on the art wall while Mr 19 months shook his tiny butt to the funky tunes. They only serve up burgers and fries and seem to already have a big local family following.

The kids downed Strawberry Milkshakes along with the Baby Beast burger and gave it a BIG thumbs up. The staff were fun and relaxed about having the wee ones in for an early sitting and were more than happy to fetch us a high chair and extra plates for chips and sauce.

At night this place takes it up a notch with guest DJ's and drink specials for those who are lucky enough to have babysitters or who are yet to enter the world of parent-hood.  

Do you have a special place to take the family for burgers and fries?

Find more info on The B.East HERE and HERE

Mini Review :: Cafe Greco :: Chapel St

Hello! How is everyone? We are super busy with life, house cleaning, play dates and café hopping around Melbourne in search for the best family friendly spots. This week we have more eating out adventures shared by the lovely Mel. On this adventure Mel swings past Chapel St with the wee ones for some shopping and of course a slice of cake at Café Greco

CAFÉ  GRECO

560 Chapel Street South Yarra       

Monday to Sunday, 9am to late

       

After a long day of shopping on the Chapel Street strip, some refuelling via coffee and cake might be needed. This large café up the Toorak Road end has plenty of options for the sweet tooth, being known for their impressive selection of rich and decadent cakes and slices.

Being such a big space, there is plenty of room for prams and kids to manoeuvre. Sitting up the front in the booths is great for people watching, but not so good for wandering little ones who would prefer to be outside!  I spent most of my time stopping the now mobile Little Man from wandering out the door. The raised seating area out the back would be better for large groups who need a bit more space or for those of you who want to keep the kids contained. With nothing available to entertain the kidlets, you might need to bring an emergency supply of toys or drawing tools to allow you to eat in peace!

The food treads the fairly standard café fare of breakfasts and lunches, including croissants, eggs any which way, foccacia’s, pizza, salads and some more substantial main meals. There isn’t a kids’ menu specifically, but the little ones are likely to find something to munch on anyway. Little Miss devoured my ham, cheese and tomato croissant, while leaving me with the smartie cookie, minus the smarties!

High chairs are available for little ones and there is a changetable in the disabled toilet, although it is a bit cumbersome to get to the loos, which are through a side door.

All in all, a good place for a caffeine and sugar fix with the little ones in tow, but better for those with wee ones still in the pram.

Better Late Than Never!

We're still here folks!

My lovely family have been taking up all of my time - god love em'! 

We have loads of cafe goodness to share so stay tuned. 

But for now enjoy these lovely flowers. 

To You 

Love Us. 

xxoo

Road Test :: Sweetie! 50 Delectable Treats

I’ll admit it. I’m no super star in the kitchen. I can cook half decent edible food but I’m not Master Chef Material nor would l like to go on MKR to whip up a duck dish. No instead l subject the staff at my husband’s office to taste my modestly baked goods, well l did when I just recently whipped up a batch of Raspberry Cupcakes with White Chocolate Ganache from the Sweetie!, and l must say the reception was good! Not one single person gagged, in fact the cupcakes were demolished in 5 minutes flat.

The recipe came from a gorgeously illustrated book called Sweetie!, and even for a cooking novice like me the recipe was easy to follow and the book was just the right size to rest against the flour tin on the bench, while l whipped all the ingredients into a fluffy goodness.

I’m a huge visual person and l must admit it was Daniella Germain who reeled me in with her pretty pictures of cupcakes, whoopee pies, meringues, ice-creams, macarons and jellies inside Sweetie! I think l put on 5kgs just pouring over the lush recipes and images.

The book is brought to you by the lovely folk from over at Hardie Grant and just to make you drool a little more here are some delightful images from inside, along with my cupcake attempt above, which is nothing like the picture, although you’ve got to give a girl points for trying.

And just for the record l think l’m going to have a crack at some whoopee pies, shall keep you posted on how that one un-folds.

Happy Baking!

180 Degrees Cupcakes :: Ivanhoe

Another fantastic guest post from our lovely in-house writer Miss Mel...

I LOVE cupcakes! Who doesn’t love cupcakes? With their light and fluffy interiors, creamy icing and gorgeous designs, who could resist? Whether you’re big or small, the lure of a good cupcake is hard to resist.

180 Degrees Cupcakes is located in the back of Mount’s Pharmacy in Ivanhoe. A strange place for a cupcake shop, but very Melbourne! They have been around for about one year now and business is booming in this tiny space. What better to do when you’re waiting for a prescription than have a coffee and cake.

The selection of cupcakes offered changes from day to day, with vanilla and chocolate always being available. Little Miss couldn’t resist the gorgeous Autumn themed ladybird cake with a vanilla base and the Little Man loved his mini chocolate cupcake with rich chocolate swirls. With so many options, the choice was difficult, but my white chocolate and macadamia was divine!

Other yummy flavours are lemon meringue, flourless chocolate, hummingbird, carrot, mocha, sticky date and nutella. There are also special cupcakes for special occasions (red velvet for Valentine’s Day, lots of green for St Pat’s) and beautifully decorated ones to match the seasons.

As well as the cupcakes, 180 degrees also make good coffee and tea, FREE babycino’s and a variety of softdrinks. There are only a few small tables available to dine in, with limited room for prams. There are no highchairs or changing facilities, so it’s really just a place for a quick stop when you’re in need of a sugar fix.

For new mothers, the café does host a one off Mother’s Group on Tuesday to Friday mornings or afternoons, with bookings. For a minimum of 6 mums and bubs, you can be treated to a complimentary coffee and cupcake, Jurlique hand massage and a demonstration of Mustela skincare products. Perfect pampering for new mums!

Thanks for sharing Mel - this place sounds AMAZING.
Cake and a hand massage, book me in baby!

Road Test :: Method Range

Method is a company who make a range of home cleaning and kid cleaning products. Their tag line is “for the love of clean”. Well l can safely say while l hate cleaning l do like their motto – “for the love of clean” – for l do love everything clean but hate the effort one puts into getting that result. But l guess no effort equals crappy results and in this case Method is a welcome relief on my “cleaning arms” as little effort is needed when l’m using their range which makes me happy. You know it’s the little things isn’t it.




I’ve been whizzing around our bathroom over the past few weeks with the Method range and have been most happy with the results so far. Method sent me some Natural Daily Shower Cleaner, Bathroom Cleaner and (my personal favourite and latest addiction) the Handy Tub + Tile Flushable Wipes. Oh yes the Tub Wipes have been just grand at wiping up messy toilet yuckies, and need l say more when l tell you that l’m the only women in the house and that l have good aim. Got it? Yes l think you know.

Not only do these babies wipe up your toilet mess but l’ve also been using them to mop up mess all around the house. No stain is safe, spilt milk, mushed up watermelon, biscuit crumbs and other congealed goo that ends up on my floors, cupboards, handbag and other unusual places have all been cleaned up with the Handy Tub Wipes. Yay!

And speaking of unusual places that collect congealed goo – like the kids hair for instance Method have a product for that too – yes the sweet smelling Crisp Apple Kid Wash and Shampoo have been a real hit at bath time. The kids love the smell and of course the cute penguin packaging and l’m loving that l’m using a 99% natural products on their precious skin. The Kid Wash and Shampoo also contains no animal by-products, parabens and it cleans the kids too so it’s a winner all round really.




So if you’re looking to give your cleaning cupboard a bit of a spruce up then Method are the folks you should check out. Happy cleaning!

Other Method products that the Hey Bambini Team have tested and LOVE are the Method Baby Squeaky Green Body Lotion and the Method Kid Fuzzy Peach Body Wash and Shampoo.

Friday Inspiration