In search of the kid-friendly cafe and Mother's day celebrations

My previous research on kid-friendly cafes in our area revealed a place called The Library Cafe. The reviews from other parents all were great. We decided to check it out a couple of weeks ago when we went looking for some bargains in Onehunga. The other parents are right it is a great place for kids, they have a bouncy castle and a whole heap of other activities set out in the backyard.
Hospobaby was not so keen on the kiddy paraphernalia, she was just hungry. The kids menu was great, quite a lot of choice. We ordered a fluffy and a sandwich pack for Hospobaby. Sid got eggs bene, a latte and I got an open chicken sandwich. Hospobaby's lunch pack was fabulous, ham and cheese sandwiches cut into little triangles, a juice box, pretzels and sliced apples. Our eggs and sandwich were just average run off the mill. I would stop by there again for a play date with some other mums but it surely doesn't stand a chance at being our local.

On Monday, we wanted to go out for dinner, as we had not sorted out our baby sitting situation we had to tow Hospobaby along. Living in Ellerslie has another disadvantage, we have to think about getting on the motorway at 6ish and battling the traffic to get to the city if we want a decent bite. After a bit of brainstorming we came up with the idea to go to Scallini's where our ex Maitre D Marie Colosimo runs the show. Scallini's is located in St. Heliers Bay. Its a place you go to eat hearty Italian fare. We reached there at 6pm sharp to avoid the dinner rush also keeping in mind that Hospobaby is usually in bed by 6.

Cheeky grins

We ordered some garlic bread to start off, it was crisp and hot from the pizza oven. Zoya tucked into it straight away.  We then got some Pizza with Parma Ham and rocket. It was delicious. Zoya picked all the ham and then munched on the Pizza. Once her tum was full she started to fade away.

So we hurried up and ordered our mains. We ordered a small lasagna for Hospobaby. Sid got the beef steak with peppercorn sauce and I got the confit legs of duck with an asian sauce.

Ahh Im tired but I can eat some

Kids portion of Lasagna

Gigantic steak with peppercorn sauce

Duck w asian sauce and mash

Hospobaby ate a few bites of her lasagna and decided she was too full, so we took it away in a doggy bag for her. She scoffed it all down the next day. No man complains about a huge steak. Neither did Sid, he enjoyed it. The meat fell off the bone with the duck - sign of a good confit duck. The sauce had hoisin, although the mash didn't really go with the duck, I love mash so I can't complain. We skipped dessert on account of the full bellies and the sleepy baby. If you are after some delicious hearty fare head to Scallini's.

Hospobaby was down with a throat infection and we took her back to Ponsonby to see our GP. Sid and I decided to grab a quick bite near the restaurant. We were hoping that taking her to a cafe might stimulate her to eat a bit as sick hospobaby had been off her food for a bit. We went to Bambina. The last time we went to Bambina it was average, nothing to write home about. We thought we would give it another go.

Hospobaby seemed to be happy to be out

Chilling out with Papa

We ordered a muffin for Hospobaby, it was dry and she wasn't buying into it after a bite. Sid got his usual eggs and I ordered the corn fritters. Sid's eggs were awful, soggy. My fritters were ok, a bit dry. So needless to say we won't be going back to Bambina.

Sunday the 13th was Mother's day, so we headed to The Foodstore on the waterfront for lunch. Mark Southen the Chef at the Foodstore is a good friend, but we had another reason to go there, last year we celebrated my first mothers day with our little 5 week old hospobaby in the exact same place.

We were given our complimentary Pelorus rose to start off. Hospobaby was put into her high chair.

Cherry cordial for Hospobaby

She was even given her very own cherry cordial which I stuck into her sippy cup.

But where is the food??

We started off with some of Dean Brettschneider's bread. Nothing beats warm bread with whipped butter.

Yumm! Knowing the Chef and being married to one comes with a few perks. Mark sent out little portions of dishes he was trying out for the new menu. There was a beef tataki with dried enoki mushrooms and a dashi custard, unusual  and tasty . Then came some beef cheeks with a hint of horseradish with I thought was divine, as did Hospobaby. The last little dish was pea and ham soup with a ham hock sandwich. It was wonderful. We gave Mark the thumbs up, can't wait to go back and have the beef cheeks again.

Pea and Ham soup

Yummy beef cheeks

We then ordered the potato gnocchi with goats cheese, the wild fish, the venison loin with parsnip and red cabbage and the pork belly with black pudding. The gnocchi was amazingly melt in your mouth. The wild fish was good, I would have liked it with a bit of zing. The venison loin was cooked to perfection. Hospobaby still receiving from her infection, ate all the black pudding from the Pork belly and avoided everything else. She is so strange!

For dessert we got the Lemon tart meringue with passionfruit sorbet and blueberries as well as the chocolate pudding with hokey pokey ice cream. Hospobaby picked on the freeze dried mandarins. The chocolate pudding was not sweet and perfect with the ice cream. The tart was a hit with Sid.

I do not understand Metro and its reviews at times, yes, I agree with them the service could be a bit more polished. Service was a bit slow but once we told our waiter he sped things up and brought Hospobaby a kid's art pack to keep her busy. I give them the benefit of doubt as it was a busy day. Our waiter was a bit awkward carrying his glasses but it wasn't enough to affect our experience. The food was great, The Foodstore is not trying to be a fine dining restaurant so why judge them by those standards? 

I am not saying this because I am biased being the Chef's friend but sometimes reviewers go overboard and need to highlight the positives in a place not just focus on the negatives.

Now I am going to make an exception and talk about a place Hospobaby did not actually visit. Although I guess I can justify it by saying we checked with the establishment to see if we could bring Hospobaby next time because this is definitely a place we would like to frequent. Last night was our first date night. Our neighbor was baby-sitting and we snuck out to Molten in Mt. Eden. If you have been watching The Foodtruck on T. V. you would have heard of Molten. Mike and Bee the previous owners are good friends. This was the first time we went to Molten since it changed hands.

We ordered three entrees the salt and pepper squid which came with a zesty chill and honey sauce and peanuts, the pork rillette with crumbed scampi, frisee, pickled shallots, tarragon and cres and finally the eggplant tortellini, summer corn, olive powder, chèvre and crisps. I could eat the salt pepper squid all day long. Sid loved the pork rillette although I thought it need a bit more of a citrusy punch to it, the pickled shallots were just not enough for me. The eggplant tortellini was stand out! You wouldn't miss the meat if you had this earthy vegetarian option.

Chicken

Beef

I got the organic chicken leg w courgette,toasted faro, butternut, pine nuts, raisins and mint labneh for my main. It was as good as a confit leg of duck. Absolutely moorish. I was in heaven. Sid got the dry aged beef sirloin w potato boulangere, cafe de paris butter, mushrooms and shallots. Amazing. I couldn't resist picking on Sid's plate. The beef was cooked just like we enjoy it, medium rare. 

The service was great, the wine matches fab. You couldn't complain that the portions were tiny. I had to protest when Sid made me order a whole desert rather than just share his. So I got the bombe alaska and he got the apple tart tatin

Bombe Alaska

Apple tart

The night was cold, wet and the apple tart was warm and comforting. I was so full but couldn't stand the thought of wasting a morsel. I suffered on the way home with a super full tummy and I cursed my husband for not sharing dessert. No woman wants to share dessert voluntarily. The bill was a modest $210 including a lot of wine.  Molten is another one the critics got wrong- a reviewer recently gave them some grief, well its just one person's opinion, I guess, one who doesn't understand this kind of food. We will be back with Hospobaby, especially now that they open Sunday's for dinner.

On another note Hospobaby got out of the restaurants and into the kitchen. I found a card waiting for me when I picked her up from daycare along with a little bag of cookies she made me. I had to wring the cookies out of her hand once she saw them. Finally I gave up and decided to share one with her since she had made me two. I hope she cooks as much as she enjoys eating.

Hospobaby making cookies

So to all the mothers out there a belated happy mother's day. Until next time...
Live to eat like Hospobaby.