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XS Espresso: Milkshakes & Munchies in Wetherill Park, Sydney

September 7, 2016 / South West, Sydney, Sydney Food, Wetherill Park / 0 comment

A gem of a cafe in Sydney’s South-West, XS Espresso is situated in a busy outdoor shopping complex that looks more industrial than hip, but thankfully does have a lot of parking, unlike most inner city cafes.

We arrive at 12:30pm on a Tuesday and the cafe is quiet for the first half hour, when streams of people pop in, a mix of mums with little kids to a pair of 20 something men who both order the biggest milkshakes I’ve ever seen and polish them off completely.

We’re at the cafe for lunch, and order Free-Range Eggs on Sourdough Toast ($12), Avocado Crush (Avocado on sourdough with marinated feta and cherry tomatoes, $14) with extra poached eggs, $4, and the XS Stack (avocado, grilled halloumi, grilled tomato and poached eggs on sourdough, $17).

The food is cooked quickly, and arrives looking bright and perky with all those fresh ingredients piled on top. The stacks are a bit difficult to eat but are absolutely delicious.

The star of the meal, however, is the Monster Shake ($14), which is an Oreo shake topped with whipped cream, Oreos, Tim Tam and waffles in a tall glass.

The tall glass is important to note as the extra thick straws the staff give us to drink the shake with are not-so-tall – in fact, they don’t reach the bottom, leaving me in the unusual predicament of being unable to finish my shake (the horror!). I think they look fancy and very Instagrammable, for sure, but I would prefer the mason jar-style of glass that is easier to drink out of.

I really enjoy the creamy Oreo shake, but the toppings are too much, even for me, and it’s just too hard to get to the milkshake underneath with the narrow opening on the glass.

XS Espresso also serve more regular-looking milkshakes such as Nutella, and make kiddie-sized versions of the shakes on request. We ordered a kid-size Nutella shake to go and it was $4. Shakes all come with whipped cream on top (even the kids’ ones), so ask to skip the cream if it’s not your thing.

The cafe doesn’t have a bathroom inside – it’s a stroll of about 100m to the nearby Spotlight store which has the public restroom facilities next to it. It’s not far to walk but it is across a busy car park and, if you’re a toddler who needs to go, it can feel like it’s 10 times further than it actually is.

XS Espresso is the deliciously cool cafe the South-West suburbs badly needed. I love knowing it’s an excellent choice I can always fall back on when visiting that area.

Highchairs: Yes.
Stroller storage: No.
Easy access: Yes.
Change tables: No.
Kids’ menu: No.

XS Espresso
9a/1183-1187 The Horsley Dr,
Wetherill Park NSW 2164
Phone: (02) 9557 8656
Prices: $$
Hours: Mon-Fri 6am-10pm, Sat & Sun 7am-10pm
Get Directions

The Vogue Cafe, Macquarie Centre: Kid-Friendly Cafes, Sydney

May 21, 2015 / Macquarie Park, North-West Sydney, Sydney, Sydney Food / 0 comment

Rainy days in Sydney just destroy me. Especially when the rain has set in for weeks and we are all getting a serious case of cabin fever. On one such rainy day we head over to the Macquarie Centre for lunch and shopping (along with half of Sydney, it seemed). After the stress of finding a car park was over, we head straight to The Vogue Cafe for lunch.

The Vogue Cafe is such an interesting little place. It sits inside the shopping centre, and even has a seating area that is pretty much in the car park, but it’s an adorable, whimsical place, and it’s hard to remember that you’re actually in a shopping centre.

The staff are all very sweet and assure me that they are very kid-friendly. There are a lot of families having lunch when we arrive, as well as lots of young couples who are possibly big kids at heart.

The Vogue Cafe feels a bit like something out of Wonderland. While the menu is pretty straightforward, they are known for their fantastical shakes. Called “Magical Milkshakes”, they are topped with things like whipped cream, rice bubbles, pop corn and jelly snakes, with a chocolate and sprinkles rim. The weekly specials are even fancier.

The cafe is popular and we have to wait about 10 minutes for a table. The service is fast, and after we order, everything starts to arrive quickly. The kids milkshake arrives first, which is perfect for wriggly kids.

We ordered the TVC Mix Up (scrambled eggs tossed with feta and basil, served with soy and linseed toast, $12.50), sides of grilled tomato ($2) and avocado ($2), Benny Dict (salmon, two poached eggs, hollandaise sauce, chives, served in chiabatta bread, $16.50), BEB (egg and bacon baguette served with BBQ sauce ($8), Kids Sourdough Soldiers (with vegemite, $4), Hot Chips ($7), Kids Magic Milkshake (chocolate, $4), Magic Milkshakes (vanilla and strawberry, $7 each), Nutella Milkshake (8).

The food is great. While they are known for their milkshakes, their food is really delicious and also very well priced. My eggs are a huge serving that I can’t finish. Probably because I also drank that giant Nutella milkshake first.

The Nutella milkshake is what The Vogue Cafe is well known for, and it did not disappoint. The milkshake was creamy and delicious, and I really enjoyed the quirky waffle cone filled with gummy snakes on top.

In early 2018 the Vogue Cafe added a little enclosed play area for small kids, perfect for toddlers or preschoolers.

The Vogue Cafe is a great dining outing, even if you’re not planning on shopping at the Macquarie Centre.

Highchairs: Yes.
Stroller storage: Yes.
Easy access: Yes.
Change tables: Yes.
Kids’ menu: Yes.

The Vogue Cafe
109 Waterloo Road,
Macquarie Park NSW 2113
Phone: (02) 9887 2570
Prices: $
Hours: Mon-Fri 9:30am-6pm, Sat 9am-6pm, Sun 10am-6pm
Get Directions

Chur Burger: Sydney’s Best Burgers, Surry Hills

January 23, 2015 / Inner West, Surry Hills, Sydney, Sydney Food / 0 comment

I love burgers. LOVE burgers. In fact, the last meat I ate before I gave up all kinds of meat for good was a hamburger. I wasn’t sure I could be a vegetarian when I loved burgers so very much, but after much searching and sampling, I’ve been finding the best vegetarian burgers in various countries now. My previous Sydney fave, The Counter, closed down while I was living overseas, and I hadn’t found a worthy successor until my recent visit to Chur Burger.

Chur Burger has been popular with food bloggers for a while, always a good sign. Nestled in the quiet back streets of Surry Hills, Inside however, the vibe is lively, with retro pop music playing loud (the music was actually our only grumble about our dining experience. While we liked the music selection, we found it too loud to hear what our friends were saying).

We had a bit of a food splurge and ordered waaaaay too much for our little family to eat. Everything was so delicious though, that we gave it our best shot and walked away with groaning stomaches at capacity.

Mozzarella sticks and tomato jam (special of the day, $10). HEAVEN. Deep fried cheesy goodness.

Sweet potato fries, garlic, lime ($8). Delicious. Thick, crispy and soft in the middle.

Chips, chilli salt ($6). We ordered these with plain salt so Cheese could eat them. Perfect, fat fries.

Spiced chickpea fritter, grated beetroot, honey labne ($10). The holy grail of vegetarian burgers. I find it so hard to get a decent vegetarian burger and this one was pretty much perfect. Lightly spied patty, and the honey labne was devine.

Grilled beef, cheese, tomato jam, mustard mayo, pickle ($10). This was Alec’s. Asked for a comment he said “it was really good” and that was all he could offer.

We also ordered two Milkshakes – Vanilla and Milo ($10, all with Heilala vanilla). I only tried the Milo one but it was absolutely divine. Cheese and I battled it out to see who would get to eat the chocolate Milo bits left on top at the end. Alec said his vanilla was delicious and drank the entire thing before I could sample it.

Chur Burger had lots of families dining in, as you’d expect from a burger place. While there was nothing particularly kid-friendly about it (no kids’ menu, room for strollers, change table), it was such a laid back, casual affair that bringing a few noisy kids certainly had no impact on the other kid-free patrons’ dining experience. I certainly felt very comfortable with my wiggle preschooler and didn’t worry to much if she was being loud or fidgety – no need to feel like everyone has to be on their best behaviour, so long as they’re hoeing into burgers and enjoying their shakes and fries.

Highchairs: No.
Stroller storage: No.
Easy access: Yes (one step).
Change tables: No.
Kids’ menu: No.

Chur Burger
48 Albion Street,
Surry Hills NSW 2010
Phone: (02) 9212 3602
Prices: $
Hours: Mon 11:30am-9pm Tues-Sat 11:30am-10pm, Sunday closed
Get Directions

Brooklyn Farmacy & Soda Fountain; Kid-friendly Restaurants, Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn

March 30, 2013 / Brooklyn Bites, Carroll Gardens, New York, New York Food / 1 Comment

We often end up at the Farmacy on a Sunday afternoon when we’re craving a grilled cheese and shake, and want somewhere close, low key and extremely kid-friendly. I have an obsession with finding the perfect grilled cheese sandwich, and Brooklyn Farmacy has the best grilled cheese I’ve found so far.

Brooklyn Farmacy, Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn, NY.

The shakes at Farmacy are phenomenal – we always order a vanilla malt thick shake to share. It arrives in an old fashioned glass, so thick that it’s hard to slurp up through the straw.

Sharing a shake, Brooklyn Farmacy, Carroll Gardens, NY.

What makes the grilled cheese so special? The cheese is plentiful and sharp, and oozes out the sides of the bread. The bread is crispy but not hard, and is toasted in a sandwich press rather than being fried, so it’s never oily.

Grilled cheese glory. Brooklyn Farmacy, Carroll Gardens, NY.

One more reason why we keep coming back to the Farmacy – it’s one of the most kid-friendly, baby-friendly, and, thankfully for us, crazy toddler-friendly restaurants in Brooklyn. No one minds if your toddler, like ours, spends their entire time there running around the store and playing with the old fashioned scale in the entrance. Bless you, Farmacy, we love you.

Highchairs: Yes – but only one. There is, however, plenty of room to keep your baby in their stroller at your table.
Stroller storage: Yes – if it’s not too busy you can leave your stroller in the back room or by the front door.
Easy access: Yes.
Change tables: No (there is a large bathroom where you can change your baby on the floor if needed).
Kids’ menu: Not a special menu, but most of the food is friendly for bigger kids.

Brooklyn Farmacy
513 Henry Street (at Sackett st),
Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn, NY 11231
Phone: (718) 522 6260

Winter/Spring Hours: Mon-Thur 10am-10pm, Fri 10am-11pm, Sat 8am-11pm, Sun 8am-9pm

Get directions.