TasWeekend Indulge: Rosny Park cafe has it all — healthy food and a play centre for the kids
This cafe has it all — smoothie bowls for the Lycra-clad set, avocado fries for millennials and a playcentre for the kids, writes JESSICA HOWARD.
Tasmania
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IF there is one thing I’ve learned since becoming a parent a bit over a year ago, it’s that there is no such thing as too much coffee.
Living on the Eastern Shore, cafe options aren’t too numerous — although slowly growing — and Spencers in Lindisfarne has been a family friendly haven we’ve been regularly frequenting ever since Master Henry was a tiny two-week old bundle.
But, after a while, you need a change of scene, and when that bundle is no longer content to just sit in their capsule or pram anymore, suddenly you find yourself in need of somewhere you can relax and inject some caffeine into your weary soul while they can also get some entertainment.
Several kids play centres around Hobart have completely disappeared in recent years — high insurance costs I’ve heard through the mum grapevine — and, more often than not, the food choices are limited to pretty ordinary fare such as hot chips, dim sims and lollies.
So when MealMachines entered the scene at the start of the year, it was a warmly welcomed addition. It is more a cafe than it is a play centre, meaning the menu is relatively extensive and there are a multitude of healthy options.
MealMachines was originally born out of a gap in the market for high quality, locally produced, pre-packaged meals, say owners Chris and Ellie Thurlow.
The business went from creating 25 meals a week out of a tiny kitchen at the Sorell RSL in 2015 to now serving up as many as 1500 pre-packed meals a week, as well as around 200 transactions a day at the Rosny Park cafe.
As parents, the Thurlows say it just made sense to look at a combined cafe and play centre business.
“There was nothing else like it on the Eastern Shore and our main target market is mums and dads having a coffee,” Chris says.
“It just made sense for the kids to be able to have a bit of a play while they do that, and we’re both very health conscious so serving nutritious, quality food was top priority.”
After performing our civic duty and voting in the Legislative Council election, we’re not really in a democracy sausage kind of mood, so instead, myself, hubby and Master Henry head to MealMachines for brunch.
You know the food must be good when the cafe has many people without children also choosing to dine there. There is a fairly even mix of families; the Lycra-clad set from the neighbouring gym lining up for their protein smoothie and friends just popping in for a quick brew.
I order a peanut butter bowl, which comes with banana, mango, berries, peanut butter, granola, almond flakes, chia seeds, organic agave and acai.
Smoothie bowls have been the hipster go-to for a while now, and this is up there with one of the better ones I’ve had — the toppings are generous and the smoothie beneath is flavourful in itself.
Hubby orders a pulled pork slider which comes with fries, but he swaps them after spying avocado fries under the sides option.
We haven’t come across avo fries before and, being Millennials, it’s nearly impossible to pass up anything avocado-based. We’ve already bought a house, so it’s OK.
Not sure exactly what to expect, they come out as lightly battered slices of avo — crispy, salty and just pure deliciousness. I steal probably more than half of them from Hubby’s plate.
The pulled pork slider comes with cos lettuce, tomato, cheese and aioli and, I’m told, it’s juicy without making the burger soggy, and an all-round tasty morsel.
We order a kids’ summer acai bowl for Henry, and also a mango smoothie, because we suspect we may struggle getting the fruit and almond flakes of the acai bowl into him as he is yet to master the trick of using a spoon by himself.
The smoothie comes out in a cute mini milk bottle and is hoovered up in no time. The kids acai bowl is as fresh and delicious as the adults’ version and, while maybe not the best option for a messy 14-month-old, it would be a great option for older kids to fill up on before hitting the play centre.
Getting restless in his high chair, Henry burns off some energy in the ball pit and baby play area — it’s a big hit, ensuring we will be back soon.
Originally published as TasWeekend Indulge: Rosny Park cafe has it all — healthy food and a play centre for the kids
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