Last week I went to to a popular local hotel for dinner with some of the other mums from school.  The table was set for 15 people despite me calling a day before to revise the number down to 10 (cue look of crankiness from waitress). The menu did not bear much semblance to the one the venue has on its website. But the icing on the cake was the garlic bread. I swear it looked exactly like someone had grabbed a loaf of sandwich bread and toasted it for us. Make that barely toasted – it was square, soggy, a total joke. There were several varieties of bread on a shared platter we also ordered, making it all the more bizarre. Must get the photo to post. It was like we had stepped back to about 1975. Heck even then I am sure garlic bread was round.

Today my son had an unusual experience – being served real coffee in his babycino! Most Perth cafes know how to make a babycino and they range in price and quality from 50 cents to the more exorbitant $2. Some come with a small biscuit or marshmallows; disconcertingly the pricier the babycino the less likely it is to have an accompaniment. Brandon was complaining that the babycino didn’t taste right and I wasn’t paying much attention, figuring he had been served plain frothed milk instead of milk with a bit of hot chocolate. So imagine my surprise to find it was actually about half a shot of coffee! The chap behind the counter was apologetic, having initially said “it’s just a little bit”. I’ve seen babycinos served in full-size adult cups, in polystyrene cups, as froth with no milk or chocolate, with sprinkles…but never have I seen one with real coffee!