Friday Food Frolic - Jackpot Noodle Toowong

The Toddler and I have fallen into the habit of eating out for lunch on Fridays. I want to enjoy this lovely age when everything about eating out is fascinating and she can't get out of the high chair by herself (so the potential for chaos is limited).

Today we went to Jackpot Noodle Toowong for the second time and can't wait to go back. There are not many establishments which have so wholeheartedly embraced the idea of the Toddler being my food companion. The staff literally run to get the high chair and are very helpful with bringing extra plates and drinks of water. This means that all I have to bring is the Toddler and a bib.

This week we had the vegetarian fried rice and the deep fried chicken. I ate the lovely crispy (and salty) skin and made sure that the Toddler only had the very inner part of the moist chicken flesh. The vegetarian fried rice is full of vegetables chopped very finely so it was easy for her small mouth. Being fed with chopsticks rather than a spoon seems to delight the Toddler and she attacked the food with a particular relish that I haven't seen at home.

What makes this a great toddler restaurant is the relaxed sense of fun about the place. Today a total of five different cooks came out in shifts to eat their lunch at the table next to us and the Toddler adored them all. They clucked with amazement when she demonstrated how she feeds herself and they also kept her endlessly amused by pulling faces and waving.

At the end of the meal the staff didn't care that we had wreaked utter devastation and left rice and chicken everywhere. They waved off my attempts to clean up with a single napkin and made me feel that they wish everyone would enjoy their food so much that they tip a large portion of it onto the floor.

All in all it was the making of a very special memory for me and (hopefully) for her it suggested that food is just as much an enriching social activity as well as a biological need.

Menus and locations can be found at http://www.jackpotdining.com.au.