Southbank – Tourist Trap and Full of Crap? (Part 2)

Smack-bang under Southbank Cinemas is a place that is a must to try if you’re a fan of hot chocolate, coffee, tea, herbal tea, or iced versions of any of the above… or, for that matter, of homewares and timber furniture. Batavia, run by the very friendly Cindy Walker, is a strange but engaging combination of Fair Trade homewares shop and Tea Salon.

The Tea Salon

Batavia specifically styles its food and drink section as a ‘Tea Salon’, rather than a cafe. Patrons are encouraged to relax, socialise, and have some fun. Boardgames are available, or you can bring your own. Obviously, during peak business periods it would probably be appreciated if you weren’t quite as leisurely.

Drinks

The prices will seem steep on first perusal of the menu. But there’s a good reason for that. Most cafes will serve you a hot mocha in a glass or mug. Batavia serves you an entire tray:

(note: that ‘teacup’ is, in fact, almost soup-mug sized)

The jugs for a hot mocha (pictured) contain hot chocolate, hot brewed coffee, and milk. While the ingredients for each drink obviously differ, they’re all generously proportioned. A couple include a mound of icecream nearly filling said soup mug. If you’re just a bit peckish, you may find that one of these mugs is all you need.

Teas are high quality, and there are some exquisite and unusual offerings.

Food

Batavia’s food menu consists of fairly common cafe items – cake, biscuits, focaccias, soup. However, they all have the distinctive Batavia twist that turns them into something special. There are several options available when ordering a slice of cake – from just the cake to icecream, handmade chocolates and biscuits in accompaniment. Beware – the largest option is an extremely sweet meal in itself.

I have one perennial favourite dish at Batavia – the biscuits. They’re served on a very swish serving dish (designed to fit around the huge trays for the drinks – clever eh?) with a bowl of chocolate dipping sauce. Decadence. *drooool*

Wares

Batavia sell all sorts of stuff. Most eye-catching are the pieces of solid timber furniture – they range from gorgeous to gorgeous and comfortable. As I mentioned earlier, it’s all Fair Trade, meaning that the craftspeople producing it actually got a decent price for their work. Cushion covers, scarves, journals, vases and jewellery are just some of the items you’ll find in here.

They also sell the teas served in the Tea Salon.

Southbank – Tourist Trap and Full of Crap? (Part 1)

Well, maybe. But lurking behind the strange building layout and the large amounts of crappy fast food lie some treasures. This was originally going to be a single article, but when the first section got to three paragraphs, I realised that that idea wasn’t going to work. Instead, this could turn into a right little series, with 4 parts at last counting.

Southbank Cinemas

I first discovered the Southbank Cinema a few years ago. See, occasionally a company irritates me so much that I’ll decide to boycott, and lemme tell you – I can really hold a grudge. BC&C managed to get on my really really bad side when they banned outside food from their premises. Public indemnity risk. BULLSHIT. The choice – accept the dictatorial edict, meekly buy ridiculously-overpriced CRAP to eat and thank them for the privilege of using their cinemas? Nuh uh. I’m far too stubborn for that sort of thing. So off I trotted to the independents – and with a cinema like this on hand, who the hell would want to go to BC&C?

Southbank Cinemas offer a great movie-going experience at a surprisingly low price. Adults get in at a maximum $7.90 (cheaper during the day on weekdays), children at $4. When you consider that BC&C charge around $15 for adults and $10 for children, you can see why they’re so popular. The savings extend to food, too. While it isn’t really cheap, the prices look fantastic when compared with BC&C’s gouging. And of course, outside food is permitted. To a point – hot food and drinks probably won’t be appreciated. The screens are well-sized – except for the screen left over from the days when this was the Imax Cinema. It’s FREAKING HUGE and is usually used for the just-released blockbusters. With good reason – it’s great to watch those big special effects on.

One warning – if you’re with a group, or you’re picky about where you sit, check which cinema your movie will be in. If it’s in the big Imax screen (Cinema 5), you’ll want to get there about an hour early. Take a book, pack of cards, food, whatever, and start lining up in the passageway outside. Trust me on this one. Turn up 10 minutes beforehand and you risk sitting on the edge of a row, scattered to the winds and unable to share snacks. And that just sucks.

Go to the Cineplex website to get information on movies showing, session times, or to buy tickets and popcorn online.