CafeBlog

There are two Meccas in Mission Bay. One in the old Stone House, and the other in the “shopping strip” on Tamaki Drive. We visited the Tamaki Drive cafe for a lunchtime snack.

It wasn’t overly busy and we were able to grab a table right away and order the usual soy mocha and latte reasonably quickly. The coffees were strong. I didn’t think so at first, but once I got through the frothed milk on top - whew! - it was almost enough to blow your socks off. Similar to my experience at Mink Cafe in Parnell the cups were smallish, but you certainly got your caffeine quota. We had also ordered the ricotta pancakes to share. These were great; they were light and fluffy with just the right amount of bacon, banana and maple syrup delivered to last the entire stack. I’m not a fan of cream cheese, and was a little concerned that there may be cream cheese everywhere, but again, there was sufficient to get a taste without overwhelming you.

The service was polite, but it’s a pity that so many of the wait staff in what I guess you’d call the “posher” areas have so much trouble cracking a smile. Oh well - I guess you can’t have everything.

If you’re after a real caffeine hit, then this is your place.

Mink Cafe is situated on the corner of Parnell Road and Heather Street. There was plenty of seating around lunchtime when we wandered in, and as it was a nice day we chose to sit outside.

The coffees were a tad smaller than I would have expected. For $5 one normally gets a reasonably large cup, but this is Parnell and your dollar certainly doesn’t go as far here. Aside from the size issue, the coffee was good and strong, no quibbles there.

Interestingly, when it came to paying, the staff seemed to have not much idea about who sat where and whether it had been paid for. One wonders if perhaps the higher price / smaller coffee is to make up for those sitting outside who just get up and walk away once finished. I don’t condone this sort of behaviour at all, however a little more attention from the staff may have been a “good thing”.