This café is handy because it is located inside the shopping centre (Pakenham Marketplace). It has plenty of tables/seating for customers, and a good variety of food, most of which is cooked fresh once you order it. They sell a fairly decent coffee, but I am extra fussy with my coffee so I'm hard to impress! The staff are great at this café - always friendly and polite and always serve you with a smile.
The pricing of their food and coffee is quite reasonable. It is definitely not expensive for a café. And they also a offer a good range of cold drinks such as smoothies and thick shakes, etc. And they also have a small but decent variety of sweets such as cakes and slices.

Got all our carpet from Glendale Carpets & Tiling in Hallam. They had a large variety of carpets to choose from, from lower quality up to very high quality carpets. They also supply various underlays to go under the carpet of your choice. And they also have a decent range of timber vinyl flooring options to choose from.
The staff was always very helpful, answering any questions or discussing any concerns we had. They always made time to talk with us and to discuss our options and thoughts etc. They gave practical unbiased advice, showing me that it wasn't just about how much money they could help make us spend!
Their installers were both friendly and professional. When we had a concern regarding the join line they sent out a rep the very next day to inspect the carpet, and then they replaced it with no objections within the next week, as it was a manufacturing fault (even though it was only a very minor fault).
I would definitely buy carpet through them again.

I had my 3 children attend Pakenham Early Education Centre for one year, and I was not very impressed.
I noticed a lot of disorganisation within the office. There was very often problems or mistakes with the statements and invoicing. And I noticed a lot of other parents also experiencing similar issues, so it clearly wasn't just in my case.
I was very disappointed with the high turnover of staff at PEEC. My eldest daughter went through 3 kinder teachers in one year. This was especially hard on her as she is extremely shy and found it hard to adjust to simply one new teacher!
I also found that the pre-kinder room was not run overly well. The children often appeared bored and unstimulated. My pre-kinder children would only attend for half days at a time and would still complain that there is not much to do. The teacher and assistant would often put out the same tasks day after day. The kids quickly bored of this. Or they would make up a "drawing table" with no paper to draw on or blunt pencils that the children can't even draw with! For some children this wouldn't be an issue. But for shy children this is a real problem because they don't feel confident enough to go and ask the teacher for paper or for pencils that actually work!
The other thing I noticed, that I wasn't overly impressed with, was the kids would be forced to play outside even if they didn't want to. Although there was enough staff to have staff inside AND outside, they would force all the children outside so that the teacher in charge could stay inside and do paperwork or clean up. I understand that this needs to happen, but not for extended periods at a time. I'm talking about days of 30 degree heat, or days of 11 degree coldness. The kids should be made to play outside for a small amount of time, but if it's very hot or very cold they really should have the option of coming inside to play.
I also often noticed children outside with no jacket or long sleeve top on, yet it was freezing outside. Or kids outside with jumpers on when it's boiling hot outside. What I noticed on a large scale at PEEC was pure LAZINESS. I really think a 15 yr old babysitter could do a better job that what they had done at PEEC.
I would also often see groups of staff members standing around gossiping amongst themselves out in the foyer/reception area, whilst one teacher is left in each room to do all the work.
And the children's toilets were often disgusting. There are 5 separate cubicles in the childrens' toilets and more often than not would all of them, or at least 4 of them, be filled with unflushed urine and poo. There was often sand and [paint and soggy paper or soggy toilet paper left in the trough where the kids are meant to wash their hands.
I was really unimpressed with PEEC, and would NEVER recommend anyone to send their child there. It was like a centre of really bad babysitting. Not much stimulation for the kids. Barely any teaching or learning taking place. And a whole lot of laziness amongst the staff.
ALTHOUGH, I must say that when my children finished at PEEC, the centre was on the process of being taken over by new owners. So hopefully there have been a whole heap of changes made since then (almost 1 yr ago now).

Minh Thai is a Chinese & Vietnamese restaurant, located in Buckingham Ave in Springvale. they offer a great range of both chinese and Vietnamese food. I love their broken rice dish and their spring rolls with lettuce and fish sauce.
Their prices are very reasonable, as with most Asian restaurants around the Springvale area.
They also allow BYO, which can be handy, and also offer a take away service. But I always enjoy eating in there.

I love this restaurant. My partner is Vietnamese so we often attend this restaurant for family functions such as birthdays or Chinese New Year celebrations.
The food is really good - cooked fresh and cooked well.
The staff are friendly and polite and accommodating.
The prices are reasonable considering the food is of a high quality. The yum cha menu there is great, and the kids enjoy trying the various types of yum cha food.

This shop is great for all party supplies. I usually go there to buy sets of helium-filled balloons for my kids' birthday parties.
The balloons are reasonable priced - standard balloons approx. $1 each and then approx. another $1 to fill with helium and arrange into a balloon arrangement. The special foil-like picture balloons are a lot more expensive - between $10-$20 per balloon, but that covers the cost of the balloon and the helium and the arrangement (if arranged with other balloons).
The staff are always friendly and polite and helpful.

My young children love going to Crocs Indoor Play Centre.
It's a great afternoon out, especially when the weather isn't good enough to go to an outdoor park.
It's a fairly big indoor play centre (bigger than Monkey G's in Pakenham, and approx. the same size as Lollipops in Narre Warren).
It's not an overly cheap day out though. By memory it's around the $10 mark per child. But they do offer a great bulk pass deal - approx. $65 for 10 visits, which equates to $6.50 per child instead of approx. $10 per child.
It's not as cheap as Monkey G's, which is just down the road from Crocs, but you definitely get what you pay for. Crocs is bigger, with more equipment and things for the kids to do. It has a nice little area sectioned off for the younger toddlers also.
The food and coffee from their café is fine - nothing extraordinary, but definitely ok for the kids for lunch etc. And the coffee for the parents is good. It's a decent café style coffee.
The only other complaint is that they close at 5pm (I think), whereas Lollipops in Narre Warren stay open later on certain days (ie. Friday).
My girls have attended a couple of parties held at Crocs, and they have always enjoyed it. They have a few separate party rooms which you can hire. They serve chips, nuggets etc for the party attendees. And the kids just run around and play. It's a very casual set-up for a party, but the kids seem to enjoy it that way.

As a mother of four children under the age of six, I am a frequent visitor of indoor play centres.
I like Monkey G's because it is somewhat cheaper than most other indoor play centres. But you definitely get what you pay for, as Monkey G's is fairly small (compared to Lollipops or Crocs), hence less for the kids to play on.
I have found Monkey G's to be a little unclean at times. If I have been playing on the equipment with my children my hands feel really sticky afterwards.
Also, the café and coffee isn't very flash. Actually, the one time I bought a coffee there it was horrible. Tasted like it was made with boiling water from the kettle and a spoon of instant coffee! I know that sounds harsh, but it's true. Surely they could invest in a small coffee machine that makes half-decent coffee for the parents.
Although I'm not overly fond of the cleanliness or variety of equipment etc, the kids don't seem to notice! They always have a great time at Monkey G's. They especially like the big slides, as they are extremely fast. I have often noticed my girls getting slightly airborne when sliding down!
If the entry costs weren't so reasonable I wouldn't take my kids there. But it's considerably cheaper than Lollipops or Crocs, so it's a good cheap afternoon out for the kids!

Uncle Bucks at Heritage Springs Shopping Centre is you normal $2 variety/ Asian variety store, offering various little bits n pieces.

I sometimes go there to look at the ordaments, vases, picture frames, little figurines when I need to buy a gift. I also go there to buy crafts to keep the little ones busy. They have a good variety of crafts for adults and kids, and also a good variety of jewellery, make up, hair ties and decorations, etc. And they stock a good variety of party supplies - party toys, prizes decorations, cutlery, cups, plates, streamers, balloons, face paints, etc. I even bought my dog kennel there!
The staff try to be helpful and polite, but there is an English barrier.
Their prices are good - what you'd expect from a cheap variety store.

The Top Shop in Narre Warren was my local "milk bar" for approx. 3 years. In most ways it's just your typical milk bar or corner shop. But then there's their fish & chips! Their fish & chips are ABSOLUTELY LOVELY.

There is quite a few fish & chips shops in Narre Warren, but none of them compare to the fish & chips from the Top Shop. The fish is always juicy and fresh and perfectly cooked. The chips are also always perfectly cooked. I don't know if it is the oil they use? But the fish & chips they cook is of a very high quality.

The service is ok. The owners aren't overly friendly or talkative, but I assume it may come down to personality???

The other normal milk bar food (ie. milk, bread, chocs, lollies, ice creams) are fine. They stock a good variety and their food is always in date.

Their fish & chips isn't the cheapest I have seen, but I don't mind paying a little extra because it is of such good quality.

They offer a small onsite parking facility, which is convenient.