Willowmead Café: Delicious meals, nice surroundings

Because of nature’s rhythm, also known as circadian rhythm, we awake at sunrise and gradually get going to face the challenges of the day.
Daylight cures the body to produce the serotonin and hormones required for our blood pressure and body temperature to rise, and after a healthy breakfast of oats, fresh fruit and low fat milk, we are ready for a challenging day, be it in the office, on the farm or looking for new ways to spin our monetary resources, African style. As twilight falls, the body produces the hormone melatonin, and our instinct is to wind down on the sofa and watch TV or read a book. After supper, if your circadian rhythm is in sync, your body will be preparing for sleep, and you may fall asleep on the couch.
These cycles control appetite, energy, mood, sleep and libido, and when our bodies are out of sync with nature we always feel the worse for wear. Known as circadian rhythm disorder, this is often associated with jet lag, deprivation of daylight and irregular sleep patterns.
If you have been accustomed to an 8am to 5pm working day and your boss suddenly asks you to work up to and beyond the midnight hour, you will require a period of adjustment. You may even need to buy a blue therapy light with diffusion optics and adjustable intensity, to compensate for low energy and lack of sleep.
And with the rise of new 24-hour retail shopping centres all over the world, more and more people will become affected.
Zimbos love their sleep, and all-night laundromats and fitness centres are unlikely ever to take off in a significant way. Such services are few and far between, although I’ve had occasion to be very grateful that the Trauma Centre and the 24-hour Vet in Avondale give round-the-clock service.
It could be hectic lifestyles and work pressures that force some consumers to go shopping in the wee hours, but the decision of an increasing number of restaurateurs to open on a Sunday will be welcomed by the majority of households.
What could be better than eating a delicious meal in attractive surroundings, without having to prepare it yourself?
Last Sunday, Sandawana’s pocket restaurant guide lead me to Willowmead Junction, where the shop and café have recently been open on Sundays.
I telephoned to reserve a table for two under the shade of the Waterberry trees.
Willowmead Café was two thirds full at lunchtime, and the clientele looked happy and relaxed. An obliging waiter brought us a large glass jug of non-alcoholic fruit punch (US$5) and the weekday menu.
Any thoughts of a menu offering a Sunday roast were dashed. I bypassed stuffed crepes and toasted sandwiches and ordered tilapia, chips and salad (US$10). George went for chicken nuggets with the ubiquitous chips and salad (US$6).
The two large Tilapia fillets were deliciously fresh and perfectly cooked. On arrival, the crinkle-cut chips seemed fine, but became hard as they rapidly cooled.
George found the chicken nuggets crisp and tasty, and had similar reservations about the chips and salad. We shared a slice of carrot cake, which was fine if unspectacular.
Cappuccinos tended to be watery and were served in the straight-sided thick white cups I remember from boarding school. While our waiter was discreet, efficient and pleasant, and the indigenous trees and grassy surroundings peaceful, the restful idyll was constantly interrupted by an over-zealous manageress who asked us five times in the space of an hour if everything was to our liking. One enquiry is always enough — anything in excess becomes intrusive.Some retail therapy at adjoining Willo-wmead Junction was unusually peaceful — the customary hordes of customers were probably at home washing up the dishes after Sunday lunch. Nudged and reminded by the circadian cycle that it was the weekend, we returned home for a quiet afternoon and restful evening.

– Willowmead Junction: Cnr Rolf Avenue/Willow-mead Lane Tel: 870976