Thursday, March 24, 2011

Child Friendly Karaoke at K-Music

K Music
Shop 39/342 McCullough St
Sunnybank   4109
T:  3219 6008
Located on the exterior of Sunny Park shopping centre in the new restaurant precinct.


I am not going to go through the traditional criteria because K Music really is a very different experience and does not fit into many of the requirements we look for in child friendly restaurants and cafes.  Please note this is not a karaoke place specifically for kids, but it opens from 3pm, so a nice option for a fun afternoon and early dinner.  Probably would not suit taking babies, but more like 3+ years.

Only recently opened, K Music is located in the "new Chinatown of Brisbane", as many now call Sunnybank.  The area is oozing with fantastic food options and amazing cultural experiences.  My kids love Asian food, so there are many restaurants in Sunnybank that we have tried and loved!  But this one was something very different.  Karaoke private rooms...hilarious!!

When we walked in I was amazed by the decor...carpeted feature walls, bright colours, all very groovy!  There is a small sit down restaurant area at the front and then the rest of K Music is made up of private rooms. 

You can hire a room for an hour or two, or all night.  I think with littlies, 1-2 hours was sufficient. The rooms are very plush, with lounges wrapping the walls and large screens for the karaoke. 

My children are too young to read the words on the karaoke screen, so we selected songs that they know of and let them make it up.  Teamed with 4 bowls of fried rice and a spring roll each, they had so much fun.

I would definitely recommend K Music for a family fun afternoon/early evening.  A group of families would be great too, as the rooms vary in size, dependent on the number of people.  The large room is quite spacious.  A group of adults would be create a few laughs (as a child free night) teamed with a few drinks...personally I am not a lover of karaoke, but it is always fun as a novel event. 

It is important to note that when children are present, K Music cannot serve alcohol to your private room...it is condition of their liquor licence. 

I know you are probably thinking, why bother?  Just do Singstar or Wii Sing at home.  But it is the whole atmosphere, decor and novelty of K Music that makes it such a fun thing to do, and you don't have to worry about cooking dinner!  Child friendly and lots of fun!!

For the latest interview with a busy parent sharing their ideas on child friendly cafes and restaurants, please click here...

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Is it Child Friendly - First "Dad Interview"

Jason Cook is General Manager of Global Gift Sourcing, a Pizza Capers franchisee and a Gold Coast radio personality in a past life.  He is also Dad to adorable twin girls.  I love his fave kid friendly restaurant.  Never thought to take kids there... click here for the full interview.


Scroll down for more child friendly cafe and restaurant options or click here...

Sunday, March 20, 2011

Latest interview - Michelle Grayson shares her ideas on finding kid friendly dining.

Check out the latest interview with busy mum, Michelle Grayson - designer, artist and illustrator, specialising in children's art.  Michelle shares her ideas on finding child friendly dining options.  Riverbend Bookstore sounds like a great one to try...click here for the full interview.

 Scroll down for more child friendly cafe and restaurant options...

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

"Couture Cupcakes" is heaven for kids....especially little girls!

Couture Cupcakes

65-69 Macgregor Terrace
Bardon, Brisbane
T: 07 3367 2600



Child Friendly Snapshot:
Pram access? Yes.
Kids' menu? No, but mini cupcakes available.
Play area? No
Activities at the table? No.
Room for kids to move around? Yes
Child friendly atmosphere? Yes.
Prices? Very reasonable

I loved this place from the moment we walked in.  The pink ottomans, the wallpaper, the lighting...everything was so pretty.  I went there with my eldest daughter who is 6 and she loved it, even before she saw the cupcakes on display.

I have a friend who ordered cupcakes for a function from this store and they looked and tasted fab, so I had no choice but to go and check the place out.

The cupcake menu is labelled "Bites of Heaven" and that they are....flavours such as choc cream cheese, red velvet, mocha and fresh raspberry simply sound heavenly and they tasted heavenly too.  The coffee was gorgeous and the husband and wife team who own Couture waited on us and ensured that we had everything we wanted.  The service and child friendly attitude was impeccable.


We also ordered some takeaway cupcakes to share with the rest of the family.  They came beautifully boxed and looked too gorgeous to eat. 

There is a savoury brekky and lunch menu too which looks delicious, but we only sampled the sweet culinary delights on offer.  I would definitely go back there for lunch and the pricing seemed very reasonable. 

Despite it being on a busy road, we were very relaxed and really enjoyed the moment together...not often that I have one-on-one time.  I am sure it would have been a totally different experience with all four children in tow, but I will attempt to take them all back, as I think they would be consumed by the gorgeous cakes. 

Kid friendly?  Absolutely, and a delight for Mums too!!

For more child friendly cafes by location, click here

Sunday, March 6, 2011

Gwyneth Paltrow's Favourite Kid-Friendly Restaurants....

Not that many of us will have the opportunity to visit all of these places with our kids, but how cool is it that Gwyneth has the same dilemmas as we all do, trying to find child friendly options to dine out

I love GP's blog and newsletter "Goop", and I am sure you will especially enjoy this edition where she features all her favourite child friendly restaurant options worldwide.


Sweetie Pie, New York

Click here to see Gwyneth's kid friendly restaurant choices....

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Miss India was surprisingly good for kids!

Miss India
Cnr Victoria St and Kelvin Grove Rd

Kelvin Grove



Rating out of 5:   4 child friendly forks!!


Clean highchairs available? No high chairs
Pram access? Yes.
Kids' menu? No, but not needed
Play area? No
Activities at the table? No.
Room for kids to move around? Yes
Child friendly atmosphere? Yes.
Prices? Very reasonable.

Okay, so the criteria above does not seem overly flattering and you would not normally think that Indian food is a child pleaser.  But I was pleasantly surprised.  Our kids loved it!!  When Miss India opened near us I was very sceptical...the idea of Indian "fast food" was not overly appealing to me.  We had takeaway from there once and I didn't "love" it, but it was okay.  However, last Saturday night we walked up to dine in, and it was excellent. 


When we arrived with all 4 children the dining area was quite busy, but the staff quickly assembled some tables and chairs for us, as well as water and 6 glasses.  We ordered our meals, sticking to the less spicy options- 1xbutter chicken, 1xmango chicken, 2 large servings of rice and one garlic naan bread.  It does not seem a lot of food for 6 people but the servings are huge and we had leftovers.


The food came out very quickly (almost immediately) which is great with 4 hungry littlies to amuse, and they couldn't get enough of it!  They loved the chicken, the sauce, the rice and the naan!!  Two of them ate so much that we actually had to stop them from eating as we were worried they would be sick later. 


All four children loved watching the man make the naan bread through the glass window.  It was great theatre and they were intrigued with how he threw the dough around.  It was also great that you could see all their preparation areas and the kitchen (when we did multiple trips to the toilet), and all areas (including the restrooms) were immaculately clean.  The staff kept bringing out things for the children to taste including a sweet rice pudding and they fussed over the kids immensely.


The atmosphere is very casual and child friendly, although we were the only ones with kids there.  But it was an environment where we could all relax without worrying about disturbing others.  Our kids were so focussed on their food that they hardly said anything anyway, and this is very unusual for my clan who tend to eat like sparrows!!


As we were packing up to walk home, the two that ate the most, made their way back to the table to get a few more mouthfuls....something for the road!!  I couldn't believe it!!  This is a pic of Gracie sitting at the table on her own as we were all waiting to head off, just managing a few last minute mouthfuls!!


Thank goodness we were walking home, as we ate too much - it was just so good!!  Miss India was a hit with my kids and we will definitely be heading back there...next time with a bottle of wine in hand as it is BYO.


Check out the new Kettler triplet trike we purchased to enable us to be mobile again....now we can get out to local cafes and restaurants without having to drive, and the kids love it too!!






Check out child friendly restaurant reviews by location and if you have any ideas or suggestions on restaurants that are child friendly, I would love to hear from you.