Park Bench - a child friendly option for school holidays...

Park Bench Espresso Bar
133 Oxford Street,
Bulimba  4171
(Just behind Green Grass Home and Body on the corner facing the park)

If you are looking to fill some time on a gorgeous sunny day these school holidays, you should check out Park Bench Espresso Bar at Bulimba.  Very cool and casual, and a perfect child friendly stop either before or after a play at the fab park on the trendy Bulimba strip.

The coffee was divine and the toasted banana bread and milkshakes were a hit with the kids.  The owner has made it kid friendly by providing great  drawing packs labelled "Drawing gear for kids" that they can use whilst sitting at Park Bench, and the casual atmosphere and cushions enabled the kids to lounge about after a big morning at the park.  The owner is from a family of cafe owners and restauranters and she definitely knows how to do it right - it seems she has thought of everything!

After that, we ducked into Green Grass (a divine home and body gift store - same owner as Park Bench), which was a bit tricky with kids in tow.  But if you only have one child with you or you have a morning to yourself, it is worth a browse.  I bought gorgeous stripey red drinking straws for Christmas parties (144 straws for $9.95 - bargain!), spotted cupcake wrappers (24 for $5 - also cheap), and little ice cream cups with cute spoons, great for kids desserts for events such as the neighbourhood Christmas party (the less washing up the better).  The Christmas decorations in there were adorable and I could have spent so much more time and money in there, without the children.  So I will be doing a trip back there soon.

 

Highly recommend Park Bench Espresso and the Bulimba park on Oxford Street as a child friendly outing these school holidays.

Lemonade Stand to go ahead...rain, hail or shine...literally!

You may have seen my last post where I explained why we are doing a Lemonade Stand, raising money for the Australian Cancer Research Foundation.  If not, you can read it here. 

Well Polly's lemonade stand goes ahead this Saturday, and what bad timing it is!!  Firstly it is predicted to be thundery rain ALL DAY!!  Secondly we are having our house renovated, and they decided to excavate the front yard this week, just before all that torrential rain, and tomorrow (Friday) they are pouring concrete for the driveway.  So it is a bit of a mess, which is amplified by the rain!

However, we have juiced all the lemons (15 litres of lemon juice in the freezer), baked cupcakes and cookie wands, and will be cooking the popcorn and mixing up the lemonade on Saturday morning.  Polly has made bunting and other signs and all the kids can't wait to set up the lemonade stand.  The excitement could possibly be short lived if there are no people and we are standing out in the pouring rain.  But hey, we had fun doing it.

I will update you with photos and how much we were able to raise for the Cancer Foundation.

Lemonade Stand for Cancer ~ Child Friendly Project

This is not related to a child friendly restaurant review, but I had to share this with you.  Our eldest daughter who is 6, came to us and wanted to hold a lemonade stand.  We initially brushed the idea off.  But she was persistent and explained that she wanted to raise money for cancer.  In her words she said "Mum I want to give money to someone who can make really good medicines to get rid of cancer ".

It brought tears to my eyes!!  So of course, we are getting ready to hold a cliche lemonade stand out the front of our house to raise money for good cancer medicines - Saturday 15th October from about 10am.

My mother suffers from a brain tumour and has to have chemothereapy every month for the rest of her life.  She is an amazing woman, and although we don't talk about her illness a lot, our children are clearly aware of the effect it has had on her life and the family as a whole.  This was never more evident than when Polly came up with this idea.....

We wanted to support and encourage her initiative, so we called the Australian Cancer Research Foundation who have endorsed the lemonade stand as fundraising on their behalf, and from there the support has been amazing.  Murray Bros and the Brisbane Markets at Rocklea have provided 200 lemons free of charge so we can make the lemonade.  Sharnel Dollar Designs is lending a few bits and pieces for the stand set-up.  The neighbours are all pitching in with baking, and Polly has recruited all the neighbours' children to help out on the day.  Quest Newspapers did a half page colour feature pre-promoting the event, and 4BC Talkback Radio interviewed Polly on the Breakfast Show.    This snowball effect has all started from one little 6 year old's desire to raise money for "cancer medicine".

We have made signs and bunting, and plan to cook up a few tasty treats to add to the stall.  Juicing the lemons has been fun - we have ten litres in the freezer and 3 more cartons of lemons to squeeze, which has been a joint effort with the kids.  We did a test run of the lemonade recipe last night which was delish.  We found it on the Simply Recipes website.  I would recommend it for those hot summer days on the deck. 

All in all it has been a fun project for Polly to organise.  I will update you on how we go and how much we raise on the day.....

Here is the link to the online news article.  The hard copy had a great photo included, but this has all the info.  Please note that the paper says it will be held this weekend, but we had to postpone a week due to the storm forecast and all this rainy weather.  Fingers crossed the 15th is a beautiful Spring day!!  Might see you there.  http://www.couriermail.com.au/questnews/west/raising-funds-for-cancer-research/story-fn8m0u4y-1226157963351

Child Friendly Wood Fired Pizza - That's Amore'

Brisbane City Soccer Club
Hidden at the end of Mark Street
Newmarket

Child Friendly Snapshot:



Pram access? Yes
Kids' menu? Not specific, but not needed
Play area? Rumoured to be possibly building one...which would be fab!
Activities at the table? No
Room for kids to move around? Heaps!!!
Child friendly atmosphere? Yes
Prices? Excellent prices

I cannot believe that I have lived in this area for almost 11 years and I never knew this place was only down the road from me!!  I knew there was a Soccer Club as I see the kids training on the ovals.  But I didn't know there was such a good venue for child friendly dining hidden at the end of Mark Street in Newmarket. 
 

This place is not fancy in any way - they don't even provide china plates.  But the wood fired pizzas, especially with the new bases that they have started using, remind me of my Italian godmother's homemade pizzas from many years ago.  I would not recommend the pizzas that are served from the hot box, but instead order your wood fired pizza at the counter and go outside to watch the Italian men put the pizza in the outdoor oven using the big pizza paddle.  They sing as they go, which makes it all the more entertaining and they fuss over the children.  The kids love it....and they love the pizzas!!
 
By the time the kids have eaten, there is generally a soccer match on, which the boys love watching.  But there is enough room that a group of children can play on the grass or go and sit in the stadium and you can watch them the whole time....just make sure you get a table outside.  We have found this to be a fun place to catch up with a group of families.  Casual enough, and the kids can all run around together or watch the match, and the parents can have a catch up whilst still keeping an eye on all the littlies.  Just as long as anyone you ask to come along is aware that it is casual and easy going, and not to expect a fine dining experience.
 
I think this is only available on Friday nights, so skip cooking at the end of the week and treat yourselves to a relaxing, no fuss night out that the whole family will enjoy.

Say Hola to Child Friendly Pepe's Restaurant

Pepe's Mexican Restaurant
184 Enoggera Road
Newmarket
T: 3856 0966

Child Friendly Snapshot:



Pram access? Yes, for most of the restaurant.
Kids' menu? Yes
Play area? No
Activities at the table? No
Room for kids to move around? Not really
Child friendly atmosphere? YesPrices? Reasonable.

The owners of Pepe's Newmarket, were the orginal Pepe's owners - they opened the first Pepe's restaurant located at Milton in 1972 (now a Thai restaurant).  The food at Pepe's Newmarket is quite heavy but what Mexican food isn't.  The kids love their mini nachos, served in a cute little bowl with a mild salsa and cheese. The seafood burrito is very popular with the adults with a mix of seafood including prawns and scallops.  My favourite is the Mexican punch (non-alcoholic), and the children love it!!  So refreshing in this warmer weather.  We always have to order several jugs of it.

The staff are very welcoming of families, and make a fuss over the kids.  The service is quick so you don't need to amuse the children for ages waiting for your meal.  There is no playground or kids activity, so we generally eat and leave soon after, so it depends on what type of evening you are looking for.  But we always love our dinners there and the kids really look forward to it.  Casual family dining that everyone can enjoy.

The Jetty ~ Child friendly and Parent friendly....

The Jetty

1b Oxford St

Bulimba (down near the Citycat Terminal)
T: 3899 6113

Child Friendly Snapshot:

Pram access? Perhaps for outside seating.  Might be too squishy inside
Kids' menu? Yes

Play area? No
Activities at the table? No

Room for kids to move around? Not really
Child friendly atmosphere? Yes, to an extent

Prices? Reasonable.

 

Okay, reading the snapshot above does not give it a great wrap, but this is not the type of child friendly restaurant where you let you kids run off to a playground.  It is a gorgeous location overlooking the Brisbane River, with great casual food, lovely atmosphere, good service and an excellent kids' menu.  It is a restaurant where you would want your children to sit up at the table, have a chat and enjoy.  It is a noisy location and very busy, so a bit of kids' noise will go unnoticed and not upset anyone.  But with the busy atmosphere and tight seating, don't take your kids there if they are overtired and cranky...it won't be fun for anyone, especially yourself!!

 

I loved that the kids' menu serves more than just chicken nuggets, and the serving sizes are huge.  You can sit up at the window seat in a bar style layout and take in the view, or at a table with seating inside and out.  The only drawback is that they don't take bookings for less than 4 people, so if you have a small group then you have to 'wing it' and hope you can get a table.  We don't have that problem obviously, being a family of 6, and the day we were there for lunch, people were being turned away as it was so busy.

I can highly recommend the beer battered fish for both kids and adults.  Not greasy and was delish.  The steak looked good too and I am told it was excellent.  Desserts were a treat and defintely worth saving room for.  Beautifully presented and very yummy!!!  A great child friendly spot for a family Sunday brekky or lunch, or perhaps even a child-free date night.

Enjoy!!

Martha Stewart for child friendly home cooked meals.....

My blogs are becoming few and far between lately. Life just gets so busy. I have a lot of child friendly retaurants and cafes to update you on....but I have to spend some time sorting some photos on my phone. In the meantime, although we are always looking for child friendly dining, I am also always looking for child friendly home cooked meals, that are quick and easy and that the whole family can eat. I often get inspiration from the wonderful Martha Stewart...who is inspirational in many ways. But I love this link to her website that gives you 50 quick and easy child friendly dinners -all in one spot that you can scroll through at ease.

http://www.marthastewart.com/photogallery/quick-kid-friendly-recipes

I have tried several on our brood, and each time we have had success. The lighter beef tacos were a fave with my kids....but a bit messy.

Good luck and enjoy!

Bec.

Some good ideas on dining out with kids....

I occasionally check this website (link attached) and although I think Jenny has some good ideas, she also has some different ideas that I don't totally agree with.

However, I like this post that I have attached, giving ideas on dining out with kids. I say "dining" because I like how she encourages us to take our children to good dining restaurants and not just take children to restaurants with drive through windows, or pubs with playgrounds! Nothing wrong with having a steak while the kids wear themselves out on a play fort. But it's good to broaden their experiences with restaurants where they have to understand and learn table etiquette.

I must point out that I definitely do not agree with her encouraging us to offer our children a sip of wine. In my humble opinion it is completely irresponsible for anyone to say it is okay. It is up to each parent, but I feel that it serves no purpose to offer wine or beer to children, and potentially could compromise their growing brains.

So ignore that section of the article, and take on board some of her other ideas. Enjoy!

http://nourishedkitchen.com/dining-out-with-children/

Karma Currency - child friendly and mess friendly presents!!

This is not a restaurant review, but I wanted to share with you this fabulous website which I think could be great for presents when you have no idea what to buy. Very child friendly!

You know the story....your neighbour's baby is turning one and you have been invited to the 1st birthday party. You feel compelled to buy more plastic toys that create more mess, less space and eventually more landfill!! Realistically the child will only ever play with it every now and then. Or perhaps you are stuck for buying Christmas presents for your second cousins in their early teens. You have no idea what's cool or what they are into.

Well now you can purchase a charitable donation from http://www.karmacurrency.com.au/

For babies you can check out the section called philanthrabubs, and choose a charity focussed on children. Or you can choose anything on the list available including Cancer research, animal refuges, building wells in third world areas, or even contributing to purchasing GPS tracking systems for gorillas in the Congo.

There is even a gift register, so perhaps for your 40th birthday party or an upcoming Christening, you could suggest that guests donate to a specific cause as opposed to buying gifts. All money donated goes directly to the charity plus a $4.95 fee, and all donations over $2 are tax deductible. You can't claim plastic future land fill on your tax!!

Enjoy!

Mermaid Surf Club - Child Friendly Thumbs Up!

Mermaid Beach Surf Club
173 Hedges Avenue

Mermaid Beach
Gold Coast  QLD
T:  (07)5575 3211

Child Friendly Snapshot:

Pram access? Yes, but could be tricky with the stairs at the entrance - would need two adults.
Kids' menu? Yes
Play area? Fantastic indoor play area
Activities at the table? Yes
Room for kids to move around? Yes
Child friendly atmosphere? Yes
Prices? Very reasonable - cheaper than standard club prices

I am hesitant to share this one, because it seems to be a locals' secret on the GC.  But it was so good for family dining, I feel compelled to let everyone know.  Great food, excellent kids facilities and very reasonable prices, plus mid week deals apply where kids eat free (phone ahead to confirm).  This place was so child friendly that we went there twice over our recent holiday.
 

The first night I ordered garlic prawns with rice and Mike had rump steak.  Our meals were huge and very impressive for club food.  The kids had chicken nuggets, but the kids' meals were massive, and included a drink and ice cream.  So the second time we went, we only ordered two kids meals and divided them up between the four children, then ordered the extra drinks and desserts.  This was more than enough.  I ordered the sand crab lasagne on the second visit.  It was nice, but no where near the standard of the garlic prawns.
 

The kids could not wait to get into the indoor play area.  We organised to have a table right outside the play room, which has glass walls so you can see what's going on.  The play area includes climbing equipment and tunnels, as well as computer games etc.  We were there relatively early so it was not busy, but it did get marginally busy around about the 7pm mark.  We were able to sit at our table, keep an eye on the kids and watch the Qld Reds game on the big screen.  Happy days!!
 
We also purchased a Little Nippers pack which includes colouring in and activities, that the kids can do at the table or take home.  Our four littlies loved this, and it kept them a little bit busy when we had rainy weather the next day!!
 
I have to say that Mermaid is a fantastic child friendly, family holiday - affordable self contained accommodation of excellent standard (great deals at the moment!!), the beach was not crowded, Putt Putt Golf is around the corner, great parks, the local cafe Gov's, does nice coffee and has a fantastic play area (see past blog http://isitchildfriendly.blogspot.com/2010/09/govs-espresso-and-collectables-2457.html ) and Mermaid Surf Club offers a great kid friendly dinner option.
 
I would highly recommend Mermaid Surf Club, especially at the moment with the cooler weather.   We were able to dine and relax whilst the kids played in an indoor, warm and safe environment.  Great family dining, that the whole family enjoyed!!

Happy Easter from "Is It Child Friendly"...

Have a wonderful Easter everyone.  Enjoy your five day break - put your feet up, have fun with the kids and indulge in some "Red Tulip".  xx

Mos Burger...kid and adult friendly fast food!

Mos Burger
Sunnybank Plaza
Cnr Mains Rd and McCullough St
Sunnybank  4109

I would never normally recommend "fast food" in this blog.  However, this one is worth trying.  Mos Burger has been newly introduced to Australia from Japan (established in 1972) with the first Australian store opening last week at Sunnybank Plaza.  I have to say I was sceptical, especially by the name.  But it was delish!!


The kids options are standard fast food with chicken nuggets, yummy chips and cheese burgers.  But on the flip side, the adults have some interesting choices.  Yakiniku burger with a bun made from steamed rice, and the meat is thinly shaved marinated beef that does not have that oily taste of a burger or kebab.  It was so delicious!!  The teriyaki chicken burger was also fantastic....not that I ate two burgers, but we sampled each others.  It was made with a really nice burger bun and marinated chicken pieces.  The burgers are not as big as what you would get at a normal burger fast food outlet, but they are just enough and far less heavy or oily.  I know this pic does not look the best, but they are much better in real life.

There is sufficient space for a family to dine in, and the food was ready in record time.  The only drawback is the line up down the street to order, but it did move quickly.  It is very popular, perhaps because of the novelty factor, but I think it also has a fairly strong following and awareness in Asia.


The kids really enjoyed the food, but also liked the theatre of the place.  A glass panel enables you to see all the food being cooked and prepared.  The abundance of staff are so well presented and the kitchen area looked spotlessly clean.  Randomly, an individual staff member would yell out "Welcome to Mos Burger" and all the other staff would repeat in unison "Welcome to Mos Burger".  The kids loved that and started to join in which was hilarious.  This happened about 6 or 8 times whilst we were there, but it was not annoying.  The staff were so friendly and genuinely seemed excited about being there.


Mos Burger was fun and different, and perhaps could be something to check out over the school holidays after a movie at Hoyts, which is just around the corner from it.  I would not eat it every week, but it is worth a try - a "sometimes food" as my kids call it.  Enjoy!!

Click here for the latest interview with busy Mums and Dads and their ideas on dining out with kids. 

Because we are all asking the same question, "Is It Child Friendly?"

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...

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...

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...

"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

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....

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.

Bunnings Sausage Sizzle a Hit with My Kids!

Your local Bunnings, Anaconda or Bulky Goods store

Rating out of 5: 4 child friendly forks!!

I am not providing you with any exciting new locations or fabulous child friendly insight in this post.  However, how good is it on a Saturday or Sunday to take the kids on a morning of shopping and finish up at somewhere like Bunnings or Anaconda.....my kids love the sausages at the external BBQs and that way we get home they are suitably fed and ready for a midday sleep.  It's easy, no hassle for me and they love sitting up on a random bench somewhere getting covered in tomato sauce and chomping on a hot sausage!!!  Plus it is cheap and generally supports some type of local charity or sporting group.  A win/win for all.

So get out and about and support your local groups this weekend, and make lunchtime an easy kid friendly option!!

Have a great weekend.

La Vosh is Delish!

La Vosh Patisserie
Musgrave Road

Red Hill

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? Yes.Room for kids to move around? Not a lotChild friendly atmosphere? Yes.Prices? Very reasonable.

In recommending this cafe/patisserie, it is not because of a large playground where you can sit back and let the kids run riot.  It is more a place that you take your children to have a babycino, sit up at the table and have a chat.  Every child needs to learn table manners and how to behave in a cafe, and this is a really easy place to get them into the swing of things.

I went there with my two boys (both 3 years old) and my older daughter (6), and we had a delightful time.  We ordered $1 babycinos, Dora and Ben 10 drinks, and delicious freshly cooked NY bagels with jam or cream cheese for only $3 each.  My kids only ate half each, so 2 bagels between 3 kids would have been more than enough.  I had a perfect coffee and was tempted (but resisted) by the gorgeous array of cakes and treats on display.

Each table was covered in butchers' paper with a basket of crayons for the kids to draw.  The kids ate their bagels, drank their drinks and happily drew pictures while Mum relaxed with the paper and coffee. 

Also on offer is freshly baked sour dough, hot food, and a colourful display of sorbets, ice cream and gelati, including lemon, raspberry and mango sorbet, vanilla bean ice cream and burnt caramel gelati!!  We will definitely head back there to sample these delights.

La Vosh has an old-style corner store feel, with friendly staff and delish food.  I would definitely recommend it.