A Little Taste of Taste

Last week we were treated to a preview of Taste of Melbourne. For of all of you who don’t know what Taste is, basically it’s one of Melbourne’s finest food festivals which showcase the best local restaurants, wines and produce. This year it will be outdoors in Albert Park, which in my mind makes it more attractive to families. Mainly for the reason that if the kids spill food or drink on the grass no one is going to care, right?

The alfresco gourmet setting will not only be a relaxed environment for families it will give them the opportunity to try out some of Melbourne’s finest dishes going around. As a family we’d never in this great wild earth consider packing the kids up and taking them to say the likes of Taxi Dining Room (which is very fancy pants by the way!) But instead we can take them along to Taste and have a sample of what they have on offer, then organise a babysitter for a date night. Sounds like a plan yeh?

Here are some of the delightful mouth-watering eats we got to sample.

We especially love the opening times too, pop down for a cheeky bit of lunch or early dinner with the wee ones.

More family friendly features that are worth a mention include disposable crockery and {we love}…. FREE picnic rugs in the Lilydale Gourmet Picnic Garden.

SOME OF THE STARING RESTAURANTS INCLUDE :: The Point :: Albert St Food & Wine :: Taxi Dining Room :: Libertine :: Movida :: Mamasita :: Sake and Living Room just to name a few…

OPENING TIMES

Taste of Melbourne operates like a restaurant with a lunch and dinner service. A Taste Session lasts for 4 hours (5 hours on Sunday) to give you time to enjoy your pick of restaurant dishes, browse the artisan stalls of the Producers Market and enjoy complimentary features including the Taste Kitchen, Chef’s Skillery, master classes. Tickets are sold for each session and are only valid for the time and date indicated on the ticket.
                                                     LUNCH                     DINNER
Thursday 15th November              Closed                  5.30pm – 9.30pm        
Friday 16th November            12.00pm – 4.00pm        5.30pm – 9.30pm       
Saturday 17th November        12.00pm – 4.00pm        5.30pm – 9.30pm       
Sunday 18th November          12.00pm – 5.00pm 
                                                             
This event is truly one to pencil into the diary this year.

Spotted! :: Cute Crayon Treat Bags

How cute are these! 

These crayon treat bags are going on our “to-make” list.

See full instructions HERE

Kids Cupcake Work Shop :: Win!!

School holidays have never been sweeter, especially with a cheeky cupcake thrown into the mix.

Thanks to the folks over at Cupcake Central we have TWO spots up for grabs to their super-dooper  Kids Cupcake Work Shop. See the flyer for all the fun details and to enter all you need to do is tell us your favourite cupcake flavour in the comments below. It’s easy as pie, or should l say “cupcake”

NOTE:: PLEASE make sure we can contact you and leave the correct details whether it be, email, blog link in the comments or Facebook. 

You can also submit entries VIA contact@heybambini.com.au
 
Competition Ends 27th September
 
Winners Announced on the same day.

Mini Review :: Orange Leaf :: Port Melbourne

Looking for a healthy alternative to ice-cream for the kids now that summer is just around the corner?

As you know we like a sweet treat round these parts.  As shades of summer shine through on these spring days Mr 3 and I dream of ice-cream and other frozen treats. So when the folk at Orange Leaf Frozen Yogurt invited us to try some of their range we jumped at the chance to treat ourselves and our sweet tooth.

 

Situated in Port Melbourne, Orange Leaf serve up 16 flavours of Frozen Yogurt, which are all made fresh daily on site. For the fruit lovers they serve up flavours such as Mango, Strawberry, Kiwi and Blueberry and for the die-hard sweet-tooth’s they have flavours such as Cookies and Cream, Chocolate, White Chocolate, Coffee and (my favourite) Cotton Candy.

If that’s not enough to get your mouth watering Orange Leaf also have over 20 extra toppings to add to your frozen yogurt. Yes toppings! Drool Drool! You can go on the healthy side of town and top your yogurt with fresh fruit, nuts , dried fruits and muesli or if you’re feeling like going all out and smashing the diet then splash on some chocolate buds, smashed Crunchie Bars, Tim Tams,  M and M’s or colourful sprinkles.

At Orange Leaf it’s all self-serve, so it was really fun for Mr 3 to look through all the flavours, have a little try of some and then add his toppings to his chosen yogurt. Once you’ve finished making your dessert master piece pop it on the provided scale. You see at Orange Leaf you pay by weight, you’re in control of your portion size and topping selection, which is good for children. Parents can control the amount of frozen goodness the kids consume.

Some Fast Frozen Yogurt Facts

All of the frozen yogurts are made fresh daily on site

All flavours are Gluten free

There are 16 Flavours on site to choose from daily.

Coming soon :: Sugar FREE flavours Chocolate and Vanilla

You can get all the nutrition information HERE

Orange Leaf has Lactose Free flavours like
“Pineapple” with “Orange” Coming Soon

2 cup sizes to choose from plus a small sample
size so you can “try before you buy!”

All the packaging is bio-degradable which = environmental friendly

Frozen Yogurt is a healthy alternative to
ice-cream and is jam packed with probiotics

Know before you Froyo! 
Yes they have an app with all the latest daily flavours.

 Are they kid friendly? Oh YES they most certainly are!!

The Orange Leaf store has plenty of room for the prams, colouring sheets, low seats for the kids, toilets on site and they also host children’s parties.

Open Daily 11am – Late

Located at 65 Bay St Port Melbourne and Torquay

Get  20% off your Frozen Yogurt when you mention the Hey Bambini Blog!

Valid Til 31st October

FREE PRINTABLE :: To Do List

We need some serious organising in
the Hey Bambini household this week.

Enjoy this free printable which
l spotted via A Pair of Pears.

Now off you go.

Go print it and fill it with tasks.

{PRINT ME PLEASE}

Tinker Bell and My Nanna

What a week for us.

Sorry for our absence. (We were really on a good roll too, loading fresh content for everyone to read a few times a week.)

My Nanna passed away on Father’s Day. It threw our whole family into slight chaos. It was a week of emotional up’s and down’s, baking frenzy’s, organising smart clothes for the wee ones, writing eulogies along with loads and loads of phone calls to family members.

Alas no blogging for this little black duck.

The funeral was on Friday and ran smoothly and by the time Saturday rolled around l was well and truly beat.

Thank god for Sunday.

You see Sunday my little man and l trotted off to Melbourne Central to get a sneak peek at Disney’s new flick Tinker Bell and the Secret of the Wings.

It was truly what the doctor ordered.

Fun time with my little man and some movie escapism.

The pre-film fun included some face painting, fairy wings and some balloon bending tricks by a colourfully painted entertainer for the kids. Mr 3 was most excited and lapped up all the fun, although he was busting to get in the cinema to start watching the film. After all he does take after his grandpa and mummy and possess a keen obsession for films.

The Tinker Bell and the Secret of the Wings film was just delightful, and although the cinema was mainly filled with little girls it didn’t bother Mr 3 one bit, hey a trip to the cinema is a trip to the cinema.

He enjoyed all the fairy characters and the cute forest animals. In true Disney style the scenery was bright and colourful which added a bit of magic to the film. There were no scary bits and it was light and breezy, just like Tinker Belle I guess.

So if you’re looking for some September School Holiday Inspiration then look no further than Tinker Bell and the Secret of the Wings. It’s suitable for girls, boys and parents young at heart.