The Taste Festival

Location:  Princes Wharf Shed No. 1, and Parliament Lawns "Kids in the Park" 

Website:  http://www.tastefestival.com.au/

Opening Hours:  Dec 28 - Jan 3  11am to 11pm daily (NYE a ticketed event, closes to general public at 3.45pm)  Early closure on the last day at 10pm.  Kids in the Park 11am to 8pm daily

Adults menu and Prices:  Varied 

Kids menu:  At selected stalls 

In previous years a great day out at the Taste revolved around snaring a table with friends on the waterfront, soaking up the sunshine for hours on end, enjoying several courses while steadily working through a bottle or two of my favourite pinot gris.
Today's Taste experience was a world away from this!  I had never before noticed that the Taste was such a family friendly event.  Is this a new thing or was I previously blinkered to anything to do with kids in the past?  Which ever the case may be, hubby and I had a great time with our little one this year.

Newly refurbished, the whole shed seemed roomier, the stalls seemed spaced out a little better (although fewer) and finding a seat was definitely not the tedious task it used to be.  While along the waterfront is still a popular spot, we found that there was ample room on the Salamanca side of the shed with tables and chairs, bean bags on the grass, and plenty of room for prams, or to stretch out on the lawn.

The food we enjoyed this year?  Tempura mushrooms of course, The Turkish Kitchen marinated chicken cutlets, blue eye fish and chips from Fish Frenzy, a salmon burger from Mures, and my favourite of the day, an Etons Mess from Something Sweet.
Bubba's gourmet pick of the day?  His dads side dish of rice, and mums chips.  Rice and chips. Clearly not a foodie in the making there.

Pram access is good all around the site, however once you are at the Taste you can ditch the pram in the free undercover valet pram and bike parking on Parliament Lawns.  There are baby change facilities in the shed, as well as a "Parenting Room" on the Salamanca side of Parliament Lawn, which is basically just a tent with some plastic chairs and a fold out change table.  Pretty basic, but it does the job.

There are a few stalls that cater to kids, mostly fish and chip stalls which have kids menus.  The super cute "Kids Express Lane" for littlies placing an ice-cream order at Strawberry Avenue deserves a mention!  Out on the lawn there are a few more stalls surrounding the "Kids in the Park", some selling junk food, but others look like a good option for kids such as the Corn, Juice, & Slushies stall.

There is heaps of entertainment for kids, with buskers, rovers, and stage shows at the Shed (check out the website for performances and times) as well as buskers, and stage shows at the "Kids in the Park" specifically aimed at a kiddie audience.  Also on offer in the park is "Making Food Fun" cooking classes for kids, rides (at a cost), face painting, sports activities, cricket gear, lots of kids toys and climbing frames.  The giant lego was a hit with my little one.  The twilight cinema featuring kids films starts at 6.30pm every night during the Taste, but if you want to snare a bean bag get there early - we headed home at quarter to 6 and the bean bags were already all taken!  There was still plenty of room to spread out a picnic blanket though.  
'Kids in the Park" activity details can be found at the Taste website listed above.  
With so much on offer for both adults and kids I think we will have to pay a return visit!  (And I might also want to try the Cherry Fudge Parfait from Something Sweet)

Love Mumma Kel x