Mures - Lower Deck

Location: Victoria Dock, Hobart

Phone: (03) 6231 2815
Website: http://www.mures.com.au/

Opening hours: 8am - 9pm: 7 days a week

Kids menu: Captain Cook's basket, fish fingers with chips or chicken nuggets with chips

Adults menu: A selection of crumbed or battered seafood "from the fryers" in either snack or meal size.  Grilled blue-eye or salmon.  Thai green curry, or Asian style seafood.  Hot and/or cold platters.  Pizza, pies, fish or vegetarian burgers, and extras such as salads.   

Prices: Snack sized portions start at $9.90, most meal sized portions $16.90, platters $49.90.  Kids meals $7.90 - $8.90

Mumma Review:

After a late afternoon appointment a few weeks back, Hubby and I wanted an easy dinner before heading home, so we called into Mures with our toddler in tow for some yummy fish and chips, followed by an icecream treat!

As a teenager my friends and I would descend on Mures purely for chips doused with a mountain of their season salt.  These days I'm not so obsessed with the chips, but I do love the Mures Marinade fish, which is what I ordered on this occasion.  Hubby ordered his all time Mures favourite, the seafood basket, with which he is always happy with the quality and quantity.

There is also a kids menu, but our toddlers appetite is still small enough to get away with sharing our meals.

The new reno's take in the harbour views now as well as the docks area, so there is plenty of boat watching to be done, or maybe even watching the days catch being unloaded from Mures fishing vessels.

A hit with tourists, Mures is often bustling, but the line for ordering meals usually moves pretty quickly, and there are plenty of tables.

You can also order coffee, cake, and muffins from the icecream bar at any time of the day.  And I did enjoy polishing off my meal with a yummy icecream!

With a casual atmosphere, eat-in or take-away options, fresh seafood, and plenty of kid friendly features including highchairs, baskets of crayons and colouring in sheets, nappy change facilities, pram access, and parking right outside the door, Mures a super easy spot for a quick meal out with the kiddo's.

Love Mumma Kel x

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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

Fish Frenzy

Location: Elizabeth Street Pier, Sullivans Cove, Hobart

Phone: (03) 6231 2134

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

Opening Hours: 12 midday to 3pm and 5.30pm to 9 pm Monday to Friday,
12 midday to 9pm Weekends and Public Holidays.

Kids menu: Shark Attack $8.50 (one piece of fish with chips)

Adult menu: A good selection of fish (with beer batter, tempura batter or bread crumbs), grilled fish, seafood, fish burger, smokey fish chowder, fish cakes, a variety of salads and the pier platter for two (hubby is keen to get that one on our next visit)

Prices: $12-$16.50 fish, $28 grilled fish (including a choice of salad), $15.50 mixed fish (3 pieces of fish and chips), $16.50 fish frenzy (2 pieces of fish, scallops, calamari and chips), $8-$25 salads, $16.50 fish burger and chips, $75 pier platter (hot and cold fish/seafood) 

Mumma Review

Hubby, bub and I found ourselves recently at Fish Frenzy one Friday night for an impromptu dinner.  This was our first venture out for dinner with our little man at 10 months of age.  Previously we had been out for tea when he was a newborn and sleeping peacefully in his capsule but not since he has become an active little crawler!

We got a car park opposite Fish Frenzy on the waterfront - it was meant to be!  I zipped inside to see if they had a highchair - they did :) The waitress kindly said she would set it up for me as I popped back outside to get the boys (still waiting in the car).  Back inside the highchair was all set up at a table next to the window with a great view of constitution dock.

Whilst hubby set bub up with his dinner (a sandwich and some fruit from home) I ordered our food at the counter - mixed fish with chips and some calamari: YUM!  By the time I sat back down at our table and enjoyed a pre-dinner drink our food had arrived - talk about speedy!  There was plenty for the two of us to share and the fish and calamari were delicious.  

Bub was as happy as larry propped up in his chair receiving admiring glances, waves and smiles from nearby patrons.  As the meals were served quickly it meant bub was still occupied enjoying his dinner and therefore we were able to enjoy ours!  The only disadvantage was the highchair - it was rather big with no middle bar which meant bub needed to be propped back up into position as he kept slipping down - a small issue for younger bubs. 

Overall Fish Frenzy was a great spot to dine with our little one.  Fast and friendly service, yummy food, indoor and outdoor seating, and a great harbor side outlook make it a fab place to dine with bubs and kids.

Love Mumma Al x