A Victorian mum who regularly travels with her young family has shared a holiday meal hack that's sharply divided opinions - and even she admits it's not for everyone.
Alana Tabak recently posted a video explaining what she described as 'the hotel breakfast trick some parents are too embarrassed to try'.
In a video shared to her The Travelling Tabaks Instagram account, the mother-of-two demonstrated one of her 'favourite travel hacks' in action.
During a recent holiday in Bali, she brought an empty kids' lunchbox along with her to the hotel's buffet breakfasts.
'Right before we leave, I pack the kids' lunchbox with things like croissants, fruit and bread rolls,' Alana explained in the caption accompanying the video.
'Then when we're at the pool or down at the beach later, we already have snacks ready to go.'
The Torquay woman admits not every parent might feel comfortable with the holiday snack hack.
'Some parents think it's genius. Some think it's embarrassing,' she conceded in the caption.
But ultimately, Alana felt the benefits of taking a few snacks from the buffet outweighed any awkwardness.
'Honestly... hungry kids by the pool are way more embarrassing,' she wrote.
'And trust me, it saves a lot of tantrums and a lot of money,' Alana added.
The video has generated over 314,000 views, but online reaction to the family travel hack was deeply divided.
On the one hand, like-minded parents called it a 'genius' move - many admitting they do the exact same for their own children.
'We do this too! We aren't huge breakfast people so we usually take what we like for lunch!' one parent replied.
'We did it when we were in Bali! Genius for the mid-morning meltdown,' agreed another.
'Yes, we totally do this for snacks for the kiddos: fruit, those mini breads. Easy and quick.'
Other parents were impressed - admitting it had never even crossed their minds to try.
'Why have I never done this? This is so smart,' read one reply.
'Genius idea! Never thought to do this but it serves a great purpose and saves money.'
However, there were an equal number of replies from people who were deeply opposed to this buffet behaviour.
'Not genius at all. It's stealing! Eat all you want while there, but you're not entitled to take the food with you unless it's offered,' one person retorted.
'It is not right. You should be ashamed of doing this, let alone publicising it!' another agreed.
'The meal in question is breakfast which is included, not lunch which isn't included - it's in the definition,' another argued.
On the other side of the coin, many replies were aghast at the idea of taking food from the breakfast buffet away to eat later.
'Paid for breakfast, yes, but not an all day buffet!' seconded another reply.
'This is ridiculous. Buy lunch for heaven's sake!'
'So embarrassing,' another agreed. 'If you have to blag lunch from breakfast, then don't travel.'
But responses of this nature quickly spawned spirited discussions around topics like food wastage at buffets and entitlement over what you've paid for.
'No different to all those who keep loading up their plates for the sake of it and don't even eat it!' claimed one reply. 'A lot of food goes in the bin once it's hit a plate and isn't eaten.'
'If there's stuff left on my plate that would otherwise go in the bin then I'm 100 per cent taking it,' agreed another.
One parent argued: 'Not everyone can eat a full breakfast at the time it’s served. I know my toddler won’t eat anything till at least half past nine, so if I’m paying for the buffet for him, damn right I’m taking something for him [to have later].'
'It isn’t stealing or being entitled. You have paid for your buffet breakfast as part of your stay.'
And it seemed these types of divided feelings over buffet habits even extended within families themselves. A surprising number of replies admitted that while one parent swore by this hack, the other parent was mortified by it.
'My husband and I argue about this all the time. He always wants to take something and I won’t let him!' one woman admitted.
'I do it, but my husband has to leave five minutes before us, so as not to be identified as part of our party,' another mother laughingly revealed.
'I think it’s genius - my hubby thinks it’s embarrassing,' another said. 'But when he’s munching the leftovers, he’s not embarrassed then.'
Several replies suggested that whether or not the act is kosher often depends on what exactly you’re taking from the buffet and more importantly, whether it violates the restaurant’s policy.
'We asked at the hotel and they told us to take whatever we wanted from the buffet as they have to throw out anything left when breakfast ends,' said one person.
'Taking a pastry or a piece of fruit is cool. Whole lunchboxes are taking the piss,' stated another.
'Most hotels let you take dry stuff in a lunchbox,' noted one traveller.
Alana, who shares 'honest family travel tips, tricks and inspo' to The Travelling Tabaks social media account, told Daily Mail she 'definitely' plans to continue doing her breakfast buffet lunchbox hack in the future
'I would ask first! Not just do it,' another advised.
Several holiday-goers pointed out that they've stayed in places where the restaurant specifically stated that this wasn't acceptable.
'Most places we've stayed at over the last couple of years have had signs kindly asking not to do this,' read one reply, with a similar sentiment expressed in a number of replies.
'Some hotels charge you if you do this,' another cautioned. 'It's an extra meal which has to be paid for.'
One woman who was unaware of this policy recalled with embarrassment: 'I took a banana once in Hong Kong and was chased by staff to return it.'
Despite the mixed reception to the post, Alana told Daily Mail she 'definitely' plans to continue doing her breakfast buffet lunchbox hack in the future.
'For us it's just about being practical as a family,' said Alana, who shares family travel tips to the The Travelling Tabaks Instagram account
'We've paid for the buffet, and rather than letting food go to waste (which happens a lot with kids), we'll pop a couple of pieces of fruit and a pastry aside for later. It saves us having to buy extra snacks a couple of hours later when the kids are inevitably hungry again.
'We're always respectful of the venue and wouldn't do it where it's not allowed.
'It's just one of those small travel hacks that makes family trips a bit easier.'