Taste of Sydney Festival

Last weekend B-Man & I headed to Centennial Park for the annual Taste of Sydney food festival. Despite being on my hit list for a number of years now, it was a first for both of us, and I have to admit we were very unprepared!

To start off with, all the stalls are cashless, so you're required to purchase 'crowns'. on a taste card, kind of like a credit card. In principle I don't have a major issue with this, but we were surpised that we could not get change and were forced to spend more than we had budgeted (which was not a lot considering it was the week before pay day!) and could not be refunded any money we had not spent at the end of the night.

Enough with the lowlights and onto the highlights!

It was a bit like being in foodie heaven, with rows and rows of stalls serving delicious smelling foods, beer, cider and wine tastings were a plenty, as were bars, demonstrations and products. After a quick lap to suss it out, we decided the best course of action was to grab a drink and work out what we wanted to see and eat! We started at the Rekorderlig bar where I chose to try their new Orange and Ginger cider. I don't usually drink Rekorderlig as I find it super sweet (even for cider), but this was quite pleasant.

 

After a lot of umming and ahh-ing over what to eat, we finally settled on something each.

 

I sampled the Spit Roast Suckingling Pig with Coleslaw and Hot Sauce from Four In Hand, where you could see the team to the left of the stall, cooking mussells whilst the sucking pig was on roation.

 

B-Man braved the Porteno line 50+ people long for BBQ Wagyu Beef Brisket with BBQ Sauce and Pickle - it was difficult, but I managed to convince him to let me have a taste, and the BBQ sauce was amazing. Immediately I want ribs.

 

 

 

As the sun is setting, we agree that the only way to go is straight to the Argyle Exchange tent for Ananas Bar & Brasserie's Salted Caramel Eclair. That alone was worth going for, and I know I am not alone when I say it! In fact typing about it now, I may just need to find some excuse to pop in for another over the weekend!

 

 

 

As our crowns were low and we were keen to get home for Avatar in 3D, we decided to call it a night. I was disappointed to have missed demonstrations by some of my favourite chefs, and on sampling more food (Maggie Beer's Roast Pear & Duck Sliders, anything from Sake & Peter Kuruvita would have realy made my night!) but we have vowed to be much more prepared this time next year when the festival hits town again.

 

 

Degustation Dinner at Jimmy Liks

Last night a few friends and I met for dinner at Jimmy Liks in Potts Point, after I saw them post a degustation menu on their Facebook page that sparked my interest.

We arrived an hour early for our booking and were pleased to see it was happy hour (5-7pm). With $5 Peroni's, house wines, house spirits and $10 cocktails you can't be anything but happy with that! The barman, who had a Josh Lawson thing going on, brought us a dish of warm spiced cashews to snack on, which went down well with my 'Prabang Punch' of muddled watermelon, apple and lime juice shaken with elderflower, rum and green apple liqueur. I was driving, so stopped short there, but have full intentions of sampling others in future - passionfruit caipirinha, p&g caiprioska, tam po po, Saigon smash, Siamese queen and watermelon margarita are all very appealing, to name a few.

The menu, titled 'Jimmy's Selection' on their website consisted of 7 courses at a stellar price of $49 per person.

Course 1 - Chicken Betel Leaf with smoked eggplant, chilli & eschalot relish was light, flavoursome and a great teaser for what was to come.

Course 2 - Steamed Duck & Shiitake Mushroom Dumplings with green shallot and black vinegar dressing. I tried these bad boys at the Night Noodle Markets in Hyde Park as part of the Sydney Crave Food Festival last year and they were just as good this time round. By this stage you realise just how hungry you are.

Course 3 - Son-in-Law free range Duck Egg with green mango, coriander, ginger and yellow bean tamarind. This was the first time I have ever eaten son-in-law eggs and I had no idea of what to expect. Wow. Even though I am not a huge fan of soft egg yolks, unless it's served upon toast with lashings of butter and Vegemite, these were one of my favourite items on the menu. Crispy on the outside, soft in the middle and beautifully accompanied by the mango, coriander and ginger. More?

Course 4 - Salt & Pepper Baby Squid with Vietnamese dipping sauce. This wasn't a highlight for me. I love salt & pepper squid, it's one of those things you can find on a range of menu's across the dining scene and be satisfied with. Simple and yet easy to get so wrong. This was not the worst I have eaten, but fell short compared to everything else we were served. Lacking in the crispy coating section, and a little too tough and chewy for my liking.

Course 5 - Poached Chicken & Crab Salad with lemongrass, coconut, mint and thai basil. WINNER, WINNER, CHICKEN DINNER!!! If you go to Jimmy Lik's and do not try this dish you are missing out and will live the rest of your life unfulfilled! Melodramatic? Maybe, maybe not. This was voted best dish by the table. Crunchy bits, coconutty dressing, a great marriage of chicken & crab, spiked with the lemongrass and herbs - can I have this again tonight?

Course 6 - Twice Cooked Pork Hock with Sticky Tamarind and blood plum sauce and Nahum plah prik. I am still tasting this dish as I type and place it on par with Course 4. The pork comes all sticky and caramelised in the tamarind and blood plum sauce, and when you place it in your mouth it becomes apparent that is all that is holding the wonderfully tender meat together. This is a very happy meal.

Course 7 - Vietnamese Slow Braised Wagyu Beef with thai basil, vietnamese mint and chilli lime dressing. The beef in this dish has been cooked well and was enjoyed immensely by the table. It was probably down the list with the Salt & Pepper Squid for me, it was a bit too casseroley and salty, which seemed weird with the Asian herby salad, but please don't let that stop you! The steamed rice was also brought out earlier on with the salad and was wearing thin around the table by this stage. Why we thought it went with the salad I'm not sure - perhaps happy hour was starting to take effect?

The staff were all polite and friendly, and accommodating to the random grapefruit allergy on our table.

By the time 9:30 rolled around we were well fed and watered and in the mood for something sweet. Gelato Messina was close enough to walk to, and far enough to not feel guilty! Turns out this is where everyone in Sydney is at 10pm on a Tuesday night - to say it is popular would be the understatement of the year. I sampled a 2-scoop cup of salted caramel with white chocolate and salted coconut with mango. The salted caramel was like they'd hand-scooped the caramel from the inside of a Rolo. Being a caramel nut, I thought it was brilliant, but found the white chocolate totally unnecessary. That said, I was surprised to find that I enjoyed the coconut and mango more. With so many quirky combinations up on the specials board, one of my companions was keen for Donkey Kong - peanut butter gelato with coffee custard crunch. If you're a peanut butter cup kinda person, get in on this quick! Oh so many flavours and oh so little space in my stomach. I think it is safe to say, until I succeed in my IQS quest, I will be a long time customer of Gelato Messina!