Centennial Park Sydney NSW 2000
OMG, no Turkish Gozleme!
SECOND VISIT
Free tastings and a Crown-free day
Saturday 13 March 2010 12-4 pm session
Today's visit was more focused on checking out the remaining restaurant dishes I didn't photograph on my first visit and to check out many of the producer stands — although I totally forgot to revisit Buon Ricordo dishes and Aria's dessert. After
Nom Nom Nibblies and
Leave Room for Dessert alerted me to 'free' tastings available at the New Zealand and City Tattersalls Club stands this became high on my agenda — a definite MUST! I was very impressed with the
Omega Seafood mussels which are supplied precooked with no additives and tasted great and fresh. I'll definitely be looking out for these at the
Sydney Fish Markets.
Whitestone Cheese had plenty of choices on offer and I really liked the Windsor Blue which wasn't too overpowering on taste but still had enough characteristic bite. The
NZ Regal King Salmon Pastrami was a delightful combination of flavours which I'll also keep in mind for canapés. The
Kohu Road Ice Cream stand had seven choices and of course I had to try all seven — favourites were Strawberry, Cookies and Cream, Expresso and Dark Chocolate but all were deliciously creamy and good.
The
City Tattersalls Club stand should be applauded for their lovely and vibrant service staff which made everyone visiting very welcome as they generously shared lots of excellent food. The
Bramble Cocktail was very refreshing, the
Wagyu Mini Burger well-presented and tasty, the
Apple, Cranberry and Cinnamon donuts a huge crowd pleaser and the
Tempura Soft Shell Crab cooked to crispy perfection — do not miss visiting.
Gourmet Dinner Service reminded me of a gourmet meals on wheels. Their extensive range of high quality prepared meals are home delivered and seem reasonably priced. I was very interested in their bite sized canapés which would be a great idea for catering a birthday. The well-presented Chocolate and Orange Cassatta was a bite sized party for the taste buds.
ThinkSpirits had some amazing looking liqueurs and the versatile
Pomegranate Liqueur was my favourite.
Baileys have recently released their coffee version which was very addictive — I think I might prefer it over the original now.
Bultarra Australian Saltbush Lamb were doing a simple pan fry of some Easy Carve Leg and it remained juicy and tender with lots of flavour — they have a great product. I tried a sample of the very tender
Game Farm Portuguese Spatchcock in Piri Piri Marinade which was also just pan fried — keep your eyes out for this one. Now I'm an avid gin drinker (socially of course) and have always considered
Bombay Sapphire as my preferred higher shelf choice but after sampling the smooth tasting
Brocker's London Dry Gin from
Pure Spirits stand I'll now be looking out for it. Try it straight and you'll be amazed how much nicer it is on the palate to Bombay Sapphire — I was shocked. It apparently won a Masters Award over Tanqueray, Bombay Sapphire and Beefeater at The Gin Masters London 2008.
I met Mark Best from
Marque Restaurant who organised sample dishes for me to photograph and then generously let me have them complimentary — oh wow. The well-presented
Cured Ocean Trout and
Slow Cooked Lamb Rump were soft and tender, and the
Sauternes Custard with Caramel was so silky smooth and well balanced on taste. Next I met head chef Jodie Wallace from
Flying Fish who also organised dish samples for me to photograph. Their signature dish of
Yellow Fin Tuna was nicely presented with melt in your mouth tuna. I enjoyed the taste of the purple herb on top with it.
Longrain stand provided their refreshing
Tapioca pudding for my photography and free sampling which had a nice balance of flavours although nothing too experimental in this dish. I revisit
Restaurant Balzac to have a quick chat with Yasmin Williams and chef Matthew Kemp who provided a complimentary sampling of their tasty
Suckling Pig with Garden Peas with a fairly rich Smoked Bacon Jus. The meat was moist and juicy although I was really hoping the skin was going to be more crispy and crunchy in texture. They're running a Bastille Day competition worth $350 I think so be sure to add your entry.
I leave Taste of Sydney totally full. A day of plenty of delicious food which I somehow managed to get through without paying anything :-)
—
FIRST VISIT
Scouting for shots of the dishes
Thursday 11 March 2010 5.30-9.30 pm session
This is the first time I've been to a food festival and not spotted one of those Turkish Gozleme stands — thankfully this must be a real 'gourmet' event :-) So for those of you who are planning to check out Taste of Sydney this weekend here's some of the dishes you can expect to find — I hope you find this a helpful guide. This was mostly a scouting mission to see what's available and I'm planning to revisit this Saturday to take more photos of the dishes and hopefully try a few of them too.
Thankfully the generous Ferrero Rondnoir stand was giving out free yummy chocolates to keep my sugar energy levels high. I've highlighted below the dishes that seem to be the most appealing for me to try in terms of interesting flavours and generously sized which hopefully ends up being good value — although I'd love to try them all.
—
Menu:
Dates and Times:
Thursday 11th March: 5:30 pm - 9:30 pm
Friday 12th March: 12 pm - 4 pm
Friday 12th March: 5:30 pm - 9:30 pm
Saturday 13th March: 12 pm - 4 pm
Saturday 13th March: 5:30 pm - 9:30 pm
Sunday 14th March: 12 pm - 5 pm
Other food blog reviews:
SNAPSHOT REVIEW:
PROS: A taste test of Sydney's top quality restaurants, Meet the chefs in person
CONS: Can end up being quite expensive if you want to try a lot of dishes, Weather permitting, Time limit, Can get crowded and quite overwhelming
MUST TRY: Checking out the other dishes I didn't get to see
—
FREE TASTINGS
New Zealand stand
New Zealand King Salmon
Salmon tartare canapé
Smoked salmon ceviche
NZ Regal King Salmon Pastrami canapé
Omega Seafood
Mussels
SIMON FAVOURITE :-)
Clams
Whitestone cheese
Double Cream Brie, Brie
Vintage Cheddar, Camembert
Windsor Blue
SIMON FAVOURITE :-)
Kohu Road Ice Cream
Vanilla
SIMON FAVOURITE :-)
Golden syrup
Cookies and cream
SIMON FAVOURITE :-)
Expresso
SIMON FAVOURITE :-) SIMON FAVOURITE :-)
City Tattersalls Club
Bramble Cocktail
SIMON FAVOURITE :-)
Mini Wagyu Cheese Burger with capsicum relish
Apple, Cranberry and Cinnamon donuts with white chocolate or sour cherry
SIMON FAVOURITE :-)
Dulce de leche and Chocolate Panna Cotta
Tempura Soft Shell Crab with Lime and Ginger Aioli
SIMON FAVOURITE :-)
Friendly service team
Gourmet Dinner Service
Smoked Salmon Roulade
Chocolate and Orange Cassatta
SIMON FAVOURITE :-)
ThinkSpirits
Pama Pomegranate Liqueur
SIMON FAVOURITE :-)
Baileys
Baileys with a hint of coffee SIMON FAVOURITE :-)
Bultarra
Australian Saltbush Lamb Easy Carve Leg
SIMON FAVOURITE :-)
Game Farm
Portuguese Spatchcock in Piri Piri Marinade
SIMON FAVOURITE :-)
Pure Spirits
Broker's London Dry Gin
SIMON FAVOURITE :-)
The charismatic Andy Dawson (director) signing customer purchased
RESTAURANT DISHES
Etch
Executive Chef - James Metcalfe
Dish 1: Prawn cocktail (Etch) $10
Bécasse
Executive Chef - Justin North
Dish 2: Organic Grass Fed Wagyu Beef Burger (Plan B) $12
SFF Note: To really appreciate this dish I think you're better off going to
Plan B and get it freshly cooked for only $10.
Dish 3: Chocolate Souffle (Bécasse) $12
ARIA
Executive Chef - Matt Moran
Dish 1: Cured ocean trout with cucumber and horseradish $10
Dish 2: Slow roasted Moran Family Lamb Spit Roast $12
[NO PIC]
Dish 3: Strawberry jelly with Champagne foam
Pilu at Freshwater
Executive Chef - Giovanni Pilu
Dish 1: Suckling Pig panino with apple, mustard and rocket served on Sonoma sourdough $10
Dish 2: Risotto with Crystal Bay prawns and zucchini $12
Dish 3: 'Zippulas' - Sardinian donuts with citrus sugar $8
Executive Chef - Matthew Kemp
Dish 1: Crispy Wagyu Beef with Wild Mushroom and Truffle Foam $10
Dish 2 : Saddle of Suckling Pig with Garden Peas and Smoked Bacon Jus $12
Dish 3: Warm Chocolate Fondant with Vanilla Bean Ice Cream $10
Longrain Restaurant & Bar
Executive Chef - Martin Boetz
Dish 1: Longrain Fish cakes with sweet chilli lime coriander and bean sprouts $10
SIMON WISHLIST TO TRY :-) Dish 2: Longrain Yellow curry of Byron Bay Berkshire Pork with pickled mustard greens $12
SIMON WISHLIST TO TRY :-)
Dish 3: Tapioca pudding with poached jackfruit & lychees $8
Danks Street Depot
Executive Chef - Jared Ingersoll
Dish 1: Organic Chicken Liver Parfait with Sweet Vinegar Raisan and Dressed Baby Herbs $10
Dish 2: Beef Ribs Smoked in Watermelon with a Watermelon and Avocado Salad $12
SIMON WISHLIST TO TRY :-)
Dish 3: 'Saucy Tart' with Chocolate Mousse and Liquid Raspberry Centre $10
Restaurant Assiette
Executive Chef - Warren Turnbull
Dish 1: Sydney rock oysters with Vietnamese dressing cripsy shallot and baby coriander $10
Dish 2: Miso glazed Malborough king salmon with Japanese radish salad $12
Dish 3: Fig and Heilala vanilla ricotta tart with honey ice cream $8
SIMON WISHLIST TO TRY :-)
Bird Cow FishExecutive Chef - Alex Herbert Dish 1: Terrine of Berkshire pork with 'Grain Organic Bakery' white sourdough and a remoulade dressed salad $12
Dish 2: Braised Cape Grim beef cheek and galzed onion pie in a sour cream & puff pastry case, red wine veal jus $12
Dish 3: Tiramisu roulade - chocolate sponge rolled around a Paesanella mascarpone and Marsale sabayon $8
Berowra Waters Inn
Executive Chef - Dietmar SawyereDish 1: Chilled Vichyssoise, Salmon Caviar, Hawkesbury River Oyster Beignet $10
SIMON WISHLIST TO TRY :-)
Dish 2: Quail Breast & Truffled Risotto Croustillant $12
Dish 3: Cheesecake Foam, Late Summer Fruits, White Chocolate $10
Four in Hand
Executive Chef - Colin FassnidgeDish 1: Dashi and soy marinated tuna with spicy avocade puree and pickled cauliflower and garden radish salad $10
Dish 2: 12 hour slow cooked lamb shoulder; minted crushed peas and feta dressing $12
SIMON WISHLIST TO TRY :-)
Dish 3: The 4's dark chocolate Cherry Ripe $8
Jonah's at Whale Beach
Executive Chef - George Francisco
Dish 1: Alba White Truffle popcorn $8
Dish 2: Fries with Eyes - Crisp school Prawns with a spicy Cajun remoulade $12
Dish 3: Vanilla panna cotta with lavender honey and fresh pomegranate $12
SIMON WISHLIST TO TRY :-)
el Toro Loco
Executive Chef - Miguel Maestre
Me mixing Paella a la Maestre
Dish 1: Manchego and Serrano Montaditos with sourdough and extra virgin olive oil $8
Dish 2: Chef and Paella a la Maestre $10
Dish 3: Grilled vanilla stone fruit with sangria $8
Marque
Executive Chef - Mark Best
Dish 1: Cured Ocean Trout with Coleslaw, lemon & Dill Jelly $10
Dish 2: Slow Cooked Lamb Rump, Confit Capsicum, Eggplant caviar & Black Olive Oil $12
Dish 3: Sauternes Custard with Caramel $8
Flying FishExecutive Chef - Peter Kuruvita
Dish 1: Yellow fin tuna with sweet pork crackling and ruby grape fruit $10
Dish 2: Grilled king prawns with black pepper and curry leaf sauce steamed rice and curry leaf malum $12
Dish 3: Sri Lankan Love cake with raspberry tea coulis $8
Flying Fish sauces, dressings and cooking products
Guillaume at Bennelong
Executive Chef - Guillaume Brahimi
Dish 1: Mini Sandwich with Blue Swimmer Crab meat and coriander mayonnaise $10
Dish 2: Wagyu Beef Daube with Paris Mash $12
Dish 3: Pistachio Macaroons $8
Buon Ricordo
Executive Chef - Armando Percuoco
[NO PIC]
Dish 1: Pasta e piselli: Tubetti pasta with peas, onions and bacon $8
[NO PIC]
Dish 2: Fagottini di carne: Homemade sausage bound with parmesan and truffle egg, served with rucola $10
[NO PIC]
Dish 3: Braciolette Napoletana: Veal rolled with parsley, pine-nuts, sultanas and garlic cooked with fresh tomato $12
