Simon Food Favourites: Food Festival

Showing posts with label Food Festival. Show all posts

20 July 2013

King Street Wharf Festival 2013, Sydney (19 July 2013)

The Promenade, King Street Wharf, Sydney NSW 2000

http://www.ksw.com.au

Food festival by the wharf

Thanks to Jess Guilfoyle from The PR Partnership for inviting me to the King St Wharf Festival (19 July – 25 July 2013) to sample a few dishes from the restaurant stalls set up along the promenade. Wharf stalls will be selling dishes for $5–$12 per plate for the first two days of the festival between 12 noon and 4 pm. I usually don't like buying dishes from food festival stalls because I've had my fair share of mediocre dishes cooked in makeshift kitchens but sometimes you hit a few gems. I chose my dishes very carefully by checking out all the stalls first to see what was on offer. I liked how all the stalls had a sample of their dishes on display which really helps if you're more a visual person like me. First up I knew I wanted to have the No. 1 special ($12, 2 pieces) from Kobe Jones because I've had these before in the restaurant which are priced at $22 on the a la carte menu. I saw a few already made up but I requested mine to be cooked to order which I think is important for this dish. It had good flavour and texture although I would have preferred to eat with chopsticks than the fork provided.

Next I tried the Petite steak ($12) from Steersons Steakhouse. It was petite in size but thankfully pretty tender and flavoursome. The tasty potato salad on the side was good and if the slices of meat were cut a bit thinner it would have been more elegant to eat without the aid of a knife to cut smaller pieces. There wasn't much salad on the side but a dash of vinaigrette to dress the piece of lettuce and sliced beetroot would have made it just a bit more interesting for the taste buds. The option of some red wine jus over the meat is a good choice to make. For dessert you only have two options from Vessel Italian & Bar and thankfully both were good. The small tub of Tiramisu ($5) had good flavour and an easy one to eat without the need to sit. The Ricotta filled cannoli ($5) was surprisingly very good with a light and delicate crisp casing filled with a tasty smooth creamed ricotta and noticeable vanilla bean throughout. Perhaps a little pricey just for one but it's quality rather than quantity. During my visit it was raining which means all the outdoor promenade seating becomes wet because they're not sheltered. Unfortunately one of the unpredictable pitfalls for outdoor festivals when Mother Nature gets involved.

SNAPSHOT REVIEW:

PROS: Was lucky enough to pick dishes that I actually enjoyed, Near the water, A chance to meet some of the chefs from the restaurants, Free live music and entertainment planned

CONS: Weather permitting, No undercover seating if it rains, Stalls are set far apart so it's a bit of a walk to check them all out, Can get a bit pricey if you pick dishes that don't fill you up

MUST TRY: All the four dishes I had were enjoyable but I'd highly recommend the No. 1 special and Tiramisu as my first choices

VERDICT: Potentially an enjoyable and relaxed food festival event although be sure to go on a nice day as wet weather will make it awkward to eat without sheltered seating

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Kobe Jones: No. 1 special ($12, 2 pieces) — good flavour, best cooked to order, served with a fork but chopsticks would probably have been more appropriate

SIMON FAVOURITE :-)

Looks a bit like a dogs breakfast but tasted good

Would have preferred to use chopsticks to eat

Steersons Steakhouse: Petite steak ($12) — quite tender, flavoursome, tasty potato salad, would have preferred slices a bit thinner to make it easier to eat with the fork
WORTH TRYING :-)

Vessel Italian: Tiramisu ($5) — good flavour, easy to eat on the go
SIMON FAVOURITE :-)

Vessel Italian: Ricotta filled cannoli ($5) — delicate thin crisp shell cooked well and enjoyable filling
WORTH TRYING :-)

Win one of six food and beverage vouchers to the value of $250

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01 April 2013

Taste of Sydney 2013: Food Festival, Centennial Park (17 Mar 2013)

Brazilian Fields, Centennial Park, Sydney NSW 2000

http://www.tasteofsydney.com.au

Pigging out in the park

Thanks to Jess Brennan from Horizon Communication Group for inviting me to the Taste of Sydney to check out Peter Kuruvita's Dilmah Chef's Skillery talk. With my 15 month old daughter on hand I had to take things a lot slower this year. Usually I'd race around checking out all the restaurants, chefs and dishes but this time around I just focussed on strolling around (with pram) and made sure baby was happy and entertained. I did manage to visit Efendy which kindly let me try their Deboned roasted Sheep Head with local Garlic and Cherry Tomatoes Tandir which was definitely a mind over matter dish. It had nice flavours once you got over the fact you were eating brain, cheek and tongue. I even gave a bit of brain to my unsuspecting daughter and she actually seemed to enjoy it to my horror. I was told in Turkey brain was quite commonly fed to babies and is supposed to be good for them although I'm still not sure about that.

Back at the Dilmah Chef's Skillery talk Chef Peter Kuruvita was in his element talking to a large crowd of fans with Chef Martin Dulke. The decision to take the crowd over to his BBQ for a cooking demonstration was a bold move although way too crowded for me to get close enough to hear what he was cooking. After the talk Peter provided me a sample of his two dishes. BBQ Prawn Skewers had good flavour with decent sized prawns and his BBQ Petuna Ocean Trout had a nice flavour combination and perfectly cooked fish that won me over. Amongst the free tastings on offer the Real Coconut Water really impressed me and was probably the best tasting packaged coconut water I've had to date — I'll certainly look out for this one in the shops if available.

Other visits to Taste of Sydney:
2013 / 2012 / 2011 / 2010

SNAPSHOT REVIEW:

PROS: A taste of some of Sydney's hatted restaurants, Opportunity to see the chefs in person, Free taste samplings to be found, Free parking

CONS: Weather dependent, Entry fee, Time limit per session, Can get expensive depending how many dishes you want to try

MUST TRY: Finding where they sell Real Coconut Water

VERDICT: If you're lucky with nice weather the event can be an enjoyable experience for those who love trying many dishes from different restaurants in one place.

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Peter Kuruvita's Seafood BBQ: Chef plating of BBQ Petuna Ocean Trout and Tangy Mexican Street Salad with Citrus Jalapeno Dressing — nice combination of flavours and perfectly cooked fish

SIMON FAVOURITE :-)

Peter Kuruvita's Seafood BBQ: Chef plating of BBQ Prawn Skewers with Black Pepper, Curry Leaf Sauce and Sri Lankan Pickle — nice flavour and decent sized prawns

WORTH TRYING :-)

Efendy: Deboned roasted Sheep Head with local Garlic and Cherry Tomatoes Tandir — nice flavour although a mind over matter dish to eat when you know it's brain, cheek and tongue