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

Taste Nirvana Real Coconut Water — enjoyable flavour that's sweet and refreshing with minimal after taste
WORTH TRYING :-)

Peter Kuruvita's Seafood BBQ team

Chef Martin Dulke and Chef Peter Kuruvita at Dilmah Chef's Skillery

Peter's prawn skewers were very popular

Masterchef 2012 contestants Julia Taylor and Mindy Woods

Masterchef Professionals contestants 2013 Tracey Holderness and Akuc Isaac Chol

OzHarvest promoting their cookbook

All real smiles at Real Food Projects

Ben Taouss (left) from Assembly Bar promoting Absinthe Pernod

Nice refreshing drink — I like but can't remember what's in it

Bertolli Taste Kitchen with Chef Somer Sivrioglu from Efendy 

Nice spot to chillax

Four in Hand come good for the carnivores

Tasmania pavilion got too crowded for me to stay and try anything

Miele VIP lounge area — nice spot to take a break from the crowds and heat although you pay for the privilege

RSPCA NSW

Morish Nuts a popular stand

Artisse Organic

Tanqueray bar staff know how to have fun in the sun

Time Out bar with live music

Cointreau Fizz bar on fire

Google+ in bed with ZAGAT

Chui Lee Luk from Claude's at Dilmah Chef's Skillery

Home bound with tummies hopefully filled with tasty dishes

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Taste of Sydney 2012: Food Festival Restaurant Dishes and Stands, Centennial Park (10 Mar 2012)

Brazilian Fields, Centennial Park, Sydney NSW 2000

http://www.tasteofsydney.com.au

A celebration of food & drink

Thanks to Ashley Gatte from Stellar* Concepts for inviting me to the VIP Gala Night launch for Taste of Sydney 2012 which unfortunately was cancelled due to torrential wet weather on Thursday but I managed to visit on the sunny Saturday to check out the restaurant dishes and meet the chefs. Firstly I wanted to check out the New Zealand stand which had impressed me the previous two years with their free samples. Sadly no sign of Kohu Road Ice Cream this year but NZ Regal King Salmon had decided to put together a Smoked Salmon Tasting Plate ($5) with 4 kinds of salmon — the pastrami version remains my favourite. I was impressed with the Blue River well-flavoured Vintage Feta and Omega Seafood were again promoting their precooked mussels and clams. The Wine Barrel Smoked Mushrooms from Aromatics was worth trying. Full of flavour which would work so well with some pasta I think. I wish I had more time to try the Giesen wines as I’m a fan of Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir but more food was calling me.

Next stop was City Tattersalls Club which again generously provided lots of complimentary food and drinks with enthusiastic and friendly service to all that visited their stand — you guys seriously rock! Their Crisp Sumac Spiced Prawns with Tomato & Capsicum Relish was a favourite which I'd happily eat a whole tray of. I managed to visit all 15 restaurant stands but sadly run out of time to visit the new sustainable pop-up restaurant stand that was represented on different days by Fish & Co, Three Blue Ducks, The Veggie Patch and Agapé Organic Restaurant & Bar. I thought the overall quality of dishes served looked pretty good and my favourite savoury dishes I was offered to try by restaurants were Flying Fish Prawns served with okra sambal ($10), Efendy Kadayif wrapped king prawns, walnut capsicum muhammara ($10), Quarter Twenty One Fried Hawkesbury School Prawns, Prosciutto and Rouille ($10). My favourite desserts sampled were The Montpellier Public House Pepe Saya Buttermilk and Vanilla Panna Cotta with Poached Fruits ($10) and Otto Ristorante Meringue filled with Passionfruit Curd, Honeydrew, Rock and Watermelon ($10).

Apart from the main restaurant stands there was plenty of exhibitor stands providing free tastings. Preshafruit and Nudie are two juices I tend to buy regularly for their great tasting 100% Australian made fruit juice. I loved the cheeky packaging of the Foxy's Frozen Yoghurt and for tasty caramel coated nuts I'm glad I discovered Morish which is proudly Australian grown, owned and made with no preservatives, artificial flavours or colouring. I had the opportunity of sampling a Pure Pops given out in the air conditioned HSBC VIP Lounge which is 100% natural — the ginger beer one was really nice. As always there's lots of chef talks and demonstrations going on but again I simply didn't have enough time to visit any which I would have loved to do. I seriously think with the amount of things on offer and the few hours you get per session it's simply not enough time to do it all. I'd love at least a full day to fully appreciate and get around to everything I wanted to see and do.

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

SNAPSHOT REVIEW:

PROS: A taste of some of Sydney's hatted restaurants, Meet the chefs in person, Free taste samplings to be found especially at City Tattersalls Club stand, Free parking

CONS: Weather dependent, Time limit per session, Can sometimes get crowded so might to line up for food, Parking fills up quickly nearby, Can get expensive depending how much you want to eat

MUST TRY: Visiting the restaurants that impressed me the most with their dishes

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(S) = Sampled and tasted

The Montpellier Public House

The Montpellier Public House Chef Matt Kemp and team

(S) Braised Shoulder of Lamb with Polenta and Green Sauce ($12)

(S) Crisp Brisket of Pasture Fred Beef with Creamed Wild Mushrooms ($10)

(S) Pepe Saya Buttermilk and Vanilla Panna Cotta with Poached Fruits ($10)

SIMON FAVOURITE :-)

The Montpellier Public House Eton Mess ($12)

Flying Fish

Flying Fish Chef Peter Kuruvita (right)

(S) Seared Petuna ocean trout with ginger, chilli, shallot sauce, served with carrot sambal & basmati rice ($12)

(S) Prawns served with okra sambal ($10)

SIMON FAVOURITE :-)

(S) Laveria: Fresh coconut & palm treacle pancake with cardamom ice cream ($8)

Four In Hand

Four In Hand Chef Colin Fassnidge (top middle) and team

(S) Smoked Salmon, Chorizo and Mozzarella Croquette ($10)

(S) Roast Suckling Pig, Coleslaw, Onion Rings and Hot Sauce ($12) - tender flavoursome meat, hot sauce works well with it

(S) Licorice Braised Beef Brisket with Carrot and Cherry Purée ($10)

There's nothing quite like a pig on a spit

Saké Restaurant & Bar

Saké Restaurant & Bar Chef Shaun Presland (middle)

Hiramasa Kingfish Double Crunch Sushi Roll ($10)

Hiramasa Kingfish Ceviche ($8)

Pan Seared Ocean Barramundi ($12)

The Cut Bar & Grill

The Cut Bar & Grill Chef James Privett (left)

Charcuterie Tasting Plate with Cornichons and Mustard Fruits ($10)

Sher F1 Wagyu Meatball, Gremolata and a Salad of local and Italian Cabbage ($10)

Vanilla and Blueberry Cheesecake with Chestnut Crumble ($8)

A Tavola

Salt cod, potato and truffle fritters with tarragon mayonnaise ($10)

Traditional house made casareccia pasta with slow cooked veal, pork and chicken ragu ($12)

(S) Amedei gianduia chocolate crema, salty caramel gelato, Italian meringue ($8)

Efendy

Efendy Chef Somer Sivrioglu - winner of best dish at Taste of Sydney

(S) Traditional charcoal BBQ lamb and veal kebap, smoked eggplant and Chobani Greek yoghurt ($12)

WORTH TRYING :-)

(S) Kadayif wrapped king prawns, walnut capsicum muhammara ($10)

SIMON FAVOURITE :-)

Pan-fried Lamb Testicles with Almond Tarator ($8) — for those who dare and are quick enough to get as they've been very popular to try

Pistachio dessert trio of traditional Baklava, Dolma and Kadayif

Ormeggio at the Spit & Spiedo

Ormeggio at the Spit & Spiedo Chef Alessandro Pavoni (right)

(S) Smoked veal rump, vegetable ash and radish ($12)

Salmon crudo, lemon dressing, manadrin, squid ink mayo ($8)

(S) House made Frusili (Strozzapreti?), zucchini, prawns, saffron ($10)

(S) Deep fried fontina cheese in buckwheat batter ($8)

WORTH TRYING :-)

L'etoile

L'etoile Chef Manu Fiedel and team

(S) Chilled Cauliflower Soup with Blue Cheese Crème ($8)

Murray Valley Pork Belly with Prunes and Char-grilled Silver Beet ($12)

(S) Apple and Cinnamon Donuts ($10)

Longrain Bar & Restaurant

Longrain team, customers and DJ

Ginger Rogers ($12), Stickmata ($12)

Ping Pong ($12), Acapulco Gold ($12)

Crisp pork belly, pickled daikon & chilli jam in a sweet roll ($12)

Yellow curry of lamb with cucumber relish ($12)

(S) Watermelon, young coconut & tapioca ($8)

WORTH TRYING :-)

Otto Ristorante

A Tavola Chef Eugenio Maiale (right)

(S) Ravioli of Sliced Pickled Beetroot with Goats Curd, Pistachio & Horseradish ($10)

(S) Pasta with Lightly Smoked Lilydale Chicken, Carrot Puree and Parmesan ($10)

(S) Meringue filled with Passionfruit Curd, Honeydrew, Rock and Watermelon ($10)

SIMON FAVOURITE :-)

Otto Bar

(S) Aperol Splice ($10), Mandarino Sundowner ($10), Vivo ($10)

Charlie & Co. Burgers

Charlie & Co. Diner

The Burger: Charlie wagyu beef & cheese slider ($10)

The Dog: Miniature artisan frankfurter chilli dog ($8)

The Quesadilla: Spicy bean, cheese and jalapeno quesadilla ($10) + Grilled chicken ($12)

Vanilla icecream soda float ($6)

Quarter Twenty One

Becasse Chef Justin North and Quarter Twenty One team

(S) Fried Hawkesbury School Prawns, Prosciutto and Rouille ($10)

SIMON FAVOURITE :-)

(S) Slow Cooked and Caramelised Short Rib with Bone Marrow Persillade ($12)

(S) One Hokey Pokey Ice Cream Sandwich ($8)

(S) Quarter Twenty One stockist: Maya Sunny Honey

City Tattersalls Club

(S) Applegarita and Cuban Iced Tea

(S) Coconut Panna Cotta with Mango & Lime Compote

(S) Crisp Sumac Spiced Prawns with Tomato & Capsicum Relish

SIMON FAVOURITE :-)

(S) Mini Moroccan Lamb & Eggplant Burger with Cucumber & Mint Raita

(S) Loukomades Greek Honey Puffs with Vanilla Sheep's Yoghurt

WORTH TRYING :-)

New Zealand stand

(S) Blue River cheese — Vintage Feta was my favourite

New Zealand products

(S) New Zealand Regal Smoked Salmon Tasting Plate ($5)

Giesen wines

(S) Omega Seafood — mussels and clams

New Zealand Trade and Enterprise Goodie Bag

HSBC VIP Lounge

HSBC VIP Lounge — Nice place to be when it's hot

(S) The Victoria Room Tea Salon scone tastings

Exhibitors stands

Patisse Chef Vincent Gadan and desserts — (S) Pear dessert

(S) Foxy's Frozen Yoghurt

(S) Preshafruit

Bavarian Bier Cafe

(S) Nudie

(S) Gingerbread Folk

(S) Sunshack Cider

(S) Morish nuts — macadamias are their most popular

(S) Nespresso

(S) Chang Beer

Sweetness The Patisserie

Two Italian Boys

Ketel One Vodka cocktails by Eau-De-Vie

(S) Pure Pops

Kopparberg

(S) Original Juice Co Black Label Chilled Juice

(S) McGuigan wines, Kemenys and ELK join forces

Beach Bar

Infinity Sourdough Bakery

Wine Selectors

Chobani Greek Yogurt

Arrogant Frog

Rekorderlig

HSBC — A friendly smile from the sponsors

Taste Kitchen

Sensology: The art of cocktail making

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