A tasty bit of Taste of Sydney 2011

Taste of Sydney 2011, Centennial Parklands, Sydney

For the third year in a row, I headed to the Taste of Sydney festival in Centennial Park on a Sunday afternoon, immediately desperate for a cool drink in the dizzyingly hot weather.

The well-stocked Kronenbourg stand

The sun blared as we skipped from shaded stall to shaded stall with beer in hand, checking out the wares on offer this year. Many stallholders returned from last year, and as always, there was a plethora of wine and harder booze to taste, try and buy.

Lots of fun at the Sagatiba stall

Whisky Galore stall

Cocktail fountain at the Green Fairy stall

Patron Tequila stall

Bob the buffalo at the Buffalo Trace stall

Angostura - clever with the cold, non-alcoholic drinks

Food samples were abundant too; though there were noticeably fewer cheese stalls this year.

The winner in my books had to be Craig Cooks Prime Quality Meats for their mouthwatering, smell-from-a-mile-away barbequed meats, especially a bit of very tender, juicy and flavoursome sirloin I tried.

Craig Cooks Prime Quality Meats stall

The City Tattersalls Club stall – at it again with freebies

Gorgeous marshmallows at the Sweetness The Patisserie stall

Frozen pearl meat at the Paspaley stall

Particularly unique this year was the Paspaley stall. Synonymous with high class pearl jewellery, imagine my surprise when they were dishing out cold starters of marinated pearl meat.

Thin slices, rather like very tender abalone meat in a tangy, dill-spiked dressing, this was one delicacy that seemed to polarise tasters – I, for one, loved it.

Whisky tasting at the Johnnie Walker stand

Most heavy hitting session of the day was definitely the Johnnie Walker whisky tasting, especially for a non-whisky drinker (to me it tastes like leather, on fire).

The sample of a whisky-based cocktail was manageable, followed by three tasters of Johnnie Walker Black, Green and Gold that weren’t so, even with a few drops of water to “open up the whisky”.

Tasting partners of vanilla, dried apricot, orange peel and dark chocolate were supposed to help enhance the flavours though for me, were more like tools to kill the taste of all the blended whiskies.

Taste of Sydney crowds

I didn’t make it to a Sensology cocktail class though I desperately wanted to learn the art of a proper Piña Colada (there were only classes for Cosmopolitans left); and the Planet Cake stall had packed up by the time I got around to it.

I saw Jared Ingersoll of Cotton Duck and Danks Street Depot briefly at the GT Chef’s Table though didn’t manage any Taste Kitchen sessions – reminding me how much planning and scheduling is really necessary to make the most of a Taste day.

Chef Jared Ingersoll at the Cotton Duck/Danks Street Depot stall

In fact, chef spotting was one of the most entertaining activities of the day with Jared Ingersoll, Dietmar Sawyere, Warren Turnbull, Colin Fassnidge, Tony Bilson, Miguel Maestre, Richard Ptacnik, Alessandro Pavoni, Eugene Maiale, Peter Kuruvita and Manu Feildel, all spotted cooking, plating, serving or socialising at some point during the day.

Day's most popular use of the complimentary HSBC hessian bags

HSBC hessian bag hat #2

Respite from the heat and floating dry grass was found momentarily in the HSBC customers VIP tent, where air conditioning and some seating gave rest to our hot, weary selves and cool drinks were on offer amid the resort-themed decorations.

Inside the HSBC VIP tent

We brought in food from a couple of stalls, but it wasn’t long before we had to head out again, in search of more food, tasting bits and the moving about that is an outdoor festival.

Slow cooked fillet of ocean trout, 'French onion soup' puree, peppered
oxtail 'croustillant' from Berowra Waters Inn/Ad Lib Bistro

We started at a momentarily short queue at Berowra Waters Inn/Ad Lib Bistro and nabbed their seafood dish of slow cooked (sous vide?) ocean trout with an unidentified and rather flavourless foam with chives on top.

The white foam was in stark contrast to the intense flavour of the French onion soup puree, which was caramelly sweet and savoury, pairing well with the subtle but so beaitufully textured fish that nearly melted on the tongue.

The golden-skinned ‘crisp’ roll filled with fall-apart oxtail meat was small but punched above its weight with rich, beefy flavour – almost too much with the puree but harmonious with the ocean trout.

Black pepper and curry leaf prawn skewers with lime and fresh coconut
from Flying Fish

Looking like one of the best value dishes of the day, two skewers of prawns were obtained from the Flying Fish stall, adorned with flavours and garnishes that tempted us and passersby.

The small tail-on prawns were just cooked, and fresh-tasting for it, with fresh coconut shavings and lime giving the dish a tropical air while the garlicky sauce couldn't quite hold on to the crisply fried curry leaves which blew away in the wind.

Spicy French sausage on sourdough with relish from Victor Churchill Meats

Not one of the restaurants but feeding the masses anyway was Victor Churchill Meats, which had sadly sold out of their charcuterie plates by the time we got there. But the barbeque was smoking and we waited patiently as the sausages sizzled.

Rather miniaturised in a small, crunch white sourdough roll, the thin sausage was shrouded in a deep red relish of onions. The French sausage was substantially meaty, with what seemed like chunks within rather than a processed texture. And it was certainly spicy.

Paella a la Maestre from Aperitif

The unmissable Miguel Maestre was spotted in the Aperitif stall eating paella – it must have been good, so we followed suit. The plate of saffron-yellowed rice we received was abundant not with the squid/mussel combination I had expected, but pieces of flaked salmon chunks.

Its slight dryness was helped along by a squeeze of the lemon wedge all over, which added a sweet, tart note to the filling dish.

Stracci with smoked veal ragout , eschallot puree, bresaola and parmesan
from Otto Ristorante

My favourite savoury dish of the day was the pasta at Otto Ristorante, where chef Richard Ptacnik was calling out something melodic every time a dessert was ordered. A boring old pasta dish this wasn’t.

The stracci pasta (translates as ‘rags’ in Italian) were beautifully thick and wide pasta pieces with a cute ruffled edge. How the kitchen maintained a state of al dente for such mass cooking is a wonder.

Paired with the only lightly smoked minced veal ragu and topped with slivers of bresaola and grated parmesan, the flavours and textures were comforting as too the great value, well sized dish.

Dark chocolate Snickers from Four in Hand

With precious few Crowns left, I had to forgo the desired lamb shoulder at Four in Hand in favour of the even more desired Snickers dessert. I didn’t know what to expect other than peanuts, caramel and chocolate.

The dessert delivered these ingredients and more. The centre scoop of ice cream was a little overwhelmed by the other flavours, so I’m not even sure what flavour it was. A mousse-y chocolate moat hid caramel peanut halves (I think – I dunno, it was all covered in chocolate).

We devoured this one quickly, scoffing spork-fuls that had a bit of everything, especially the unknown flavour ice cream. The plastic spork made it a bit difficult to scrape the emptied bowl of all the chocolate and caramel.

Hazelnut, peach and nougat, and yoghurt and berries gelato from Gelato Messina

After Four in Hand’s take on the Snickers, the heat made more ice cream a must, although I couldn’t handle any more nutty richness in the peanut butter and chocolate gelato.

With free scoop at the Gelato Messina stall thanks to HSBC, we instead go a little fruity with peach and nougat, yoghurt and berries, and my ever-favourite hazelnut gelato.

Lolling about on the dry grass with an empty gelato cup, I faintly heard the announcement that Taste was coming to an end – though much clearer when told by the security guard.

Waddling out the gates, I admit I had to have another sit/lie-down before heading home, just to let the all the food and drinks settle somewhat.

Dinner post Taste of Sydney including Milawa Cheese Company Cow’s Milk
Camembert, Huon Hot Smoked Salmon and water crackers
scored from Huon Aquaculture

Getting home at about 6pm, dinner was the last thing on our minds but as the night rolled on (after a post heat/feasting nap), I could swear that the cheeses we’d bought from the Tourism Victoria stand were calling me.

The Milawa chevre was a taste sensation, sampled at the stand and sitting in the fridge currently. But for dinner, we polished off half the cow’s milk camembert along with half a fillet of hot smoked salmon (which is cooked in the smoking process, unlike cold smoked salmon) and other bits from the fridge.

The salmon was a revelation – savoury, dry-ish pale orange flesh that flakes at the touch; full of salt and smoke goodness, and divine in a pasta dish. And to think it was cheaper, and quite possibly more versatile, than the cold smoked stuff.

Taste of Sydney 2011 comes to an end

So that’s Taste of Sydney for another year. The organisers have to be happy with themselves – it really is an event that is getting bigger (literally) and somewhat better as a result.

One can only wait till next year to see what new restaurants, sessions, exhibitors and innovations that Taste of Sydney will bring to Centennial Park.

Thanks to Stellar* Concepts for the general admission tickets to Taste of Sydney 2011 - and the opportunity to spend so many dollars/Crowns on a great day out!

Helping hands and second helpings

You can count on a big weekend to hit the wallet hard but there's always some redemption in knowing that money has gone towards serious eating, drinking, partying and all round good times. Oh, and keeping the economy afloat, of course.

The Sound Relief concerts happened on Saturday just passed and I was happy to see blue skies in the morning, which turned into a grey, humid sky as I headed to the Sydney Cricket Ground in bumper-to-bumper traffic. The weather continued its swinging mood throughout the day in such extreme fashion that I saw many a sunburnt yet drenched concert-goer by the end of the night. A sight indeed.

Front standing section crowd at Sound Relief, Sydney Cricket Ground

The first downpour at 4pm-ish

It was a great day out despite being soaked to the bone midway through the night but as someone pointed out: "At least you can tell your grandkids that you danced in the rain to The Presets in the middle of the SCG." Minor comfort as water dripped from my shorts.

Giant yellow ballons which popped with yellow
confetti showers for Coldplay's Yellow

Coldplay opened the concert and set the bar so very high that it was virtually impossible to match. The showmanship of Chris Martin is incredible: from his backing vocals for John Farnham's performance of 'You're the Voice', to his sprint offstage and over a few fences into the crowd followed by a commendable, out-of-breath effort to finish 'Fix You'. And he seems such a nice, decent guy too - a little too nice to be a rockstar even.

Strange to start the day with a highlight but great to hear new material from Wolfmother, Little Birdy, Eskimo Joe and Jet throughout the rest of the day and night. Admittedly, getting drenched and not caring during The Presets is up there with the day's highlights too.

And then, of course, there was the second helping of the Taste of Sydney Festival on a hot Sunday afternoon. What a way to spend a cruisey Sunday, and with even bigger crowds than Thursday evening, a lot of people were of the same opinion.

James Squire tent and seating at the Taste of Sydney festival, Centennial Park

We wasted no time in securing prime seats in a strategic area - that being the Longrain cocktail lounge with its shabby chic white wicker chairs and cushions. Nothing like kicking back in the sun with a Ping Pong. Okay, yes - this can be improved with some fabulous finger food.

Antipasto plate featuring Pino Tomini-Foresti's cured meats,
labneh and marinated olives from Bird Cow Fish

Spying an antipasto plate nearby, I head on down to Bird Cow Fish for my own plate of porky goodness. My eyes widen at the piles of thinly shaved cured meats and it takes plenty of willpower to not sneak a slice before returning to the lounge.

It's a stunning array of prosciuttos, salamis and olives, only missing some crusty bread alongside. The soft, fatty one at the top of the picture wins in a unanimous vote. The salamis are mild with a hit of spiciness in the red version. The olives are juicy and redolent with rosemary flavour, even the mini baby-sized ones. The dish, needless to say, doesn't last long.

Yamba prawn, peanuts, lime, ginger, roasted coconut, chilli
and caramel on betel leaves from Sailor's Thai

And from one favourite appetiser to another, the betel leaf offering from Sailor's Thai. A rather small portion of a prawn sits atop a melange of ingredients including peanuts, Spanish onion and coriander. I normally make a mess of myself and my food when it comes to betel leaves, although this version doesn't threaten the leakage of juicy sauces. It's a touch too nutty for my preference but the expected flavour hit doesn't disappoint, with a bit of fire from the enclosed chillis enhancing the just-cooked texture of the prawn.

We reluctantly leave our prime lounge space in search of more food and drink. The sun was particularly strong forcing most to seek shelter in the shadows of stalls and tents. It was difficult not to be tempted by some of the sweets on offer but I'm proud to say that discipline prevailed and I didn't ruin my lunch appetite. Much.

Cupcake offerings from Sparkle Cupcakery

Lemon meringue from Healthy Feast

The sight of muddling and the sound of shaking is enough to send us racing towards the Think Spirits stand where bright red bottles of Pama Pomegranate Liquer are displayed at the bar along with a menu of classic cocktails with the fruity red bent. A pomegranate caipirinha is the order and I'm pleased to see that there's no skimping on alcohol or ingredients here.

Pomegranate caipirinha with Pama Pomegranate Liquer
from Think Spirits

The result is a beautiful icy drink topped off with fresh pomegranate seeds and a smile from the bar tender. Yummy and sweet - the caipirinha that is. The pomegranate flavour is distinct but subtle - I can envisage it straight with lime and soda although bottles aren't for sale at the stall.

A good walk around the stalls has us hankering for 'real food' again, believe it or not. By this time all the restaurant stalls are packed with hungry-looking queues and satisfied-looking consumers, all and sundry looking warm as the menu cards come in handy for fanning overheating faces.

Pastrami of kingfish with smoked oysters and a cucumber
and apple salad from Danks Street Depot

The hay-steamed ham from Danks Street Depot sounded just a little too odd yet pedestrian, so we sampled their seafood offering instead. It's a visually fun salad of thinly sliced cucumber, radishes and green apple with a light, sweet dressing. Plump smoked oysters sit alongside slices of kingfish that had a flavour coating which I found all too subtle and almost non-existent amid the other ingredients.

I had wanted to try the lamb dish from Assiette but the queue was astronomical. Patience is a virtue, I suppose, just not one I have in leaps and bounds when I'm at outdoor festivals unfortunately. Instead I scoot on over the Restaurant Balzac, the choice there made simple by the fact that I didn't think sitting down with a knife and fork would be likely and a companion's comment of "Peas? Eww."

Wagyu beef bourguignonne with truffled cauliflower
and onion rings from Restaurant Balzac

Looking a lot like a deep fried spring roll this golden roll was boiling hot and bursting full of tender, succulent beef. The creamed cauliflower was an ideal condiment but I actually thought this could have done with a bit more seasoning. Nonetheless the amazing contrast of crunchy pastry with fall-apart beef filling has changed my outlook for spring rolls forever.

Etli borek - Home made filo rolls filled with braised veal shank, currants
and pinenuts, served with pomegranate and
yoghurt sauce from Ottoman Cuisine

The queues at Ottoman Cuisine were Assiette-long, but when we saw the happy campers leaving with their choices we thought a bit of a wait might be worthwhile. We come away with another spring roll-like dish, again filled with the tenderest of beef but with a completely different flavour profile. Definitely a more complex mix of spices and flavours that you would expect from Turkish cuisine, I was a huge fan of the yoghurt and pomegranate sauce in lifting the dish to another level.

Unsurprisingly we were getting full by this point though I was adamant that I wasn't leaving without trying Justin North's wagyu beef burger. Firstly, I've never understood the reasoning behind using wagyu for a burger pattie or sausage - it seems such a waste. And secondly, there was such hype around this mini burger that people were hunting it down across the festival. The stall was going absolutely gangbusters with front staff doling out the impressive burger non-stop to the waiting hordes.

Gundooee organic grass fed wagyu beef burger from Plan B

This was a burger like no other. It was cute for starters, like a proper burger shrunken in size but retaining a thick meat pattie. The bun was a bit chewy but it was all about the meat. The pattie consisted of rare cooked meat, not minced, that melted away in the mouth to carnivorous bliss. I didn't really need the cheese or tomato, or even the bun. Dreams of a Big Mac version of this might be a little indulgent, but a girl can dream.

Completely and utterly sated and laden with somewhat heavy bags of produce, we seek refuge in one of the only ways we know how.

Sagatiba cachaca cocktail bar

The vibe at the Sagatiba cocktail bar is all big Brazilian beats and beckoning bar boys. I think the bar was designed with the feminine drinker in mind with colourful flower motifs and girly cachaca concoctions: think lychee and strawberry, watermelon and ginger, and the like. Cocktails in hand we head to the Gourmet Traveller stall where we plop down onto smart white leather lounges/day beds and resist the desire to lie down for a nap.

It feels oh-so cosmopolitan in the slick black and white interior and we must have looked the part too, making a short cameo in a sponsor promo video. Typical girls laughing with cocktails shot - darn it, I'm a cliche.

After a well-earned rest at the GT lounge sipping cocktails, conversing about life, random people spotting and generally enjoying ourselves, our appetites reappear, admittedly a little worn and weary. We've still a handful of crowns (there may have been some slightly overzealous refuelling) and there's one more must-do dish on my list, which turns out to be one of my overall festival highlights.

It's getting towards the end of the day and overall festival so the mood among exhibitors is decidedly jovial. The front staff at Centennial Parklands Dining inform us that the marshmallow is the best dessert on their menu and that the chef makes it best after he's had a few drinks - which it seems he has.

The chef reappears from the kitchen without his cocktail but with a plate featuring a white rectangular block and sliced strawberries. He proceeds to pull out a blowtorch for theatrics to which we have front row seats.

Goat cheese marshmallow from Centennial Parklands Dining
gets the blowtorch treatment

The top surface gets browned, bubbly and caramelised, and is followed with a serving of basil granita, much resembling mushy pie peas.

Goat cheese marshmallow with strawberries and basil

from Centennial Parklands Dining

It's a stunner of a dessert but there's a bit of hesitation before tasting the marshmallow. I'm made guinea pig and take a mouthful of foamy, frothy white fluff. The burnished top crackles softly, giving way to rich, cloudy sweetness. And then the goat trots into flavour, unabashed and distinct. It's a little mind blowing and tooth aching. The sweetened strawberries provide some solidity to the dish, combining well with the marshmallow and granita separately. I don't much like the granita with the marshmallow - the texture and flavour don't quite go - but I like the refreshing, icy herb hit on its own.

Crowns yet to spend and Jonah's yet again is the place for sweet delight. This time I let a companion have the cheeky fun, although not before head chef George Francisco personally demonstrates his wobbling skills for us.

Vanilla panna cotta with lavender honey and fresh
pomegranate from Jonah's at Whale Beach

It's as good as I remembered it although extremely light and subtle compared to the marshmallow. It's one of those dishes that I think I could just eat and eat and eat, it's so light and possibly construed as healthy. Relatively speaking.

Dark chocolate tart, end of season berries, marscapone
sabayon from Berowra Waters Inn

Like I said, relatively. The chocolate tart from Berowra Waters Inn is the food-ification of evil. Dark chocolate filling, thick and creamy marscapone with a few colourful poached berries to give the illusion of innocence. Evil I tell you. Breaking into the tart, it's actually not that bad. The filling is not thick and heavy as anticipated and is stronger in chocolate bitterness than sweetness - just the way I like it. The tartness of the berries is perfect contrast; however I find the tart casing a little too thick and heavy after the day's eating. Don't start me on the sabayon.

We can barely waddle around the festival anymore for all the eating we've done and the amount of purchases made. Despite closing offers (think half price oysters and bread and butter puddings) we concede defeat before the official closing at 5pm and make our lazy, full-bellied trek out of Centennial Park. It's been a fantastic culinary experience, both for the mind and stomach, and I can only smile at the sign that professes its longing to see me next year. Till then, Taste, till then.

Taste extravaganza

I think I got a rather nice tan for someone who was afraid of the rain ruining opening night of the Taste of Sydney festival in Centennial Park. Walking towards the venue in the parklands was a little like approaching King Arthur's Camelot - a white tented city that you just knew was filled with battles of good and evil yet to happen. I think evil prevailed but I'm not complaining.

Taste of Sydney entrance, Centennial Park

I expected a bit more fanfare or at least in-your-face branding at the entrance, but it was mostly hygiene white with a civilised queue waiting to enter and devour. The event map was a little daunting with so many stalls listed that it was a little difficult to pick out the restaurants at first. But not to worry, we got straight on to the taste testing trail for new and exciting produce.

Cheese selection in fridge at Paesanella Cheese

Sad to say that I'm still to find a buffalo mozzarella that matches or remotely compares to that I tried in Italy (I know, it's a little unfair to compare) which is a completely different flavour experience. I think it must be in the process. Or is it our buffaloes?

Anyway, plenty, and I say plenty, a cheese and olive oil tasted - my favourite of the lot being a relatively unadventurous Willow Grove brie from the kind people at a cracker stall. There was also a Persian Fetta that put up creamy and not too salty competition and some moreish Australian chilli olives I forgot to go back for.

Crackers at Kurrajong Kitchens
(soon to be stocked at Harris Farm I overheard)

Before long the searing sun and tough task of tasting foods had me scanning the map for an oasis and once found I made a beeline for Longrain, since I knew a few of their loved cocktails were making a menu appearance.

Longrain cocktail bar and Longrain

Such was my concentration at getting to the bar (which had cosy seating and a DJ!) I didn't even notice the neighbouring restaurants. In chuckling hindsight I think the bartenders may well have noticed my eagerness and happily served me a cool refreshment.

Ping Pong cocktail from Longrain

Poor photography aside, the Ping Pong came with its own cutlery for fishing lychee pieces out from the refreshing and fruity shaken blend of passionfruit pulp and seeds, 42 Below Passionfruit Vodka and lime juice. Turns out the Ping Pong is a bit of an attention seeker with basically every stallholder asking me what it was (except for one who asked me straight up: "Is that a Ping Pong?") and where they could get one.

In fact, one even wanted to swap his entire tray of hydroponic tomato samples for my cocktail. I politely declined but sampled some prosciutto and hydroponic rockmelon, and a wedge of his green zebra tomato. Definitely a unique taste in addition to their envious hue.

Tomato samples from Moraitis Hydroponics

Smells of grilled meat drifted from Tender Taste Prime next door, pulling me towards a cabinet of cold meats enhanced by samples of eye fillet and lamb - the latter so juicy that it made me momentarily forget about recent lamb experiences.

And I couldn't help but to be drawn to some impossibly bright, almost flourescent cupcakes at one of many stalls with tempting snacks more appropriate for after dinner but so hard to resist.

Cupcakes from All Things Sweet

But we're ultimately here for the restaurants and while it does take a little discipline and coaxing to step away from the cheese, dips, pate, ice-cream, cakes, crackers and wine, we hungrily turn our attention to the tents that house fine dining.

Buon Ricordo is first up for many reasons; one being that it's the first we chance upon in the line-up. Both dishes are hearty meat options and we choose the veal dish as the unlikely entree.

Braciolette Napoletana - veal rolled with parsley, pinenuts, sultanas
and garlic cooked with fresh tomato from Buon Ricordo

The rolled veal presented itself doused with an "Mmm"-worthy, flavoursome tomato sauce. Now why can't I make sugo di pomodori like that? I must have missed the sultanas in flavour but the tender soft veal encased a filling of parsley, garlic and pinenuts for a pleasing crunch contrast. Definitely more a main than entree, we concurred, but fantastic flavours to excite the palate for more.

I had my eye on an offering from Flying Fish and it seems so did many others as they joined queues when other restaurant stalls were vast and empty.

Yellow fin tuna with ruby grapefruit and sweet crackling pork
from Flying Fish (toppled in transit)

The first mouthful of tuna and grapefruit produced appreciative noises; the second mouthful with some of the unnamed glaze had me in raptures of sorts. The grapefruit was deemed overpoweringly bitter by some, the seared crust of the tuna gave so much flavour and the thin slice of belly pork tasted downright naughty. I thought the crackling was almost superfluous other than its role as a garnish given how well the other ingredients played on each other.

Spicy pork sausage, betel leaves and picked vegetables from Longrain

Longrain had one of the biggest dishes going in their betel leaf offering. Perhaps the DIY aspect cut costs somewhere which went towards quantity. Nevertheless I actually quite enjoyed making my own betel leaf. The vegetables had just the right amount of tartness to combat the spicy, juicy sausage. Word of warning: watch the betel leaves in the breeze. One of ours returned to nature in a gust - I don't suppose that counts as littering?

Moussaka of eggplant, sea scallop and taramosalata from Civic Dining

Civic Dining was empty the moment I approached but my departure with their exquisite moussaka drew a few looks. This could well have been my favourite dish of the night - even in transit-toppled form it was a visually enticing dish. Two rounds of charred eggplant shielded a plump seared scallop, cushioned on a spread of taramosalata. The eggplant was impressively creamy but allowing the scallop to shine all on its simple lonesome. The taramosalata was rich but tamed by the fresh, juicy diced tomato.

The best value we found at the festival (free tastings aside, of course) was surprisingly at one of the wine tasting sessions hosted by providers of dream jobs, Gourmet Traveller Wine. Tickets were a little unorganised but at only 4 crowns ($4), tasting seven wines with Asian food matching tips is pretty darn good value for money.

Asian Flavours wine tasting by Gourmet Traveller Wine

Man of all things wine, Nick Stock, was joined by Sam Christie of Longrain who led us on a journey through a sparkling to start the palate (and I thought it was just a fizzy, make-you-feel-good drink), to a lime accented Clare Valley riesling, a New Zealand pinot gris (loved, loved, loved - apparently the new Kiwi sauv blanc) and a Tasmanian gerwerztraminer. Yes, plenty of smelling, swirling, tasting and ultimately drinking by most of us.

This was followed by the reds which I'm sadly still not huge on. There was a pinot noir, a blend simply called Pronto that was quite smooth, and a shiraz sangiovese. Lucky surprise for us was a taste of Longrain's yellow curry of lamb with rice, just to make sure we were learning something about matching wines with spicy Asian food - thanks Longrain! Their disposable bowls were also very awesome - I wanted to take mine home but thought against the idea of curry in my bag.

Yellow curry of lamb with pumpkin, served with rice
and cucumber, from Longrain

At this point we thought we'd take a little break and go back to sampling from the stalls, especially wine. And I thought it would be good to have a snack while we were doing that so sought out a walking-friendly dish. So much for a break.

Arancini of truffle risotto and buffalo mozzarella, spinach and
fennel sauce from Berowra Waters Inn

I think 10 crowns is a little pricey for one arancini but at least it turned my buffa mozzarella experience around for the night. The melted, stringy cheese in the middle of the ball was rich and savoury, still not the Italian experience but a delightful taste and texture anyway. The risotto leaned towards unspectacular, the vivid green sauce neither adding to nor complementing the dish much.

Weaving in and about the aisles we tasted riesling, pinot gris, sauvignon blanc, chardonnay and a rose. I might honestly be getting over the sauv blanc, Kiwi ones anyway. The smell and taste is becoming same old but I guess there's an advantage exactly for that reason of consistency. Came upon a riesling from Mayfield Vineyard in Orange that I agreed with very much though.

I'd reached a point where I needed to refuel on crowns - scary thought but not so bad when you're just handing over booklets of paper. And while there was a massive crowd and wait (for pie) at Bird Cow Fish, I popped over just next door to visit Assiette.

Sydney rock oysters with Vietnamese dressing, crispy shallot
and baby coriander from Assiette

I'm not a lover of natural oysters but can-do with a sprightly dressing. These Sydney rocks were well sized but lacked that sweet, fresh taste. The dressing was subtle and I liked the textural contrast of the fried shallot (but not so much the bit of oyster shell in my mouthful).

The fuss at Bird Cow Fish was over the beef cheek pie. I'd seen a few floating about the venue (on plates, with people) and it was an arresting sight. The puffball also looked quite a filling dish, perhaps related to its popularity? When the server gaily announced: "We have pies!" there was no cheer from the crowd but a happy mass of puffball carriers disseminating from the area.

Braised beef cheek, roasted onion and Jerusalem artichoke pie, red wine
jus, sour cream and Careme puff pastry from Bird Cow Fish

The flaky puff pastry was a delight to break into though I'm still unconvinced with the flavour. I thought it was greasy in taste and mouthfeel although others disagreed. I found the beef tasty and tender but the filling on the whole tending dry. I also missed the Jerusalem artichoke unless it was finely minced or just in the other half of the pie.

By this point we've luckily found a table, seats and numerous requests to share this corner and that corner - to which we happily oblige. Happy as we commence the dessert hunt. We've enough crowns for three desserts and I think this suits our stomachs well too. I have no hesitation in heading straight to Jonah's at Whale Beach for some sweet, innocent fun.

Vanilla panna cotta with lavender honey and fresh
pomegranate from Jonah's at Whale Beach

"It's a nipple," exclaimed one of our table corner squatters. I had my fun in walking back to the table, playfully tipping and turning the plate to my own and a few others' amusement. The guys at Jonah's certainly knew how to play it, walking around with trays of their wobbly beauties for sale - not sample, you silly people.

It took me a couple minutes of play before I was ready to eat my panna cotta but there was no delaying the gratification of that first mouthful. Perfectly smooth, silky, creamy and vanilla-ry - it was bliss. The lavender honey was delectable and the pomegranate adding interest in texture and flavour. Could a dessert be more perfect?

The second dessert from Danks Street Depot didn't reach the point of perfection, looking a little like a tossed salad. It turned out the poached strawberries were excellent and flavour-infused, the chocolate, hazelnut meringue and whipped cream being sweet partners. Photo didn't turn out, nor the one of Sublime Gelato's honey and macadamia, and vanilla bean flavours on a cone for the road.

And thank goodness there was a bit of a walk out of there, for we needed it excessively. The gelato pretty much put me over the edge as I trudged towards the lights of the street thankful for a billowy top and much looking forward to checking off the rest of the restaurants at the second tasting on Sunday.