Licking the plates clean at Jimmy Liks

There is something utterly intimate about sharing an umbrella – protecting someone or being protected; both getting wet by rain or just one getting very wet; or snuggling close under a too-small fold-up one that’s bound to overturn at the slightest gust of wind.

East Side Peach cocktail at Eau De Vie, Darlinghurst Road, Darlinghurst

That intimacy continued on a quiet night at Eau de Vie – in from the rain and cold, and cuddling up to the impressive menu of cocktails and spirits.

My East Side Peach cocktail featured Ketel One Citroen vodka with the main selling point: poached peaches; shaken with bruised mint, pink grapefruit and lime juices.

Peaches were undeniably the starring ingredient in the dainty coupe glass, making the cocktail a little too easy to drink.

Gin on ice ball at Eau de Vie

Spirit enthusiasts will love the bottle-crammed shelves and thorough knowledge of the bartenders. In this instance gin, served over an ice sphere.

The shared umbrella came out again when hungry stomachs beckoned for food, resulting in a trudge through the heavy shower up Victoria Street to Jimmy Liks. And boy, I’m not sure if I’ve ever come across a more intimate restaurant.

One side is the narrow bar; while the other side is the slightly less narrow dining area of several communal tables. The space is dark and moody with plenty of glam touches amid the bench seats.

Smoked eel betel leaf with shrimp galangal and chilli (left) and chicken betel leaf
with smoked eggplant chilli and eschalot relish (right) at Jimmy Liks,
Victoria Street, Darlinghurst

Pleasantly, I think we took longer to decide our selections than it took for the first dish to arrive. There were two options for the irresistible betel leaves.

Chicken was (I now realise) not the right protein as its slightly rough texture detracted somewhat from the experience. The chilli hit was also bigger than expected.

The smoked eel on the other hand was spot on: smooth and sweet, mingling well with the sour and spice hits of the other ingredients.

Blue eye cod and coriander dumplings in garlic chive and ginger broth

Another must-order in my eyes, an entrée special of fish-filled dumplings. The dumpling filling was firm, not mushy like some minced fish can be, with my favourite style of slightly chewy (or al dente) dumpling skins.

The broth was magical – sweet and full of body with soy and ginger notes dominating. In fact, I’m still a little undecided as to which was better – the dumpling or the broth.

Chilli salted school prawns with Thai basil and red nahm jim

With another special of school prawns – I’ll say it again – it’s hard to go wrong with whole fried school prawns. These have a pale complexion and are freckled with chilli, but are hot (in heat), crunchy and entirely moreish with the sour nahm jim dipping sauce.

Mussaman curry of veal shank with peanut, betel leaf and ar-jard dipping sauce

A gigantic serve, making me very glad to have only ordered one main between two of us. Hunks of fall-apart veal snuggled up next to big chunks of potato which had probably been absorbing flavours of the curry for hours.

Whole spices were also abundant – a cinnamon quill, star anise, coriander seeds – adding to the fragrance as well as visual appeal. And there, with the curry main  mostly cleaned up, we declared desserts impossible even though the banana fritters had been calling us from the very start of the meal.

Rotund after the meal and heading back out to the rain, the small umbrella was admittedly even more intimate than before - but not all in a bad way.

Fair play

The (probably) biggest ever Crave Sydney International Food Festival, yet a decidedly smaller Sydney Food & Wine Fair event – does that seem like fair play? Perhaps restaurants had invested so much in the rest of the event that there was no budget left for the major AIDS Trust fundraiser.

The AIDS Trust Sydney Food & Wine Fair 2010 at Hyde Park North, Sydney

I capped off the end of the food festival on the weekend at the annual AIDS Trust event in Hyde Park – for which the skies remained clear with just a touch of a breeze.

Pathway south of the Archibald Fountain, Hyde Park North

Rather than filling the pathways of Hyde Park North as in previous years, the stalls had dwindled in amount with none surrounding the Archibald Fountain and stalls on just one side of the path south of the fountain; making for less atmosphere but more space.

But it was a case of the quick and the hungry for many stalls, with some selling out not long after opening and most continuing to sell out during the afternoon. We started near the St James station exit and got into the food quick-smart.

Mini burgers from The Boathouse on Blackwattle Bay

Pork and prawn burger with radish coleslaw from The Boathouse on Blackwattle Bay

The mini burger at The Boathouse of Blackwattle Bay came with half a Hahn Premium or a glass of wine, so not too bad in value. The burger pattie on the little white bun was rather reminiscent of wonton filling with pork mince and the taste of prawn. The coleslaw was seriously addictive, refreshing with a great mayonnaise dressing.

Squid ink risotto with prawns and green peas from Ormeggio at the Spit

We scooted around Joanna Savill and Giovanni Pilu chatting to Alessandro Pavoni at the Ormeggio at the Spit stall to get the squid ink risotto – an ideal Halloween dish on appearances. Black, soupy and dotted with bright green peas, the grains of rice were right on al dente in a flavoursome stock with little (honestly, none) prawns to be found.

Yellowfin tuna sphere filled with bonito cured snapper, mustard miso,
shitake, apple and fennel from Selah

It was great to see Selah really pick things up this year with a standout star dish; my favourite of the day and sold out minutes after I purchased mine. Not only was it stunning to look at the tuna sphere, it was completely and utterly delicious, tightly filled with diced bits of raw snapper that had the distinct taste of bonito flakes.

The garnishes alongside were also fabulous: crunchy deep fried fennel with the most delicate juliennes of green apple that didn’t overpower with sweetness but complemented the marinated snapper, microherbs and sliced shitake mushroom, while I don't seem to remember the yellow gel blobs of mustard miso. It was a very generous dish for just three coupons.

Mekong mary cocktail from Jimmy Liks

As per last year, Jimmy Liks served up their fiery take on a bloody mary – the Mekong mary with chilli vodka and characteristic nahm jim sauce mixed into the tomato juice. Aside from chilli and coriander, the pervading flavour was the savoury tomato juice, so I’m not sure where the vodka hit was – but it was a great palate starting drink nonetheless and the perfect partner for perusing the stalls.

The chef dishes up some braised pork belly at La Mint

Artisanal breads at Brasserie Bread

Stunning croissants at Brasserie Bread

Damian Heads of Steel Bar & Grill - ready, steady and cooking

Antipasti share plate from Pazzo

Surry Hills' Pazzo enticed with a warm antipasti platter featuring three of their restaurant items. The skewered goat's cheese wrapped with prosciutto was extremely salty (grilling cured meats will do that) with the two main ingredients fighting for prevalence. I think I would have preferred a milder cheese like mozzarella with it, but the skewers were scoffed anyway.

The whitebait fritters were exceptionally fresh and firm, teeming with white squiggles of whitebait and delighfully served with a tomato salsa. Lastly, the golden crumbed tuna and potato balls, looking like arancini but eating like croquettes, were a non too starchy affair with tinned tuna, and not at all bad with its own tomato sauce too.

Meringues at Central Baking Depot

Both Bourke Street Bakery and Central Baking Depot stalls were sights to behold, with signature tarts at one and meringues, brownies and pies at the other.

Chicken pie from Central Baking Depot

We grabbed a chicken pie (smaller than a regular but also not quite as small as a party pie) which was boiling hot and although verging on a little dry being in the pie oven all afternoon, had a tasty filling of vegetables and chicken pieces.

Black sticky rice with mango and coconut cream
from somewhere I don't remember

This Thai style black sticky rice dessert was particularly similar to another festival one I had recently, although the mango was not quite as ripe as it should have been. I liked the crunchy toasted sprinkle of sesame seeds, desiccated coconut and sugar on top, but the black glutinous rice was definitely the highlight.

Bill’s brown sugar pavlova with strawberries and cream
from the Delicious Magazine stand

We also picked up the second last pavlova at the Delicious Magazine stand, and gladly so. It was the first brown sugar version I’d tried, then subsequently loved. The meringue was particularly chewy, which I now prefer over the usual fluffy white meringue, and was sweetly divine with syrupy strawberries and fresh whipped cream.

Performance stage

Not quite stuffed for several sheets of vouchers but by no means hungry, we tarried awhile in the searing sun at the performance stage while Erika Heynatz performed a handful of pop-py songs, followed by Courtney and Jimmy from the recent series of MasterChef doing some kind of barely visible, overly audible cooking demo.

The Ben & Jerry's van

We ended the day at the ever-long queue at Ben & Jerry's - free ice cream will do that. But I found it odd that they were scooping half scoops from pint tubs, rather than more commercial sizes of the ice cream.

Ben & Jerry's Chocolate Brownie ice cream

Anyway, the Chocolate Brownie flavour of the afternoon was just what was needed to cool us down, and hit us up with sugar. I especially liked the fudgey brownie chunks I got, even if they get stuck in my teeth and I feel like I need to brush my teeth there and then.

In the end, with funds raised, tummies filled and skin somewhat tanned, it was a fair day out and a pleasant way of celebrating the end of another year’s Sydney International Food Festival. Congrats to the organisers on the success of the overall festival and to next year and beyond!

All's fair in lovin' food

Blue sky? Check. Sunshine? Check. Healthy appetite? Double check. Looked like everything was set for the annual Sydney Food & Wine Fair for the Aids Trust in Hyde Park as the finale of the SIFF. All that was needed now was a few - okay, several - sheets of vouchers; endurance from the searing sun, whirling winds and cheery crowds; and a drink would be nice too.

As ever, there was no shortage of wine stalls and not-so-subtle references to the Sydney gay community. However, unlike other years (unless I've just been ignorant and remiss previously) there were an impressive amount of freebies from the get go: whole loaves of Abbott's Village Bakery bread; full sized scoops of Ben & Jerry's ice cream; Ferrero Rondnoir samples galore; Mt Franklin carbonated water; and something to do with mushrooms, I think.

Seared scallops with morcilla and chorizo from Four in Hand

They say 'sex sells' but really, I think that for the foodie this could be revised to 'scallops sell'. Within seconds of spotting scallops on the menu, coupons are being handed over and we can see scallops immediately sent into a hot frypan for the sear treatment. It's then prettily plated with slices of morcilla and the smaller chorizo and drizzled with olive oil.

It takes great strength and willpower to not pick up the scallop in one big, happy mouthful, but then again, these are close to the biggest scallops I've ever seen. As such, they didn't quite have a silky texture but they certainly had the "Mmmm" sea-sweet flavour. I'm still no fan of eating blood and its related products - I struggle with the feel of it in the mouth - so the morcilla is not for me. Chorizo, on the other fork, is just the thing to completely contrast the scallop in texture, intensity and flavour.

Fagottini di carne - homemade sausages bound with parmesan and
truffle egg from Buon Ricordo

Moments and steps away from the first stall visit was another instant sales word: truffle. It was advertised playfully and loudly by the boys at the Buon Ricordo stall, along with an unmistakable aroma of truffle. This compact block of meat was almost overpoweringly truffled; its crispy savoury meatiness coming a distant second in the flavour stakes.

It's at this point a drink is deemed absolutely necessary, and in seeking one, we take a detour and pause in the Ben & Jerry's queue. I'm not usually one to spoil my appetite with sweets before the end, but free chocolate fudge brownie and strawberry cheesecake ice creams don't take "no, thanks" as an answer.

Poached chicken and crab salad from Jimmy Liks

I always find that I'm drawn to the northern end of the park/fair as there tends to be a concentration of seriously drool-worthy stalls there; this year including Jonah's, Quay, Longrain and friendly competition with Sugarcane, and Jimmy Liks with a healthy-looking salad and the deadliest Bloody Mary I've seen, smelt or tasted. Let's just say that namh jim is insane and that the fresh chilli in the salad was relieving in comparison. The salad was liberal with Thai basil, other fresh herbs and chicken breast, but a little lacking in the crab.

It's almost not the Food Fair without a touch of breeze that blows sprays from the Archibald Fountain onto anyone nearby in the right/wrong direction. Chlorinated mist shower with your oysters? At this point, the stomach is given the opportunity to rest as a peach cocktail from Steel Bar & Grill accompanies me on the stroll through the rest of the fair; passing familiar and new stalls, enticing looks and smells, and many a hungry Sydney-sider or their pet dogs.

The fair feels smaller this year - just as packed with patrons but shorter queues and perhaps not as many restaurant stalls or less variety. Is this another thing we can blame on the highly disliked GFC?

Salt and pepper prawns from Wildfire

The cause for the eating pause ceases at the Wildfire stall, where live prawn cooking and wok tossing action is magnetically attractive. Green prawns are flashed in hot oil and then meet loads of chilli, coriander and lemon in the wok for a measured toss session. There were quite a few prawns in this serving with explosive and impossible to fault seasoning. We were even eating the stray bits of batter without prawn, it was so tasty.

Pork ribs with seasoned rice and Caesar salad from Outback Steakhouse

It's hard to walk past ribs on the grill without inhaling deeply; as if a deep enough breath might get a taste of smokey ribs. Now this was definitely a dish that required seats and a table, which we luckily found and claimed awhile. The salad was fairly standard, although a nice, generous touch on behalf of Outback Steakhouse.

Pork ribs with seasoned rice from Outback Steakhouse

The ribs were appropriately mini-portioned and break-apart tender - oddly a very good outdoor, festival dish. Sucking meat clean off the bones, licking the sweet barbeque sauce from one's fingers, all outdoors under trees and sun has some primal, cave-dwelling feel to it. Thankfully the rice, salad and expanding stomach remind me of some humanity and civility.

The green green grass of Hyde Park beckons the mentioned expanding stomach - a lie down in the sun is ideal as a palate cleanser, although perhaps not in regards to digestion. But it seems like the trend, as most every patch of shaded grass is inhabited by people, picnic blankets and plates of food.

Coconut pannacotta with strawberries from Ravesi's

With coupons still to spend, it turns to discounting and some slightly unorthodox sales techniques by the flamboyant 'girls' at the Pink Salt stall. I score a discounted dessert from Ravesi's, which is a stunning coconut infused pannacotta with equally impressive strawberries in syrup. One mere mouthful was instant happiness, cheerfully right down to the final drop of syrup.

Ricotta and chocolate cannoli from Sweet Infinity

The piles of cannoli at the Sweet Infinity stand are fast moving but unfortunately a little softened, due to either half a day spent outdoors or that fountain spray. Nevertheless, the ricotta was the attention hog, stealing the limelight with its citrus peel and and creamy taste compared to the chocolate custard.

Entrees, mains, desserts and drinks had been had - and a few times over even. With everything spent - coupons, energy, stomach capacity - it was time to roll over and contemplate another year's Food Fair gone by. Which means it's getting towards the pointy, scary, intense end of the year when reason and calmness start edging towards the window, and love and war have it out with each other.