Reality bites Sydney Food & Wine Fair

It’s the end of another year for the Crave Sydney International Food Festival and the month of October is fatter and less cashed up for it. Unfortunately though, as the festival gets bigger and stronger every year, one of my favoured events – the Sydney Food & Wine Fair in Hyde Park – seems to be getting smaller and smaller.

It’s a real shame as it used to be one of the biggest days in the year for food and fundraising alike. With so many other events now for marketing to the masses or mini empires to run or indeed, financial troubles, perhaps restaurants just can’t spare the day, staff and 500 donated portions of food.

Sydney Food & Wine Fair, Hyde Park, Sydney

Nonetheless the mostly rain free, insanely humid day was pleasant, and well done to all those restaurants involved (see list at the bottom of this post). The noon mugginess meant it was impossible to walk by the James Squire stall and not stop in for the One Fifty Lashes Pale Ale – a relatively light drinking beer, subtle, fruity and just perfect for the day’s heat.

Confit Berkshire Black Pork belly, Chinese cabbage salad, citrus
sesame dressing from Restaurant Atelier

Drool-worthy smells were emanating from the nearby Restaurant Atelier stall where ever-popular confit pork belly was served with a refreshing and crunchy cabbage salad with touches of sesame oil. The pork was stunning, tender, not noticeably fatty and with a pleasurable slight crunch to the burnished skin.

Mushroom arancini and tomato arancini by Danny Russo at the Alfa One stand

The theme was Italian at the Alfa One stand where chef Danny Russo was pumping out squid and arancini skewers – both dishes cooked with the rice bran oil (every dish also came with a 500ml bottle of the oil).

I was pretty happy to have scored three of the mushroom arancini which were heady with earthy mushrooms and cheese, while the tomato one featured a subtle cheese that really paled in comparison to the former.

Pane Casereccio from Brasserie Bread

Passing by the Brasserie Bread stalls I spotted Matt Brock from the bread making class I was lucky enough to attend not long ago and stopped in for a chat. They had on offer festive-looking pane casereccio which I’m told is commonly eaten after big parties and gatherings in Italy where leftover bits, like olives or baked vegies, are baked into bread.

Thanks to Matt for the complimentary dish, it was such a pretty bread to eat with each mouthful yielding a different taste. Indeed there was almost more fillings than bread, and this was enjoyed very much with a glass of sauvignon blanc from the Giesen stall.

Ribs, lamb cutlet and potato salad from Outback Steakhouse

Most popular stall/dish of the day had to be the one at Outback Steakhouse. It was definitely the biggest dish going and the one I could smell a mile away, such was that magnetic aroma of ribs on the grill.

Presumably beef ribs for their Flinstones size, they were incredibly tender and doused in a barbeque sauce that was equally sweet and smokey (which some other places could really learn a thing or two from).

The charred lamb cutlet was also cooked nicely (medium-well is always safer at these types of settings) while the tangy potato salad rounded out the filling dish.

Cured ocean trout with tapioca pearls, salmon roe and microherbs from Selah

Most beautiful dish of the day had to be that at Selah, which also impressed at last year’s Fair. It was a gorgeous treasure trove of tapioca pearls and salmon roe with a hunk of jewel-hued cured ocean trout featuring beneath microherbs and bready bits.

And not only did it have looks to die for, the flavours and textures were spot on: the soft tapioca with pops of salty salmon roe, and the strong flavoured ocean trout having a party with the herbs and more subtle tapioca. Congratulations to Selah for yet another ‘wow’ dish.

Ice cream petit fours from Booza

With precious few vouchers left for desserts, it was great to see the Booza stall selling their wares for a mere voucher each. Recently making headlines for their new take on a traditional dessert (and residing in the same factory as Pepe Saya butter), these two balls of ice cream were each covered in Middle Eastern additions.

The pistachio praline was crunchy and rich with a burnt caramel toffee, while the halva had an interesting texture and sweet sesame flavours. And it’s hard not to adore the Persian fairy floss that was intensely nutty and just the perfect finishing tuft on the dessert.

Aside from a couple fat drops of rain that threatened, the skies remained clear and the entertainment pushed on, including an impressive cheerleading routine with flips, pyramids and all.

I’ve got my fingers crossed that the Aids Trust fundraiser will pick up next year: with peak interest in all things food and restaurants at the moment, I’m hoping the empires will consider participating in what is truly a fun, fantastic day out for a good cause.

Burgers from Boathouse on Blackwattle Bay

Participating stalls at this year’s Sydney Food & Wine Fair were: 1945, Alfa One, Alio, Allpress Espresso, Boathouse on Blackwattle Bay, Booza, Brasserie Bread, Brown Brothers, Brown Sugar, Café Sydney, Catalina Restaurant, Cracka Wines, Eat Fit Food, Exchange Café, Flying Fish Restaurant, Forsyth Tea and Coffee, Gastronomy, Giesen Wines, QVB Tea Rooms, Guillaume at Bennelong, Icebergs Dining Room and Bar, Jamaica Blue, Jimmy Liks, La Mint, Le Pelican, Lisa McGuigan Wines, Longrain, Malt Shovel Brewery, Mezzaluna Ristorante Italiano, Tom Kime Fish & Co, Negociants Australia, New Zealand Wine Growers, New Zealand Wine Online, Nilgiri’s, Outback Steakhouse, Packed Lunch, Red Ribbon Prizes, Restaurant Atelier, Ryde TAFE, Scarborough Wine Co, Selah, Stonewall Hotel, Tempus Two Wines and Yellowtail Wines.

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.