Tempting the Taste-buds

He looks so serene...

Welcome to Taste of Sydney 2010. My body-less friend here and I did the Friday evening session; a chilly night thankfully free of showers. The organisers had certainly expanded this year, with plenty of walking space between stalls and much more seating and eating areas. The post work crowd had come out in force, and with drinks flowing and live music, there was every reason for a celebratory Friday night.

The plan was to peruse the stalls, grab a drink and then eat our way around. Initial intentions go somewhat awry when we pass the first lot of restaurants and food becomes an immediate necessity. However, it also seems there are significantly fewer producer stalls compared to last year, especially of the food sampling variety but not quite so bad for wine and liquor lovers. It may be that tough economic times have hit the little guys a bit hard - unfortunate but hopefully things will pick up in the next 12 months.

Beautiful breads from the Grumpy Baker

Brightly coloured capsicums from Moraitis Hydroponics

Cocktail garnishes at the Sagatiba stall

As always, the Crown currency is purchased from banks and wandering sellers - I like to call them Taste ATMs, especially since they also take credit and debit cards. Cashed up/out with wads, we follow our noses and end up embarrassingly quickly at the Danks Street Depot stall.

Organic chicken liver parfait with sweet vinegar raisins and dressed baby herbs from Danks Street Depot

The chicken liver parfait looks uncannily like a scoop of milk chocolate gelato amid baby herbs and some breathtakingly good, crusty white bread. Lighter and creamier than a pate, the parfait is lively with liver and enhanced by the contrasting flavours in the sweet and sour raisins, and the sometimes bitter herbs.

Beef ribs smoked in watermelon with a watermlon and avocado salad
from Danks Street Depot

The imposingly dark beef rib makes for a strange bedfellow with the summery watermelon and avocado salad. The meat almost melts on the plate, let alone in the mouth, so tender it is and simultaneously sweet and smokey. Although a little lukewarm, I was a huge fan of the flavour in the meat but I definitely couldn't discern a specific watermelon element in the meat. The match between the sweet watermelon and avocado was on the money, but I couldn't quite enjoy the matching of the light salad with the rather heavy beef ribs.

We're able to snag a spot at one of the stand-up astroturf-ed blocks, which ingeniously encourage a not-leisurely pace of eating and then moving straight on. Blocks aren't really made for loitering or deep-and-meaningfuls. We zip in and about the place, seeing several interesting stalls - especially the very clever Planet Cake workshop stall where people were able to decorate cupcakes with colourful fondant icing.

I spy... George Calombaris of Masterchef, The Press Club and Hellenic Republic (with Matt Preston behind and Matt Moran even further behind)

Gigantic paella pans at El Toro Loco

There's no time to stop, gawk and stalk at the myriad of celebrity chefs and alike, but really, all the chefs are essentially celebrities in this arena. Matt Preston appears constantly hounded for photograph requests and he doesn't seem to mind a bit. I make a concerted effort to draw away from the magnetism of TV faces to seek out one of my top 'have to try' items on the Taste menu.

Mini sandwich with blue swimmer crab meat and coriander mayonnaise
from Guillaume at Bennelong

White bread sandwiches sure aren't the most exciting looking dish. In fact, we even debate whether or not Tip Top white bread is used (unlikely, I hope). The bread is soft and fluffy like a Sunblest loaf and takes me back to my school days - but it is what's inside that counts. The thin smear of the crab and mayonnaise mix is a little overwhelmed by the bread, but in one sandwich where I score a bit more of the filling, it's quietly and delicately sublime.

Wagyu beef daube with paris mash

from Guillaume at Bennelong

The wagyu daube could not be any starker a contrast in Guillaume's dishes. Rich, bold, flavourful - it's like a wake up call for the tastebuds and tummy. The wagyu flesh is so tender as to not need a knife, with a moment of just melting in the mouth. A few mouthfuls tasted oversalted to me, perhaps along with the hearty jus. But almost on equal standing with the flesh was the paris mash, which was impossibly smooth and silky for simple potato but downright rich as well. We later find out in the Gourmet Traveller Taste Kitchen that Guillaume's ratio for potatoes to butter in his mash is 2:1. Be still my clogged arteries.

Crispy wagyu beef with wild mushroom and truffle foam
from Restaurant Balzac

And in what inadvertantly becomes meat-fest, I head to Restaurant Balzac for my final savoury dish of the night. The golden-fried spring roll wrapper is absolutely packed with more wagyu beef, which in this instance is more tender than the crunchy and chewy-in-places pastry. The creamy foam rounds off the dish, making it a rather rich dish as well, but I'd be happy with more of the foam anytime.

Matt Preston chats about and plays with Jonah's panna cotta

Stuffed with meat, the immediate need is for sweets and/or cocktails at the Longrain bar. We detour by Jonah's to see Matt Preston chat with front of house about the infamous panna cotta (gelatine, height etc) and playfully take one away.

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

As sexy as ever, this year's vanilla panna cotta has a slight modification in a cakey base - perhaps to support or steady the wobbling cone. I'm all for improvements, but not when they detract from the taste and texture - which this unfortunately did. The sweet, milky panna cotta was stunning as ever, and fresh pomegranates gave each mouthful a little pop of acidity.

Longrain Restaurant offerings

We end the night with a Longrain cocktail or two (Rose Porteous - I love you) and a final wander towards the exit when we realise a session is about to start at the Taste Kitchen. Seeing the billing with Victor Churchill, I look forward to a meat-oriented demonstation - apt really, in hindsight. What I may have overlooked was that Romeo Baudouin was the charcutier - but even then, I wouldn't have minded a bit of cured or preserved meats.

Anthea Loucas, Editor of Gourmet Traveller and Romeo Baudouin, Charcutier of Victor Churchill at the Taste Kitchen

Alas, this is where I met my porcine, body-less friend - a demonstration on the making of blood sausage. I think most the room is a bit excited on hearing this while some of the room may have gagged. I'm a bit column A, a bit column B as I'm no fan of blood in food. But with the pig's head looking out serenely over the crowd, I endure well. Until Romeo pours pig's blood into the saucepan of chopped up, 5-6 hour broiled, picked and compressed pig's head flesh and fat and skin; leaving red red red remnants in the measuring cup and people squirming in their seats.

Some light relief comes as Romeo prepares the pig intestine for the sausage casing but it's back to squirms-ville as he fills the haemoglobin sausage. Deftly and artfully, he ties it up and creates smaller portions of the entire length and dunks it into water to cook. An interesting session, no doubt; I'm just very glad to have finished eating for the night beforehand.

Victoria Tourism tent

With last calls for alcohol service announced, it feels like time to head off, despite all the milling about the bars and stalls still. At least for now.

The final day for Taste of Sydney is Sunday, 14 March - tickets are still available at the gates.

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.