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.

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!

Let’s do a last Lunch

Is it possible that a month of food obsession has nearly passed? Are there really just a few days left to experience what the Crave Sydney International Food Festival has to offer for 2010? My tummy feels sad and empty at the thought. A Let’s Do Lunch event should cheer it up.

Window seats at Selah, Loftus Street, Sydney

Rather less involved than my last visit to Selah, Let’s Do Lunch here was a Friday lunch affair – a rather lovely sunny Friday at that. The dining room was bustling, as was the small and familiar open kitchen. With a table by the window, it was a nice way to start the end of the week, although a view of buses is nothing too exciting.

Organic sourdough bread with herb and parmesan oil

We have complimentary bread to start; soft, brown slices of sourdough with a flavoured oil for dipping. At first taste, I thought there was something truffle-oil-ish about it, but it turned out to be parmesan oil. Seems the tastebuds are off, unless it was a particularly earthy, mushroom-y parmesan cheese.

Glass of Traminer

Or perhaps it was the taste of wine in my mouth. Offered Brown Brothers Merlot, a Coopers Original Pale Ale or San Pellegrino sparkling water with the Let’s Do Lunch at Selah, my questioning of a white wine was easily accommodated by proprietor Sam Pask who provided me with a Traminer for a tasting.

Going by the wine list, it may have been the 2007 Blackets Gerwurztraminer from Adelaide Hills, which was light and crisp, and simply perfect for the nice spring day outside.

Roast lamb back strap with pea puree, broad bean and mint salad,
goat's cheese stuffed zucchini flower, confit tomato

Our Let’s Do Lunch order arrived with haste, which was rather appreciated given it was a workday lunch. And it was an impressively heft serve, with seemingly endless slices of the lamb backstrap dominoed across what looked like cous cous but rather was cracked wheat.

There was a lot happening on the busy plate, starting with the roast lamb backstrap – mine closer to medium than my neighbour’s medium-rare. Nonetheless, it was almost completely tender and helped along with an abundance of jus.

The jus was also soaking and flavouring the cracked wheat, which seemed to have a touch of vanilla about it (although maybe off tastebuds again). The cracked wheat was very similar to cous cous, though probably distinguishable by shape of the small grains.

View from the other side - see the pea puree?

The vegies on the side in the form of the pea puree and a broad bean, pea and mint salad contrasted vibrantly with the confit grape tomatoes, fantastically, if not dangerously, juicy.

However, the highlight (vegetable and probably overall) was the zucchini flower, filled with a herbed, soft, white goat’s cheese, battered and deep fried to a golden crisp. The goat’s cheese smacked with flavour while the crunchy coating was a pleasant textural diversion from the tender lamb.

Inside Selah

While we ate, it certainly seemed that the lunch crowd was lapping it up too, with barely an empty table in the small-ish venue. It was a little on the noisy side, but to expected with all the hard surfaces and of course, the chattery CBD mob. Selah’s got a really warm and intimate feel to it, and it was really a nice way to spend an hour away from the office, and indeed, a final Let’s Do Lunch.

Out of bed and into the frying pan

There are very few things that will get me up early on a Saturday morning. With early morning weekdays, a few beverages to start the weekend and frustratingly bad weather - it had better be real good.

After missing my intended first Sydney International Food Festival event due to poor weather last Saturday (lame, I know), there was no missing the pre-booked cooking class at Selah. In fact, I'd been looking forward to it for a few weeks now - and not early arising, slight seediness nor threatening weather were going to rain on this parade.

On a bus-crammed CBD street near Circular Quay, Selah is inconspicuous but with an immediately welcoming interior - perhaps it's the warm colours, cosy setting or the open, yet intimate kitchen. And it was this commercial kitchen which I was most excited about getting intimate with. Minds out of the gutter for a moment - but how many opportunities do you get to not only invade a restaurant kitchen, but prep, pan-sear, plate and generally pose as a person who can cook in it?

Introductions, caffeine hit and recipe distribution are swift, and we're herded into the tight kitchen to begin prep work as would be done for a real service under the tutelage of head chef Gavin and apprentice Frankie. On the menu is a three course meal that reads dauntingly for the amateur chef side, but mouthwateringly for the diner side.

It's all ears and eyes as the two professionals ably demonstrate and teach; and it's all hands on within minutes. It's a bit of a whirlwind with prep taking place for desserts first and foremost; followed with bits and pieces of the entree and main.

Baked potatoes for gnocchi in the kitchen at Selah,
Loftus Street, Circular Quay

The entree looks adequately ambitious on paper, with gnocchi among the first items. The baked potatoes - thankfully prepared earlier - are quickly split, skinned and put into a fine ricer and cooled to room temperature for our gnocchi making pleasure. It seems simpler than my previous home attempt some time ago but then again, I didn't have a ricer, apprentice chef, and huge benchtop to work with.

After cooling, and light kneading with flour and egg yolks; we make sausages that become pillows that become bottom-of-the sea lumps that become floaters that become blanched gnocchi ready for pan frying. They say many hands make light work - they said nothing about consistency.

Blanched potato gnocchi

The dish is a sauteed gnocchi dish with king prawns, tomato concasse (fancy French for diced tomato), pine nuts and a burnt butter sauce. I try to look away when the 'generous' blocks of butter are added to the pan but what's a burnt butter sauce without butter?

Gnocchi entree all ready to go

And most excitingly, we get to plate! Warmed plates, lovely restaurant setting and wine to match just wouldn't be right without a bit of affected positioning of ingredients and sauce, and of course, the wiping of plates! Following chef Gavin's lead, I'm pretty happy with my efforts.

Sauteed king prawns with potato gnocchi, tomato concasse,
pine nuts and burnt butter

The gnocchi were not floatingly light, but with a bit of resistence that was ideal paired with the crunchy pan-fry coat. The sauce of such simple ingredients came together harmoniously although there was a hint too much lemon, refreshing as it was with the prawns. The revelation was the addition of brandy-soaked muscatels - their sweetness valiantly combatting the rich butter sauce alongside the meticulously diced tomatoes.

The entree downed with a glass of white, there was no time to rest or relax - mains service was coming up and the diners were sort of waiting. The main was a fairly straighforward sounding lamb dish, but the preparation of the many components was actually quite unexpected - though nothing compared to the dessert.

Roasting capsicums on the naked flame

With the mortar and pestle (and a volunteer's arm) getting a good workout pounding roasted whole spices for marinating lamb backstraps, we others turned our attention to a myriad of vegetables. I was delighted to see Chef throw several bright red capsicums directly onto the stove's flame - I've always wanted to do this but never quite dared at home.

There was also eggplant to be roasted and transformed into a salad; witlof to be julienned by a dangerous new lust in Shun knives; watercress to be picked; chiffonades of herbs to be prepared and a mint yoghurt to be whipped up. We were busy little bees in the kitchen and there was a sense of collective achievement when it came time to slice the seared lamb and plate up.

Plating the lamb

Oh what fun it is to plate with a round mold at one's disposal. I've discovered the joy of putting in a bit of effort with plating as opposed to my often eating from the pan. There's a time a place for both, I think.

Spiced roast lamb with witlof, eggplant, peppers, parsley
and mint yoghurt

After quite a filling entree, this huge main looked almost a challenge. The lamb was seared with a spice crust and finished off in the oven, driving my sudden need to buy a cast iron frying pan. The medium-rare meat was set on top of a salad of julienned roast capsicum and witlof, and hand-picked watercress. I'm beginning to understand why restaurant menus are sometimes listed so extensively as with all the efforts we put in, it would be a shame for any ingredient to not get a billing on the menu.

The roasted eggplant was super easy, as too the mint-spiked yoghurt, and both things I could see myself having at home. The main was rounded off with a "here's one I prepared earlier" veal jus and parsley oil for colour and interest. The various components of the main melded together fantastically, with flavour spikes in the yoghurt and lamb tempered with sweetness in the salad and eggplant.

A necessary pause after the main ensued - we were getting rather full of food and wine, and mostly, we were just a bit tired from all the work. To think we hadn't even gotten through a full service for 10 yet. While there was temptation to let the professionals deliver dessert while we napped, the lure of plating a restaurant dessert was a little more desirable.

Getting ready to plate dessert

Working as a team, we'd made toffee cream pannacotta at the very beginning; baked a ginger and spice cake; segmented oranges for a compote; made a toffee orange sauce; made hazelnut praline and then turned it into round wafers; and made candied orange peel. Somehow, this was all done amid prep and cooking for the other meals, so serious kudos to whoever has to deal with a hectic working order as such.

Working as smoothly as a conveyor belt now, the team all pitched in to recreate the artistic assembly that was to be our third course. Given the amount of work in this dish, I don't think I'll any longer ponder the value of eating a restaurant dessert.

Toffee cream panacotta with spiced gingerbread, praline wafer,
orange compote and orange candy

I think this is one of those gasping desserts although the almost unanimous "Mmm..." around the table upon tasting the pannacotta makes me think it's a "Oooh... Mmm..." kind of dessert.

The pannacotta is more the thick custard type rather than the wobbling jelly type, rich with vanilla and caramel flavour. The toffee sauce is subtle on the orange and partners the chai-like cake like a little devil and angel on each shoulder. The candied peel is delightfully chewy with the tiniest twang of peel bitterness and the compote plays a beautifully sophisticated textural role. My favourite component by far is the praline: freshly roasted hazelnuts set in toffee; blitzed to smithereens in a processer to be reformed as thin wafer rounds of insatiety. More please.

It's a pretty big dessert and following our prior two courses, it's no real surprise that no-one wants to get up or move. We wile away time in a sort of food coma; surrounded by food in its many forms and all its beauty. The afternoon's turned into a pretty, sunny day and I found it hard-pressed to think of a better way to spend it. Many compliments to the Chef and Selah - and just now to install a day bed for that post-main meal nap.