Burnbrae Wines lunch for Pyrmont Festival

Even though there's now a chill in the air, Sydney is ablaze with outdoor festivals: among two of them, Vivid Sydney which starts on Friday and Pyrmont Festival of Wine, Food and Art, which kicked off last weekend beneath glorious blue skies.

Celebrating wine, food and art from Pyrmont and the Mudgee region, the festival runs through to this weekend too with wine and food matched meals, and art and photography exhibitions.

The view from Ripples Sydney Wharf, Pirrama Road, Pyrmont

Last Saturday I was treated to a sunny waterside lunch at Ripples Sydney Wharf with Mudgee’s Burnbrae Wines matched to a three-course lunch featuring John Susman’s Kinkawooka mussels and Pepe Saya’s cultured butter.

With Burnbrae offering wine tastings ahead of the meal, I could taste two whites, a rose and three reds before electing what to have with my lunch. I rather liked being tasked with matching my own wine and food, though with the delicious drops on offer, it would have been hard to go wrong.

Burnbrae Wines tasting at Ripples Sydney Wharf

Burnbrae's 2012 Pinot Gris was a people-pleaser - much richer in colour than your normal pinot gris with subtle pear characteristics. Meanwhile, their lightly French-oaked 2011 Chardonnay was one that would turn anyone into a 'cardonnay' drinker - perfectly balanced with minimal acidity or oakiness.

The 2012 Rose was aromatic with notes of strawberry and boiled lollies, and almost tasted the part too. Burnbrae's 2011 Shiraz Viognier was just how I like a shiraz, big and fruity while the 4% Viognier content is meant to give the wine intense colour and length of flavour.

Burnbrae’s famed 2008 Clive Gale is a blend of Cabernet, Merlot and Petit Verdot - the latter grape of which I'm not too familiar with although it was a distinctly chalky cabernet merlot on the palate.

Bread rolls and Pepe Saya cultured butter

After wine tastings with Trine Gay, general manager of Burnbrae Wines, we happily tore into warm bread rolls and foil-wrapped pats of Pepe Saya cultured butter.

I remember the first fantastical time I tried this wondrous churned butter and it was every bit as good this time, best served as an even butter to bread ratio.

Crispy tempura prawns with lemon & parsley mayonnaise

There was a seafood bias in the selection of three entreés, which was more than fair given the waterside setting.

The tail-on tempura prawns were indeed crisply battered as advertised, with five fresh, springy specimens to mop up the creamy and sprightly lemon and parsley mayonnaise. We successfully matched the Burnbrae 2011 Chardonnay to this summery option.

Custom Kinkawooka mussels pot and Pepe Saya cultured butter

There was no way I was going past the Kinkawooka mussels entreé, served in a custom branded pot and lid designed for shell discards with Pepe Saya butter and toast on the side.

In what's been a very successful partnership between John Susman (for South Australia's Kinkawooka) and Pierre Issa (Tempe's own Pepe Saya), the two brands together are becoming a signature for mussel dishes in Australia.

Kinkawooka mussels in white wine & cream finished with Pepe Saya butter & crusty bread

The kitchen at Ripples Sydney Wharf had the plump molluscs just cooked with cream, white wine and parsley - the mussels themselves tender perfection in the light, very-drinkable sauce while heavily buttered toast was an ideal mop for all the juices alongside a glass of the Burnbrae 2012 Pinot Gris.

The kitchen pass

Pan seared snapper with steamed Kinkawooka mussels, leek & herb
spaghettini and Pepe Saya butter

Kinkawooka and Pepa Saya also featured in a main offering of pan seared snapper - a generous, pink skin-on portion of the firm fish balanced on a tangle of leek and herb spaghettini which was al dente and pleasingly green in flavour.

The steamed mussels added needed flavour to the subtle sauce of white wine and butter while the Burnbrae 2012 Rose was an interesting wine match.

Char-grilled scotch fillet with potato & horseradish dauphinoise,
roasted truss cherry tomato & red wine jus

It was steak and the Burnbrae 2011 Shiraz Viognier for my main meal, with the wine's big fruitiness pairing well with the tender, full-flavoured medium-rare scotch fillet, doused with rich red wine jus and less interesting vegetable sides.

Warm bread & Pepe Saya butter pudding with vanilla ice cream

Remnants of the sweet Burnbrae Rose matched nicely with desserts: an artfully neat bread and Pepe Saya butter pudding that had great flavours but a little on the dry side, helped along with vanilla ice cream sitting on a gingery biscuit crumble trail.

Apple crumble cheesecake with apple jelly

I hoed into my individual portion jelly-like apple crumble cheesecake, topped with an ingenious apple jelly and biscuit crumble on both the top and bottom.

Basking in the autumn sun after lunch, Burnbrae (with my 'raffle girl' assistance) also drew a prize for a stay at the winery’s colonial-style cottage; five minutes out of Mudgee township and  five kilometres along Hill End Road.

Unfortunately, I didn't draw my own name out of there but it seems I've drawn the autumn/winter festival spirit out of me.

This Saturday 25 May's Mudgee wine lunch at Ripples Sydney Wharf, as part of Pyrmont Festival, features produce from Pastabilities and wines from Robert Stein. More details here.

Food, booze and shoes attended the Burnbrae Wines lunch as a guest, with thanks to RF Media.

A huge day of Marrickville Festival 2012

Marrickville Festival 2012, Marrickville and Illawarra Roads

I popped my Marrickville Festival cherry over the weekend with my first outing to the huge inner west street festival.

With the onset of spring, it is truly festival season in Sydney and the muggy weekend weather complied for the most part, certainly improving beverage sales.

Festival crowds on Illawarra Road

Taking over parts of both Marrickville and Illawarra Roads, Marrickville Festival is about as big a street festival as I've ever seen, with a myriad of stalls and colour down the middle of both main roads.

Kids rock climbing

There was plenty of markets type stalls, music, entertainment for the kids, community representation and of course, food, with many a festival favourite to be seen and had.

Fairy floss stall

Deep fried potato spiral

This was actually the very first time I had tried the gimmicky spiral cut potato, deep fried on a skewer, which seem popular at all festivals these days.

With a choice of seasonings, the chilli and paprika gave the lightly battered potato colour and a flavour boost. My spiralled potato was so enjoyable I was left wondering why I've not tried it before.

Pig on the spit at the Feather and Bone stall

The pig roasting on a spit at the Feather and Bone stall did a good job of attracting hungry festival-goers, with healthy queues for their meat filled bun offerings.

Roast pork roll from Feather and Bone stall

The roast pork roll with apple sauce a lettuce seemed a little light on pork and featured an unpleasant helping of cartilage, although the cinnamon tinged apple sauce was a bright spot.

Pickles and preserves from the Cornersmith stall

Popular local café, Cornersmith had samples of their very own pickles and preserves going - the vivid yellow piccalili a total winner - and refreshing blood orange cordial by the plastic glass.

Main music stage

As per the Surry Hills Festival,Glebe Street Fair and Newtown Festival, Marrickville Festival offers a platform for up-and-coming musical talent, often local musicians, to perform on a big stage. The acts we saw through the day ranged from metal to jazz to rap.

Festival crowd in Marrickville Road

The food stalls on Marrickville Road demonstrated the exceptional variety of cuisines available in Marrickville.

Multiculturalism at its best meant Malaysian chicken satay next to Greek loukoumades next to Vietnamese rice paper rolls next to Spanish paella next to Nepalese momos next to Italian piadinas.

Deep frying Greek loukoumades

Grilling chicken satay

Healthy looking salads and wraps

Seafood paella

South American food offerings 

I have Marrickville Festival to thank for my coming across South American arepas for the very first time.

Looking like a very thick tortilla, these ground corn bases straddled the pizza and tortilla concepts and looked pretty tempting (especially the chorizo option).

Empanada with aji sauce

But I was taken by the golden-hued empanadas, fresh out of a deep fryer and recommended eaten with a fresh aji salsa.

Featuring a slightly chewy corn meal casing with a soft pulled beef and vegetable filling, these piping hot babies were easily some of the best and tastiest variation of an empanada I've ever had - I could have had the four all to myself.

Music stage on Illawarra Road

Furniture by Curb Collective

An artfully decorated coffee van

Marrickville Festival 2012 - what a fabulous community event showcasing a very diverse and exciting inner west suburb. I'm looking forward to next year's already!

See more photos on my Facebook page.

Year of the Dragon - Happy Lunar New Year

Draon display at Chinese New Year Markets, Belmore Park, Central

It's time to celebrate New Year again - the Lunar calender's first day of the 2012 Year of the Dragon is tomorrow and as always, the City of Sydney has festivities galore throughout the city.

Over this (somewhat wet) weekend, the Chinese New Year Markets are being held in Belmore Park between Central Station and Chinatown, from 11am to 10pm. Food stalls are particularly abundant, in addition to performances on the main stage and other market stalls.

Alvin Quah (right) and Joanna Savill (left) in the Chinese New Year AYAM Kitchen

Regular cooking demonstrations in the AYAM Kitchen feature the likes of Adam Liaw and Alvin Quah from MasterChef, whipping up traditional and modern takes on Chinese New Year foods. Here Alvin mentioned snapper, which probably tends on the less traditional side.

Chinese New Year Markets main entertainment stage

Even in the wet and soggy conditions yesterday, the main stage drew crowds to watch performances celebrating the New Year and various cultures. The Chinese Youth League dragon dance was particularly lively, and presumably much more difficult than it appears.

Dragon boat formation as part of the dragon dance

They dealt with the limited stage space fairly well, but truly entertained the crowds with a unique dragon boat formation as part of the dance.

Chinese Youth League dragon dance team

Chinese fan dancers

Chinese fan dancers - love the enthusiam of these ladies

Medibank red packet tree

Medibank red packet game

The Medibank stall played on the theme of luck and prosperity with the chance to win prizes on its red packet tree by selecting a single packet, as well as being a pretty and festive sight.

The Medibank stall is certainly popular

St.George Bank Happy Dragon game

On games and winning, St.George Bank also had a stall in the Laughing Clowns sideshow game fashion; the clowns replaced by their mascot dragon. I couldn't resist an attempt to win a soft dragon toy, resplendent in traditional Chinese garb, but made away with a plastic golden dragon money box instead.

There are plenty of options for food (the large Sichuan food stall looked interesting) and lots to celebrate, so head on down to Belmore Park for the last day of the Chinese New Year Markets - more details here.

SIFF-ly irresistable: Barbecue Madness at Pyrmont Growers' Market

This year's Crave Sydney International Food Festival started with a bang today. Not so much bang for your buck, but good food and good times all round nonetheless. Thankfully rain free, Pyrmont Park was absolutely packed for the Pyrmont Growers' Market and the Barbecue Madness event held there.

Men around the barbie... Barbecue Madness at Pyrmont Growers' Market for Crave
Sydney International Food Festival 2011

The big feature was a couple of whole lambs on a spit, delivered by David Tanis of California's Chez Panisse and Craig Macindoe of MuMu Grill.

Failing that, there were other tickets available for a random allocation to a bunched up table of 10 for sustainable meat barbecue feasts from other chefs; many who had been on site since 5am (first round at 8.30am).

Whole lamb on the spit

So aside from the two great hunks of animals, there were sessions featuring a dish from one of David Tsirekas of Xanthi, Matt Kemp of The Montpellier Public House (previously Restaurant Balzac), Lauren Murdoch of Felix, Martin Boetz of Longrain, Joe Pavlovich of Glass, Jowett Yu of Ms.G's, Alex Herbert of Bird Cow Fish, Kylie Kwong of Billy Kwong, Darren Robertson of The Table Sessions or Alex Kearns of Glebe Point Diner. We were not short on quality options.

Seating for Barbecue Madness

We managed to get some of the last tickets available for the day for the 11am session - a nice brunch/lunch space and the last by the listed chefs before the whole spit roast lambs were divvied up for the final session.

Matt Kemp of The Montpellier Public House

We landed ourselves on Matt Kemp's table - he who has been so busy re-opening his Randwick restaurant that I'm surprised he had time to do this event; especially if preparation and cooking for the dish started three days earlier, as he said.

He brought out some of the dishes to the table and explained the pretty complex dish before us, involving more processes of braising and baking than my mind could handle and some pretty serious cooking times.

Costa's grass fed epigramme of veal breast with crushed carrots by The Montpellier Public House

It was a gorgeous dish of rich browns and fresh watercress, but the unexpected feature was the building block of dark brown. Blocks of veal is already pretty impressive, but the tenderness and flavour was out of the (ball) park, while the surface had a crispness that pleasingly broke up the textures.

I even scoffed the fatty bits, smothered in the veal jus, as they were just so delectable, along with cooking partners of the carrots and the refreshment of the watercress. Every bit of jus was also mopped up with a Sonoma bread roll, which also saw the love from Pukara Estate extra virgin olive oil and caramelised balsamic vinegar.

Slicing up the spit roasted lamb

As my session ended, heralded by the ringing of a cow bell, there was movement among the chefs towards the spit roasts, where one of the giant beasts was being dismantled for the next session. The food papparazzi moved right in, surely making this one of the most photographed bits of roast lamb in Australia.

Kylie Kwong sneaks a taste of the spit roasted lamb

Were I in Kylie Kwong's position I would have done exactly the same; sneaking a taste of the lamb as the guys broke it up to the admiring (and probably drooling) crowd. I didn't stick around to see others devour it, but visited the rest of the markets just before most the stalls closed up.

Totally worth the early morning wake-up to get to the Pyrmont Growers' Market, Barbecue Madness was a definite success and a great start to what looks like another fab month of eating, drinking and festival fun.

Friday nights in Sydney's Chinatown

The Golden Tree at Chinatown, Haymarket

It does have a proper name, I think, but as long as it's been in Chinatown, I have called the gold-tipped tree the Golden Tree. It's been the meeting place of many a Chinatown outing, and remains an easily recognisable marker for the Sussex Street and Hay Street intersection.

Trinkets and lucky charms in Chinatown

Chinatown is a riot of fun and colour, with more smells wafting around than your usual suburb, more food and jewellery stores per block, and just more. In Sydney, I find our Chinatown to be an excellent second home as well as a magnificient Friday night fall-back plan.

Sydney's Paddy's Markets, Haymarket

Starving at 2am? Forgot to grab some onions from the supermarket? Need some retail therapy closely followed by huge variety of food? Need a big range of Japanese/Korean/Thai grocery items? Have the urge to sing loudly into a microphone in a small room? Chinatown has you covered.

The window display at Bread Top, Sussex Street, Haymarket

Asian vegetables at Everspring, Sussex Street, Haymarket

Fruits at Everspring, Sussex Street, Haymarket

Dried seafood items at Everspring, Sussex Street, Haymarket

The light rail going past Market City, Haymarket

Friday nights in Chinatown only means one thing for me. Food. When I've had my fill of drinking in the city and need some cheap, no-bookings-required, guaranteed-yummy food, it's to Chinatown we hike (on that note, light rail from Circular Quay through the CBD to Chinatown would be lovely, thanks).

Diners in Dixon Street, Haymarket

Alfresco dining is popular on a Friday night

If you're not keen to be drawn in by the touts all along Dixon Street for some al fresco dining, every Friday night brings stall after stall of hot food by local stores and markets specialists.

The longstanding Chinatown Night Markets are, more often than not, packed. On a chilly night, this is ideal to share body heat, but failing that, there are plenty of barbeque stalls that emit plenty of warmth.

Cumin lamb skewers at Chinatown Night Markets

Takoyaki at Chinatown Night Markets

Bak kwa at Chinatown Night Markets

Fish ball skewers at Chinatown Night Markets

Plenty of grilled options at Chinatown Night Markets

Steamed dumplings at Chinatown Night Markets

Har gow (prawn dumplings) at Chinatown Night Markets

With crowds that most city operators would be envious of, check out what everyone is crowding around for on Friday nights in the main section of Dixon Street. And make sure to say hello to the panda at the other end of Dixon Street if he's hanging about (not really sure why).

Panda says hello - at the northern end of Dixon Street, Haymarket