You're invited... to a World Class cocktail event

On a boat. In Sydney harbour. This Sunday afternoon. That's right, this Sunday 22 January, nine of the country's top bartenders will be shaking and stirring up a few drinks as they compete in the first World Class 2012 semi final; a cocktail competition where bartenders angle for the crown of Australia's best bartender.

Image courtesy of World Class organisers

With cocktails to feature Tanqueray No. TEN, Ketel One Vodka and The Singleton of Glen Ord, attendees not only get to taste the competitors' best efforts, they also get to vote for their favourite drinks and bartenders in three different judging categories:

Gentleman Cocktail
with competitors Jason Williams from The Loft, Sydney; Collin Perillo from Zeta, Sydney; and Phil Gandevia from Eau de Vie, Sydney.

Punch
with competitors Thiago Santos from The Loft, Sydney; Sarah Miller from I know a place, Melbourne; and Perryn Collier from The Laneway, Brisbane.

Seasonal Cocktail
with competitors Adam Smith from Press Club, Brisbane; Anita Strother from Malt Dining, Brisbane; and Fred Siggins from Kodiak Club, Melbourne.

The entry ticket gets you on the 3-hour cruise on Sydney Glass Island, tasting and voting on your favourite cocktails ahead of the June finals, as well as canapes and non-alcoholic refreshments for mostly RSA reasons, I presume. See more details and get your tickets here.

The cruise/semi finals/party starts with Sydney Glass Island pick-up at Campbells Cove (near Quay Restaurant and the Park Hyatt) at 2.45pm on Sunday 22 January. Semi finalists will be chosen after the appropriate three hours of drinking - and showmanship, I'm sure. May the best drink win!

No fakes: Sydney's own Petaling Street

I'm not sure why I given the recommendation to go to Petaling Street when I was in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia last year. For starters, I was feeling particularly ill on the day and by the end of the short-ish market walk through Petaling Street, the sight of another fake Jimmy Choo bag was going to make me physically sick.

But there are no fakes nor illnesses to worry about at Petaling Street on Sydney's George Street. Put off by a 11.30pm queue outside Mamak one night, we headed up to the new Malaysian contender which was on the quiet side of steady trade.

(Front to back) Hot teh tarik, iced teh tarik and Ribena with lemonade from Petaling Street,
George Street, Haymarket

The restaurant is long and narrow like many Chinatown eateries, with seating all up the right side as you enter, passing the glassed kitchen to the other side. It seems all the tables are set for four people, so I'm not sure how larger groups cope.

The menu is significantly larger than that of the aforementioned long-queued Malaysian eatery. While I can't resist a teh tarik, even if it does taste like it has come from a packet, others can't resist the allure of Ribena cordial with lemonade in what I can only imagine is a liquid sugar hit.

Chicken laksa

We had decided to share mains across the group and I'm sure glad we did. The laksa was epically sized and the kitchen had no problems taking out an ingredient or changing the noodles to rice ones. I'm no laksa expert but I thought there was a good kick of heat in the thick and creamy coconut-heavy soup.

Hainanese chicken rice

Hainanese chicken rice is more my kind of dish; here served with delicately poached boneless chicken doused in a quite sweet soy sauce alongside sliced cucumber and finished with fresh coriander.

I didn't try the soup served with it, but was kind of wanting the mild chopped red chilli sauce or pickled green chillies which never came. Nonetheless, I thought the rice, flavoured with chicken stock and the bird's fat, was well done although there were comments about its sweetness.

Mi goreng

My attention was most firmly placed on the huge plate of mi goreng in front of me; a giant pile of Hokkien noodles in a rather spicily seasoned sauce with goodies at every grab of chopsticks. I remember fish cake, bean sprouts and other Asian vegetables, but the rest is mostly a spicy blur.

Late dining customers continued to take tables in the narrow restaurant as we left, so it appears the word is slowly getting out - there's a new Malaysian player in town and it ain't no fake.

Wildfire Fast Festival Feast: Dinner with a view

After a huge Festival First Night last weekend, I’m back for more of Sydney Festival with the Fast Festival Feasts across a number of Sydney restaurants. One or two courses at $30 or $55 respectively at set times, with a glass of McGuigan ‘The Shortlist’ wine and a bottle of Tasmanian Rain water isn’t too shabby.

Tasmanian Rain sparkling mineral water at Wildfire, Overseas
Passenger Terminal, Circular Quay

Ahead of a show at the Sydney Opera House, options for the two-course deal in the vicinity are limited (Aria is only doing Fast Festival Feasts at lunch) so we find ourselves seated outdoors at Wildfire in the Overseas Passenger Terminal, facing the show venue.

It’s a curious dining location that I’ve rarely been privileged to, populated by couples dining alfresco and business dinners inside the restaurant, and many a passing, inquisitive tourist.

Booked in for the Fast Festival Feast, I was a little surprised that we weren’t offered the regular menu as well, should we have wanted extras like bread or sides with our meal. As part of the deal, we each get a glass of the McGuigan ‘The Shortlist’ Chardonnay and a bottle of Tasmanian Rain sparkling water.

Yellowfin tuna sashimi with smoked eel parfait, buttermilk ‘snow’,
dashi, cucumber and dill emulsion

I wasn’t aware that Wildfire has a rather modernist approach (they also have a churrasco menu, which frankly baffles me). The presentation of the entrée confirmed this with the presence of fairly flavour-free buttermilk “snow” atop the perfect ruby discs of raw tuna.

Thin rolled lengths of cucumber added to the subtle flavours, while the verdant dill emulsion and the caviar topped quenelle of creamy smoked eel parfait were highlighting flavour matches.

Kurobuta pork belly with spherical yoghurt, compressed watermelon,
liquorice, prosciutto and baby fennel

The pork belly main dish was very well sized and topped with a gloriously golden, bubbly layer of crackling. The block of meat wasn’t overly fatty and had great flavour, enhanced with the uber sweet rounds of watermelon and slivers of candied peel (possibly grapefruit), but not helped by the extremely sour grapefruit segments.

The spheres of natural yoghurt were much fun to play with and eventually burst, adding a sauce of sorts, albeit mostly flavourless against the salty shaved fennel. A strike of liquorice added to appearances, but didn’t do much for the sum of all parts in terms of overall flavour.

We ditched the eventually-quite-full restaurant and dessert menu in favour of a quick gelato before blazing back up the other side through the crowds to the Opera House, just in time for an 8.30pm performance. Thank you, Fast Festival Feast.