Brazilian Fields, Centennial Park, Sydney NSW 2000
A celebration of food & drink
Thanks to Ashley Gatte from Stellar* Concepts for inviting me to the VIP Gala Night launch for Taste of Sydney 2012 which unfortunately was cancelled due to torrential wet weather on Thursday but I managed to visit on the sunny Saturday to check out the restaurant dishes and meet the chefs. Firstly I wanted to check out the New Zealand stand which had impressed me the previous two years with their free samples. Sadly no sign of Kohu Road Ice Cream this year but NZ Regal King Salmon had decided to put together a Smoked Salmon Tasting Plate ($5) with 4 kinds of salmon — the pastrami version remains my favourite. I was impressed with the Blue River well-flavoured Vintage Feta and Omega Seafood were again promoting their precooked mussels and clams. The Wine Barrel Smoked Mushrooms from Aromatics was worth trying. Full of flavour which would work so well with some pasta I think. I wish I had more time to try the Giesen wines as I’m a fan of Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir but more food was calling me.
Next stop was City Tattersalls Club which again generously provided lots of complimentary food and drinks with enthusiastic and friendly service to all that visited their stand — you guys seriously rock! Their Crisp Sumac Spiced Prawns with Tomato & Capsicum Relish was a favourite which I'd happily eat a whole tray of. I managed to visit all 15 restaurant stands but sadly run out of time to visit the new sustainable pop-up restaurant stand that was represented on different days by Fish & Co, Three Blue Ducks, The Veggie Patch and Agapé Organic Restaurant & Bar. I thought the overall quality of dishes served looked pretty good and my favourite savoury dishes I was offered to try by restaurants were Flying Fish Prawns served with okra sambal ($10), Efendy Kadayif wrapped king prawns, walnut capsicum muhammara ($10), Quarter Twenty One Fried Hawkesbury School Prawns, Prosciutto and Rouille ($10). My favourite desserts sampled were The Montpellier Public House Pepe Saya Buttermilk and Vanilla Panna Cotta with Poached Fruits ($10) and Otto Ristorante Meringue filled with Passionfruit Curd, Honeydrew, Rock and Watermelon ($10).
Apart from the main restaurant stands there was plenty of exhibitor stands providing free tastings. Preshafruit and Nudie are two juices I tend to buy regularly for their great tasting 100% Australian made fruit juice. I loved the cheeky packaging of the Foxy's Frozen Yoghurt and for tasty caramel coated nuts I'm glad I discovered Morish which is proudly Australian grown, owned and made with no preservatives, artificial flavours or colouring. I had the opportunity of sampling a Pure Pops given out in the air conditioned HSBC VIP Lounge which is 100% natural — the ginger beer one was really nice. As always there's lots of chef talks and demonstrations going on but again I simply didn't have enough time to visit any which I would have loved to do. I seriously think with the amount of things on offer and the few hours you get per session it's simply not enough time to do it all. I'd love at least a full day to fully appreciate and get around to everything I wanted to see and do.
SNAPSHOT REVIEW:
PROS: A taste of some of Sydney's hatted restaurants, Meet the chefs in person, Free taste samplings to be found especially at City Tattersalls Club stand, Free parking
CONS: Weather dependent, Time limit per session, Can sometimes get crowded so might to line up for food, Parking fills up quickly nearby, Can get expensive depending how much you want to eat
MUST TRY: Visiting the restaurants that impressed me the most with their dishes
—
(S) = Sampled and tasted
The Montpellier Public House Chef Matt Kemp and team
(S) Braised Shoulder of Lamb with Polenta and Green Sauce ($12)
(S) Crisp Brisket of Pasture Fred Beef with Creamed Wild Mushrooms ($10)
(S) Pepe Saya Buttermilk and Vanilla Panna Cotta with Poached Fruits ($10)
SIMON FAVOURITE :-)
The Montpellier Public House Eton Mess ($12)
Flying Fish Chef Peter Kuruvita (right)
(S) Seared Petuna ocean trout with ginger, chilli, shallot sauce, served with carrot sambal & basmati rice ($12)
(S) Prawns served with okra sambal ($10)
SIMON FAVOURITE :-)
(S) Laveria: Fresh coconut & palm treacle pancake with cardamom ice cream ($8)
Four In Hand Chef Colin Fassnidge (top middle) and team
(S) Smoked Salmon, Chorizo and Mozzarella Croquette ($10)
(S) Roast Suckling Pig, Coleslaw, Onion Rings and Hot Sauce ($12) - tender flavoursome meat, hot sauce works well with it
(S) Licorice Braised Beef Brisket with Carrot and Cherry Purée ($10)
There's nothing quite like a pig on a spit
Saké Restaurant & Bar
Saké Restaurant & Bar Chef Shaun Presland (middle)
Hiramasa Kingfish Double Crunch Sushi Roll ($10)
Hiramasa Kingfish Ceviche ($8)
Pan Seared Ocean Barramundi ($12)
The Cut Bar & Grill Chef James Privett (left)
Charcuterie Tasting Plate with Cornichons and Mustard Fruits ($10)
Sher F1 Wagyu Meatball, Gremolata and a Salad of local and Italian Cabbage ($10)
Vanilla and Blueberry Cheesecake with Chestnut Crumble ($8)
Salt cod, potato and truffle fritters with tarragon mayonnaise ($10)
Traditional house made casareccia pasta with slow cooked veal, pork and chicken ragu ($12)
(S) Amedei gianduia chocolate crema, salty caramel gelato, Italian meringue ($8)
Efendy Chef Somer Sivrioglu - winner of best dish at Taste of Sydney
(S) Traditional charcoal BBQ lamb and veal kebap, smoked eggplant and Chobani Greek yoghurt ($12)
WORTH TRYING :-)
(S) Kadayif wrapped king prawns, walnut capsicum muhammara ($10)
SIMON FAVOURITE :-)
Pan-fried Lamb Testicles with Almond Tarator ($8) — for those who dare and are quick enough to get as they've been very popular to try
Pistachio dessert trio of traditional Baklava, Dolma and Kadayif
Ormeggio at the Spit & Spiedo Chef Alessandro Pavoni (right)
(S) Smoked veal rump, vegetable ash and radish ($12)
Salmon crudo, lemon dressing, manadrin, squid ink mayo ($8)
(S) House made Frusili (Strozzapreti?), zucchini, prawns, saffron ($10)
(S) Deep fried fontina cheese in buckwheat batter ($8)
WORTH TRYING :-)
L'etoile Chef Manu Fiedel and team
(S) Chilled Cauliflower Soup with Blue Cheese Crème ($8)
Murray Valley Pork Belly with Prunes and Char-grilled Silver Beet ($12)
(S) Apple and Cinnamon Donuts ($10)
Longrain team, customers and DJ
Ginger Rogers ($12), Stickmata ($12)
Ping Pong ($12), Acapulco Gold ($12)
Crisp pork belly, pickled daikon & chilli jam in a sweet roll ($12)
Yellow curry of lamb with cucumber relish ($12)
(S) Watermelon, young coconut & tapioca ($8)
WORTH TRYING :-)
A Tavola Chef Eugenio Maiale (right)
(S) Ravioli of Sliced Pickled Beetroot with Goats Curd, Pistachio & Horseradish ($10)
(S) Pasta with Lightly Smoked Lilydale Chicken, Carrot Puree and Parmesan ($10)
(S) Meringue filled with Passionfruit Curd, Honeydrew, Rock and Watermelon ($10)
SIMON FAVOURITE :-)
Otto Bar
(S) Aperol Splice ($10), Mandarino Sundowner ($10), Vivo ($10)
Charlie & Co. Diner
The Burger: Charlie wagyu beef & cheese slider ($10)
The Dog: Miniature artisan frankfurter chilli dog ($8)
The Quesadilla: Spicy bean, cheese and jalapeno quesadilla ($10) + Grilled chicken ($12)
Vanilla icecream soda float ($6)
Becasse Chef Justin North and Quarter Twenty One team
(S) Fried Hawkesbury School Prawns, Prosciutto and Rouille ($10)
SIMON FAVOURITE :-)
(S) Slow Cooked and Caramelised Short Rib with Bone Marrow Persillade ($12)
(S) One Hokey Pokey Ice Cream Sandwich ($8)
(S) Quarter Twenty One stockist: Maya Sunny Honey
(S) Applegarita and Cuban Iced Tea
(S) Coconut Panna Cotta with Mango & Lime Compote
(S) Crisp Sumac Spiced Prawns with Tomato & Capsicum Relish
SIMON FAVOURITE :-)
(S) Mini Moroccan Lamb & Eggplant Burger with Cucumber & Mint Raita
(S) Loukomades Greek Honey Puffs with Vanilla Sheep's Yoghurt
WORTH TRYING :-)
New Zealand stand
New Zealand products
Giesen wines
HSBC VIP Lounge — Nice place to be when it's hot
Exhibitors stands
Patisse Chef Vincent Gadan and desserts — (S) Pear dessert
(S) Foxy's Frozen Yoghurt
(S) Preshafruit
Bavarian Bier Cafe
(S) Nudie
(S) Gingerbread Folk
(S) Sunshack Cider
(S) Morish nuts — macadamias are their most popular
(S) Nespresso
(S) Chang Beer
Sweetness The Patisserie
Two Italian Boys
Ketel One Vodka cocktails by Eau-De-Vie
(S) Pure Pops
Kopparberg
(S) Original Juice Co Black Label Chilled Juice
(S) McGuigan wines, Kemenys and ELK join forces
Beach Bar
Infinity Sourdough Bakery
Wine Selectors
Chobani Greek Yogurt
Arrogant Frog
Rekorderlig
HSBC — A friendly smile from the sponsors
Taste Kitchen
Sensology: The art of cocktail making
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