Sydney Royal Easter Show 2007: The Food

The Sydney Royal Easter Show has always had a focus on animals, but for us it's always been about the food.


Old-fashioned lemonade $5.50 large

First on the list: a giant cup of old-fashioned lemonade to quench our thirst. This was refreshing but I really pined for a lot more lemon in mine, the Titanic-sized hunk of ice only further diluting what little lemon tang existed.


Cheese on a stick $3.50

Next, we had to have a cheese on a stick. I have chocolatesuze to thank for this revelation, somehow I'd never before noticed this deep-fried enigma.


Inside the cheese on a stick

A golden crusted batter--much like a pluto pup--was sweet and pancakey, containing a stretchy wad of oozing tasty cheese within. "It tastes like a pikelet with cheese," I told Veruca, "with extra sugar and salt."

Then it was off to the Woolworths Fresh Food Dome to check out the regional food displays:


225kg champion pumpkin


Rows and rows of gleaming vegetables


Fruit and vegetables shaped into moving flowers and butterflies
- the people's favourite display as voted by the public


Skiing on an apple run


Oysters


Doggie trinkets

Not far away on the dog judging lawns, the exuberant doggies were very cute and eager to please in the outdoor obstacle course. The audience ooh-ed, the audience aah-ed, and the crowd lapped it up with warm fuzzy laughter anytime a canine went in the wrong direction.


Saucing our Dagwood Dog $4.00
aka pluto pup or corn dog

More food: we needed our dagwood dog fix, even comparing the three variants from the stalls in our nearest proximity before deciding on the fattest palest offering on a stick.


All sauced and ready to go
(I like sauce)


Inside the pluto pup / dagwood dog / corn dog

Its sweet fatty frankfurt, pancakey deep-fried exterior and lashings of bright red tomato sauce combine for a celebration of junk food at its finest. And you get to eat it on a stick. No wonder it tastes so good.


Country Women’s Association Tea Room

Final food stop: the Country Women's Association Tea Room. I'd been dying to head here after watching the recent ABC documentary on the CWA: Not just tea and scones. Somehow this was another area of the show I'd always skipped, but after watching the lovely dears on the show, their volunteer efforts, their hard work and commitment, and their amazing contribution to a wide range of services and charities, I was desperate to visit. Plus I was dying to try their much lauded scones.


Devonshire tea $6.00
Two scones with jam and cream and tea/coffee

Oh they were good. On the documentary, they'd mentioned that the turnover of scones is so high they serve them barely ten minutes out of the oven. These were still warm and the best scones I've had. Soft, moist and almost bun-like, these were floaty feather-light numbers that belied the simplicity of their ingredients.

Thank you Muriel and Elizabeth and Maude. You may not just provide tea and scones, but boy thousands of Sydneysiders are glad you do.



Next and final post: the magnificent decorated cakes in the Arts Pavilion

The Sydney Royal Easter Show runs from April 5-18, 2007 at the Sydney Showground, Sydney Olympic Park.

Related Grab Your Fork posts:
Sydney Royal Easter Show 2010: Robosaurus Pics and Video
Sydney Royal Easter Show 2010: The Cakes, Food and Toyota V6 HiLux Heroes

Sydney Royal Easter Show 2009: The Cakes and District Displays
Sydney Royal Easter Show 2009: The Racing and Diving Pigs

Sydney Royal Easter Show 2007: The Animals
Sydney Royal Easter Show 2007: The Cakes
Sydney Royal Easter Show 2007: The Food