Taste of Sydney Festival, Centennial Park

"This nipple tastes funny."

Oh yes, there was lots of fun and frolic to be had at the inaugural Taste of Sydney festival in Centennial Park. And what's an event without a quotable quote from the always loveable Chocolatesuze. But more on that later.


Crown festival currency
Available in booklets of 20 crowns ($20) and 30 crowns ($30)

I headed to the Taste festival on its opening night, Thursday, along with Billy and Chocolatesuze. It was quiet and much more navigable early on, although as crowds picked up, so did our sightings, as we bumped into Christie and Lorraine and various other friends of ours.

Taste of Sydney is about good food, good drink and great products. We meandered our way through the stalls proudly showcasing their wares, many with samples on offer and most happy to chat to customers to explain more about their products and philosophies.


Gourmet pates including: wild boar, apple and sage;
duck, orange and pistachio; and venison, red wine and almond


Retro rainbow of Smeg fridges and a candy pink dishwasher


Baby roma truss tomatoes, yellow tomatoes, green tomatoes and
distinctive kumato tomatoes and kumato grape tomatoes
from Moraitis Hydroponics


Herbal teas from iTea


Choclatea: chocolate blended with crushed tea leaves from iTea

Taste Festival Sydney is also about restaurants, with 15 participating restaurants offering bite-sized sample dishes, many created specifically for this event. Prices range from 8 crowns to 14 crowns and as we're meandering our way along the strip, reminiscing about the dishes we tried at the media launch, we notice a flash of white bound up to us and are interrupted by an American-accented "Excuse me, but are you Chocolatesuze?"

It's none other than head chef George Francisco from Jonah's, and he's recognised her as the star from the now famous wobbly panna cotta video. It's quite a sight to see George excitedly chatting to Suze, telling her that not only has he seen the video countless times, but so have all his friends and relatives in the United States. "I love that video. It's so cool!" he waxes lyrical.


Chocolatesuze makes another wobbly panna cotta video
with George Francisco from Jonah's at Whale Beach

Of course this just means Suze must make a sequel video with George himself doing all the jiggling. Check out the wobbly panna cotta video starring George Francisco here and Suze's second version (with her own sound effects) here.


Roast Kurobuta pork neck with fennel and witlof salad 12 crowns
from Centennial Parklands Dining

We spend quite a while deliberating on what to have for dinner. We pore over the free menu cards, and whilst not all restaurants have pre-plated preview samples of the dishes available, I'm grateful for the ones that do.


Hiramas kingfish in citrus oil with fresh peas and creme fraiche 10 crowns
from Centennial Parklands Dining


Saddle of suckling pig with crackling and baby garden peas 12 crowns
from Restaurant Balzac


Spicy pork sausage and betel leaves with pickled ginger 12 crowns
from Longrain Restaurant & Bar


Tempura ricotta filled zucchini flowers with basil pesto sauce 10 crowns
from Jonah's at Whale Beach


Strawberry bellini with strawberry and cinnamon donut 8 crowns
from Assiette


Balzac's bread and butter pudding 8 crowns
from Restaurant Balzac


Sari burma - hand opened filo pastry 8 crowns
rolled with pistachios and served golden with honey syrup
from Ottoman Cuisine


Dining al fresco

Four of us pooled together our crowns giving us maximum opportunity to taste the many dishes on offer.


Saddle of suckling pig with crackling and baby garden peas 12 crowns
from Restaurant Balzac

Suze picks the saddle of suckling pig with crackling from Restaurant Balzac. The pork is sweet and succulent with a thin crisp shell of crackling around its circumference. The peas are so fresh, that one seems to jump off the plate before we know it.


Escape-pea!


Wagyu beef 'bourguignonne' 10 crowns
with truffled cauliflower and onion rings
from Restaurant Balzac

Billy and Yas both opt for the wagyu beef 'bourguignonne' from Restaurant Balzac. This may look like a spring roll, however it's anything but. Thin crisp shattering pastry houses the most delicate folds of red-wine cooked wagyu beef.


Loin and crumbed belly of lamb 12 crowns
with basil mayonnaise and a tomato olive jus
from Assiette

I'd opted for the loin and crumbed belly of lamb from Assiette. It's one of the fancier plated dishes on show, like a miniature replica of a dish you'd receive in a restaraunt. The slices of pink lamb loin are moist and tender, but its the crumbed belly of lamb that wins us all over, soft and unctious and coated with a crunchy golden crumb.


Inside the crumbed belly of lamb

Dessert is a true smorgasboard of flavours and textures.


Semifreddo Montegranelli 10 crowns
Semifreddo with crushed torrone and nuts
from Buon Ricordo

The semifreddo Montegranelli from Buon Ricordo doesn't look very exciting in its ice cream cup but its semi-set foamy texture wins me over. I love the fluffiness of the barely-set semifreddo against the nobbly crunch of crushed nougat.


Dark chocolate tart 10 crowns
with end of season berries and mascarpone sabayon
from Berowra Waters Inn

The dark chocolate tart from Berowra Waters Inn isn't as rich as it looks. Expecting a thick ganache centre, the tart is not half as sinful as it appears, tempered by a small mound of berries clustered beneath a blanket of cocoa-flecked mascarpone sabayon.


Love cake with cinnamon cream 8 crowns
from Flying Fish

The love cake from Flying Fish is fragrant and spicy, and reminds us of chai. We taste nutmeg and cinnamon, the flavours enhanced by the accompanying dollop of cinnamon cream.


Vanilla panna cotta 8 crowns
with lavendar honey and fresh pomegranate
from Jonah's at Whale Beach

Head chef George Francisco from Jonah's is so enamoured with Chocolatesuze's video efforts, he insists on giving her the dessert for free. I'm not sure what jiggling mischief she got up to, but by the time she returns to our table (not so much a table, but an empty Sydney Morning Herald stall to which we've laid claim), the top of it has broken off.

The vanilla panna cotta is every bit as good as we remembered. Soft, silky, sweet and sexy, it melts on the tongue into a vanilla-drenched cream. Since the dessert has come courtesy of Suze, we give her the tip which she eats slowly only to declare, "This nipple tastes funny." The tip is made up almost entirely of vanilla bean seeds which gives a slight bitter taste.


Goat cheese marshmallow 8 crowns
with strawberries and basil granita
from Centennial Parklands Dining

And how could we go past the goat cheese marshmallow from Centennial Parklands Dining? Speaking with the chefs, they confirm that it's made just like a normal marshmallow with egg white, sugar and gelatin. We all make a strange face when we first taste it, the caramelised surface giving way to a salty tang. The intense flavour is refreshed by the slices of sweet strawberry and coolness of basil granita.



The Taste of Sydney festival concludes today (Sunday) and is open 12pm-5pm. Tickets on the door cost $30. Booklets of crowns are available for sale on-site.

Taste of Sydney also includes the Australian Gourmet Traveller Taste Kitchen, Australian Gourmet Traveller Chef's Table, James Squire Beer Masterclass and Taste Wine with Gourmet Traveller Wine.

With thanks to Prue from The Mint Partners for the complimentary entry tickets.

Related GrabYourFork posts:
Taste of Sydney media launch