Bairro Portugues - Petersham Food and Wine Fair

After checking out the St Patrick's Day parade in the city a few Sundays ago, we then high-tailed it to Sydney's Little Portugal for the annual Petersham Food and Wine Festival.


It was a dazzlingly warm and sunny day and Audley Street was closed off to traffic and jam packed with stalls and wandering foodies.


Hey we recognise this stall...


Street mural by Portuguese-born Australian artist Luis Geraldes.


Smile!
Portuguese chicken gets a basting with plenty of piri-piri sauce. And yes, the air was thick with charcoal smoke!


Chorizo, kebabs and ribs sizzle enticingly.


Hungry punters

The sights and smells of yummy food were making us hungry! As usual, most stalls were family run and a little chaotic and many couldn't keep up with demand. After spending 15 minutes in a queue, we eventually had success with some delicious booty...

Lunch!
[Clockwise from back left]: Feijoada (red bean casserole) $9.00;
Rossoes de camarao (prawn rissoles) and bolinhos de bacalhau (cod fish cake) $2.50 each;
and sardinhas assadas com pimentos (grilled sardines with capsicum) $10.00.

To start, an entree of Portuguese dim sum :-P


Bolinhos de bacalhau (cod fish cake) $2.50 and
Rossoes de camarao (prawn rissoles) $2.50

Inside the crescent-shaped prawn rissole was a thick prawn paste with (I suspect) mashed potato. Nice, but it didn't really knock my socks off. I've had these a few times in the past and I always seem to forget what a letdown they are for me.


Inside the prawn rissole

The bolinhos de bacalhau was much more exciting though. Bacalhau served whole is mega-thirst inducing with its heavy saltedness. Shredded and moulded into a little fish cake though, the cod is delightfully tasty with a pork-floss like stringy but tender texture.


Inside the cod fish cake

I've never had feijoada before and was delighted to find it a kind of peasant-like hotpot of red kidney beans, carrots, vegetables and pigs trotters. I haven't had pigs trotters too often in the past, but these were wonderful. Lots of bones, lots of skin and plenty of fatty goodness. Yes I am a chicken feet fan!


Feijoada (red bean casserole) $9.00

The sardines, of course, were tasty too. Barbecued to a smokey tastiness even if we did have a little trouble forking away the flesh from the fine bones. I wasn't sure what the bread was (some kind of soda bread?) but we didn't much care for it in any case. A little too heavy, dry and sour but maybe that was just because it had been sitting out in the sun.


Orange soft drinks (non-carbonated) imported from Portugal washed down our meals.

There were plenty of sweets available...


Bolo de mel rico (madeira honey cake).


Chocolate-iced shortbread men.


Bolo de feijao or almond and hazelnut pies

And lots of entertainment too...





The Bairro Portugues or Portuguese Food and Wine Fair runs every year in about February/March.

The 2005 Festival was held on Sunday 13 March.
Check the Marrickville Council events website for confirmation of dates.

Related GrabYourFork posts:
Petersham Portuguese Food Festival 2006