Sydney Food & Wine Fair, Hyde Park Sydney

Serge Dansereau from Bathers Pavilion

It was a gorgeous day for the annual Sydney Food & Wine Fair, one of the final big events for Good Food Month.



I was disappointed that Chiu Lee Luk and Claude's didn't have a stall this year but otherwise there were plenty of stalls to keep the stomach amused and the camera clicking.




Duck confit, pickled beetroot, green beans, Persian fetta
and chervil vinaigrette from The Restaurant at AGNSW


Banana fritters from Spice I Am

I was lucky enough to score a free sample of a banana fritter. With banana prices still high, it was a welcome treat. The sesame coated batter with coconut milk didn't go astray either.


Lucky beer


Canape selection of herbed smoked salmon tartlets
with salmon roe; zucchini frittata with pesto;
garlic bruschetta with vine ripened tomato and basil;
and Dolcetta’s rocky road from Salon Prive Catering


Bone china tea set from The Tearoom


High tea from The Tearoom:
finger sandwich, chocolate n’gress, orange and almond cake,
passionfruit sable, strawberry mascarpone tart and
cheese puff pastry


Risotto from Industrie - South of France


Grilling prawns at Industrie - South of France


A nicoise salad of herb crusted salmon carpaccio
served with oven roasted potato, asparagus, tear drop
and grape tomato, kalamata olives, eggs and a
roast garlic and dijon mustard dressing from Scolarest


Raita Noda from Ocean Room


Bill Granger berry and mascarpone tart


Corn chips with guacamole and salsa from
Vera Cruz Restaurant & Bar


Sausage coil from Brasserie Bread


BBQ prawn skewers with black pepper and
curry leaf sauce from Flying Fish


Mango and passionfruit pavlova


Warm seared ocean trout, potato and fetta rosti
poached egg vinaigrette and baby leaves from Cafe Sydney


Pissaladerie from Tabou


Veal sausages from Buon Ricordo


Barbecued quail with chilli and lemon from
Lucio’s Italian Restaurant


Toasted fresh marshmallows from Marque Restaurant


Sailors Thai pacific oysters with chilli, rice vinegar
sauce with deep-fried shallot


Trio of desserts from Lenotre, Paris
Opera: classic rich chocolate ganache with coffee
butter cream, macerated sponge and topped with gold leaf

Tarte au citron: a classic French lemon tart, the thin pastry
case is filled with almond and lemon cream and topped with
a border of lemon and meringue

Success: almond meringues with almond butter cream filling

By 12.45pm, the queues were thick and slow-moving and I ended up choosing my lunch based on speed. I've often eyed the pissaladerie from Tabou (they had a similar offering at the Spring Picnic last year) and although simple, I wasn't disappointed. Soft sweet caramelised onion jam, kalamata olives, thin strips of red capsicum and some very lovely anchovies indeed.


Lunch: pissaladerie from Tabou

Dessert was always going to be the almond tart from Bathers Pavilion. And in the ten minutes I stood around with the tart in one hand, I was asked five times by goggled-eyed sweet tooths "where on earth did you get that tart?"


Dessert: Serge's divine almond tart with
berries and cream from Bathers Pavilion

Sweet shortcrust pastry filled with an almond mixture that is both dense but light, rich yet palatable. A generous scoop of the finest berries (strawberries, blueberries, blackberries and raspberries) and a cloud of fluffy white pure whipped cream. Dessert perfection.

Two leftover vouchers were spent on tarts from Bourke Street Bakery. At only $2.50 each (they're usually $3.50) they were a veritable bargain. Ginger pistachio brulee and a chocolate tart. An ideal Saturday night treat for sharing.



This year's Sydney Food & Wine Fair was held on Saturday October 28, 2006 in Sydney's Hyde Park.

Tagged with: gfm06 or check Rebecca's wrap-up

Related GrabYourFork posts:
GFM 2007: Sugar Hit #2 at the Sofitel Wentworth
GFM 2007: Sugar Hit #1 at the InterContinental Sydney

GFM 2006: Good Living Growers' Markets
GFM 2006: Hats Off dinner at Becasse
GFM 2006: Night Noodle Markets Week 3
GFM 2006: Night Noodle Markets Week 2
GFM 2006: Night Noodle Markets Week 1
GFM 2006: Spring Picnic
GFM 2006: Sugar Hit #4 at the Sofitel Wentworth
GFM 2006: Sugar Hit #3 at the Intercontinental Sydney
GFM 2006: Sugar Hit #2 at the Four Seasons Hotel Sydney
GFM 2006: Sugar Hit #1 at the Park Hyatt Sydney
GFM 2006: Sydney Food & Wine Fair


GFM 2005: Good Living Growers' Markets
GFM 2005: Night Noodle Markets
GFM 2005: Spring Picnic
GFM 2005: Sydney Farmers' Market
GFM 2005: Sydney Food & Wine Fair

GFM 2004: Twilight Trail: Cocktails and Sugar Hits

Morris' Egyptian Restaurant, Dulwich Hill

EDIT: Morris' has closed

You won't need a felucca to get to Dulwich Hill, just a short trip on a bus from the city to arrive at Morris', purportedly the only Egyptian restaurant in Sydney. Dulwich Hill has a village-like feel, but it has a healthy concentration of gastronomic highlights: Eumundi Smokehouse lures from across the road and giant wheels of rose-syrup soaked baklava await at Abla Pastry a few doors down.



I've been fascinated with Egyptian cuisine ever since reading Apricots on the Nile by Colette Rossant, one of my favourite foodie memoirs. The shamelessly kitsch decor inside Morris' is far from my romantic notions of Colette's childhood, but the giant Sphinx mural, 70s brown glass light fittings and colourful alternating red and yellow serviettes don't fail to raise a smile anyway.
There are a la carte options or banquets which start at $25 per person (Pharoah's banquet or $27.50 for Sultan's banquet). A happy group of eight of us go straight to the top: the King's banquet at $30 per head.


Hoummus
Mashed chickpeas, lemon juice and olive oil dip


Labneh
Yoghurt, cucumber, garlic, mint and lemon juice dip


Baba ghanouj
Eggplant dip

A trio of dips arrive almost immediately. They disappear just as fast with eager mopping up using soft wedges of fresh Lebanese bread.


Vine leaves filled with aromatic herbs and rice
and felafel deep-fried vegetable patties

Dolmades-like vine leaves are mild and without the traditional Greek lemony tang. Felafel are flattened patties of mashed chickpea that also differ from the crunchy football-shaped Lebanese version I'm used to. Tabbouleh (which I somehow forgot to take a photo of) is sweet and refreshing, and noted for its lack of burghul but distinctive addition of coriander.


Carob juice $3.50

I can't resist ordering the carob juice, a thick liquid that tastes like dark grape juice mixed with prunes.


Lamb kebab
Lamb cubes marinated in onion and herbs

A series of meat on skewers follows: the lamb kebabs are meltingly tender and almost gamey in flavour, the kofta are dense and meaty, the chicken kebabs are plump and juicy. A plate of tahini dip is dispensed with another basket of Lebanese bread, and our empty plates of tabbouleh are silently and thoughtfully replenished too.


Kofta
Lamb, beef and herbs in a sausage-like mince


Tahini
Sesame paste, lemon juice and garlic dip


Chicken kebab
Boneless chicken cubes marinated in garlic

We conclude with cups of strong Turkish-style coffee and a duo of sweets.



The baklava is sweet but not sickly so, and the Turkish delight is soft and chewy. It far surpasses my usual expectations of soggy or dried out desserts that conclude a banquet meal.


Baklava and Turkish delight

The ever-smiling owner, Morris Mansour, arrives at our table, adorning us with fez hats and a rainbow of scarves, hemmed with clinking gold coins. And with a blast of traditional music, we may not really be in Cairo, for a brief belly-shaking moment, we don't really care.



Morris' Egyptian Restaurant CLOSED
445 New Canterbury Road, Dulwich Hill, Sydney
Tel: +61 (02) 9560 1346

Tuesday - Saturday 6.00pm til midnight
BYO $1 corkage per person

Where did my weekend go?

The Sydney Food and Wine Fair on Saturday. The Seven Bridges Walk today. Somehow we (surprisingly, unfathomably, ridiculously) made it all the way around the 22km route, taking us over seven bridges and past some spectacular harbour views.

Exhausted?
Absolutely.

Photos to be uploaded from both events once I summon the strength :)

Y2K, Haymarket, Chinatown

Black sticky rice with puff pastry $4.50

Y2K reminds me of an era gone by: when pre-millennium hysteria gripped the world and people stockpiled tinned food and filled bathtubs with water, in case of a date-driven computer meltdown.

Like its moniker, Y2K is looking a little tired these days, and the gaudy new paint job inside only reminds me of a giant licorice allsort.



But sometimes you're in Chinatown at night and you're in need of dessert. And a little trip down the memory lane of long-gone high school gossip sessions, is quickly eased with a scoop of green-tea-flavoured ice cream or two.


Berry parfait $7.50
Fresh strawberry and homemade strawberry ice cream
Served with raspberry coulis


Black sticky rice with puff pastry $4.50

The puff pastry dome that encloses our giant ramekin is quick spectacular, but the black sticky rice is a little more al dente than we expected. The syrup is also quite sweet and thin.


Millennium Bug sundae $15.50
Jackfruit, durian, black sesame, coconut and green tea ice cream
served with palm seeds and coconut syrup

All my favourite flavours arrive in our millennium bug sundae. Black sesame is sweet and nutty; jackfruit is light and refreshing; the durian is mildly pungent and creamy. The coconut has a reassuring rough texture; and matcha green tea always cleanses the palate. The flavours don't seem as intense as Passionflower but then Y2K was always about caution.


Green tea and lychee gelato


Y2K Supercafe
43 Dixon Street, Haymarket, Chinatown, Sydney
Tel: +61 (02) 9281 2363

Good Food Month Spring Picnic, Centennial Park

Muffins from Shepherd's Bakehouse

After checking out the Danks Street Festival on Sunday morning, it was a quick hop onto a bus heading towards Centennial Park for the Good Food Month Spring Picnic.


Mandarins await juicing at Parker's Organics

I'm not sure whether it was the overcast weather, the freezing cold temperatures from the day before, lack of publicity or just a spreading out of (more) stalls, but numbers seemed considerably down compared to last year. Admittedly it was a sunnier day last year (although a little blustery, as I remember having to hang onto my som tham salad) when the crowds were out in force, and many stalls had sold out of everything by lunchtime.

This year there was barely a queue at any stall, with arrays of untouched offerings looking rather forlorn and neglected. There was no Tabou this year either, no Formaggi Ocello, no Asian ice creams and desserts, no Spice I Am, no friendly piadina man.


Parkers Organics sparkling

There were more stalls this year, but as always it was the ones emanating delicious aromas and the enticing sound of fat sizzling, that were the most popular.


Venison sausage rolls


Fruit from Grima Brothers


Jam donuts


Chorizo from Mojo Picon

I just caught the end of the cooking demonstration by Matthew Evans, the former Sydney Morning Herald restaurant critic, who was spruiking his new cookbook (Matthew is a qualified chef who had to give up the kitchen due to injury).


Matthew Evans and Helen Greenwood


Matthew Evans

Lunch was char kway teow from Singapore Quo Tiao King who had had a regular stall at the Night Noodle Markets. Despite visiting the noodle markets three times, somehowI never actually ate any noodles. Sunday's weather provided the perfect conditions for noodle cravings...


Sweet soy being added to rice noodles


Char kway teow


Char kway teow with chicken $7.00

Soft ribbons of rice noodles were doused with sweet soy sauce and fried until slightly caramelised. Strewn throughout were little morsels of tender chicken and paper-thin shreds of omelette. A handful of chopped green onion added bite and warmed-but-still-crunchy bean sprouts gave refreshing moisture and a contrast in texture.


Apple and cherry pithivier from Beb $8.00

Dessert was an apple and cherry pithivier from Beb patisserie. A pie of sorts made with two discs of flakiest puff pastry and filled with a moist but light frangipane almond cream filling.



This year's Spring Picnic was held on Sunday October 22, 2006 at Centennial Park in the Brazilian Fields.

Tagged with: gfm06 or check Rebecca's wrap-up

Related GrabYourFork posts:
GFM 2007: Sugar Hit #2 at the Sofitel Wentworth
GFM 2007: Sugar Hit #1 at the InterContinental Sydney

GFM 2006: Good Living Growers' Markets
GFM 2006: Hats Off dinner at Becasse
GFM 2006: Night Noodle Markets Week 3
GFM 2006: Night Noodle Markets Week 2
GFM 2006: Night Noodle Markets Week 1
GFM 2006: Spring Picnic
GFM 2006: Sugar Hit #4 at the Sofitel Wentworth
GFM 2006: Sugar Hit #3 at the Intercontinental Sydney
GFM 2006: Sugar Hit #2 at the Four Seasons Hotel Sydney
GFM 2006: Sugar Hit #1 at the Park Hyatt Sydney
GFM 2006: Sydney Food & Wine Fair


GFM 2005: Good Living Growers' Markets
GFM 2005: Night Noodle Markets
GFM 2005: Spring Picnic
GFM 2005: Sydney Farmers' Market
GFM 2005: Sydney Food & Wine Fair

GFM 2004: Twilight Trail: Cocktails and Sugar Hits