Taste of Sydney Festival

14 March 2009, 22:13

Taste of Sydney has begun! Sydney’s best chef’s will be preparing their signature dishes for you to customise your own degustation menu. Be prepared and bring your extra stomach and comfy walking shoes!


There is parking available at the Centennial Park but you can also take the bus and walk thru the park passing signs like this which had the exact same distance on all of them…


Helen and i are joined by Billy and Yas and we’ve pooled our ‘resources’ and bought a whole stack of crowns- the currency of the festival which can be bought at the door and inside from the pink hatted ladies. It’s pretty much $1 for 1 crown with books of 10 crowns and food priced around 8-14 crowns. Most stalls selling stuff like biscuits etc you can pay in both crowns and $$$ but not all will accept the crowns. The menu can be found here. We also bump into Lorraine and Christie who have brought their other halves in order to secure tables heh good move =P


We make our way inside the grounds passing a sexy shiny yellow car


As we walked past the restaurant stalls i spot a pannacotta sitting on its lonesome at the Jonah’s stall and as i excitedly point it out to billy, chef George Francisco comes rushing up “are you chocolatesuze? i love your youtube video! i’ve been sending it to all my friends!” lol im laughing but i am immediately mortified at the thought of such an incredible chef seeing this crazy video from the media launch so of course i had to ask for a more ‘normal’ video:


im still debating whether or not i should put crazy music on this video heh altho there is one other video i took later on so scroll down to see!


There were ‘classes’ to watch and learn like the James Squire beer masterclass and the Taste wine tent


Chocolate to taste from Zokoko


Awesome creamy delicious buffalo cheeses from Vanella Cheese Factory


Loved this sign from Aga


hee retro dishwashers!


i somehow managed to forget to take a photo of all the restaurant stalls lined up hmm my bad but onto the food!


Jonah’s at Whale Beach: Tempura ricotta filled zucchini flowers with basil pesto sauce (10 crowns). Yas has been patient with us as we are crazily taking photos of stalls but he spots a lady with a tray of vivid green zucchini flowers and has immediately handed over a wad of crowns.


Restaurant Balzac: Saddle of suckling Pig with Crackling and Baby Garden Peas (12 crowns). Heh somehow this wasn’t what i was expecting presentation-wise but the meat was soft and tender and the crackling thin and crispy


Assiette: Loin & crumbed belly of lamb with basil mayonnaise & a tomato olive jus (12 crowns). Two thumbs up to the crumbed lamb oh boy was it tasty with its golden crunchy outer layer giving way to melty soft lamb- I suffered from food envy aww


Restaurant Balzac: Wagyu Beef Bourguignonne’ with Truffled Cauliflower and Onion Rings (10 crowns). We had tried this previously at the launch but Billy cant resist getting it and we are so very glad when Yas also gets this because it means more to share hehe it’s a thick golden roll filled with shredded juicy wagyu and the combination of the truffle sauce is too awesome for words. Get it. i command you.


Bloggers eat! Even tho we had arrived pretty early at the festival it filled up quickly and tables were scarce so we ended up eating at an empty SMH stall…


Jonah’s at Whale Beach: Vanilla pannacotta with lavender honey and fresh pomegranate (8 crowns). first dessert has got to be the famous jiggly pannacotta! oh how it wobbled! George gave this to me on the house yay but wait want to see a crazy video?


Ahem. Yeah I had a bit too much sugar that night.


Berowa Waters Inn: Dark Chocolate Tart, End of Season Berries, Mascarpone Sabayon (10 crowns). The tart looked so rich but apparently my stomach can conquer all and it was gone in a flash leaving me thinking huh that was a nice chocolate tart was it really dark chocolate tho because the tastebuds arent crying from being fed dark chocolate.


Buon Ricordo: Semifreddo Montegranelli – Semifreddo with crushed torrone and nuts (10 crowns). Presentation wasn’t that pretty but i loved the little nougat-y bits hidden inside. Yeah dividing this into 4 was a fail and we (unhygienically) dipped in heh we’re family now right guys?


Centennial Parklands Dining: Goat Cheese Marshmallow with strawberries and basil (8 crowns). i really liked the texture of this! The marshmallow had been toasted giving it a nice caramelised taste like a smore and the goats cheese flavour wasnt too overpowering unlike the basil granita which i wasnt too fond of. Oh and i reckon if the marshmallow was on a stick i’d prolly like it more…


Flying Fish: Love cake with cinnamon cream (8 crowns). Our last dessert was pretty delish and i love all things cinnamon!


This is how foodbloggers roll share. heh thanks to our awesome planning skills we managed to use up every single crown = win! The festival ends on Sunday so hope you guys managed to make it and make sure you try the wobbly pannacotta!

1. hahaha your famous suze !!

   love the pictures thanks heaps since i couldnt make it

   — betty Pham    Mar 14, 10:18 PM    #
   
   

2. Great timing! I went to it today and HAD to get jiggy with the you-know-what. It was FABULOUS. I’m glad you enjoyed yourself, too.

   — BELLE    Mar 14, 10:45 PM    #
   
   

3. how on earth did you cut up that tart? the Bean & i endd up with mush. tasty mush, but mush nonetheless…

   — shez    Mar 14, 11:19 PM    #
   
   

4. hahaha, awesome that Francisco recognised you. :)

   — goosmurf    Mar 15, 12:01 AM    #
   
   

5. You’re a YouTube celebrity!

   Had much fun and yay for George and his jiggly panna cotta.

   — Helen    Mar 15, 02:14 AM    #
   
   

6. Hahahahaha go crazy with the boobie! I had fun with you guys :)

   — Yas    Mar 15, 06:29 AM    #
   
   

7. Which days did you guys go?

   — Emily    Mar 15, 09:56 AM    #
   
   

8. jiggles…. still cant get over you went “waoaooooaawwwww” and then “nnnggaaaarrrrr….” in the video! ROFL. I want some more of those wagyu from Balzac… delish

   — billy@ATFT    Mar 15, 10:17 AM    #
   
   

9. how awesome was the wagyu beef @ balzac!!! I loveee it soo muchhh I soo wanted to try the dark chocolate tart but I was too full by then =((((((

   — smileona    Mar 15, 11:21 AM    #
   
   

10. HAHAH brilliant! Nice modelling in the dishwasher shot :P
    and omg that wagyu was orgasmic mmmm

    Haha I think foodbloggers should get a sucking pig and chocolate tart each :P?

    — FFichiban    Mar 15, 01:09 PM    #
    
    

11. Great pics and article. I especially love the picture and video of you and Chef Francisco! I am rather partial since he is a longtime friend. All the food looked heavenly and without a doubt if I could have attended, I would have had to break out the ole elastic waist pants!

    — bethieofVA    Mar 16, 05:16 AM    #
    
    

12. OMG – I want it all, especially the Wagyu and all the desserts!! Dark chocolate tart, love cake, marshmallow, semifreddo….yum!!! Love the photos and videos too! Great that George Francisco recognised you and you got a video of him with the pannacotta.

    — Anita    Mar 16, 11:39 AM    #
    
    

13. The pannacotta was absolutely sublime!

    Looks like it was a quiet day when you went. It was absolutely crowded on the Sunday.

    — Simon    Mar 16, 03:11 PM    #
    
    

14. betty: lol not really heh more like infamous from the youtube vid!
    belle: heh and was it jiggly enough for ya?
    shez: it was billys SKILLZ! oh yes he managed to cut that baby with 2 spoons!
    goosmurf: heh yeah it was totally unexpected!
    helen: lol i should watch what i say when im around you cos youve got such a good memory its freaky!
    yas: sugoi! um yeh thats the extent of my jap hehe but was fun meeting ya dude!
    emily: thursday and we had lovely weather and wasnt too packed
    billy: heh reckon i could have a career in sound effects?
    smileona: the food was so awesome i wish i had gone again! and hey at least you managed the wobbly pannacotta =P
    ffichiban: heh sharing is caring! but yes i wouldve loved the tart by myself!
    bethieofVA: ooh could you let him know that he is my new idol? i love the pannacotta oh man so delish! gonna try and save up so i can visit his restaurant
    anita: the desserts were so awesome! i was sad i didnt get to try the eton mess tho
    simon: yeah we went really earli on the opening session on thurs but by night time it was packed!

    — chocolatesuze    Mar 17, 02:20 AM    #
    
    

15. I will tell him!! I need to save up myself and come see you guys waaaaaay over yonder!!

    — BethieofVA    Mar 17, 06:02 AM    #
    
    

16. This looks like so much fun! I especially liked the Goat Cheese Marshmallow with strawberries and basil – any chance they will give you the recipe to post?

    — nurit - 1 family. friendly. food.    Mar 26, 04:29 AM    #
    
    

17. hehehhe i do love your crazy video!!!!!! music is awesome and the 2nd one is fun too… perhaps you can join all up in series some other time :P

    — tammy    Apr 9, 11:22 PM    #
    
    

18. Delicious pics , nice one well done :-)

    — Sydney Dishwashers    Oct 1, 10:41 PM    #