I recently attended a food bloggers event at The Norfolk in Surry Hills to partake in a tasting of the new(ish) menu.
I have never been to The Norfolk before but
I arrive early, so I start with a Tommy's Apple Crumble, a delicious concoction that reminder me of a cool autumn nights dessert...but of course, this was anything but....a mix of Herradura silver tequila, pomme verte, lime, agave with a jam and biscuit rim.
Finally everyone arrived and we were all chatting and catching up and speculating and perusing the enticing menu. I'm excited.
I must remind myself to PACE MYSELF....my new Tantra!
We start with a special...Chicken Waffle on a stick!
I'm a fan of the fried chicken and waffles with maple syrup....yes maple syrup is a must.
This reminded me of America's State Fair food - something that is on my bucket list. A waffle wrapped around chicken, deep fried topped with sauces. Yeah this works.
This cheeseburger however blew me away. Sydney's burger craze is rampant at the moment and there is some high stake contenders in being the best burger. This perfect little starter wow'ed me!
Monterey cheese burger - ezy cheese and jalapeno salsa. This was deceptively delicious!. It looks simple but OMG...I love spray cheese....yes it's overprocessed and fake...but you gotta love it! The jalapeno salsa has some heat but blends well with the cheese....
Time for another round of cocktails. Next choice is the Cowgirl Bubbles. A blend of Jack honey, strawberry liqueur, lemon, ginger, sparkling wine. I didn't enjoy this one as much as the previous one. It was nice, just wasn't pairing as well with the food.
Tacos, Tacos, Tacos! So many tacos. In fact there was 3 each. I'm glad I'm wearing my stretchy pants.
We sample the Asado Beef (above front), Pulled Pork (mid left) and the Jalapeno Popper (mid right).
the Asado Beef taco had coffee, avocado cream and arbol chilli salsa. It was very tasty. The Pulled Pork taco was served with smoked adobo pork, aji chili and pineapple salsa. The pulled pork was smoky and tender but it was the pineapple salsa that pulled it through (no pun intended). In all honesty, and my own opinion, I think I am over pulled pork. I think I have overdosed on it over the past year, so I wasn't so keen on it....not when there was a jalapeno popper taco to be had!
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Breaded, fried, cheesy hot peppers wrapped in a soft tortilla topped with pumpkin mole, queso and salsa rojo. I yes, folks we have a clear winner!
getting up close and personal with an asado beef taco
Chef Jamie Thomas and the kitchen crew were still pumping out the dishes. Not only for us but also being a Tuesday night, keeping up with the demand for Taco Night!
I think I went into deep fried heaven here.....
Mole Fried Chicken Wings with mole spices, crema and chilli vinegar.
The mole spices shine through this fried chicken and the chilli vinegar gives it a nice flavour that cuts through. The sauce was unusual. We all commented on it an and we worked out that it was the coffee (we think that's what it was) on top of the sauce that was giving it a a unique and unusual flavour. I wasn't a fan of it...but others loved it.
Next fried dish up was Deep Fried Pickles with ranch sauce. I have loved Fried Pickles since I started travelling through the States years ago. They are a dish that can be fantastic or terrible. These were crispy with a light batter and dipped in ranch...mmmmm
However it was the Mac n Cheeseballs with spiced ketchup that blew most of us away. These deceptively (yes I use that word again) simple looking balls were just awesome orbs of cheesy carb laden fried bombs!
Fried food in all its glory!
Thankfully we had a small break before the onslaught of more tastings. The menu is packed with delicious snacks and tacos (many we have sampled tonight) but there is also salads, burgers and mains (which we didn't see). More reason to come back and do some more 'sampling'.
the last round of savoury dishes makes it's way to the tables with the San Jose Choy Bow which has grilled chicken, green papaya, lime, peanuts and salsa rojo. These were refreshing, crunchy and delightful.
Another wow factor dish was the BBQ corn with ancho mayo topped with bacon and pretzel furikake
Furikake is traditionally a Japanese dry seasoning that is sprinkled atop rice. It comes in various flavours but mostly with a base of dried ground fish, seaweed and sesame seeds. Tonight we see it with bacon and pretzel crumbs too. The corns wins the dish of the night for me (big call, I know) but really I love corn and this was top notch.
Last but not least was the K Town Burrito with short rib, smoked frank and kimchi rice wrapped in a torilla. This was a fusion of Mexican and Korean and it worked. I just wish I could have enjoyed it more (but the belly was full).
We cannot finish off any meal without dessert.
Deep fried banana taco with peanut butter icecream, ice magic, peanuts, 100's and 1000's and fried corn taco. This is a fun, childlike dessert in all it's glory and it was good. Anything fried will win right? and who can resist 100's and 1000's?
I really enjoyed dinner at The Norfolk. The menu is extensive and fun, particularly if you love American fried foods. It has a unique atmosphere, a fun court yard for al fresco drinking and dining. The staff are friendly and helpful and overall just a great pub to spend some time in.
Thanks for the invite!
*Roofood dined as a guest of Drink n Dine. All opinions are expressly my own.
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