Good Food and Wine Show- Sydney 2015

The annual Good Food and Wine Show was held from 7-9 August 2015 in Sydney this year.  Previous years it has always been on my birthday weekend in June, and as I didn't get to visit the show last year (due to my big 4-0) and experience their new home out at Olympic Park i was excited to see it this year.

Bright and early on Saturday I headed out on the train and joined the already growing line (I was like the 20th in line) at 9.20am and by 10am when the doors opened the line was snaked all the way back to the train station.

I headed in and came to my first stop at Jack Dillion that was launched this weekend!  Young chef 'Jack' (Jacob) started to dabble in sauces, vinegars and smokers and has come up with a fabulous range of smokey BBQ sauces, a tasty range of balsamic vinegars, olive oils and sauces.  This has been born out of therapeutic recovery. Without going into to many details, Jacob was recovering from injuries due to an assault late one night on his way home and while off recovering he decided to not go back to the kitchen and he has launched the Jack Dillion range.

This was one of the first stalls I stopped at and was the last one of the day to purchase a bottle of the Bootleg Rum and orange balsamic.

Some Origin organic (and fair trade) chocolate tastings.  Using ethically sourced cocoa beans from Madagascar, Bolivia, Dominican Republic and Peru amongst a few others, this chocolate is high quality, creamy and rich.  (since the GFWS I have come across Origin and 2 other festivals). 

 

Time for something to wet the whistle.  Visiting the 'Barossa Valley' for some Red Art wines.   The shiraz was notable.

 



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I'll be honest, I sampled alot of wine this particular day hence the reason why I didn't take alot of photos. I did enjoy many a drop and even renewed my membership with Tamburlaine Wines. The show is a perfect way to sample wines from many regions.

I got in early over at cheese alley before the crowds became to unbearable. I stopped by Bruny Island Cheese Co to sample their range. It was the first time I had the chance to taste their wonderful cheeses.

 

The above cheese is their Oen.  A soft cow's milk cheese, the rind is washed in pinot and wrapped in vine leaves before maturing. It is gooey and stinky and divine.

 

Shaw River Buffalo cheese was  spectacular.   Their products are produced from 100% buffalo milk that are farmed in Victoria and range from yoghurt to a romano style hard cheese and a smoked buffalino.

 

 

 

Time for some (more) beverages.  Scarlett's Spirtzers are from New Zealand and blended with wine and fruit flavours.   Choice of passionfruit, strawberry or mango and orange, these are fizzy and refreshing.

 



 

 

 

Stopped by Mrs Mi's to check out Robbie the noodle shaving robot.  He is fun to watch as he shaves noodles into the big pot of water.  While there I grabbed a bowl of taiwenese style fried chicken which was so good.  Hot, crispy, salty.  Perfect.

 

 

 

Just Jerky made from grass fed organic beef.  It's primal, it's paleo friendly and it's delicious. 

 

Sausages from the British Sausage.   

 

There is so much more at the show (and again forgot to take some photos!).  I love this event and always look forward to it every year.  So much that I am already planning next year!

 

Gotta end the day with an obligatory haul snap.  Here is all my goodies from the show!

 

 

Hanging out on a Sydney Dude Food Tour with Tastemaven

 

Always up for a food tour or a new food experience where ever I am in the world, I was lucky enough to join a group of fellow foodbloggers last Friday night on a Sydney Dude Food tour run by Tastemaven.  So what is Tastemaven I hear you ask?

 

Three friends who share a love of food, adventure and travel decided that the concept of a group of new friends getting together to share a meal, getting out of ones comfort zone and discovering food around our fair city was exciting. A way for a group of people to hang out, taste new foods, meet new people and explore. So Tastemaven was born.

 

Friday night was the pilot tour for the Sydney Dude Food tour run by Isaac - a Sydney Dude! 

The evening was kicking off at The Forresters which was pumping when I arrived.  As I was early and had a sneaky glass of wine before meeting the group. For research purposes of course.

 

wine at the bar

 

 

After some confusion about where everyone was meeting, we finally found everyone and introductions were made.  It wasn't long before we delved into some serious snacks.  And when I say serious I mean serious ....3/4's of the 'snacks' on the menu was ordered.  The table was piled high.

It also wasn't long before we were all chatting and getting to know each other.  Food will always bring people together (in my opinion).

eat all the snacks

 

From top clockwise we have the:

 

• fried calamari slider with jalapeno tartare and rocket
• supreme pizza pockets
• fries with cool ranch dressing
• buffalo cauliflower with cool ranch dressing
• adobo meatball taco w smoked jalapenos, shredded iceberg and queso cheese,
• BBQ garlic and corn bread with smoked mozzarella and jalapeno salsa
• salt and peppa squid
• dynamite slide with chilli beef, onion rings and bread an butter pickles
• Korean fried chicken with kimchee sour cream

My favourite would have to be the buffalo cauliflower, the Korean fried chicken, the salt and peppa calamari.  The supreme pizza pockets were a let down.

 

Moving on, we needed to roll......(literally)

 

A brisk walk over to Chur Burger on Albion St, we find there is going to be about a 20 minute wait.  It's a Friday night and no reservations.  However, that's a great wait considering we are a party of nine.  It gives us a chance to chat and get to know each other a little more and more importantly a chance for a stomachs to get ready for the next 'course'!

 

what's your chur-ce

 

Chur burger may only offer a few options but the kitchen is pumping out these fabulous burgers.  It's all fast pace in the kitchen but they staff take a quick photo op!

 

I go with the very popular pulled pork with Chur BBQ sauce, red slaw and fennel mayo. I'm not disappointed, soft but chewy exterior bun with crunchy slaw and smoky tender shreds of pork is delectable and as I bite into it the juices start to run down the wrists.  I politely and discreetly lick my hands, which is not easy in a crowded restaurant and sitting at a table of people who are essentially 'strangers' even though we are mostly food bloggers who would probably do the same thing!     

  

pulled pork Chur

 

I do eye off someone's chicken burger which is grilled marinated chicken, hot sauce mayo and minted slaw and make a mental note for next time.

 

 

chicken chur

 

It's just a pity that we have no room for the sweet potato fries or a milkshake but there is one more stop to be had.  Never fear I will be returning to Chur soon.

 

Our last stop is over at Brooklyn Social, however when we arrived there is a 45 minute wait (again no reservations), so it is decided to head back towards Darlinghurst and end the tour with a sweet ending at Rivareno Gelato.  We all mention that all the walking that we are doing is walking off the calories!

 

I actually walked past this place a couple of weeks ago having no idea that they were so good!  It's not busy at around 9pm on a Friday so we take full advantage of taste testing some of the menu.

 

 

 

The gelato is a traditional Italian gelato and is made with milk, cream and cane syrup, which doesn't make the gelato overly sweet.  It's the flavour combinations that give it the most amazing texture and sweetness.  The gelato is so smooth.

 

After many tastings I opt for two scoops.  One is a speciality scoop of ricotta a figs, which is made with sheeps milk ricotta and deeply caramelised figs.  The second scoop is called Caramello Salato and is Himalayan salted caramel.  This scoop pops with salt crystals and is delicious.

gelato heaven

 

 

All in all, this was a pleasant night, meeting new people with the same interest - FOOD, eating some comfort food which is definitely on the Dude Food radar, great venues and all round lovely night. 

 

If you are interested in an evening of restaurant hopping or for another experience such as cupcake decorating, Indian street food, a Brazilian brunch or a have a sweet tooth head over to the Tastemaven website for more details.

 

I wish the girls all the best success for their new venture and thanks for a fab evening!

 

 - The Forresters

 - Chur Burger

 - Rivareno Gelato

Campsie Food Festival 2014

Last weekend I headed over to Campsie to join in the festivities for the Campsie Food Festival hosted by Canterbury Council. Campsie is a melting pot of cultural backgrounds that include amongst others Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese and Indian.  I was there quiet early and watched alot of the stalls setting up and it was a good chance to see some of the food stalls on offer without the crowds around them.  Here we have a selected few.

 

 

 

 

 

 

lots of food stalls

 

 

The stalls this year include Chinese dumplings, Dutch pancakes, German hut dogs, Himalayan dim sim, Indonesian cakes, Korean chips on a stick, Malaysian crabayaki balls, Nepalese momo soup, Portuguese chicken, Russian crepes, Spanish paella, Taiwanese soft shell prawns, Thai noodles, Turkish gozleme.  My mouth is watering.

 

 

At the entrance of ANZAC Mall Telstra had a fruit and vegetable carving display.  It was pretty impressive.

fruit and vegetable carving

 

I stopped by to chat to the boys at The Really Stuffed Olive Co.  I'm a sucker for balsamic vinegars and I was intrigued by their Wasabi balsamic.  It's a white balsamic with flecks of wasabi through it.  The wasabi flavour is punchy but refreshing and didn't clear the nostrils like wasabi can do!  I immediately purchase a bottle.

 

 

The also do a range of wine salts and dukkah

What is a festival without the gozleme ladies.  They are out in full force today chopping the spinach and kneading the dough.  It's going to be a busy day for them.

gozleme ladies hard at work

 

I'm starting to get peckish and I really wanted takoyaki balls from Colotako but they weren't anywhere near ready.  So I choose a plate of BBQ dumplings from Yan's Asian Stall.  Hot and crispy yes they were, but the dough is thick and 'doughy' and I'm disappointed (saying that I always seem to be disappointed with BBQ dumplings anywhere - I think I sway towards steamed and soup dumplings more)

BBQ dumplings

 

Okay I had to try the 'I Ate a Bug' stall.  I'm not adverse to a bug or two.  In fact I have eaten my fair share of crickets in South East Asia.  I actually love the crispy, crunchy texture and when fried with garlic, chilli and a bit of salty goodness they are a great beer snack.  So I was up for a sample. 

 

I went with the cricket sample pack, which contained 5 plain roasted crickets.

Ate a bug

 

They are tiny and yes they are crunchy, but they had no flavour and I was sort of 'meh'.

 

crickets

I stopped by for a selection of 'wheel cakes'.  I get one of each - chocolate, custard and green tea.  These were hot off the griddle pan, however they were still floury in the middle and not cooked all the way through.  The fillings were tasty and I really liked the green tea one. 

Finally, Colotako is open and I join the line for my octopus balls.  On offer today are octopus, prawn and crab legs.  The production line is pumping with about 14 grills operating.  They know how to make their balls!  The waiting line gets a bit out of control.  It's going to be busy for them today and I'm seventh in line and there are at least another 20 or so people waiting already and another 10 or so people deep waiting just to order.

making the balls

Piping hot, gooey innards and a piece of rubbery octopus inside each ball.  There is plenty of mayo and bonito flakes and it's exactly as I was expecting.  Takoyaki balls, hot and fresh.

takoyako balls

As I had arrived so early to the festival I was also lucky number one to sign up for the Taste Food tours being offered today.  For $5 they take you on a mini food tour of Campsie - fitting in 6 stops in an hour.  If anybody is unfamiliar with Taste Food Tours they are run through the Benevolent Society and a portion of the proceeds goes to charity.  The guides are knowledgeable and very passionate about food and the cultures of the areas you are visiting.  I have previously done a South American Food Tour with them and can highly recommend it.  For $5 today was a perfect example of what to expect on a full taste tour.  Luckily today, Tina is my guide, who I had last time.

First stop is at Simo's a Lebanese bakery that does fresh Manoosh.  I dive into the Zaatar manoosh which is my favourite topping for manoosh. 

manoosh

We visit a Korean grocery store, which I have never noticed before.  It's tucked away in a back street and doesn't get any foot traffic.

Fridge full of kimchi love. 

We sample khakdugi which is similar to kimchi (preserved/pickled cabbage) but the main ingredient is daikon (or white radish).  It's pugent flavour is surprisingly fresh and punchy and the chucks of radish are crisp and it has a good kick of chilli.

khakdugi

We also sample a tray of tteok - which is a glutinous rice dumpling filled with a red bean paste.  I get the last one on the tray (hence the lonely single tteok photo).  There are literally hundreds of varieties of tteok that Koreans munch on and can range from simple everyday ones like this or more elaborate filled ones with nuts and fruits to celebrate weddings and birthdays.

We stop by a Korean butcher to watch them cut the beef into Korean cuts.  There is wagyu slices and  kalbi cuts - ready to be BBQ.  There is pre-marinted beef for kalbi and other goodies like duck and a few pork products.

Another grocery store stop for some pandan cake and sour plum tasting and a quick browse.  I always get 'lost' in an Asian grocery store.  I want to purchase everything and learn how to use the product.  I could literally spend an hour in here wandering the aisles.

pandan and chocolate cake

sour plums

Our last food tasting spot is at a BBQ restaurant.  The window is full of BBQ duck, steamed and soy braised chicken, duck tongues and tripe.  I'm drooling and in awe of the amount of product.

Inside the restaurant smells heavenly of that sweet sticky BBQ sauce.  We taste some of the steamed chicken which is served with my favourite ginger and shallot oil sauce.  The chicken is juicy and tender and delicious.  However its the BBQ pork (or Char siu) that blows me away.  It's tender and smokey and just the right amount of rendered fat that makes me going back for another slice (even though I am now full at this point). 

 

Our last stop on the tour is at a kitchenware store selling pots and pans and crockery and Asian gadgets needs to make your Asian delights.  Again this is another store that I could spend time in...alas my purse is empty and will need to wait for another day.

There are cooking demonstrations in ANZAC Mall throughout the day and the stalls are pumping by lunchtime with festival revellers.

The festival was fun and what I saw was only a little insight as to what Campsie has to offer.  I think I'll be back here for lunch very soon.