Sydney's Must-Do Food Experiences
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Sydney’s must-do food experiences The food fun never stops in Sydney, and October might just be the best time to put on your eating pants, strap on your drinking shoes, set your cap and get into it. With the Crave Sydney International Food Festival in town, there’s no better time to get out and explore all the fabulous food experiences on offer. Below are just a very few of our favourite edible adventures – try them out and add your own. The genesis of the Canto-stralian style Billy Kwong, 355 Crown St, Surry Hills, 02 9332 3300 Over the past decade, Kylie Kwong has built an enviable reputation for her restaurant Billy Kwong (and became something of a celebrity herself along the way) cooking home-style Chinese-inspired food with the very best ingredients she could lay her hands on. This year, that focus on ingredients has taken an even more interesting turn: Kwong now departs significantly from the Cantonese canon by shifting the focus to the sorts of native Australian ingredients not typically seen on Australian tables, let alone Hong Kong. That equates to steamed dumplings made with Spencer Gulf prawns and sea parsley, deep-fried garfish garnished with jewels of finger-lime, and crisp-skinned pasture-fed duck with a sauce made from quandongs and orange. It’s different, but most importantly, it’s delicious. The sweetest finale at Quay Quay, upper level, Overseas Passenger Terminal, The Rocks, 02 9251 5600 Quay chef Peter Gilmore’s desserts have become fixtures of critics’ must-eat lists over the years. The crisp lines of the eight-texture Amedei chocolate cake. The strawberry-guava snow egg which gained infamy as a final challenge for contestants on TV’s hugely popular MasterChef Australia. But what’s great about Gilmore is that he won’t (and quite possibly can’t) allow himself to rest on his laurels. The creations keep coming, and Quay’s reputation as one of the great dessert destinations of the world glows ever brighter. Is the standout of 2012 his “ethereal sheets”? These crisp strata of salt caramel, prune and walnut, paired with Jersey cream are hard to beat. But then what of Andalucia, Gilmore’s postcard to his recent travels in Spain, painted in almond crumb, roast almond ice-cream, orange and bergamot marmalade? There’s no dilemma here: just order both Lebanese breakfast, Newtown style Al Aseel, 189 Missenden Rd, Newtown, 02 9550 3194 Hit the inner-west for authentic Lebanese where it's all about weekend breakfast with a side of felafels. Al Aseel might have several restaurants around town but it's their Newtown digs serving up ful medames or fried flatbread doused in yoghurt and olive oil, and sprinkled with crisped-up chick peas. Fresh mint tea, Lebanese sausage, beer on tap, baked eggs: Sunday morning has never tasted so good. Page 1 of 5 Breakfast for supper at Bodega Bodega, 216 Commonwealth St, Surry Hills, 02 9212 7766 Everybody’s favourite rockin’ rockabilly, Argentinian-influenced tapas bar has had a lick of paint, re-inked its tattoos, and run a comb through its Brylcreem, reopening mid-year with a spring in its step and a brace of fun new dishes on the menu. Take the pancakes as a case in point - they’re the stage for a nugget of creamy salt cod brandade and a wobbly poached egg, showered with spring onion and sauced with - oh yes - smoked maple syrup butter. Delicate? Maybe not. Delicious? Unquestionably. Chinatown in a glass: The Golden Century Martinez Eau de Vie, 229 Darlinghurst Rd, Darlinghurst, 02 9357 2470 In a tribute to the iconic Sydney restaurant, The Golden Century Martinez, conceived by the team at Sydney liquor-lovers’ favourite Eau de Vie, is very tongue-in-cheek, and a fascinating combination. Peking duck-infused Tanqueray gin, house-made almond syrup, sweet vermouth, whiskey, and - the cherry on the maraschino cherry - chilli-sauce bitters. Bar snacks at Momofuku Seiobo Momofuku Seiobo, Level G, The Star, 80 Pyrmont St, Pyrmont, momofuku.com The degustation might get all the press (and so it should - it's a 12-plus-course cosmic voyage of deliciousness) but the bar menu, served to a tiny audience of five or six fortunate walk-ins each night, also deserves praise. Because it's here you'll try experiments from the kitchen (love that take on fried Korean rice cakes beef with finely diced tripe) and a pared back, more casual Momofuku not unlike what you might experience at NYC's Momofuku Noodle Bar or Ssam Bar. There's pickles, there's pork buns, there's fried chicken, there’s the same excellent drinks list, and the same powerful soundtrack. And you don't need to book. Kanom jeen nam ya: the Spice of life Spice I Am, 90 Wentworth Ave, Surry Hills, 02 9280 0928 Or, to put it another way, fermented rice noodles with fish curry sauce. It’s one of the best dishes at Spice I Am, which in turn is one of the best places to eat Thai food in the land, which makes it some of the best Thai food outside Asia. Spice I Am resides in an unassuming shopfront, but is easily located thanks to the swarms of diners who flock to it night and day for thoroughly authentic and lesser-known dishes such as this aromatic number sprinkled with basil and pickled mustard greens. For something even more pungent, check out its sister restaurant, House, at the Triple Ace pub just down the block, where the specialty of the House is the Isaan food of Thailand’s northeast. Damien Pignolet’s corned beef Bellevue Hotel, 159 Hargrave St, Paddington, 02 9363 2293 Sydney likes eating in pubs. There’s no shortage of places which contrast familiar Page 2 of 5 surroundings with quite progressive eats, but for something a bit more traditional, though by no means staid, it’s got to be the Bellevue Hotel. Chef Damien Pignolet is a hero to the neighbourhood after his years of faithful service at his Bistro Moncur at the nearby Woollahra Hotel, and the magic is undimmed at his new home. Corned beef doesn’t get more attractive than when it’s fork-tender wagyu silverside paired with classic white sauce, carrots and cabbage. Gelato, Chinatown-style, at N2 Extreme Gelato N2 Extreme Gelato, 43/1 Dixon St, Sydney, n2extremegelato.com.au Dixon Street newcomer Min Chai (an accountant-turned-gelato-whizkid) and his bespectacled, labcoated team make each serve of gelato they sell to order, for that straight- off-the-churn magic. How does he do it? With a whole lot of liquid nitrogen. He's currently going through a thousand litres a week to mix up flavours such as buttered popcorn (with the goodness of real popcorn) and Chinese cough syrup. Just what the doctor ordered. The other extreme: Gelato Messina Gelato Messina, 1/241 Victoria St, Darlinghurst; Cafe Court, level G, The Star, 80 Pyrmont St, Pyrmont; 389 Crown St, Surry Hills; gelatomessina.com Sydney can't get enough of the sweet stuff in summer (hey, it gets hot here). If we’re not standing in the nitro-cloud crowd at Extreme Gelato, it’s probably because we're lined up for a scoop of salted coconut and mango gelato from Messina. We're crazy for this local cult hero’s ice-cream cakes, too, shaped to look like toadstools, hamburgers and fried eggs. Or try a scoop of the Ricky Bobby: pumpkin pie-flavoured gelato. Truck-side American barbecue, inner-west style Firetruck BBQ truck, firetruckbbq.com.au American-inspired barbecue has hit the back-streets of Marrickville thanks to Firetruck BBQ. It’s one of Sydney's first food trucks to operate outside the City of Sydney council’s 2012 food truck trial programme, and it also happens to be one of the best. Off-duty rockabillies and boys in brogues and cardigans form a crowd while they wait for sticky pork ribs, hot wings, pulled pork on soft rolls and pumpkin gooey cake, with a cherry Coke chaser. Breakfasting on the Bay The Sailors Club, 594 New South Head Rd, Rose Bay, 02 9327 6561 The new Sailors Club is a bit like Palm Springs meets St Tropez, only with a much better menu. Take a seat in the narrow, glassed in environs of what was once Pier, perching at a bright banquette, or take a tiny table for two. On a clement day, the sun sparkles on yachts rolling gently on Rose Bay. Outside, the locals are dropping a line, dangling bare feet, or riding their Schwinns to nearby Bondi Beach. Inside, well-heeled and well-coiffed blondes brush against silver foxes in boat shoes. Ruby red grapefruit halves sit alongside three-egg omelettes injected with chevre, while breakfast-dessert could equal Campari crepes Suzette. Evenings bring rowdy tables and tender minute steaks slathered in red wine butter and mustard leaves. Wear your best tan. Page 3 of 5 The pizza that ate Naples (and moved to Sydney) Via Napoli, 3/141 Longueville Rd, Lane Cove, 02 9428 3297 "No half-and-half". It's the most uttered sentence in the more upmarket traditional Italian-run Sydney pizzerias, where a side of attitude seems to come free with most pies. Except at Via Napoli, where not only can you order half-and-half, you can order four-by-four. This is the home of the well-made metre-long pizza, a place where it's almost tempting to order one to go, just so you can be seen carrying a pizza box the size of a small child down the street.