After huge amounts of rain on Thursday in Sydney, it made a lot of sense that the Taste of Sydney‘s opening Thursday night was cancelled. When I went after work on Friday night, there were still ponds around trees in Centennial Park – and these ponds were under seating and benches, so we knew they weren’t meant to be there, but that didn’t stop the ducks from paddling their feet there.
Arriving at 6.30pm, there was not much room to park at all, although this meant we had a nice walk through park on our way to the festival (it also meant it was a dark walk back – which I used my iphone torch to help guide our way, so we didn’t get caught in any puddles).
I went straight to buy Crowns (the currency of the Taste of Sydney), pick up my free Gourmet Traveller magazine, and then on to buy the entrees.
For my entree, I purchased the Barbarossa Ravioli – Ravioli of Sliced Pickled Beetroot with Goats Curd, Pistachio and Horseradish from Otto Ristorante. It was beautifully presented – people even came up and asked what it was and where they could get it – and the taste was lovely too. I only wish there was more 🙂
Nick had the Charcuterie Tasting Plate with Cornichons and Mustard Fruits from The Cut Bar and Grill. The flavours of the meat were certainly a great starter for the night.
For the main I had the Braised Shoulder of Lamb with Polenta and Green Sauce from The Montpellier Public House. The Lamb fell off the bone and was lovely and flavoursome. I wish there had been more meat, as there was a lot of bone and fat left over.
Next to try was the Roast Suckling Pig, Coleslaw, Onion Rings and Hot Sauce from Four in Hand. The pig fell apart beautifully had a good flavour, Nick enjoyed this.
On to dessert, I decided to try the Hokey Pokey Ice Cream Sandwich from Quarter Twenty One, and found the honeycomb and chocolate worked very nicely. I didn’t think preserved citrus that was paired with it worked well, so I ate the ice cream sandwich by itself.
The other dessert we tried was the Cremino al Cioccolato: Amedei gianduia chocolate crema, salty caramel gelato, Italian meringue from A Tavola. This dessert came in a little coffee cup, and the combination of flavours worked well, with chocolate at the bottom, caramel and soft Italian meringue on top.
As we ate quite soon after arriving, we managed to get a good spot on the picnic rugs and tables provided by LilyDale which were located in the middle of the festival, and also surrounding some wonderful entertainment provided at the Argyle Bandstand. On Friday night, Fantine was playing – and she was fantastic! A wonderful singer and entertainer.
We then walked around looking for some free trials of foods, and of course City Tattersalls Club did not disappoint, with drinks and Greek Doughnuts on offer. We also tried frozen yoghurt from Foxy’s Premium Frozen Yoghurt, breakfast juice from Nudie Foods, jams from the Jam Lady Jam, mango and chilli biltong from Springbok Delights, and soft creamy feta from Yarra Valley Dairy. We bought a few foods to take home and will keep an eye out for any recipes that are posted from this year’s event.
Anita received 3 tickets for the Taste of Sydney from Stella Concepts.
wow, looks like a really nice evening. hope i can make it next year.
The City Tattersalls Club guys are so generous and their food is great.
At an event like this, don’t you wish our stomachs could just increase by say, 10 fold? Looks like there was too much to try and not enough stomach space..
What a great event! I had not heard about this, but wish I had. The food looks amazing, especially for an outdoor festival.