Sydney Food International Food Festival 2011 Part 1

In recent years Good Food Month now know as Sydney Food International Food Festival has evolved from Lets do Lunch and Sugar hits to Pop Up Dinners and Barbecue Madness. This year there were no less than six pop up dinners listed in secret locations which were not disclosed until at least 24 hours beforehand. This concept  has been around for a while but exists in different forms in differ parts of the world such as in Hong Kong some of you might know the concept as 私房菜 ( which roughly translates to home cooked cuisine or private kitchen correct me if I'm wrong).

SIFF month started with a pop up dinner experiences at Minus 8 by Chef Anton Verplak ( ex Nobu Chef in London) and one hosted by Fouad from the foodblog. 

All I would say about the location of Minus 8 as to not spoil it for the people who is yet to go is that it was a perfect atmosphere for it. As the door opened we were ushered to how seats through a narrow doorway lit with candles. 

The first dish was a Rice Crisps with Wasabi Salt. At first glance it appear to be similar to the Rice Crackers with Salt and Vinegar at Tomilsav which I had at Sweets degusation last year. The taste of  wasabi is not instant but appears after the third of fourth bite.

There were two menus one written in mostly Kanji and one in English. I don't know if my fellow guests noticed this. I know its a bit cliche but its true its the small touches which makes the experience unique.

 The next course was Hiramasa Kingfish Sashimi, Cured Japanese Apricot , Baby Cucumber & Shiso Shoots. Fresh crisp cucumber and the sweetness of the Apricot complements the Kingfish perfectly.

Will discuss more about rest of dishes later. I've put up the pictures for the other courses so there is a  glimpse of the rest of the night.

Handmade Silken Tofu Asparagus,Spring Beans  Buds , White Sesame Toasted Sesame.
The contrast of the pure soybean taste with the withe sesame reminded of the first tofu when I was young. 

Scattered Sushi' Confit Ocean Trout, Ikura, Tasmanian Wasabi, Freeze Dried Shoyu. 

Tatsu Burrawong Chicken Oysters Yellow Yuzu Pepper,Oroshi Ponzu, Coriander Sprouts. 

Tea Time
'Shaved Squid,Fukushima Koshihikari Toasted Seaweed,Tasmanian Wasabi Mitsuba Shoots , Ichiban Dashi Tea. 

Spring Forest
Frozen Green Tea & Toasted Rice Pannacotta, Shortbread, Strawberry , White Chocolate Snow.

Will discuss more about rest of dishes later. I've put up the pictures so at least there is glimpse of the rest of the courses

Spring Food Adventures

Eating started early in September ! Only One month to go to SIFF booked three events already all under $100. Spent enough on food in Melbourne it was more than the air fare and accommodation combined!

Clock wise :
Langham High Tea highlight: The Hazelnut souffle was just right not too sweet.

Jacques Raymond highlight :  Vegetarian degustation looked  exactly the same as the normal degustation


Vue de Monde  Highlight : Spectacular way food was presented with a syphon filter.


Journal Cafe Highlight : One of the best Chocolate Cake ever not too dry just right!

 

September eating started early !More to come later :)

Missing Canada

 Wished I could have stayed longer.

Round 1: 3 michelin stars vs 3 hats Dish 1

 Entree : Alaskan King Crab with Scallops, Vegetable Jelly, Cocktail Sauce and Avocado Coulis @ Caprice

Sashimi of sea scallops,
smoked eel flowers, apple, organic crosnes, horseradish, sorrel shoots, virgin pine kernel oil

@ Quay



Presentation of both dishes are spectacular.You do eat with your eyes but then again this was really tested tonight at Bistrode CBD. That is another story for another time. 


One bite of the seafood reminds you seaside but a little salty. Combination of the crisp fresh vegetables against the softness of scallop create different textures that the seafood jelly lacks. 


Round 1 
3 hats win.

Genie's Bakery

Breakfast for this week ,homemade sausage buns!
Thanks mum :)

My three weeks of October

 

 BBQ Madness Saturday @ Wooloomooloo

Comfort food demonstration@ Chef's Armoury

Sugar Hit @ Grace Hotel

Goodies Bag from Noma Talk

 Food Blogger's picnic

 

Just desserts degustation @ Tomislav 

 Tokyo food trends - molecular and more @ Chef's Armoury

 Will update all in more detail later.

Dining by the seaside

As I was reflecting on the food outings for August I realised our dining experiences have been mostly not by the water except for Pilu at Freshwater and Guillaume at Bennelong so for YY's  birthday lunch I wanted somewhere by the water like Ormeggio.

Having past the Spit a few times on the way to Manly and Avalon but not actually stopped there so I had to do a little research to see which side of the spit Ormeggio was on and where the entrance actually was. At the end it was relatively easy to find just make sure you exit before the bridge. The parking is limited so I suggest you the the exit before and park there to walk to the restaurant.

Lunch was choice of set menu of 2 or 3 choices.

Sardines pan-fried, wrapped in prosciutto, pine nuts, sultanas, marsala reduction

The saltiness of the sardines complemented the sweetness from the marsala reduction.

Lamb scotch fillet, celeriac; crispy, confit, purée  Pineapple carpaccio, marinated in moscato, cinnamon gelato