Rabbit Hole Bar & Dining, Sydney CBD ($$)

Address: Basement level, 82 Elizabeth Street, Sydney NSW

Tel: (02) 8084 2505

Website: http://www.rabbitholebar.com.au/

Opening Hours:

Monday to Friday -12.00 pm to late

Saturday- 4.00 pm to late

* * *

Pendulum Communications invited MC and I to Rabbit Hole Bar and Dining’s (RHBD) first birthday party, located underground on Elizabeth Street.

The entry

Celeb guests included Justine Schofield (of MasterChef and Everyday Gourmet fame), Nacho Pop, Sam McMillan and Brittany Cairns, while fellow food bloggers; Simon from Simon Food Favourites, Bob from Jugernauts, and Tina from Food, Booze and Shoes were also in attendance.

Atmosphere

RHBD has a very quaint almost 20’s feel to it with lots of neutral colours and old fashioned cartoons on the walls.

There are two bars: one in the main area, and one in another more intimate space around the corner.  

Main bar

We headed over after work, about 6.30pm and managed to find a table in the room to the left of the main bar area. 

This space had a bar in the middle and featured cushioned seats on one side of the wall and mismatched wooden chairs, large round barrels and stools around the rest of the space, some covered in white rabbit-like fur.

Smaller bar area

It was quite dark and the only light we had came from down lights, mirrors, sky lights and candles which added depth and brightened up the dark spaces.

The place has a quirky and private feel and features mysterious Alice in Wonderland-like accents such as rabbit-related cartoons, flowery cushions in contrast to the dark bar and seats, and “DRINK ME” worthy cocktail concoctions!

The music was quite relaxed and laid back and contributed to the “classy hipster” vibe.

Service

The staff were pretty attentive, walking around to collect empty glasses and to ask if we wanted another drink, and the bar staff were great at pouring the drinks, serving them up with flair and informing us of the ingredients.

Food

Owner Doug Laming has appointed a new chef, Jeremy Metivier who has worked in Michelin star restaurants and who is the driving force behind RHBD’s new French fine dining menu.

The menu included dishes such as:

• Goats Cheese and Beetroot Apples
• Scallops on Beetroot Shortbread with Mango and Beetroot Emulsions
• Mini Wagyu Sliders with Brie Cheese and house made Relish
• Slow Roasted Lamb with Artichoke Puree, Coriander and Wine Jelly
• Salmon Gravlax with Cucumber and Aloe Vera “Snow”
• Chocolate Skulls, with Firm Spicy Pirate Cream and Coconut Cake

Unfortunately, as MC and I were seated on one side, most of the food never made it past the crowd at the front of the room, so we only got to try 3 dishes.

One of the dishes we tried were the Goats Cheese and Beetroot Apples.  This dish was very elegantly presented on a bed of golden crumbs with glossy grapes and peppered balls of goats cheese covered in an almost waxy edible red coating.

The other savoury dish we tried was the Salmon Gravlax appetiser, mini versions of the salmon gravalax, cucumber lake, orange cream and aloe vera snow dish available from the dinner menu.

These were little morsels of heaven; perfectly sliced salmon with a green cucumber jelly, delicate edible decorations of orange, red and white and beautiful purple flowers to garnish.

An exquisite tasting dish which had a flavour that matched its appearance.

Finally, for dessert we enjoyed the Chocolate Skulls– spoons of a spicy custard-like cream with coconut cake rounds, chopped summer fruit and dark chocolate skills with a gold dusting.

These skulls were lit on fire, leaving the custard warm, the chocolate slightly melted and the on watchers in awe!

Overall, while we didn’t get much food to try, the menu looked quite appetising and the dishes that were on offer seemed to be different and well put together.  I can see how this place would appeal to the office works and corporates in the Martin Place and CBD area with its fine dining dishes and creative cocktails.

Drinks  

As RHBD is owned and run by Doug Laming, a “molecular mixologist” (read: awesome cocktail maker who uses physical and chemical modification of ingredients to create interesting drinks), it makes sense that he would put his skills on display and serve up an array of cocktails. 

Some of the cocktails we tried included:

• The Smoked Apple
• Breakfast Bouquet
• The White Cloud Above Mount Gay
• The Wood and Smoke
• You’ve Gone Nuts
• Stolen painkiller

Although we didn’t have much food, we did have a LOT of drinks!  We wanted to try one of each of the ones we saw so we ended up sharing quite a few between us.

First up was the Smoked Apple. It contained  torrontes and pomme verte layered agar apples, Ceylon tea infused cinnamon syrup, rhubarb butters and cloudy apple juice finished with fresh cider, smoked salt and some apple slices.

It was a pleasant looking dish, served in a short glass and while the smokey flavour wasn’t really to my liking, MC enjoyed the fresh flavours and boldness of the drink.

We then shared one of the sweetest drinks, the Breakfast Bouquet.

This drink has larios, gin, double creme de cassis, rose and strawberry jam, wild willow water, fresh lemon and a dash of rhubarb bitters.  It is a complex yet sweet looking cocktail which looked lovely, topped with a rose petal and blueberry.

As you drink the cocktail the scent of the rose petal wafts up and leaves you feeling as though you are walking through a field of roses!  Lame but true.

We also enjoyed a rum and marshmallow foam cocktail which was called the White Cloud Above Mount Gay.

Mount Gay extra old rum is shaken with black pepper, pineapple caramel, fresh lime and more pineapple, and is then poured over marshmallow foam which leaves a white cloud on top.

The drink is another sweet one which, after the previous sweet drinks, we found a little hard to swallow.  While it was interesting to watch it being made, I wasn’t a fan of it as it was a little too sweet.

The Wood and Smoke was an interesting cocktail which the menu says is made from ingredients including Jim Beam Devil’s Cut, Laphroaig single malt whiskey, quassia (bark chips), barberry bark syrup, acid phosphate and bitters.

After shaking up a storm, the bartender pours the slightly cloudy drink over ice, where it settles and turns from creamy to clear.  A cinnamon stick is placed in the drink and is then set alight, giving a woody and smoky scent.

While I preferred the sweeter drinks, MC, a Jim Beam and Jack Daniels fan, enjoyed this smoky, cinnamon flavoured cocktail over the rest.

The You’ve Gone Nuts drink contains Sierra Millenario infused with tonka beans, and shaken with Disaronno amaretto, house-made peanut and cashew syrup and finished with walnut bitters.

The cocktail looks like it is full of lemon juice with a sugar rim but in actual fact, like the other cocktails, it was quite sweet rather than sour.

Finally, the Stolen Painkiller, a first for me, this powdered cocktail tasted like fizzy sherbert pops.  It contained powdered rum, pineapple, coconut and passionfruit powder and was served in half a passionfruit shell.

The interesting presentation and tangy sour taste was a great way to finish off our cocktail tasting and we enjoyed it, although one of the guys seated next to us wasn’t a fan!

Rating

I would rate my experience (out of 10):

• Service-  6
• Food-   5 (what food?)
• Atmosphere- 7
• Value – 7

TCFB dined as a guest of Pendulum Communications and Rabbit Hole Bar & Dining.

 

Streetfest Sydney, Belmore Park

Address: Belmore Park, Eddy Avenue Haymarket

When: First Friday of every month at 5.00pm

Website: http://foodtrucksunited.com.au/

* * *

This article was written especially for TCFB by MC. 

Walking into the Streetfest at Belmore park I was excited and curious to see what my first food-truck-meets-art-show festival would be like. 

The atmosphere was very upbeat and party-ish, with a wide variety of street-artists painting their various styles of art, from portraits to abstract art, with brushes, spray cans and markers.  TCFB even ran into an old school friend (from primary school!)- check out her twitter here.

Overall there was a very urban theme which contrasted with the mixed variety of office-workers, artists and people casually visiting. 

There were two main spaces on either side of the path through the park.  One side had a VIP dance section with ciders and beer available for purchase and the other side had most of the food trucks and a big space in the middle for people to sit down and enjoy their meals.

Unfortunately there wasn’t much seating available, which was a bit frustrating as we were in work clothes and didn’t want to sit in the dirt/grass.

We met the Street Fest Event Manager and also the Street Fest founder, who explained to us that the Streetfest is inspired by US (specifically New York and Los Angeles) style food outlets in vans.  The founder recommended several dishes around the venue, including the porkbelly at the Asian Street Food van, the German kransky and the tacos.

They gave us a couple of food and drink vouchers to try a cider and a plate from one of the trucks and we were off on our way to enjoy the Festival.

We chose to walk around the area first to see what food was available before deciding what to eat. 

There were quite a few trucks serving up hot food and drinks to the hungry visitors.  Some of the trucks included Jafe Jaffles, Agape Organic, Tsuru, AlCarbon, Street Sliders, Cantina Mobil, Urban Pasta and a Cane Juice stall.

After walking around for some time we ordered from the Nepalese Van.

We got the Chicken Momo, basically a Nepalese dumpling, which we ordered with chilli sauce. Despite the Momo’s being slightly dry on the outside, they were well cooked and moist on the inside. The chilli sauce was very tasty and did not dominate the flavour of the chicken.

Shortly afterwards we grabbed some Gaymers Cider, Tropical Flavour, which was served over ice. It was refreshing, slightly sweet without being too overpowering, and had a nice orangey colour to it, almost like lemon lime bitters.

After sitting on the grass for a few minutes we decided to get some Sliders from another stall: Street Sliders.

After a 10 minute wait, we received our sliders; one chicken (brick) and one beef (prime) served with chips (MC’s favourite). We had half a Slider each so we could try them both, and both meats were well cooked with a great texture, juicy interior and lots of flavour.

The chips were crunchy, not quite as good as Three Williams, but they were freshly fried and well salted.

Two sliders and chips, $13.00

During our visit to the Streetfest there was a steady crowd of people coming and going; it wasn’t clear if they were passing through to the station or attending the stalls, but the venue was bustling with people and it was an enjoyable experience.

We are looking forward to the next Streetfest and hope that the number of stalls increases with more variety and hopefully some more spots to sit!

DISCLAIMER:

TCFB dined as a guest of the organisers.

This is a guest post and reflects the reviewers’ own personal opinions. The Casual Food Blogger accepts no responsibility for anything that is said in or caused by this review or anything contained in, caused by, or arising out of, the content of this review.

Sydney Festival 2014

When: 9-26 January 2014

Website: http://www.sydneyfestival.org.au/2014/

* * *

The Sydney Festival has a lot of great events on in and around the city.

It is full of fantastic shows, theatre, dance, live music, art and much more, in locations such as Town Hall, Parramatta and Hyde Park.

One Thursday after work, a bunch of friends and I (including Kat-the-Cat and Kiwi Kompanion) decided to check it out.

We headed over to the festival village at Hyde Park around 6.00pm. At this time it was not too busy and we were able to walk straight in, without any queues. We heard later that there was a huge line to get in around 7.00-7.30pm, so we were happy we got there early!

The festival village is full of great tents and stalls including Jafe’s Jaffles, Food Society, the ever popular Gelato Messina, Woofy’s Hot Dogs and Rekorderlig.

We enjoyed walking around and checking out what was on and the atmosphere in the festival was lively and happening, making it easy to relax and enjoy.

After stopping for a little while at the Food Society stall to check out the menu (the smells coming out of there were mouth watering), we decided to head over to Messina instead as the line for the Food Society was far too long.

Some of the options available (all about $9.00 each) included the messinaweiner- gelato wrapped in a thin pancake, fried and topped with a berry sauce; and the Yeaahh dawg- a gelato hot dog with berry and mango sauce in a brioche bun.

I tried the messinaweiner and my friend tried the Yeaahh dawg.

The messinaweiner was fabulous. The crunchy fried exterior was delicious and perfect with creamy gelato and a rich jammy sauce.

The hot dog was a little disappointing as the ice cream melted easily and the bread was a little bland.  That said, it did look amazingly like a real hot dog!

I also tried some of Kiwi Kompanion’s choc banana sundae, which was, well, a choc banana sundae!  Nothing too special here.

Kat-the-Cat tried the gelatoffee apples.

She said it was interesting but a little hard to eat and tasted like a frozen, creamy apple. She did love the chocolatey exterior though and we all thought it looked pretty cool!

After checking out the Messina stall, we each grabbed a cool drink at Rekorderlig’s tent, where I was surprised to be asked for my ID (I will take that as a compliment!).

At $8.00 a glass or $20.00 a jug (much better value as you get less ice and more drink!), it isn’t cheap but it was definitely worth it on this hot summer day!

I opted for a good old Strawberry-Lime cider, while the popular choice in the group was Passionfruit.

All up, we had a very enjoyable evening and really liked the fun treats at Messina and the cool drinks at Rekorderlig.

If I get another chance to visit I would love to check out the amazing food at Food Society as well.

Definitely suggest checking out the Sydney Festival and at least the Festival Village while it is still open!

If you’ve been to the Sydney Festival, I’d love to hear what you saw and what you thought of it. Please post your comments below!

Night Noodle Markets 2013, Hyde Park Sydney

Address: Hyde Park North, Sydney NSW

Website: http://sydney.goodfoodmonth.com/nightnoodlemarkets

Opening Hours:

October 9-12, 14-19, 21-26

Mon-Tue 5-9pm; Wed 5-10pm; Thur-Fri 5-11pm; Sat 4-10pm

* * *

Currently in its 15th year, the Night Noodle Markets in Hyde Park attracts about 200,000 people each year.

With over 40 delicious food stalls, which are mostly Asian, the Night Markets is a great way to enjoy the beautiful Spring weather with a drink and a quick and cheap meal with friends in beautiful Hyde Park.

Rekorderlig Cider invited me down to the markets to enjoy a drink at their beer garden.

A short stroll from Darlinghurst, Chinatown, Circular Quay and the city centre, it didn’t take me long to walk up after work, and when I got there (around 5.45pm), the place was already starting to fill up.

I was impressed by Rekorderlig’s chilled out set up with a “May pole” covered in green vines and flowers, beautiful fairy lights, quirky white trees on the tables and funky tunes coming from the (very young looking) DJ. 

Rekorderlig stall by day

Rekorderlig stall at night

The signature red and white chairs, seen at previous Rekorderlig stalls, looked comfortable and inviting and provided a great spot from which to sit back and people watch.

We ordered some drinks from the bar in the tent near the beer garden.

The staff were friendly despite the fact that they were probably dying from the heat that day as it was about 30 degrees in Sydney!

I ordered the Mango Raspberry cider, one of my favourites!

As always, it was ice cold, perfect for the hot summer day. This flavour is one of my favourites so I really enjoyed the fresh, crisp taste.

In some interesting news, I learnt that one of the favourites, Strawberry Lime Cider is now on tap and will be heading out to bars across town soon!

I also got the scoop on some exciting new developments next week- stay tuned for more information!

After checking out the Rekorderlig beer garden I met up with my lovely mum and we walked around the rest of the markets, looking at our options for dinner.

The place was packed out and the background music, Chinese dragon shows and buzz of happy people chatting in the park made for an exciting and fun environment.

The Night Noodle Markets are definitely a good place to take friends from overseas to, to showcase Sydney’s multiculturalism, or to enjoy a good meal after work from some of Sydney’s most popular Asian restaurants.

Some of the restaurants with stalls included East Ocean, Din Tai Fung, Jackie M Malaysian, Longrain and Zilver.

The Jackie M stall even has Ms M herself cooking at the front of the stall!

After a bit of walking around, I decided on a delicious box of fried goodness from East Ocean ($12.00). It included pork ribs, salt and pepper octopus and delicious prawns.

The ribs were soft and delicious, easy to eat and tender with a tomato and BBQ styled sauce.

While I am not a big fan of octopus (I don’t like the tentacles). I didn’t mind this as the thicker parts at the top were easy to eat and the fact that it was fried meant I didn’t notice the suckers on the tentacles as much!  🙂

The prawns were well cooked through and were great with the hot chilli sauce.

Mum decided to get a chicken curry with yellow rice from Chinta Ria, which she said reminded her of Sri Lankan biriyani.

The chicken pieces were well-cooked and had absorbed the delicious spices from the curry. They were good pieces of chicken with plenty of meat on them.  The yellow rice was gently flavoured and had a slight sweetness from the sultanas.

We both enjoyed our meals and had a great time out.

I will definitely be returning to try out some of the other foods available, perhaps even the Ramen Burger!

Taste of Sydney Festival (14-17 March 2013)

MC and I were pretty keen to check out the Taste of Sydney Festival, having really enjoyed it last year. So when I was offered the chance to attend as a guest of Rekorderlig Cider to taste the new passionfruit cider, I was really excited.

We got to Centennial Park around 12.05pm and found a huge queue of people waiting to get in. The gates for entry to the festival open at 12.00 midday for the first session and close at 4.00pm.

Luckily our friends at Rekorderlig came to the rescue with some fast-entry passes that got us in in no time at all. We were led over to the very chilled out Rekorderlig tent by the lovely Chantelle who offered us some of the new passionfruit cider to try.

MC was very excited, being a huge Rekorderlig fan and I (also a Rekorderlig lover), was pretty keen to try it out for myself! I had been expecting a slightly yellowish-coloured cider but we were surprised to find that the cider was clear and colourless. 

When we tasted the cider I thought it tasted a little like lemonade but I think that was just because it looked like it. There was quite a strong after-taste of passionfruit and the product was very pleasant to drink. You definitely need to be careful with this one because you could easily drink half a dozen of these ciders without even realising that they have alcohol in them! They are very addictive and refreshing.

After our ciders we decided to have a walk around and check out some of the stalls at the festival. It was a beautiful 30 degree Sydney day and we enjoyed getting some vitamin D whilst wining and dining over the four hours.

There were plenty of great stalls around. Some of the ones we purchased goods from/really liked included:

• Fehlberg’s, which contained delish jars of pickled onions, preserved piquante peppers, honey and chilli garlic and spicy relishes;

• Morish Nuts where MC purchased some tasty cashews for his parents;

• ChocoMe- stall showcasing delicious handmade chocolates from Adelaide; 
  

•  Jac Australian Wagyu beef; and

•  the Malaysia Kitchen marquee- where we got to see Malaysian Chef Jackie M making Char Kway Teow
  

We also tried food from:

• Peter Kuruvita‘s Seafood BBQ;

Here we ordered the BBQ Petuna ocean trout and tangy Mexican street salad with citrus jalapeno dressing. The trout was delicious and soft with a slightly smoky flavour from being cooked on the BBQ. We loved the fresh salad which was perfect on this hot day, consisting of melon, pineapple, dragonfruit and tomato.

• Four in Hand;

At Four in Hand we tried the suckling roast pig with coleslaw and hot sauce. The pork was so soft and tender it almost melted in your mouth and the hot sauce was a bit like thousand island- slightly tangy and with a bit of a kick to it. the potatoes and coleslaw complemented this dish perfectly.

• Longrain; and 

At Longrain we enjoyed turmeric chicken with rice noodles, wild ginger and Thai basil. The dish was probably my least favourite as there were a lot of pieces of herbs and chilli in the dish (and some other things which I couldn’t identify!). Although the chicken was tasty and spicy, the noodles were a little bland and difficult to pick up with the small plastic forks.

• Duccio Gelato.

MC with the gelato

The gelato was refreshing and a great way to cool us down in between Rekorderlig stops. We chose forest fruits and passionfruit, two light and fruity flavours.

My favourite of all the dishes was Peter’s delicious trout with the delicious Mexican salad. It was an added bonus being able to meet him again (see also the Dilmah High Tea).

While at the Festival we also saw a few other famous Chefs and cooks including:

Julia and Mindy (MasterChef)

Aaron Harvie (MasterChef)

Sammy & Bella (My Kitchen Rules)

To keep us entertained and relaxed there were a few demonstration kitchens and stalls including the Dilmah High Tea stall, the Bertoli kitchen, Tasmanian produce demonstrations and some fun activities at the Beer & Cider hall (where MC tried his hand at arm wrestling a monkey arm!).

Overall, it was a great day out (followed by a night supporting Sydney FC against Melbourne Victory). We really enjoyed ourselves and will probably return again next year to see what new products Australia has to offer us!

Rekorderlig Cider & Sparkle Cupcakery- Mango-Raspberry Cupcake Launch

 

 

Products: Mango Raspberry Cupcakes and Mango Raspberry Rekorderlig Cider

Available at: 

Rekorderlig- http://www.rekorderlig.com/au/

Sparkle Cupcakery- http://www.sparklecupcakery.com.au/

* * *

The Brands

It’s no secret that I love Rekorderlig and many of you will be aware that I really enjoy making (and eating) cupcakes as well.

Rekorderlig Cider has been awarded ‘Best Cider in Australia’ and the brand seems to be growing bigger and better, recently releasing its new Orange & Ginger flavoured cider, which I will be reviewing in the next few weeks.

Sparkle Cupcakery is a unique store which sells a range of cute cupcakes and offers fundraising options and delivery ($18.00) on boxes of 6 or more cupcakes.Their cupcakes are made using free-range eggs and are made fresh daily.

The Event

I was very excited to be invited to attend the launch of Rekorderlig Cider and Sparkle Cupcakery’s limited edition Mango-Raspberry cupcakes.

The launch was held at Sparkle Cupcakery’s Surry Hills store , and I brought MDS along with me to see what all the fuss is about!

The Surry Hills store is like a chic boutique with a white facade and black awnings. We arrived at 6.30pm and had our names marked off the guest list. There were about 30 people there, mostly girls, and the relatively small store was packed out.

There was free-flowing Mango-Raspberry Rekorderlig all night and as I can drink Rekorderlig like it’s water, I definitely took advantage of it and had a few glasses!

Loving the free cider

Mango-Raspberry Rekorderlig is delicious. It is one of MC’s favourite drinks and if you haven’t tried it before you must!

It was MDS’ first time trying Rekorderlig and she really enjoyed it. It is the type of drink that is light and sweet and doesn’t taste alcoholic, which makes it very very very easy to drink!

MDS having her first Rekorderlig

The Product: Mango-Raspberry Cupcakes

We were introduced to the star of the show when we were offered some mini Mango-Raspberry cupcakes to try. The product was a raspberry cupcake base with mango icing.

The cupcakes were cute and the icing on top was quite plain compared to cupcakes in some other stores, but this allowed you to really taste the cupcake instead of the toppers or decoration on top of it.

The cupcake itself was light and golden. Although it was a mini cupcake, it had plenty of raspberries in it.

There was quite a lot of icing for the small cupcake, and it tasted like a mango mousse. It was light and fluffy with a pale yellow colour. I had expected a much more prominent mango flavour, but it was quite subtle and the cupcake was the main focus.

The best thing about the cupcake was that it wasn’t too sweet. You could still taste the flavours in the cupcake without being overpowered by sugar and icing. Although there was a lot of icing, the icing was light and had the consistency of whipped cream.

Overall I would say that the Mango-Raspberry Cupcakes and Mango-Raspberry Cider are both delicious. The cupcakes would be perfect for a tea party or birthday party and the cider is a great drink for lazing by the pool or a picnic or BBQ.

Rating:

I give the cupcakes 6/10 and the cider 8/10.

 

 

Four Seasons High Tea Party

About The Event

Sunday was the High Tea Party at the Four Seasons Hotel in Sydney. The High Tea Party is an all day shopping and pampering event/expo organised by the Four Seasons Hotel and a number of partners including the National Breast Cancer Foundation and Million Dollar Woman. The event ran from 9.00am to 6.00pm on the 27th and 28th of October.

Arrival

We arrived at the hotel around 11.30am and were directed towards the registration tables where we handed over our tickets and received a Price Attack gift bag containing vouchers and samples.

We were given a short spiel about the event and the high tea by a lady near the entrance, and then we were handed some Lindauer champagne to enjoy as we wandered through the expo.

High Tea

At 12.30pm we headed towards the Grand Ballroom for a lovely high tea. We were seated at a table of 4 with some comfortable chairs and plenty of room. It was nice that we had our own table and didn’t need to share with people we didn’t know.

The high tea itself was lovely. We had one tray between the four of us with four of each item on it. I was a little peeved when I saw that the dessert plate was in the middle and the scones were on top (have some order people, order!) but we ate them in the right order anyway!

We started with some sandwiches which included chicken and mayo, salmon on brioche, a strange mint/tabbouli/lettuce wrap, and the best ham and cheese sandwich I’ve had in a while.

 

We were given unlimited tea (which I definitely took advantage of, having about 4 cups!) or coffee and another glass of champagne.

We then moved on to the scones with jam and cream. The scones looked very cute but tasted more like a bread roll than a scone. However they were soft and still tasted nice with the jam and cream.

Finally we tried some of the desserts, although we were all getting full by then. There was an opera cake-style slice, mini cupcakes, and some carrot cake with toasted muesli on top. The desserts were all nice but were quite sweet and we were already very full by then!

 

During the high tea, there was a fashion show put on by Living Silk, which provided some entertainment and something interesting to watch. There were a few giveaways and then the high tea part of the day was over, and we headed out of the ballroom to the other levels of the expo.

 

 

Stalls

MDS and I enjoyed taking photos with the Porsche, getting some eyelash extensions (with a mascara brush), tasting the Galliano, Lindauer and Skinny Girl drinks, and checking out some of the jewellery, clothes and hair and make-up products on show.

 

 

There were some cute pieces of jewellery and some fascinators on display there but I thought the event would be improved with a few more food-related stalls. Also, some of the items, such as the fascinators, were beautiful but were sooo expensive. One fascinator was about $600 and a plain silver bead necklace was for sale at $650.

The room on level 2 where girls could go to get their hair, makeup and nails done was a really good idea and MDS and I thought it would have been perfect if we attended the Saturday session and were going out afterwards!

Overall this was a really fun girl’s day out and I would recommend it for a little bit of pampering and fun.

MasterChef Live- 7 October 2012

When I found out that there was going to be a MasterChef Live event I just had to go! MasterChef has been one of my favourite TV shows and I have watched it from the very first series.

We bought tickets for Sunday and had pre-booked for the 11.45am ‘Sharp Celebrity How To’ show with the lovely Julia Taylor and the 1.30pm ‘Mystery Box Theatre’ with Adriano Zumbo, Darren Robertson and Kylie Millar.

When we got there we had a bit of extra time before Julia’s demonstration so we decided to have a walk around. The show was at the Hordern Pavilion and the Royal Hall of Industries in Sydney, and both were packed out with exhibitors, demonstration kitchens, and foodies!

There were some great shows and demonstrations around the room by many well-known and upcoming chefs!

 

 

 

 

Casa Barilla 

Kylie Kwong!!! Ahh one of my favourites!

 

Kikkoman Products

Andy Allen– Masterchef 2012 Winner!

Dani Venn, hosting at the Blanco Theatre

Amina Elshafei in the Blanco Contestants Theatre

Vincent Gadan of Patisse

Artisan Bakery Classes

Patak’s Barbecue Classes

Alvin Quah at the Ayam Demonstrations

Food Tasting

We tasted so many products:

Caesar salad with mayo

Sweet and salty popcorn

Defence Force chef’s creamy raspberry mousse (?). Not exactly sure what this was meant to be but it tasted AMAZING! It wasn’t as green as it looks in the photo though!

Delicious lemon and ricotta pastry

…and bought quite a few as well (review of Wild 1 Sparkling Drinks- Blood Orange, coming soon!).

Exhibitors

Some of my favourite stalls which we explored during the day included:

• The Wild 1 drinks- a fantastic 100% Australian owned family company which produces some delicious drinks;

• Patisse’s HUMONGOUS colourful meringues (I bought one in each colour!)

• Sami’s Kitchen– Zaata pizzas are one of my favourite foods and I fell in love with their delicious zaata seasoning on a trip to the Taste of Sydney Festival earlier this year. I was very happy to replenish my supplies with some more great spice mixes!;
• Moochi– delicious frozen yogurt with some cool toppings!;

• Adriano Zumbo- ’nuff said;

• Croquembouche Patisserie– lovely sweet treats from Banksmeadow;

• High Tea in the bath– I never knew bath time could be so delicious, I wanted to eat some of their food-shaped soaps! Such a great idea for presents or high tea/wedding favours!;

• MissChu– this little Asian pop-up restaurant provided us with some yummy treats at lunch time which were very much enjoyed!;

Pork Bun

Spring Rolls

Messy Prawn and Scallop Dumplings

• Spanish Kitchen- we had an absolutely wonderful paella here, full of seafood and so bright and colourful! Great portion sizes as well- we struggled to finish this off; and

• Rekorderlig Cider– always one of my favourites! We enjoyed the free samples and indulged in some refreshments of our own choosing as well. The BEST drink I can think of for a summery day. The only problem is that it tastes so good you’ll forget it’s alcoholic!

Sharp How To with Julia Taylor

Julia’s demonstration kitchen was a great way to learn some of her cooking tips. In this demo she gave us some advice on how to make her famous melting moments biscuits.

The lovely Mindy Woods was the host and she did so well that you would never know that it wasn’t her full-time job. Alice Zaslavsky was always there for some interesting food facts and a bit of a laugh!

We were able to try the melting moments, and they were goooood!

I’m hoping to try making them myself sometime soon using the tips Julia gave us, so please keep checking back for updates.

Mystery Box Theatre

We lined up (for about 10 minutes mind you), for the Mystery Box Theatre and were soon let into a dark enclosed room with a stage at the front of it.

The Mystery Box challenges were lots of fun and host Justine Schofield did a great job of talking us through the dishes with the chefs. Camera-man Ben also entertained the crowd with his cheeky food-stealing antics!

The challenges were great and it was good to see a lot of desserts being prepared right in front of us by some of the country’s most well-known chefs.

Kylie’s quick and easy wonton wrapper stack with marscapone cream and berries

 

Adriano’s Passion of Chocolate Goes Nuts dessert

Adriano and Darren face off in a cook-off

 

 

 

Meeting the Contestants!

One of the highlights of the day, other than the yummy food, was the opportunity to meet some of the lovely former Masterchef contestants.

Here are some photos of me with a few of them:

 

With the lovely Audra

Bumping into Alice!

 

 

With the gorgeous Mindy- cheeky Alice in the background!

 

With Sweet Treat Queen Julia!

With Friendly Ben– image courtesy of American Express Australia

I had a really good time at MasterChef Live and would definitely consider going again next year.

If any of my lovely readers went to MasterChef Live this year, or have been in previous years I would love to hear what you thought of it! Would you return? What was your favourite part of it?

Post your comments below!

Dilmah ChariTEA Event

I was lucky enough to score an invite to the Dilmah High Tea Event. The event was held at the Langham hotel, a 5 star luxury hotel formerly known as the Observatory Hotel.

Now everyone knows that I love a good cup of tea and I’m sure most of you also know that I love high tea (see my High Tea To Do List). I knew from the start that this was going to be a beautiful high tea and I was not disappointed. The staff were friendly and helpful and I was quickly ushered into a very elegant looking room where I found about 100 people seated at round tables.

Peter Kuruvita, a half Sri Lankan, half Austrian who was born in England and resides in Australia (how very multicultural!) was the host. Peter is one of Australia’s top chefs and is well-known for his restaurant Flying Fish, in Pyrmont (see my Food Bucket List). He welcomed us all to the event and told us a little bit about his involvement with Dilmah and as a judge of their Real High Tea competition.

Peter Kuruvita

He then introduced Dilhan Fernando, one half of where the name “Dilmah” comes from (the other half is his brother, Malik, who was not present). Dilhan gave a speech about Dilmah’s passion for producing truly ethical tea and their commitment to giving back to the community. It was really nice to hear how all this work could be done in a developing country such as Sri Lanka simply through the support of tea lovers purchasing Dilmah tea products.

Dilhan Fernando

We then heard from Mr Merill J. Fernando himself. I was quite star struck hearing him speak after seeing him on TV for so many years! He was a very dignified and well-spoken person and being of Sri Lankan background myself,  I have a lot of respect for what he has done for the country. He told us how he decided to market and sell pure Ceylon tea to the world to show people what real tea should taste like, as opposed to the mixed tea that was previously traded all over the world. We heard of his vision to produce, market and manage this tea company from Sri Lanka to ensure that he could give as much as possible back to the country through job creation and by helping the employees who helped him build his company. It’s hard to believe that he has been in the business for over 63 years! Mr Fernando thanked us, as Australian tea drinkers, for our support which he said was one of the main reasons for Dilmah’s success, and said that this high tea event was one way in which they could give back to some of the company’s supporters.

Merrill J. Fernando, Dilmah Founder

Upon conclusion of his speech, we  were invited to enjoy the high tea treats which Dilmah and the Langham Hotel had put on for us, whilst watching a few videos about the MJF Charitable Foundation’s work in Sri Lanka. The foundation uses part of Dilmah’s revenue to support underprivileged people in Sri Lanka through providing access to education, better living conditions, community health programs and support to families who have lost loved ones in the North.

During the video we were treated to a wonderful menu of:

Smoked salmon, cucumber and egg and mayonnaise sandwiches

Quiche Lorraine and a Vegetarian Quiche

Green tea with jasmine smoked duck breast with celeriac remoulade on brioche toast  (I never used to eat duck as I once had a pet duckling, but I accidentally ate this one without checking what it was! My first time eating duck! It wasn’t too bad at all but I haven’t decided if I will keep eating duck from now on or try to avoid it :s).

Fresh baked scones- mixed fruit and plan with home-made strawberry jam and cream (served in the cutest lil jars!)

Orange and Almond Tea Baklava

Mini Fruit Tarts

Langham cupcakes

Chocolate Mousse in a wafer cup

Macarons

Creme Brulee

The perfect accompaniment to all these delicious treats was the selection of Dilmah Teas available to try including Ran Watte, Meda Watte, YataWatte and Uda Watte.

Have I got you drooling yet? What a spread! At the end of it I was so full and couldn’t eat another bite if I wanted to (which I did!).

The winners of Dilmah’s Sydney Real High Tea challenge were announced and the 4 lucky winners won tickets to Sri Lanka to visit the Dilmah Tea Estate. Peter Kuruvita closed the event by saying that normally in a charity function they would ask for donations, but in this case, simply purchasing Dilmah tea helps the Foundation work towards its goals.

We then had the opportunity to meet the “stars of the show” and I was delighted to be able to get a photo with, and speak to Peter, Dilhan and Mr Fernando.

With Peter Kuruvita

With Merrill J. Fernando, Peter Kuruvita, Dilhan Fernando and friends

I was also very excited to meet my blogging idol, the gorgeous Mrs Lorraine Elliot of Not Quite Nigella (check out her blog at: http://www.notquitenigella.com/) and I can honestly say that she is absolutely lovely!

With NQN

We left with some wonderful goodie bags, stuffed with teas and tea-making instruments- a perfect way to  finish off a great afternoon!