Posts in Festivals

Road Trip! Lovedale Long Lunch

Festivals Review Travel
Review of Lovedale Long Lunch by Sydney Food Blog Insatiable Munchies

Review of Lovedale Long Lunch: Braised Wagyu Beef with Truffle Mash, Apple, and Beetroot Relish from Saltire Estate Catering

Lady dates are the best, especially when it involves a road trip to wine country with a fellow person who..doesn’t drink.

Isn’t life ironic?

But when I got invited as a guest of Lovedale Long Lunch, we absolutely jumped on the chance to explore Hunter Valley!

Tatler Wines and Cafe

Review of Lovedale Long Lunch: 200g Grass Fed Scotch Fillet, with tatler chipolatas, herbed butter, tomato chutney, and rocket, pear and walnut salad

First stop: Tatler Wines and Cafe. Steak and sausages, with a fresh salad on the side. Sausages were great, but I don’t really understand why you would serve steak at a festival: it’s so hard to keep warm and yet not overcook it, and have you ever tried to cut steak with a plastic knife? Not so cute when it tips all over you while you struggle with fragile plastic cutlery – like my self-esteem, haha!

Insatiable Munchies dined as guests of Lovedale Long Lunch
Tatler Wines and Cafe
477 Lovedale Road
Lovedale, NSW
Phone: (02) 4930 9139
Website: http://tatlerwines.com.au

Click to add a blog post for Tatler Wines & Cafe on Zomato

The Deck Cafe

Review of Lovedale Long Lunch: Hunter Valley Brie with lavosh and fig, date and walnut roll from The Deck Cafe, Lovedale

Then it was on to the Deck Cafe for some brie like a huge wodge of creamy cheese. Served a bit too cold for my liking, and not quite rich enough, but it was still a nice piece of cheese, with a beautiful still pond serving as your view.

Review of Lovedale Long Lunch: Gartelman Winery

Very pretty.

Insatiable Munchies dined as guests of Lovedale Long Lunch
The Deck Cafe
701 Lovedale Rd
Lovedale, NSW
Phone: (02) 4930 9007
Website: http://www.deckcafelovedale.com.au

Click to add a blog post for Deck Cafe on Zomato

Saltire Estate Catering

Review of Lovedale Long Lunch: Braised Wagyu Beef with Truffle Mash, Apple, and Beetroot Relish from Saltire Estate CateringBraised Wagyu Beef with Truffle Mash, Apple, and Beetroot Relish

Saltire Estate catering really really was a bust. Overcooked meat, and truffle mash with no truffle aroma – this meal was like the Tinder version of food: it looked promising, but no cigar.

Review of Lovedale Long Lunch: Braised Wagyu Beef with Truffle Mash, Apple, and Beetroot Relish from Saltire Estate Catering

Y U SO OVERCOOKED??

Insatiable Munchies dined as guests of Lovedale Long Lunch
Saltire Estate Catering
113 Wilderness Rd
Lovedale 2320
Phone: 02 4915 7228

Muse Restaurant and Cafe

Review of Lovedale Long Lunch: Pork Crackling by Muse Restaurant and Cafe

Hunter Calley favourites Muse Restaurant and Catering served up both savoury AND sweet dishes. Savoury had something something PORK BELLY (does the rest matter?), and a Nitro Rocky Road with Chocolate Mousse, Strawberry, Marshmallow, Coconut Meringue and Macadamia Brittle Biscuit.

Review of Lovedale Long Lunch: Nitro Rocky Road with Chocolate Mousse, Strawberry, Marshmallow, Coconut Meringue and Macadamia Brittle Biscuit by Muse Restaurant and CafeNitro Rocky Road: Chocolate Mousse, Strawberry, Marshmallow, Coconut Meringue and Macadamia Brittle Biscuit

So basically a lot of smoke, very dramatic, and a chocolatey dessert Unfortunately I couldn’t pick apart the individual flavours, but it did look very pretty, and it was pleasant, but not like, amazeballs, you know?

Insatiable Munchies dined as guests of Lovedale Long Lunch
Muse restaurant and Cafe
1 Broke Rd
Pokolbin, NSW
Phone: (02) 4998 6777
Website: http://musedining.com.au

Click to add a blog post for Muse Restaurant and Cafe on Zomato

Still, the Hunter Valley is just such a beautiful place to visit. Amazing vineyards, great food producers, and burrata for $4. Yes. $4.

No, don’t bother going to try buying them. IT’S ALL MINE! ALL MINE I TELL YOU!!

C’est La Vie! BBR French World Festival, Circular Quay

Festivals Review
Review of the BBR French Festival, Circular Quay

Review of BBR French World Festival

French: the language of love, romance, and..CHEESE!! The BBR (bleu blanc rouge – blue, white and red) festival is ON at Customs House to celebrate Bastille day.

Okay, so there’s more than cheese, but I got distracted.

Review of BBR French World Festival: foie gras canapesFoie Gras CanapĂ©s from Chef Up Sydney’s French Cooking Masterclass

Chef’s Up! was holding french cooking masterclasses, and we were treated to everything from escargot to foie gras!

Review of BBR French World Festival: melted raclette over charcuterie platterRaclette and Charcuterie Platter

But onto the cheese. I had a bit of food ADHD walking around the whole festival – there was everything from belgian waffles, to poutine, to rosti, to my favourite…RACLETTE!

Review of BBR French World Festival: melted raclette toastiesMelted Raclette Toasties

I only had time and money to buy one thing, and I chose to go for the fabulous raclette. Coming from the word “racler” which refers to the scraping of the melted cheese off the wheel, the experience of this cheese is like a fondue on steriods.

Frencheese, who usually has market stalls in Melbourne, were melting raclette on, well, everything. From charcuterie to potatoes to toasties, its very hard to go wrong with delicious melted cheese.

But be wary: the line is insane and the wait even longer. If you have a spare 45 minutes to get food, then I would say its worth a try.

Or maybe just get some belgian chips to snack on while waiting in line. 🙂

BBR French World Festival is running till the end of today at Customs House, so get in quick! Visit the BBR Festival website for more details.

Insatiable Munchies attended the French Masterclass by Chef Up! as guests of BBR French World Festival.
Frencheese
Location Varies; See FB
Phone: +61 422 249 402
Website: http://www.frencheese.com.au

Click to add a blog post for Frencheese on Zomato

Wok On! March into Merivale

Festivals Review
Charsiu, stirred noodles and cucumber salad

Charsiu, stirred noodles and cucumber salad

If nothing else, Merivale sure knows how to throw a fantastic party. After the resounding success of the first ever Coogee Foreshore Festival – a little rain can’t stop them! – they’re following it up with another showcase of their renowned restaurants, this time in the form of Wok On! held this time, at the Establishment.

Part of the annual March into Merivale celebrations, Wok On! transforms the Establishment into a marketplace, where Mr Wong, Sushi E, Sunee, and Ms G offers up samples of their best and most popular, saving you the hassle (and budget!) of visiting every restaurant individually to try their wares.

Clockwise from top left: Salt and pepper chicken wings with tofu mayonnaise (4 wings), Ocean trout, green papaya, green nahm jim, guacamole, Stirred egg noodles with barbecue pork, cucumber and coriander salad, Snapper sashimi with white soy dressingClockwise from top left: Salt and pepper chicken wings with tofu mayonnaise (4 wings), Ocean trout, green papaya, green nahm jim, guacamole, Stirred egg noodles with barbecue pork, cucumber and coriander salad, Snapper sashimi with white soy dressing

Clockwise from top: BBQ chilli prawn with chilli and lime dressing, Steamed scallop and prawn shumai, Steamed wild mushroom with water chestnutsClockwise from top: BBQ chilli prawn with chilli and lime dressing, Steamed scallop and prawn shumai, Steamed wild mushroom with water chestnuts

Standouts for me include the Sweet and Sour Lamb Ribs from Ms G’s, the BBQ Prawn with Chilli and Lime
dressing from Sunee, and the Steamed Wild Mushroom with Waterchestnut dim sums from Mr Wong. The Lamb Ribs were shiny and sticky sweet, with a fragrant freshness of the coriander it was topped with. The tender meat clung to the bone in a futile attempt to resist, while the crisp outside stoically provided much needed texture to cut through the sweet soy glaze. The BBQ Prawn, while simple, used the firm sweet meat of the prawns to their full potential, with a bright, acidic dressing to provide a foil to the smoky, lightly charred exterior. And the Wild Mushroom and Waterchestnut dumplings were a surprise favourite. I was so gunning for the Prawn and Scallop Siu Mai because it was just so epic when I had it at the Coogee Foreshore Festival, that I was blindsided by mushroom dumplings that just exploded with a rich savoury flavour, before giving way to the light crispness of the waterchestnut pieces. And in a David vs Goliath sorta situation, the Mushroom dumplings very cunningly and slyly slid into first place.

But really, when the giants of Merivale come together in an event like this, there are only winners. And I’m coming out on top because I have dumplings.

If you’d like to join the festivities and check out what else is going on for March into Merivale this year, you can pop on over to their website for more information.

Insatiable Munchies dined as guests of Merivale.
Ms G’s
155 Victoria St
Potts Point, NSW 02011
Phone: 02 8313 1000
Website: http://www.merivale.com.au/msgs/

Ms.G's on Urbanspoon

Mr Wong
3 Bridge Lane
Sydney, NSW 2000
Phone: 02 9240 3000
Website: http://www.merivale.com.au/mrwong/

Mr Wong on Urbanspoon

Sunee’s Thai Canteen
330 George St
Sydney, NSW 2000
Phone: 02 9240 3000
Website: http://merivale.com.au/palings/menu/2784/

Sunee's Thai Canteen on Urbanspoon

Sushi E
252 George St
Sydney, NSW 2000
Phone: 02 9240 3041
Website: http://www.merivale.com.au/sushie/

Sushi E on Urbanspoon

Spectrum Now

Festivals Review 1 Comment
Mary's Cheeseburger

Mary's Cheeseburger

Man, I really LOVE food festivals. From Taste, to Good Food Month, to the Lunar Markets, anytime I can food crawl without moving more than 2 steps between stalls is a good time indeed.

Needless to say, when I got
the invite to sample the stalls at the Nosh Pit for Spectrum Now, I was absolutely chomping at the bit to get sown there.

Pork belly and Fried Mushroom Gua Bao from Bao StopPork belly and Fried Mushroom Gua Bao from Bao Stop

Curated by Luke Powell of LP’s Quality Meats, the Nosh Pit consists of two rows flanking either end of Spectrum Now, and features heavy hitters like black Star Pastry, Mary’s, and of course, LP’s Quality Meats.

We begin the night of binge feasting by tucking into a selection of Gua Baos from Bao Stop. Originating in China, Gua Baos consists of savoury fillings sandwiched between an oval shaped soft milk bun. Pork belly is most traditional, accompanied with mistard greens and thick brown braising gravy.

And we don’t want to break tradition.

Their pork belly bao was fall-apart tender, juxtaposed with the crunch of the pickled mustard greens. The Mushroom was my favourite, with battered oyster mushrooms smothered with a satay-type peanut sauce. Maybe it’s the chilli – and we always give extra points for chilli – but I would happily take the mushroom over the pork any day.

Insatiable Munchies dined as guests of Bao Stop
Bao Stop
Location Varies-See Fb
Sydney, NSW
Phone: 0420 305 355
Website: https://www.facebook.com/baostopsydney

Bao Stop on Urbanspoon

Seared Salmon Salad from Bondi's BestSeared Salmon Salad from Bondi’s Best

With the indulgent comes the healthy, because.. eat your veggies.

Chicken Egg Wrap from Bondi's BestChicken Egg Wrap from Bondi’s Best

I had heard that Bondi’s Best was known for their seafood, but the surprise of the night was actually their gluten free egg wraps for me. Instead of a flour wrap, they used a thin sheet of fried egg to roll up ingredients like poached chicken, or persian feta and spinach. Served cold, it was a fantastic light option that would be amazing on a warm balmy day. I was really impressed that the egg wrap wasn’t dried out, but was still strong enough for the wrap not to fall apart. Well done.

Insatiable Munchies dined as guests of Bondi’s Best
Bondi’s Best
Shop 1 39-53 Campbell Parade
North Bondi, NSW 2026
Phone: 02 9300 9886
Website: http://www.bondisbest.com.au/

Bondi's Best Seafood on Urbanspoon

Sandwiches from LP's Quality Meants

Of course, if you are a fan of smoke, you can’t walk past LP’s Quality Meats without getting a little something something. And we got it, in the form of a Smoked Sausage Roll and Smoked Beef Roll. The sausage was nicely paired with a nice harissa, but I much preferred the smoked beef. There was a comment that it was a bit like corned beef, but you know what? Corned beef brings back all sorts of comforting memories of Saturday morning brunch with my mom whilst my dad was playing golf. So it’s a good thing.

Insatiable Munchies dined as guests of Lp’s Quality Meats
Lp’s Quality Meats
12-16 Chippen St
Chippendale, NSW 2008
Phone: 02 8399 0929
Website: http://www.lpsqualitymeats.com/

LP's Quality Meats on Urbanspoon

Hoy Pinoy Skewers

And the stall that puts smoke inmy hair and a smile on my face: hoy pinoy!! I know I’ve had my fix about a month ago, but really, how can you ever get enough of their sticky sweet glazed pork belly and chicken, barbecued to smokey charred perfection. Yum. Consistently good, and totally worth the queue!

Insatiable Munchies dined as guests of Hoy Pinoy
Hoy Pinoy
Location Varies- See Facebook
Melbourne, VIC 3000
Website: https://www.facebook.com/hoypinoybbq

Hoy Pinoy on Urbanspoon

Mary's Cheese BurgerMary’s Cheese Burger

Newtown favourite Mary’s has brought their famous Cheese Burger to Spectrum Now, with a Pizza Sub that was sadly unavailable when I went.

They’ve done well, serving up exactly what you’d expect – a good burger. Was it mind blowing? Not exactly, but then again, I’m a Mister Gee Burger sorta girl, so I might not be the droid person that they’re looking for.

Insatiable Munchies dined as guests of Mary’s
Mary’s
6 Mary St
Newtown, NSW 2042
Phone: 02 4995 9550

Mary's on Urbanspoon

Pedal for your coffee

We needed a break after the first wave of eating, so we took the opportunity to explore the rest of Spectrum Now at the Domain.

There are interactive art installations aplenty, and SBS has put up a hipster coffee area, where you can get a free iced coffee…but you have you blend your own by pedalling on a bike-powered blender. Novel idea, and a way for me to work off the guilt food.

Hendricks Parlour of CuriositiesHendricks Parlour of Curiosities

Even if you’re not an alcohol consumer, take the time to hang out at the Hendricks Parlour of Curiousities. The aesthetic reminds me strongly of American Horror Story: Freakshow, and delightfully so. It was whimsical tents and gnarly 1930s style furniture with the odd skeleton in a glass jar.

I absolutely LOVED IT.

Mr Wong's from Gelato MessinaMr Wong’s from Gelato Messina

But we can’t stay away from the food for too long. Back to the nosh pit we go, and this time straight to Gelato Messina’s Milk Bar and N2 Extreme Gelato/BlackStar Pastry.

N2 and Blackstar Plum DessertPlum Slinger from N2 and Blackstar

Brokeback Moment from N2 and Blackstar

N2 and Blackstar Watermelon and Rose CakeStrawberry Watermelon Cake from N2 and Blackstar

N2 and Blackstar Cake SmashCake Smash from N2 and Blackstar

These dessert headliners put up a spectacular showing, but the slap-the-table-it’s-so-good dessert winner for me was the Cake Smash. Created on the first night of Spectrum Now for Spectrum Now, this beautiful franken-dessert involves freezing the famous Strawberry Watermelon Cake from Blackstar with liquid nitrogen, and literally smashing it into one of N2’s gelatos with the merciless beaters of a standing mixer. With more liquid nitrogen, of course.

It was hands down the best of both worlds, with all the delicate rose and fruit flavours of the cake, and the frozen liquid velvet of the gelato.

My mind was blown.

Liquid nitrogen creates a super smooth frozen treat, as well as creates this dramatic fog that spills out of the mixers, and that Strawberry Watermelon cake was all sorts of floral and fruity, and the thin layers of cream and light sponge just made for such a well-balanced bite, that was augmented by being flash frozen by liquid nitrogen. If nothing else, this is the thing to get at Spectrum Now.

Insatiable Munchies dined as guests of N2 Extreme Gelato and Blackstar Pastry
N2 Extreme Gelato
43/1 Dixon St
Sydney, NSW 2000
Phone: http://www.n2extremegelato.com.au/

N2 Extreme Gelato on Urbanspoon

Blackstar Pastry
277 Australia St
Newtown, NSW 2042
Phone: 02 9557 8656
Website: http://www.blackstarpastry.com.au/

Black Star Pastry on Urbanspoon

If you’d like to get your fix of Spectrum Now, it runs at the Domain from now till this Sunday, 22nd of March.

5 ways to save money at the Taste of Sydney

Festivals Review
Roast pig on a spit, from 4Fourteen

Roast pig on a spit, from 4Fourteen

I’ve been going to the Taste of Sydney just about every year since they’ve launched, and I can say for sure that it’s gotten wayyyyy more pricey to enjoy the day. It went from budgeting about $10 for a portion, to $15 a portion, to about $20 a portion. So, being the ever hungry but cheap bargain hunting person that I am, I’ve come up with a few ways you can stretch your dollar at Taste.

1. Go with friends

A photo posted by Tammi Kwok (@insatiablemunch) on

The number one way to try more food while spending less money? Split the bill! Find similarly minded foodie friends who share your bargain-hunting instincts, and go together! Besides, festivals are always more fun with friends anyway.

2. Plan your menu

A photo posted by Erin Van Der Meer (@erinvdm) on

Source: erinvdm

Taste always releases the menu ahead of the opening, so have a look through and see what you’d like to try! It saves you wandering around and spending more than you wanted to, to begin with. You can find the Taste of Sydney 2015 menu here!

3. Try to get free tickets in!

A photo posted by Tammi Kwok (@insatiablemunch) on

It costs $30 to even enter Taste, which means that you are losing out on yet another dish you could have had! But there’s hope: so many competitions run leading up to Taste, giving away free tickets. Take the 2 minutes to sign up – you never know how much you can save on entry!

4. Look for flash sales

There are flash sales leading up to the festival all the time. Sometimes you can get tickets half-priced, or bundled with crowns for a wayyy better price than just rocking up at the door. Keep a lookout for these sales – you can save heaps!

5. Get your money back!

A photo posted by Milly (@missmilstagram) on

Source: mismilstagram

The currency at Taste are Crowns, and these get loaded on to a card for you to spend at the festival. But whatever you put on there, is completely refundable. That’s right, if you feel like you’ve had enough and want to bail, you can just rock up to one of the “Crown Banks” and get your money back. All of it. Don’t feel the pressure to spend it all just because it’s loaded onto the card.

But if even if you did spend every last dollar on there, don’t forget to return the card to the bank – there’s a $1 deposit on the cards which you can get back if you just give them back!

Breakfast and Bubbles: Kazbah, Balmain

Festivals Review
Poached, scrambled and fried eggs, toast and lebanese bread with sides of merguez sausage, bacon, roasted tomato, hash brown, grilled haloumi, mushrooms, baby spinach, and baked beans

Poached, scrambled and fried eggs, toast and lebanese bread with sides of merguez sausage, bacon, roasted tomato, hash brown, grilled haloumi, mushrooms, baby spinach, and baked beans

They say you’re meant to eat breakfast like a King, and Kazbah is more than happy to take on that challenge with their Banquet Breakfast Feast, taking it upon themselves to feed you until you’re stuffed, and then proceed to bring out dessert.

Usually available only for bookings in groups of eight, they have decided to shrink the serving sizes to allow groups of 2 to sample the feast for the New South Wales Food and Wine Festival at $30 per head, bubbly included.

Turkish CoffeeTurkish Coffee

We start off with a Turkish Coffee, because when in Rome right? It had fabulous caramel notes and its strength was only tempered by the sugar that was added. There was none of the burnt aftertaste that I always associate with darkly roasted coffee, and finished smooth on the palate. It sure provided one heck of a caffeine hit though, and we needed it for the food coma that was soon to follow.

Sweet cous cous with nuts, dried fruit, stewed rhubarb, and cardamom milkSweet cous cous with nuts, dried fruit, stewed rhubarb, and cardamom milk

Warm Rice Pudding with Saffron Poached Pear, Cinnamon and HazelnutsWarm Rice Pudding with Saffron Poached Pear, Cinnamon and Hazelnuts

Wholegrain Barley and Oat Banana Porridge with Brown Sugar and Date CompoteWholegrain Barley and Oat Banana Porridge with Brown Sugar and Date Compote

They started us off sweet, with a trio of breakfast grains and cereals. Sweet Cous Cous, Saffron Rice Pudding and Barley and Oat Banana Porridge set the scene for a breakfast in the middle east, and “sits on your stomach like a sack full of quarters” (Anthony Bourdain, No Reservations, Season 4, Ep 18, 16:10). We were advised very early on not to fill up on these, but I can’t resist the comforting starchy texture of a rice pudding or porridge. In fact, the Rice Pudding with Saffron-Poached Pear (with it’s beautiful notes of vanilla and orange zest) reminded The Boy very strongly of what he used to have as a kid: Haleem, which is a creamy porridge made from whole wheat berries. The Sweet Cous Cous with Dried Fruit, Stewed Rhubarb and Cardamom Milk presented like breakfast cereal with a twist – the cous cous is cooked in a rose and cinnamon spiked liquid, topped with sweet dried fruit, and served with a warm, frothed cardamom milk that you pour over the top.

Move over, Captain Crunch.

Duo of Roasted Pumpkin, and Lamb TaginesDuo of Roasted Pumpkin, and Lamb Tagines

Then the tagine: a half and half of Roasted Pumpkin on one side, and Lamb on the other. Usually marked by the high conical cap that tops the shallow dish that holds the food, the tagine, much like the paella, actually refers to the stewing pan and not the food. In this one, the Roast Pumpkin was sweet and light, and y’know, good, but it wasn’t the lamb. Oh the lamb. Spiced lamb mince (secret spice mix recipe and all that) lays thick and rich on the bottom of the tagine, couching a baked egg that retains its oozy yolk. Grilled bread on the side, of course, because you need to be full, right?

If I die from being overfed tomorrow, I’m just glad that I have had this lamb.

Poached, scrambled and fried eggs, toast and lebanese bread with sides of merguez sausage, bacon, roasted tomato, hash brown, grilled haloumi, mushrooms, baby spinach, and baked beansPoached, scrambled and fried eggs, toast and lebanese bread with sides of merguez sausage, bacon, roasted tomato, hash brown, grilled haloumi, mushrooms, baby spinach, and baked beans

Then more savoury, because you can’t have breakfast in Australia without bacon and eggs. Laid out on a wooden platter were eggs done three ways (scrambled, poached and fried), hash brown, toasted bread, bacon, roasted tomato, grilled haloumi, stewed mushrooms, baked beans and spinach. It was quite a luscious platter (though not quite as amazing as the lamb tagine) and I really needed the acidity and tang that the stewed mushrooms provided. The scrambled eggs were a touch overdone for me – maybe to keep it from spreading all over the platter, I don’t know – and the hash browns didn’t quite have enough surface area to fluffy inside as I was hoping for. But really, I’m just nitpicking at this point because my stomach feels like overfilled muffin cups that have been put into the oven, and is resulting in the subsequent spilling out over the waistband of my jeans.

Chocolate and Raspberry Pancakes with Chocolate Fudge Ice Cream and Housemade Butterscotch SauceChocolate and Raspberry Pancakes with Chocolate Fudge Ice Cream and Housemade Butterscotch Sauce

Remember how I said that they would feed you till you’re full and then bring out dessert? Well here is dessert. Chocolate and Raspberry Pancakes with Chocolate Fudge Ice Cream and Housemade Butterscotch Sauce. Pancakes larger than your face is drowned in a pool of sauce, and topped with two scoops of ice cream.

Chocolate and Raspberry Pancakes with Chocolate Fudge Ice Cream and Housemade Butterscotch Sauce

And thick, too. I’m sure that this is the food coma talking, but I’m not such a fan of the texture of these pancakes. The addition of almond meal and the sheer size of it creates a tough, cakey texture, which is not quite the fluffy, bouncy texture that I’ve come to expect from pancakes. The butterscotch sauce mixed in with rivulets of creamy chocolate ice cream was nice, like a caramel and chocolate milkshake had a baby.

This is where the Turkish Coffee really came in handy. I was well and truly in a comatose state from the meal, and needed a wooden barrel to help roll me home. I’m told that these portions are calculated to be scaled down from the 8-person banquet, and the only thing that was left at a larger portion was the pancakes, which usually serves four to six. I could have easily been full if The Boy and I shared this with another four people, and with a bag full of leftovers, I can safely say that neither of us ate for the rest of the day.

And maybe that is the point of a middle eastern breakfast. You can like a King in the morning, so you don’t have to consume anything until the next breakfast.

If you’d like to try this luxurious breakfast, it is still available at Kazbah in Balmain till the end of the NSW Food and Wine Festival on the 1st of March. Visit www.nswfoodandwine.com.au for more details.

Insatiable Munchies dined as guests of the NSW Food and Wine Festival.
Kazbah Balmain
379 Darling St
Balmain, NSW 2041
Phone: 02 9555 7067
Website: http://www.kazbah.com.au/

Kazbah Balmain on Urbanspoon

Brooklyn to Bondi: Lox, Stock and Barrel, Bondi Beach

Festivals Review
Ocean Trout Croquettes with Fresh Cucumber Pickle

Ocean Trout Croquettes with Fresh Cucumber Pickle

Going out for dinner is always a hedonistic affair for me. I’ve always held the belief that if I was going to take the time, effort and money to haul my lazy couch potato ass out somewhere, I’d better be getting an experience that I can’t easily replicate at home. And most of the time this also means that the food is also hedonistic in nature. That is, “healthy” is not exactly a word that is used in association.

So imagine my surprise and mild confusion when I got an amazing dinner at Lox, Stock and Barrel in Bondi, but still walked away feeling light, and “healthy”.

Ocean Trout Croquettes with Fresh Cucumber PickleOcean Trout Croquettes with Fresh Cucumber Pickle

Croquettes are the perfect blend of classy dining and unadulterated comfort junk food to me. It basically involves a creamy mix of meat/fish/cream/potato etc shaped into a cylinder, coated in breadcrumbs and deep fried into a crispy-on-the-outside-oozing-on-the-inside logs of golden brown perfection. Now say that three times fast.

At Lox, Stock and Barrel, we start the night off with Ocean Trout Croquettes, which contain little pink flecks of ocean trout, and all of the above-mentioned decadence. This was a fantastic way to whet the appetite, each log just large enough to tempt us with its oozing innards, and small enough to keep us wanting more. The Fresh Cucumber Pickle on the side was a nice touch, doing away with the need for the typical tartare sauce and the tangy notes that it provides.

Green Asparagus, Labne, Jerusalem Artichoke, Smoked Salt and OreganoGreen Asparagus, Labne, Jerusalem Artichoke, Smoked Salt and Oregano

Then comes the Green Asparagus, Labne, Jerusalem Artichoke, Smoked Salt and Oregano. because EAT YOUR VEGGIES. And what delicious veggies they are. If this was the way my mother wanted me to eat my five servings of vegetables a day, I’m sure I wouldn’t have spent so much of my teenage years hiding in a closet with a mini wheel of camembert. The asparagus held a light amount of char on it, tempering the bitterness with a light nuttiness. The fried jerusalem artichoke provided an exotic crunch, and the labne – a sort of yoghurt cheese made by straining yoghurt to create a thicker consistency – tied it all together.

Duck and Pistachio Cabbage Rolls with Mushroom Consomme and Baby HerbsDuck and Pistachio Cabbage Rolls with Mushroom Consomme and Baby Herbs

I have a love/hate relationship with cooked cabbage. When overcooked, cabbage can stink out your house, much like over cooking Brussel sprouts can do. Thankfully, this plate of Duck and Pistachio Cabbage Rolls retain that al dente crunch in the cabbage, adding texture to the duck. The mushroom consommé here is more sauce than soup, leaning toward the salty side of things, but delicious in its umami mushroom flavour nonetheless. It seems that they are building up the heaviness of the dishes with each course that passes, though I must say that I would have been very happy to just have this as a main by itself.

Slow Roasted Eggplant, Tomato, Haloumi, Quinoa and Spiced NutsSlow Roasted Eggplant, Tomato, Haloumi, Quinoa and Spiced Nuts

Now we’re moving into the heavyweight arena, with a stew of Slow Roasted Eggplant, Tomato, Haloumi, Quinoa and Spiced Nuts. Now this is what vegetarian cooking should be like. All too often, vegetarian dishes are left to be afterthoughts, scrapping together meat substitutes, chasing a flavour that can’t really be faked. This, however, is unabashedly intended to show off the gorgeous veggies, meat be damned. The small cubes of haloumi add pops of salt, and the quinoa and nuts add heft and texture. The Boy and I agree that this would be fantastic winter comfort fare, and a guilt-free one, at that.

Grilled Rangers Rump Cap, Caramelised onion puree, watercress and field mushroomsGrilled Rangers Rump Cap, Caramelised onion puree, watercress and field mushrooms

And finally, a finale of Grilled Rangers Rump Cap, Caramelised onion puree, watercress and field mushrooms. I have a soft spot for soubise – a puree of onion sautĂ©ed in butter and cooked in cream – so I’m already all over this. The rump cap was a nice medium rare, and the mushrooms plump and juicy without being soggy. The watercress seemed somewhat superfluous, but I guess you need something green to balance the rest of it. At this point, we were pretty stuffed, so a delicious dish was good, but not quite as out of the park as the others.

Before this, I always associated Lox, Stock and Barrel with lunch sandwiches and bagels. And witty names, yes, but not this creative, delicious, food that walks that fine line of the dining out experience and the showcasing of beautiful ingredients and produce. I’m glad to say that I was very wrong in my assumption.

This glorious menu of Lox, Stock and Barrel’s best dishes is available till the end of the NSW Food and Wine Festival, and costs $96 for two people.

Insatiable Munchies dined as guests of NSW Food and Wine Festival.

Lox, Stock and Barrel
140 Glenayr Ave
Bondi Beach, NSW 2026
Phone: 02 9300 0368
Website: http://www.loxstockandbarrel.com.au/

Lox, Stock & Barrel on Urbanspoon

Full Mooning: Lunar Markets 2015, Pyrmont Park

Festivals Review
Korean Tacos from Poklol at the Lunar Markets

Korean Tacos from Poklol at the Lunar Markets

The moon is said to do strange things to people: it brings out the monsters, it brings out the crazy…and it brings out the HUNGRY.

Oh wait, that’s just a normal state for me.

But markets usually involve me getting up early in the morning, and honey child, I ain’t no morning person. Which is why night markets have always been a favourite of mine – from the annual Night Noodle Markets of Good Food Month, to the weekly Chinatown markets – and I’m so excited that NSW Food and Wine Festival has just started the inaugural Lunar Markets, to celebrate Chinese New Year!

They’ve selected a cool mix of seasoned market stall holders and food truck operators, newbies on the Sydney food scene, and even some favourites from interstate.

I haven’t eaten from Poklol before, but their selection of fusion foods certainly inspire an appetite. The tacos that we were given to sample were generously filled with marinated beef and pork, and had that distinct Korean mix of sweet and salty.

Poklol
Food Truck Location Varies Check Facebook
Sydney, NSW 2000
Phone: 0421 111 691
Website: http://www.poklol.com.au/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ZOMGPOKLOL

Poklol on Urbanspoon

Crispy Dumplings from Fat NoodleCrispy Dumplings, Fat Noodle

Fat Noodle also joined the Lunar Market fray, offering up a mixture of crispy bites and stir-fried dishes. We were given Crispy Dumplings and Spring Rolls to sample, all hot and steaming from the fryer. It may not be knock your socks off amazing in terms of dumplings, but we already know that Fat Noodle produces consistent, reliable, quality food. So there’s that.

No Salt and Pepper Tofu on the market menu though. /sad face. That, you have to cross the road to The Star to get.

Fat Noodle
80 Pyrmont St Level 1
Sydney, NSW 2009
Phone: 1800 700 700
Website: http://www.star.com.au/sydney-restaurants/casual-dining/Pages/fat-noodle.aspx

Fat Noodle on Urbanspoon

Gyozas from ZagyozaGyozas from Zagyoza

All the way from their initial debut at the markets in Brisbane, and then interstate in Melbourne, Zagyoza has brought a variety of 9 gyozas for your sampling pleasure. As a base standard pork dumplings were pretty nice, their seafood dumplings – made with prawn and squid meat – were better, and their vegan black bean dumplings interesting. I personally am a bit so so about the texture myself, but it’s so much better than a LOT of other vegan food that I’ve tried.

Zagyoza
Shop 1/60 Vulture St West End
Brisbane, QLD
Phone: 07 3844 6696
Website: http://www.zagyoza.com/

Zagyoza on Urbanspoon

Pork Skewers from Daniel SanGiant Pork Skewer from Daniel San

Manly residents Daniel San has also put on a strong market face, serving up a short menu, allowing them to focus on quality. The giant pork skewers we sampled were nicely flavoured, and comes with the added bonus of allowing you to use the sticks for a bit of jousting afterwards! The pork that they used was quite lean though, putting them at a bit of a disadvantage when it comes to this particular market, because…

Daniel San
55 N Steyne
Manly, NSW 2095
Phone: 02 9977 6963
Website: http://danielsan.com.au/

Daniel San on Urbanspoon

Skewers from Hoy PinoyPork and Chicken Skewers from Hoy Pinoy

HOY frickin’ PINOY is back in the building!!! Since I first tried them at the Winter Night Markets in Melbourne, I’ve been stalking them like a woman possessed, sniffing the air for that smoky smell of charcoal like a wolf.

See? I told you that the moon does strange things to people.

They are the reason I would seriously consider moving to Melbourne, and that is no exaggeration. Their menu is short, but it packs a punch. Their chicken skewers are coated in a sweet soy glaze, and their pork skewers in a banana ketchup glaze. Never in my life have I been such a fan of chicken.

And their showing at both the SMH Night Noodle Markets and The Age Night Noodle Markets shows amazing consistency – here’s hoping that they’re soon going to make a permanent expansion up to Sydney.

Hoy Pinoy
Mobile Food Truck
Location Varies- See Facebook
Melbourne, VIC 3000
Website: https://www.facebook.com/hoypinoybbq

Hoy Pinoy on Urbanspoon

Tammi eating Filipino skewers

Hoy Pinoy makes me happy.

Insatiable Munchies dined as guests of the NSW Food and Wine Festival.