Sydney Food Festival 2010

October is the month in which I attempt to make up for my three-year food blogging hiatus. I'm still eating! I just haven't been blogging about it.

But it's that time of year again. Yes, it's Good Food Month!

Or as the Sydney Morning Herald now likes to call it, the Crave Sydney Food Festival. (And SMH, if you're reading this, the website is seriously sucky -- from the horribly unintuitive URLs to the labour-intensive navigation. Javascript -- Just say no. But I digress.)

This year I'm aiming to knock off at least six Sugar Hits. My record was four in 2007, but that was before the whole thing became a bit of a sport and reservations became the norm.

But this month I'm resolved to beat my previous effort. If I can squeeze in a brunch and a lunch somewhere in there ... and still manage to lose two kilos (long story) ... I'll consider the month a roaring success in the food department.

Watch this space.

Are you ready for Good Food Month?

If anything would get me out of my unscheduled food blogging hiatus, it's Good Food Month! Sugar Hits and Let's Do Lunch menus are up on the website. I'm a bit underwhelmed by the desserts on offer--and last year's favourite, the Shangri-la isn't on the list--but lunch is looking very promising indeed.

I'm so excited, I've created a worksheet. Yes. I know.

Update: The Shangri-la was listed under "Lobby Lounge". (The site has been updated since.) But I'm not sure about the licorice infused strawberries.

Sugar Hit @ Shangri-la Hotel

This Sugar Hit had been three weeks in the planning. A couple of friends and I finally managed to find a night when all of us were free for some chocolatey goodness.

It's not difficult to see why the Shangri-la's Sugar Hit appealed to us:

Chocolate Lovers Plate - Trio of Rhubarb & White Chocolate gelato, 70% Excellence macaron with raspberry ganache and Roast Banana gianduja mousse on a coconut crisp.

Pretty much an menu item that purports to cater to the chocolate lover will get my attention.

The Lobby Lounge at the Shangri-la was by far the most comfortable Sugar Hit venue I've been to. The couches were huge and soft--perfect for, well, lounging about. When we walked in, someone was playing the grand piano. Definitely a great start to the night.

For the first time this month, I was offered a choice between the cognac and the dessert wine. One of my dinner companions--having been to numerous Sugar Hits already--asked what tyoe of Brown Brothers wine they had. It turns out that they had the Sienna, which was a red dessert wine. My friends were sold, while I chose the cognac for variety.

The drinks arrived first, and the cognac was strong. Over the course of the night, I don't think I even got halfway through the glass. My friends said the dessert wine was good.

Henessy Cognac VC (front)
Brown Brothers Sienna (back)

Of course, the main event of the night was the tasting plate. When it came out, there were looks of awe and grins of anticipation. The waiter named each dessert on the plate, but all I heard was "Blah, blah, blah," as we smiled politely and waited for him to leave so we could dig in. After he did leave, we contemplated the best order in which to tackle the plate.

Sugar Hit - $20

It was obvious we had to start with the strawberry (because it was sitting on the spoon). The fruit was firm, not sour but not too sweet either. I would have liked more chocolate, but it could have been swimming in melted Valrhona and I'd still want more, so maybe that's not saying much.

Then we tasted the mousse. It was sooooooo good. I had my doubts about banana and mousse together, but it wasn't banana-flavoured chocolate as I'd feared. A piece of sweet banana sat above the base and covered with the mousse. My friend, who ate the mousse from the top down, exclaimed, "Oh, so there's the banana!" Which was nothing compared to my dumb moment of the night:

Friend: The pear is nice.
Me: What pear? Isn't it a coconut crisp?
(Confusion all around as everyone stares suspiciously at their plates.I grab the menu.)
Me: It says "coconut crisp" on the menu!
(Silence, which I assume might have been my friends wondering what kind of airhead I am.)
Me: Um, or maybe it is a pear.
Other friend (managing to almost hide his sarcasm by not rolling his eyes): I think the mousse is on top of the coconut crisp.
Me (sheepish): Ahhhh...I was wondering! 'Cos didn't think it looked like coconut--coconut is white!

*sigh*

Anyway, I dug into the gelato after a few bites of the mousse, and the effect was almost like having a banana split. *g* The gelato was underwhelming after the mousse. We agreed it wasn't bad for something that was masquerading as chocolate even though it had no cocoa, but it tasted pretty much like vanilla gelato. There were swirls of rhubarb flavour, but mine didn't have enough for me to appreciate it (although I think my friend got an actual rhubarb bit).

We finished the plate off by savouring the macaron, which was airy and just delightful. The filling was surprisingly rich. While I would have liked more, more, more (it was a very small macaron), it was probably just the right size for the plate. Any more and the sweetness would have overpowered everything.

We sat around for another couple of hours chatting away. Did I mention how comfy the couches were? I wanted to take them home. The service was excellent. We pretty much overstayed our welcome, but we never felt like the staff were trying to bundle us out.

I had such a great experience that I'm planning to come back soon with my husband. I also hear their buffet upstairs is good, so it's on my list to try.

By far, this was the best Sugar Hit of the month for me. I hope they're back next year!

Lobby Lounge - Shangri-la Hotel
176 Cumberland St, The Rocks
02 9250 6198

Sugar Hit @ One on 1 Brasserie

Miz M and I were planning to go the Sheraton to attack the dessert buffet ($29 during GFM), but when I made a booking for 10pm, I was told that the kitchen closes at 10pm--including the dessert buffet. Bummer.

So Miz M and I perused the GFM Sugar Hit offerings and decided to try the Radisson:

Heavenly Morsels - triple the tastesation with Roasted macadamia nut and Quandong Crème Brûlée, Mixed Berry Crêpe Stack & 5 Spice Panacotta with Palm Glaze.

The night started off as a kind of comedy of errors. Just as I was about to sneak out of the house, the toddler woke up. "I want to play!" *sigh* Luckily, Rob was able to shuffle him back to bed while I made my escape, crossing my fingers that the twins won't wake up.

Then, we went to the wrong Radisson. The Sugar Hit is not at O'Connell Street, but at Liverpool Street. Luckily, the parking gods were with us, and it wasn't a big hassle.

When we arrived at the brasserie, it was packed. We had to wait a minute while the waiter prepared us a table. The service declined further during the night, improving only when we managed to flag a waiter--more than 15 minutes after we arrived--and asked about our Sugar Hits. Miz M is a little more assertive than I am and mentioned our 9:30 reservation *hint, hint* and our desserts came out within 5 minutes (meanwhile, four girls at the table next to us were still waiting even though they were already seated when we came in).

As usual, we weren't given a choice between the wine and the cognac--we got the wine. It was lovely and fruity and sweet, but we made the mistake of digging straight into the panacotta. After that, the wine tasted pretty horrible. I suggest drinking the wine before tackling the sweet options on the plate, or after the entire dessert has been consumed and your tongue has had a chance to reset.

Sugar Hit $20

I'm not a huge fan of panacotta and didn't have very high expectations, so I was pleasantly surprised by the spicy flavour. Miz M declared it to be her favourite dessert so far (she's been to the Sheraton and the Swissotel). I liked it a lot, but I thought there was too much of it. The palm glaze was yummy and sticky, reminding me of those slightly runny toffees you sometimes get at a cake stall.

The crepe looked lovely, although it seemed bland after the panacotta. Perhaps I should have tasted this first before I delved into the sweeter offerings. The berries were encased in red jelly, and the strawberries at the bottom were deliciously sweet. The crepe was a little meh and would have been nicer if it had been warm and slightly sweeter.

I saved the creme brulee for last. Alas, no crunch. For a dessert that took more than 15 minutes to arrive, this was a disappointment. The taste, however, was excellent. The texture was thicker than I'm used to in a creme brulee, but perfect for my preference because it came very close to tasting like leche flan (Filipino creme caramel). The roasted macadamia nuts inside the creme brulee added a contrast that made the custard taste less eggy. I could have eaten it all night.

In fact, when we finally scraped off the last bit of custard, jelly and glaze from our plates, I looked morosely at our empty plates, sighed and admitted, "I want another one."

One on 1 Brasserie
Radisson Hotel & Suites
72 Liverpool St, Sydney
02 8268 8888

See the sidebar for a round-up of Good Food Month in blogland.

Let's Do lunch @ Zilver

I have a certain fondness for Zilver Restaurant, which used to offer all you can eat yum cha for $15 back when it was called Silver Spring. Ah, those were the days.

So when I spotted it on the GFM list, I was intrigued, and even more so when I read the offering:

Signature Entree: Peking duck.
Main: Choose from Stir fried king prawns in Singapore style or Wok seared diced beef fillet with wasabi sauce or Red braised melting pork belly or Braised seasonal vegetables wrapped in lotus leaf or Zilver’s BBQ tasting platter with barbecued pork, roast duck, soy-sauce chicken, jelly fish salad and Japanese seaweed.

To be honest, it seems bizarre to spend $35 for a two-course meal when you can have a decent yum cha for less. So when I met up with a couple of friends, we ended up getting one Let's do lunch meal and then picking out some yum cha favourites, such as whitebait, siopao (vegetarian in this case--they didn't have any meat-filled ones for some reason) and egg tarts.

The yum cha dishes complemented the tasting platter, which was substantial. I'm told the Peking duck was tasty. The roast pork (not mentioned in the menu) was gratifyingly crackly without being burnt, although I would have preferred less fat. The duck tasted slightly over-seasoned and the chicken was ... well, chicken, but the barbecue pork was excellent.

Let's do lunch tasting platter $35

The service at Zilver is much improved from the last time I visited. Although they stuffed up my reservation again (I booked for noon, but they put me down for 11am), we still got a table and they didn't mind that we were at least half an hour late. It wasn't too difficult to hail a waiter whenever we needed service, and the lady pushing the watermelon juice (???) trolley was kind enough to go back to the kitchen to bring us some Chinese taho (soybean curd).

I should also mention that the restaurant has pram access, and I was able to park my double pram comfortably even though our table wasn't along the aisle.

Which left my friends and me to enjoy an unhurried weekday lunch, catching up on news, talking about books, and having fun with the babies.

Zilver
Level 1, 477 Pitt Street, Sydney
02 9211 2232

See the sidebar for a round-up of Good Food Month in blogland.

Let's Do Lunch @ Quadrant Restaurant

The Quadrant was an easy pick for my first GFM foray last week. I love choices, and the ones on offer at the Quadrant seemed equally tempting:

Choice of Crispy skin duck breast with duck parfait, sauteed witlof and pink lady apples or Grainfed beef tenderloin with jerusalem artichoke and truffle ravioli, sauteed spinach, red wine sauce or Steamed mulloway, shao xing braised squid, snow pea leaves, xo chilli or Grilled field mushroom topped with persian fetta, spiced eggplant and tomato salsa.

I went to this restaurant last year during GFM, and I was happy with my meal, so this also seemed a safe(ish) bet. Plus, it has stroller access!

It was a beautiful day to go out for lunch, and although Wandergurl and I were seated inside, large windows allowed the sunshine to stream through. We were seated in the middle of the dining area, with plenty of room to park my double stroller.

We were given an appetiser, which was a kind of cheesy, spinachy thing. (I wasn't paying attention--sorry!) It was delicious, and Wandergurl liked the tomato sauce a lot.

Wandergurl ordered the duck with some red wine, while I opted for the tenderloin and a Coke. (I briefly warred with my conscience on consuming alcohol, but to be honest, I just wasn't in the mood.) The waiter warned us that there might be a long wait for my order, and she wasn't kidding. By the time our order came out, the babies were hungry, too, and we had to perform some acrobatics as I finished breastfeeding a baby while trying to enjoy my lunch.

Let's Do Lunch $35

Is it me or does the duck not look particularly crispy? At any rate, Wandergurl seemed to like it, but I was glad I didn't get the same dish as I prefer my duck skin to crackle.

Let's Do Lunch $35

The tenderloin was delicious. It was done just the way I like it (medium), and so soft and tender. The ravioli was okay and complemented the meat well, although at times it seemed overpowering. The spinach was good, with just a hint of bitterness, which means not all of the vitamins had been leeched out of it. That's good for a breastfeeding mum!

The only quibble I have with the set lunches for GFM is that they're usually not enough to fully satisfy. So Wandergurl and I asked for the dessert menu, and when our eyes caught sight of the chocolate pudding (pictured at the top of this post), we were sold.

Chocolate pudding $16

At $16, it was cheaper than this year's Sugar Hits, yet I daresay it could compete with the best of them. The pudding was rich but not overwhelming, and the strawberry sauce was yummy. The ice cream was a little too aromatic, but it was okay in small doses. I also ordered a latte, which didn't make it to our bill. Just as well, though, because it tasted so burnt that I couldn't even finish half a glass.

Nevertheless, it was a lovely lunch.

Let's do lunch at Quadrant Restaurant
Quay Grand Sydney
Level 2, 61 Macquarie St, Sydney
02 9256 4044

See the sidebar for a round-up of Good Food Month in blogland.

Sydney Food and Wine Fair - Volunteers

The Food & Wine Fair will be held on Saturday, October 27 this year. If you've never been, the Food Fair showcases wares from Sydney restaurants and Aussie wineries. Stalls are set up in Hyde Park, and you can choose from a wide assortment of food and wine. It's a great way to sample what some of Sydney's top restaurants have to offer, for a fraction of the cost of a regular meal. The AIDS Trust is looking for volunteers to help out with this event, so if you're so inclined, click here for more details.

Good Food Month Round-up

Reb over at CucinaRebecca has a great round-up of the Good Food Month eating blogging marathon. Go check it out and click through some of the posts.

I think I'm going into sugar withdrawal at midnight...

Let's do lunch - Wharf Restaurant

I'd been to the The Wharf Restaurant before so when Wandergurl mentioned her beef lust, we agreed to - ahem - do lunch during StuVac.

There's something so utterly delightful about dining at the Wharf Restaurant. It manages to feel casual yet elegant and the view is just gorgeous. Wandergurl and I were given the best table on the balcony, right at the corner. So we had a view of the Bridge on one side, and a lush view of the water on the other. With the sun out, it was the perfect setting for a long lunch...until the breeze picked up. Still, a little shivering was a small price to pay for some fresh air and the chance to have a sticky beak at the Bridge climbers.

Since Wandergurl hadn't had breakfast, we ordered a starter:

Chicken liver paté with with caper berries and balsamic dressing

Although I can tolerate it, I'm not a big paté lover. So when the dish came out with a kick-ass piece, I knew most of it would be wasted on me. Good thing Wandergurl acquitted us well. The accompanying crispbread was very addictive. It took a while to get through the entire plate, though, which made lunch a very long affair indeed.

For some reason, when we read the GFM blurb on the dish:

Braised wagyu with potato-leek gratin

we imagined a lovely, warm steak above a bed of thin potato slices. So I have to admit to being slightly disappointed to find a kind of stew with potatoes and a large, luscious mushroom. I was really, really craving a steak!

Let's do lunch @ Wharf Restaurant - $35

As the dishes were placed in front of us, I turned to Wandergurl and said, "It kind of smells like adobo."

After a few bites, she said thoughfully, "I'm sure I've had this before. What is it?"

So after a few twists of the pepper mill, I took a bite and announced, "It's caldereta!"

And to be honest, my Mum makes better caldereta. Don't get me wrong, the meat was absolutely tender but I kind of find it a waste of good wagyu beef to put it in a stew. After all, a couple of hours in a pressure cooker and any cheap meat is going to come out pretty tender, too. Wagyu that isn't steak seems a waste, to me.

There was also a lot of meat and the vegetables didn't provide enough of a contrast. The potates were bland and the mushroom, although soft and tender, couldn't really add a kick to the dish. Some carrots and extra flavours would have helped a lot.

"Would it be crass," Wandergurl asked quietly, "if I asked for fish sauce?" Hehe. Patis, the Filipino ketchup. :-)

So while the dish was decent - and for volume, it was definitely worth it - I just ended up craving my Mum's caldereta.

We had petal tea to finish off the meal. If we hadn't had the entree, I would have ordered dessert but as it was, the meal totaled just under $90 for two, which is pretty indulgent.

Oh, well. I guess I'll just have to come back for dessert another day. :-)

Let's do lunch at Wharf Restaurant
Pier 4, Hickson Rd, Walsh Bay
02 9250 1761

For a round-up of Good Food Month in blogland, go and visit CucinaRebecca.
Technorati tag: gfm06

Sugar Hit - Park Hyatt

After several failed attempts, I finally managed to snare a reservation at the Park Hyatt to sample their Sugar Hit. Yay, me! I had been looking forward to this Sugar Hit since Wednesday:

Chocolate and saffron infused poached pear, milk chocolate and caramel crème brulee, and white chocolate and coconut parfait

Saturday night parking at The Rocks is serious business and we considered ourselves lucky to nab a space near the Sydney Dance Theatre. It was a decent walk but the night breeze was refreshing and KB was quite happy to skip along the sidewalk so it wasn't a problem.

We arrived at the Park Hyatt a little after 9pm. I was expecting to be seated at the littlekitchen, but we were directed to a lovely table in the restaurant. KB was seated in a wooden high chair, which was great - I didn't have to act as a human shield between him and the cutlery...and the glassware...and the candle. Although he made quite a valiant attempt to blow out the candle from the other side of the table.

Sadly, the service was just downhill from there. KB kept me amused with his antics and so wasn't until Rob started grumbling that I realised we had been kept waiting. For a very long time. You know it's bad when your toddler looks around with a concerned expression and asks, "Where dessert?" No amount of polite head-straining could stop a waiter. We just couldn't make eye contact with any of them. Rob watched in annoyance as a table of four at the end of the room, who had been seated after us, enjoyed their cool drinks and what looked to be...dessert!

Finally, Rob had to pretty much raise his voice to get the waiter's attention and he told her in a very grave tone that we had been waiting for 20 minutes and watched other people being served, without so much as being offered any drinks. The waiter was suitable apologetic, service picked up considerably, and our Sugar Hits arrived within about 10 minutes.

Sugar Hit @ Park Hyatt - $15

Unfortunately, by this time we were both stressed - having argued over grumpy dining companions, slow service and general dissatisfaction with the world - and increasingly concerned that KB's good cheer would not last long once we passed the late bedtime threshold of 9:30pm. It did help that the waiters were very attentive now, and the maitre'd came over to apologise for keeping us waiting. Rob was quite easily appeased, although I still felt flustered. It's difficult being out so late with a toddler because you know that once you hit a certain time, you're facing all sorts of horrors that you'd rather not have to live through - tantrums, boredom, hyperactivity from sleep deprivation, dirty nappies - any of which are likely to cause an abrupt and probably noisy end to the night.

But back to dessert...

The parfait was delicious and I didn't really taste the coconut flavour at all. There was a lot of chocolate syrup so it ended up tasting a lot more chocolatey than it was probably meant to. KB loved it, though. He refused to eat anything else. Unfortunately, the parfait melted very quickly so I had to eat it first, by default. I would have preferred a much more solid construction because I think the flavour would have come out a bit better.

The wine was surprisingly yummy. I was expecting it to taste the same as all the dessert wines served at the other Sugar Hits I'd been to but for some reason, I found the wine not so sickeningly sweet this time around. It was really, really lovely - neither overpowering nor insipid.

The maitre'd approached us to apologise once again, then came back to ask us if there was anything she could do to make up for the initial stuff up. We were happy to accept her offer of flat whites. Hey, this is a coffee blog after all. :-)

The downside to all the attention was that our dessert was interrupted a few times. I felt quite rushed as the parfait melted and KB started showing signs of overtiredness. Stress before dessert is really not recommended.

The poached pear was suprisingly good. I say this because I am by no means a lover of pears. In fact, I usually find them bland and uninspiring. But this...this was lovely. I could kind of see the saffron but couldn't taste the chocolate at all. The pear sat on what I assume was either cream or mascarpone - if I hadn't been so focused on keeping KB amused, I probably could have taken some time to pay it a little bit more attention - and the amount on the plate was just right for the cute little pear.

I left the crème brulee for last. I was surprised to find it somewhat...pedestrian after the more subtle flavours of the pear and even the parfait. It was very sweet - dare I say it, perhaps too sweet? - but it earned points for having a relatively crackly cap, which is my favourite part of the crème brulee.

In the midst of all this came our free coffees and what I'm going to guess were brandy snap-ish pieces. This will sound pretty shameful for a food blog but I don't know what the nuts were! Honestly, I was so distracted it was all I could do to pay enough attention to whether or not I liked what was going in my mouth. Actually, if I concentrate really hard...I think they were macadamias. Yes, macadamias. Lock it in, Eddie. *phew*

I ended up stuffing myself with the brandy snaps. There was something about them that made me want to pick another one up and stuff it in my mouth. Or maybe the Filipino in me just couldn't bear to waste all the freebies we were given. *grin*

When KB started devising ways to get out of his high chair - "Stuck, Mama, stuck!" - we knew it was time to leave before we traumatised the people at the next table (who, incidentally, had been waiting for about 20 minutes without so much as a follow-up from a waiter). But again, our turtle impersonations and subtle attempts at eye contact got us nowhere with the wait staff. Fortunately, KB found us a waiter, who stopped by to flirt with him. While she was telling KB how gorgeous he was, Rob quickly asked for the bill.

The bill arrived fairly quickly and the freebies were indeed free, which was great. But in what seemed to be the theme for the night, we couldn't snare a waiter long enough to hand them a credit card. After about 5 minutes, I just walked over and handed it to one of the wait staff.

Later, Rob and I would muse over the fact that they interrupted us at least 3 times over dessert to ask us if everything was OK, but every time we actually needed some service, they were nowhere to be found. His theory is that their service is so personalised that for people like us, who are only there for dessert, lack of dedicated wait staff means that you're likely to be overlooked. I'm not sure if this would have happened had we been seated at the littlekitchen.

I'd love to come back for dinner one day. I cast very longing looks at some of the meals being served to people around us - and with all the waiting we had to do, I saw a lot of plates pass by. The portions were very generous and Rob said they smelled wonderful.

I was really disappointed that I couldn't enjoy this Sugar Hit more due the poor start we had. I do think that in terms of taste, it might well have been the best so far. For a tasting plate, I think it's pretty hard to beat. The flavours were subtle and there was enough variety and volumen to make it worth the spend.

Because I couldn't relax properly enough to savour my experience at the Park Hyatt, the Sofitel still gets my vote for best Sugar Hit. Rob is also sticking by the Sebel, which is really interesting because I have a feeling he remembers that night fondly more because of the company and conversation than the dessert itself. Which just goes to show what a difference good service and great conversation can make.

Park Hyatt Sugar Hit
7 Hickson Rd, The Rocks
02 9256 1437

For a round-up of Good Food Month in blogland, go and visit CucinaRebecca.
Technorati tag: gfm06

Sugar Hit - Swissôtel

"Mum, are you still on a diet?" I e-mailed my Mum a couple of weeks ago. "Because there are Sugar Hits to be had this month!"

Sure enough, my mother decided she could break her diet long enough to indulge in some dessert. After finding out that the Park Hyatt was booked out for tonight, I managed to get a reservation at the Swissôtel. Mind you, the first time I was told that no reservation was required. But I'd heard this before so I rang back in the afternoon, spoke to a different person, and was marked down for a table of five.

I was a little apprehensive because I hadn't seen this Sugar Hit on any of the foodie blogs I normally check but I've been to the Swissôtel before and have never had cause to complain about their food. The GFM site described the Sugar Hit thus:

Warm Lindt Ecuador Chocolate Torte with Wattle Seed, Quark Mousse, and a Strawberry Shot

but this really wasn't all that descriptive to me so I asked the lady on the phone what the desserts were like. She told me there would be three items: a chocolate fondue...or rather, a pudding, a cheesecake, and a shot with vodka. Mmm...that sounded pretty damn good to me!

The Sugar Hits were served at the Crossroads Bar but they seemed so popular tonight that many patrons spilled over to the restaurant for seating. My poor Dad arrived ahead of us and felt so lonely sitting all by himself at the far end of the room. The rest of us finally trickled in between 9 and 9:30pm.

I'm not sure if it was because we had a toddler with us and kept moving about but the service seemed very slow. It might have been because we were seated so far away. Whatever the case, our order of four Sugar Hits and one chicken quesadilla with jalapenos took what seemed like ages to arrive.

The dessert wines, though, arrived within fifteen minutes. Although the GFM site stated that we had a choice of dessert wine or scotch, we weren't actually asked our preferences. We all got the Orange Muscat. Which was fine by me as this was what I would have asked for anyway, but I guess I like to be asked. It makes me feel empowered.

Orange Muscat

We watched as patrons who arrived after us tucked into their Sugar Hits. When we got ours at last, I was glad to see that the desserts were plated quite well and not lost in a ridiculously big plate. The chocolate pudding smelled wonderful.

Sugar Hit @ Swissôtel - $15

Unfortunately, my photos suck, partly due to the dim lighting, but mostly due to my brother who insisted on poking everything with a teaspoon. His theory was that I needed some kind of pictorial trademark so people would remember them. Theoretically, not a bad thought, but I'm afraid that random bits of cutlery poking out of my food is not how I want my food pics to be remembered.

The problem with this plate is that I love chocolate and will therefore endeavour to eat it last, if I possibly can. Which means I must go through the cheesecake first, thereby ruining my tastebuds for the less sweet flavour of the chocolate pudding.

Quark mousse, otherwise known as a cheesecake

The cheesecake was, in a word, bland. Even Rob found it unremarkable so that's pretty ordinary indeed. I think it suffered from being in storage all day. The kiwi slices and lone blueberry seemed a somewhat paltry attempt to liven things up.

A view from the top

Alas, the dark chocolate pudding tasted even less sweet after the cheesecake. I was slightly disappointed as I had expected to love it. The cake wasn't too dry but it also wasn't moist enough for my liking. The chocolate inside was also a lot thicker than I would have liked...but maybe that's the difference between a pudding and mud cake with hot chocolate in the middle? I was expecting a moist cake with a hot chocolate centre so that the texture balanced out the lack of sweetness. What I got was a slightly dry, somewhat bitter cupcake with a thick, gooey chocolate filling. It wasn't bad but it also didn't taste as good as it looked.

The strawberry shot was a delightful surprise. Perhaps it's nothing too out of the ordinary but it went down really well and tasted like a refreshing shot of daiquiri. I couldn't taste the vodka at all. It was really refreshing and I wish I had a glass instead of a shot. :-)

In the end, we were all left looking longingly at Dad's quesadillas, which were steaming hot and served with a generous dollop of sour cream. He was kind enough to leave a slice for us to taste. I'm sure that somewhere, there's a rule which says you're supposed to eat dessert last but in my family, this is the one rule we consistently break.

The verdict? Not bad for volume, but in taste it doesn't beat the Sofitel. Rob still likes the Sebel best but keep in mind that he has weird tastebuds.

Swissôtel Sugar Hit
68 Market St, Sydney
02 9238 7082

For a round-up of Good Food Month in blogland, go and visit CucinaRebecca.
Technorati tag: gfm06

Sugar Hit - Sofitel Wentworth

My cousin and I had been trying for a couple of weeks now to hook up for a Sugar Hit. So when she told me she was free tonight, I was on the phone to the Sofitel to book us a table. I was no longer to content to leave my sugar cravings to the vagaries of fate. Which was just as well because when we turned up at 8:55pm, the hostess immediately asked if we had a reservation.

"Yes, we do," I smirked. I think we were first. Yay for us! We were seated at a table for two next to the well. Not very picturesque but I guess the better seats were reserved for bigger groups.

Dare I say it but the service at the Sofitel seemed a little...snooty. I'm not sure if the waiter was just very formal or if it's because I was wearing thongs (stylish thongs, mind you - with a long skirt). All the same, I didn't find the service warm and friendly. However, the desserts arrived relatively quickly and, from the way they were being brought out as the night progressed, the Sofitel either had a good assembly line of kitchen elves or they did a good job of preserving pre-prepared plates. And when it comes to dessert, I do value speed much more than friendly smiles.

I picked the Sofitel on purpose to try with my cousin because Rob is not a big chocolate fan and the dessert here was pretty much all chocolate:

Chocolate assiette - a delicious tasting plate consisting of white chocolate crème brulee, Valrhona bitter chocolate parfait and praline and a berry & milk chocolate terrine.

That description brings out all manners of drool in my mouth but does nothing for Rob. Luckily, my cousin is not a chocolate pleb so she was more than happy to try it out. And oh, what joy to have a dining companion who did not mind me taking pictures of the food AT ALL.

Even at first glance, we were not disappointed. No lonely white spaces on this plate.

Sugar Hit @ Sofitel Wentworth - $15

I was fully expecting to love the berry and milk chocolate terrine best but I found the berry just a little bit too sweet and overpowering. I would have preferred an all-chocolate terrine (which might actually just be a mousse, come to think of it).

Berry and milk chocolate terrine

The bitter chocolate parfait was divine but I made the mistake of eating it at the same time as the terrine. Again, the sweetness of the berry layer dulled the richness of the chocolate. In hindsight, I should probably have eated the parfait first.

Valhrona bitter chocolate parfait and praline (left)

And by the way, is it me or do parfaits normally come in a glass? I became very confused when what looked like a parfait tasted like berries and I was expecting bitter chocolate.

Anyway, my cousin and I agreed that we loved the crème brulee best. It was just so tasty and the sweetness was not overpowering. I would have preferred a cracklier crust but honestly, it didn't bother me too much. I could have eaten it all night.

White chocolate crème brulee

We tried to make this Sugar Hit last but alas, family gossip could only extend dessert so far before we found ourselves empty-plated. I gazed longingly at the other tables where people were just about to have their first taste of these yummy concoctions. Even after the last raspberry was consumed, our spoons continued to scrape our plates. At one point I seriously considered licking the decorative chocolate syrup clean. Discreetly, of course.

My cousin, who has been to three Sugar Hits thus far, pronounced the Sofitel's plate the best she's had so far. And I have to say, it's going to be pretty hard to beat.

Sofitel Wentworth Sugar Hit
61-101 Phillip St, Sydney
02 9228 9157

For a round-up of Good Food Month in blogland, go and visit CucinaRebecca.
Technorati tag: gfm06

Sugar Hit - Sebel Pier One

Actually, this was supposed to be a Park Hyatt Sugar Hit but when I rang to make a reservation, I was told that I didn't need one. "Are you positive?" I asked, not wanting to miss out. I was told that yes, I definitely did NOT need one. So of course, when my friends and I arrived at around 10pm for dessert, I was told they were sold out. And really, no amount of whingeing was going to create three more desserts, just for us.

So we dragged our sugar-deprived bodies across to the Sebel Pier One. They didn't need a reservation. Service was not quite with a smile but hey, they weren't sold out so already our night was improving.

We sat at the lounges as we waited for our sugar hits. In the middle of the floor, there's a large area made of see-through material which allows people to gaze into the running waters below. Rob and BottlaRed (yes, she chose her own pseudonym) pointed out the jellyfish to me and fancied they could see some fish swimming about.

"Hmm, imagine how horrifying it would be to suddenly find a dead body floating in the water," I mused. They looked at me, slightly horrified, but I do think that kind of set up is a bit of a risk. If you've read any decent detective novels lately, you'll know that serial killers like to tie their victims up to those pole things and wait for the high tide to swallow them up. That was the first picture in my head when I looked down.

It took a little while for our desserts to arrive but with BottlaRed getting married in a month, there was plenty of conversation to be had. The Sebel's Sugar Hit is described thus at the GFM site:

Dark chocolate pot with coconut ice cream and champagne strawberries

When I read "dark chocolate pot", I thought of a pot of hot chocolate and was looking forward to cupping this in my hands after the slightly chilly walk from the Park Hyatt. But I soon found out that the description was literally of a pot - well, a small cup - made out of chocolate in which the coconut ice cream sits.

Dark chocolate pot with coconut ice cream and champagne strawberries

I'm not sure why the plate was so big but the poor little pot of ice cream and mound of strawberries seemed dwarfed by big, empty white space.

Sugar Hit on lonely white plate

I'm not a big fan of coconut, so the fact that the coconut ice cream was the piece de resistance didn't do all that much for me. Rob, however, found it delicious. I found the strawberries slightly sour (although Rob claimed his strawberries were sweet) which balanced out the sweetness of the ice cream. The chocolate pot seemed a little pedestrian in the face of these other flavours and was totally overpowered by the ice cream. But maybe I placed too much importance on the chocolate. Maybe it was meant to be more decorative than tasty.

We all had the Orange Muscat Aperitif, which was sweet and delicious. It was a little too sweet for me but my dessert companions loved it.

All in all, it wasn't bad for a back-up hit but I'm definitely looking forward to bigger and better things in the next couple of weeks. Watch me cram sugar into my veins.

Sebel Pier One Sugar Hit
11 Hickson Road, Walsh Bay
8298 9910

For a round-up of Good Food Month in blogland, go and visit CucinaRebecca.
Technorati tag: gfm06

Grand Philippine Fiesta 2006

For the first time ever, I went along to the Grand Fiesta which was held this year at Rosehill Racecourse.

The first thing you notice coming into the event is...the smell of Filipino barbeque. Almost every food stall offered BBQ and a smoky haze permeated Rosehill form about 9am to well after 6pm. I went around the stalls twice to scope out the BBQ and fishballs on sticks, and I wasn't disappointed.

I have to say, though, that my Dad makes better fishball sauce. His home-made sauce has a slight kick of chilli, whereas most Filipino fishball sauces are invariably too sweet for my liking.

I was manning the Australian Filipina Magazine booth, so I didn't get much time to take food photos, but I did manage to snag me some BBQ and honest to goodness bibingka cooked in traditional charcoal ovens.

Charcoal ovens (check out the trashy romance novels nearby)

The stall was manned by these cute ladies, whose uniform reminded me of the Pink Ladies in Grease.Traditional bibingka is pretty rare in these parts and the line to get one was HUGE. When we arrived in the morning, I bypassed the stall because there were about 10 people in line. By lunchtime, the line was so long, I was told there would be at least a half hour wait.

Luckily, wandergurl volunteered to line up for me. She was there for about an hour and a half. Talk about dedication.

A family friend was also lined up at one stage, until he heard a woman order 28 bibingkas, whereupon he threw in the towel and headed off to find some BBQ instead.

The verdict? Meh. It was so-so. But since I hadn't had real bibingka since forever, I scoffed it down like a drowning woman. At $8 each, I reckon it was a bargain for labour alone. The charcoally flavour is something you just can't replicate using bibingka mix and a normal oven. I was disappointed to find that they didn't use salted egg as a garnish. Even though I normally pick these out, I like the lingering taste and contrast they contribute to the bibingka.

Sadly, I couldn't find any fresh kutsinta. That's definitely one Filipino dessert I have to learn to make from scratch.