15 Drool-Inducing Dishes to Eat at Taste of Sydney 2015
Just trust Cafe Paci when they give you 'carrot, yoghurt and liquorice'.
Taste of Sydney isn't just a case of 18 of the city's best restaurants setting up persnickety stalls in Centennial Park (though that's a pretty good start for any festival). It's 18 of the city's best restaurants setting up stalls and serving their latest and greatest culinary experimentations. Think chipotle tuna carpaccio, duck and burnt cinnamon burek and whatever happens when you combine "carrot, yoghurt and liquorice" (this last one's from Cafe Paci, so the scary-sounding result is almost certainly great). They're tasting-sized portions, so design-it-yourself degustations are the name of the game as you wander through the park.
This year, the lineup features Bentley Restaurant and Bay, the aforementioned Cafe Paci, Monopole, Pei Modern, Porteno, Sake Restaurant and Bar, MoVida, 4fourteen, Ananas, Biota Dining, Bloodwood, Cafe Paci, Efendy, Jonah's, Otto Ristorante, Popolo, The Cut and Yellow. Each participating venue will serve up some classics, but there'll also be festival exclusives and one particularly innovative "icon dish" per station. The latter is available on a first come first served basis, so get scarfing.
Here are 15 of the most impressive dishes we're making room for already.
Glacier 51 Toothfish from Sake — Fishers travel a week to get to the habitat of the highly prized Glacier 51 (aka Patagonian) toothfish, so it's not your average barra on the barbie. This is almost certainly the most casual opportunity you'll have to try the fish, which as a protected species is supplied in very controlled circumstances.
Tiramisu ice cream with marsala jelly, coffee soaked Savoiardi biscuits and cocoa nib tuile from Otto Ristorante — With the Italian translation of 'tirami-su' meaning "pick-me-up", this dish will leave dessert lovers euphoric.
Dipped lamb caramel buns by Biota Dining — Save yourself the two-hour trip to Bowral; Biota Dining is coming to us, and bringing mouthwatering buns filled with soft lamb belly and hot lamb glaze. Excuse us while we wipe the drool off our keyboards.
Ordek (duck, almond, fig and burnt cinnamon burek) from Efendy — Filled with ingredients that mesh together even better than avo on toast, these bite-sized burek will easily leave you reaching for more and more. And then a little more.
Carrot, yoghurt and liquorice from Cafe Paci — Sounds improbable, but Cafe Paci have been impressing diners with this clean-flavoured dessert of liquorice cake, carrot sorbet and yoghurt mousse for many moons. Just do it.
Organic vegetarian celery gratin, pickled black walnuts and Granny Smith apples by Ananas — Vegetarians are not forgotten at Taste. For this Sure to leave those crazy vegetarians scrambling like there's no tomorrow, this dish features various cooking techniques and methods.
Chipotle tuna carpaccio with chutney and plantain chips from Bloodwood — Combining the smooth melt of a fish sliced needle thin, the crunch of a banana chip and the smoky whack of chipotle, Bloodwood's light dish provides a pairing in textures like no other.
Leche merengada (citrus and cinnamon soft serve ice cream with fennel and olive oil pastry) from MoVida — It might sound like a crazy new combination of flavours, but this dish is old-school Spanish. Or at least, MoVida's rebellious take on old-school Spanish.
French dip grain fed beef standing rib roast slider from The Cut Bar and Grill — This is 'French' only in the American sense of the word 'French'. It's hot, sliced roast meat in a bun generously slathered in the beef juice from the cooking process. The bread is traditionally baguette.
Spanner crab salad with cos, papaya, avocado, ginger and lime from Jonah's — Centennial Park feels by the beach when you're munching on this summer salad.
Purple potato gnocchi with mixed mushrooms, chilli, pine nuts, and salted dried ricotta by Popolo — Another dish featuring the diversity of Italian cuisine. With it's purple colour, it will certainly be eye catching.
Roasted prawns with sea blight and buttermilk from Bentley Restaurant and Bar - Never thought you'd eat anything described as 'blight'? This dish, a twist on a Bentley regular, will change that.
Thinly sliced wagyu beef with confit tuna, lemon, caper and date dressing by Porteno — Like surf 'n' turf, but fancy. And with its surprise friend, dates.
Honey roasted paneer cheese with caramelised eschallots and peas from Bang — This new restaurant's contemporary Bangladeshi flavours are not what you expect, and this honey-touched cheese dish should be no exception.
White chocolate and caramel popsicle with dark chocolate crumbs — Milk chocolate goes unloved in this otherwise all-in ultimate ice cream dessert. Perfect for licking while you stroll.
Taste of Sydney is on from March 12 - 15 at Centennial Park. See the full program and buy tickets at the festival website.
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