Delicious Movie – Palace Cinemas

This blog post was written by Melle

Delicious is in cinemas Boxing Day (26 December 2021). Dazz and I visited Palace Norton St cinemas in Leichhardt to check out an advanced screening of the new movie Delicious.

Ubereats First Birthday - Held at the Grounds of Alexandria

The Grounds of Alexandria is a lovely venue that attracts many people on the weekend however on this particular night, it's the venue which is hosting UberEats first birthday. Ompty Media kindly extended an invitation to Weekend Food Escapes.

Wahroonga Food and Wine Festival 2016

We were very lucky to attend the Wahroonga Food and Wine Festival last Sunday. This is the second year we've gone, and I was impressed with how well run it all was - short queues, lots of seating and a great variety of stalls.

Wahroonga Food and Wine Festival, 2015

The Wahroonga Food and Wine Festival was held in the picturesque and leafy Wahroonga Park on 25th October 2015, from 11am to 5pm. The locals and foodies alike were basking in the sun enjoying all the culinary delights. The festival is free entry and celebrates NSW wineries (130 wines from 30 wineries).

Winter Garden Eateries, Sydney CBD

 Check out the new Wintergarden food court located in the heart of the CBD.  WinterGarden is a great place for a bite whether it be grab and go, or a bit of a longer sojourn with a special someone. The eateries and sample food include:

Bowery Lane – Roasted snapper, slow cooked lamb shoulder, Charlie Chaplins, Brooklyn beer, wines.

CBD noodles – Chicken laksa and wonton noodle soup.

Chur express (Chur burger) – Chicken sliders

Crema from the Garden – Tea, coffee, and cakes.

Los Vida – Fish tacos, chilaquiles, quesadillas.

Sushi Hub – Bite-sized sushi plate.

Soul Origin – Baguettes, paninis, salads, freshly made chai.

Top Juice – Juices and fresh smoothies.

WinterGarden Deli – Pumpkin and feta frittata with kale and quinoa salad, Nutella frappé.

Check out my sample of Wintergarden

To start us off the Wintergarden Deli introduced the group to their Nutella frappe and savoury pumpkin and feta frittata with kale and quinoa salad.  Nutella frappé, you ask? The drink was absolutely delicious!

As for the frittata, the slight sweetness of the pumpkin and salty creaminess of the feta was a nice combination.  The salad being sweet from raisins, sour from the dressing, and crunchy complemented the frittata well in taste and texture. 

Next up was Sushi Hub with a genuine degustation sized plate. The plate that came out was superb in its simplicity.  A spicy tuna with brown rice roll and chicken and avocado roll were both great as bite-sized pieces.  The salmon sashimi rose was perfect – slightly chilled, soft, and juicy.  Two salads – seaweed and jellyfish, just the right amount of sweet and salty flavours to sate your tastebuds and just that bit of crunch to complete the sushi experience.

The sushi plate was paired with a light and crisp Brooklyn Lager.  It was also quite hoppy, I did think it contrasted well with the relatively smooth flavours of the sushi.

Following up the sushi was a tasting board made up of baguettes, paninis, and wraps adorned with various sides – not all boards were clones of each other.   This platter was made with breads from some of Sydney’s best artisan bread-makers and the sides were expertly prepared.

Made with a sourdough that is soft and chewy yet still firm enough to hold shape despite being manhandled by yours truly it adds just a hint of sour to the smoothness of the cheese, the saltiness of the salami, and the mixed leaf salad.

Fortunately there was a break at this point for a drinks break with both a smoothie and a freshly made chai tea with a “secret ‘spice fresh’ sprinkle” that from what I could taste, and smell, was just freshly ground cinnamon and a bit of nutmeg 

Time for Mexican and it started well with a fish taco.  A deep fried fish fillet on a shallow bed of vinegared cabbage topped with chipotle mayo and jalapenos three ways – fresh, pickled, and grilled.  I enjoyed this dish a lot as the flavours were very fresh and the fried fish and fried side salad added crunch to the usual soft taco texture.  Chilaquiles and quesadillas were shared amongst the group.  The chilli had a bit of heat tempered by the beans and cheese while the quesadillas were quite salty with more meat (pulled pork) than cheese - a bit more guacamole and chipotle sour cream would have helped.  Both were mouth-wateringly good and definitely a pairing I want to have the next time I’m watching sport with my mates.

At this stage everyone was well and truly stuffed so when the whole roasted snapper and slow cooked lamb shoulder it was with heavy hearts that we could not partake more than we did.  From the little I did have I can say for certain that the chef did an amazing job.  The fish was perfectly roasted and smothered in fresh Mediterranean flavours and while the lamb shoulder was tasty it was a tad dry.

Despite our full stomachs once the chicken sliders reached the table there was magically space for one, or two.  Sweet brioche like buns, chargrilled chicken, creamy mayo, hot sauce, with tart slaw.  They were so good one of the bunnies joined us.

It all ended with a high tea style platter of cakes and an espresso for me.

My favourite dishes for the day were the tacos, chilaquiles (bean nachos), and the chicken sliders – probably a reflection of my penchant for casual food you can share with mates.  You must try the Nutella frappes AT THE FIRST OPPORTUNITY. I can’t say that there is anything to avoid, though the noodle dishes seemed to be weak in comparison to all the others.

Check out Winter Garden!!

Address: 1 O'Connell Street, Sydney NSW 2000

Opening Hours: 6:30am to 4:30pm

Please Note: Thanks to my guest writer who attended this special invite on behalf of Weekendfoodescapes by Lisa. Please note the guest writer was invited to the launch of Winter Garden. All words, photos, opinions are my own (Of the guest writer).

Taste of Sydney Festival

The Taste of Sydney 2015 took place over 12th to 15th March. 24,000 people attended the event which took place in Centennial park checking out the pop up bars, food, master classes, demonstrations and live music.

Many of the headliners were the very popular including Sake, Otto Ristorante, 4fourteen, Porteno, Jonahs just to name a few. It's an opportunity to sample finer foods but come ready with money to spend on tokens because you could easily walk away spending $100 or more plus entry which is about $30. Get public transport as parking is a bit tough.

Everything was simply devine. Check it out

Here was my adventure:

From the Urban Purveyor Group, the Wagyu Beef Gyoza $8 for 3 Gyozas and the Texas Styled Smoked Pork Belly for $10.

Skewer from Movida below

Chef preparing the Purple Potato Gnocchi from Popolo with mixed mushrooms, chili, pinenuts and salted dried ricotta at $12 (Chef above, gnocchi below).

Cooking demonstration anyone?

Delightful mustards from Maille. I also got a taste of their prestigious truffle mustard. Below is the
Keskul - pistachio and almond pudding pomegranate and vanilla pashmak from Efendy.

Delicious pork with red cabbage below. What a day! All the dishes were delicious and very enjoyable to eat. I could easily go broke going to this festival.

Note: I obtained complimentary entry. All food was purchased and photos, opinions are my own.

Sydney Noodle Markets, Part 2

Hello, Sydney! Back to the noodle markets (early this time) to show you my favourite picks this year.

The very popular and fragrant Hoy Pinoy has bursted into full flavours at this year's Noodle Markets in Sydney.  For $10, you can get two mouth watering skewers with $3 rice being optional.  Your choices are the specially glazed chicken or the pork belly. Hoy Pinoy is a pop-up / market popular favourite with massive queues!



Last year's craze was the Ramen Burger and it does not disappoint this year. The Ramen burger (I choose beef) was perfection. I'm not sure how else best to describe this. The meat was so fatty and tender and melted in my mouth - it has a slight kick of chili to it - perfection. The noodle patties were soft and crunch which provided variety in texture. The small salad and watermelon were perfect sides.

The rice burger was also delicious (in pork) with heavily marinated flavours that were beautifully cooked. I got the combo (both Ramen and Rice burgers for $25) which did not disappoint. Saliva is coming out of my mouth as I am now thinking about both burgers. Awesome work guys!

Tea Bar and Grill were the producers of this year's ramen burger and will be opening late this year.

Prices: Most main dishes are about $12-$15

Location: Enter via Corner of Park and Elizabeth st or Market and Elizabeth streets, Sydney. If you are looking for the Ramen Burger from Ramen On then enter via Park St and Elizabeth St entrance.

Opening hours: 

Mon – Tue 5pm – 9pm
Wednesday 5pm – 10pm
Thursday - Fri 5pm – 11pm
Saturday 4pm-10pm
Sunday 4pm – 9pm

Night Noodle Markets, Sydney, 2014 Part 1

The annual Sydney Noodle Markets are on in Hyde park in Sydney as part of SMH's Good Food Month from October 10 to 26th. Last year's highlight attraction at the Noodle Markets was the Ramen Burger. This year, I thought I would give the new Woofy's "pad thai" hot dog a go at $9.  Pictured above is the pork hot dog topped with vermicelli noodles, peanuts, onion flakes and coriander. There is a satay spread which is lightly spread to the sides. This hot dog is in dire need of a sauce. It was a hot dog which was a bit different but I don't think it matches the hype and deliciousness of the Ramen Burger.  

I also tried the $6 satay chicken roll from Chinta Ria.. Temple of Love (pictured below) which was full of satay chicken, cucumber and topped with more satay sauce.  It was a nice chicken roll.  The satay could be a touch more spicy. A more for value roll for you satay lovers.  Stay tuned for more Noodle Market adventures.

Prices: Most main dishes are about $12-$15

Location: Enter via Corner of Park and Elizabeth st or Market and Elizabeth streets, Sydney. If you are looking for the Ramen Burger from Ramen On then enter via Park St and Elizabeth St entrance.

Opening hours: 

Mon – Tue 5pm – 9pm
Wednesday 5pm – 10pm
Thursday - Fri 5pm – 11pm
Saturday 4pm-10pm
Sunday 4pm – 9pm

Noodle Markets x2

A very delayed post.

I went back to the Noodle Markets with two of my girl friends and we had another divine time, eating, drinking (ciders) and catching up on the world of men, love, work, money and the world.  A shared banquet of Vietnamese pancake with prawns and pork, Malaysian noodles and Vietnamese rice paper rolls.

Until next year... I will have to remember to bring my picnic blanket again.

Xo

Prices ~ 15 per dish

Noodle Markets - Hyde Park

I hit the noodle markets for good food month and it had an amazing buzzing atmosphere but it was so crowded!  I shared a ramen burger from On Ramen stand.

There has been so much hype about the ramen burger; I wasn't sure what to expect. Honestly it was different experience and I liked it.  I think its worthwhile waiting in line for. I love the noodle made bun and the meat was seasoned and cooked well.

I'd wonder if On Ramen would have this at their restaurant since it's been so popular.

 I also had Roti Canai from Jackie M Malaysian which seemed to be very popular.  It was nice, would have liked a bit more spice though. I think I'll go back to the noodle markets next week.