Category: AUSTRALIAN FOOD

If crab’s your thing, it’s Muddy Mania at Kingsley’s Woolloomooloo this April

Kingsleys Woolloomooloo crab 5

With Mother’s Day creeping up on us, it’s time to start thinking about where to take Mum this year. If you’ve done high tea to death every other year and looking for something different (don’t worry…we’re not suggesting skydiving), then maybe you should consider getting Mum’s hands a little dirty at Kingsleys in Woolloomooloo. It’s called Muddy Mania and this six course, crab-inspired menu is available all through April and will feature at Kingsleys Woolloomooloo up until Mother’s Day 2019. Showcasing delicious Queensland mud crab, you’ll have the opportunity to sit back and enjoy the view at Woolloomooloo wharf while you indulge in several iconic crab dishes – breaking a leg or two! First up on the menu is the ‘snacks’ course, which features three delicious crab dishes, including Alaskan Snow Crab croquette with smoked garlic aioli. The ‘entree’ course features a heavenly gnocchi, mud crab, sage butter and porcini dish. When it’s time to get in the thick of it, Kingleys kindly provides a stylish white bib to protect your clothes when you start the main event. This includes mouth-watering salt and szechuan pepper crab, Singapore chili crab, and chilled crab with a tangy cocktail sauce. For those who like to pair meals with wine, there is also the two hours of bottomless wine option, featuring Cape Mentelle wine from Margaret River, Western Australia. Available to book for throughout April up until Mother’s Day 2019 | $120pp including wine | $90 without wine Get your crab on at Kingsleys Woolloomooloo, 10/6 Cowper St Wharf… Read More

Get porked at The Morrison until 23 May with Pork-A-Palooza

Morrison

The thought of masticating countless carcasses of piggies isn’t a thing of dreams, but god damn, it’s delicious. As the weather starts to cool in Sydney, city-centre pub favourite – that have a lot to do with oysters, crabs and other food fests throughout the year – The Morrison Bar & Oyster room is dedicating a month of food specials and inventive drinks to delicious, succulent pork. Pork-A-Palooza is his homage to the hog, running from 23 April to 23 May with a specially sourced menu of pork inspired food and drinks, weeknights of swine specials and free piggy snacks at the bar. The menu features bits like chilled pigs head terrine, oysters Kilpatrick with bacon, crispy pork belly with squid and the pièce de résistance – tender suckling pig for a Game of Thrones-style feast. The half suckling pig will satisfy 6-8 people with the whole pig suitable for an army of 10-12. Diners going the whole hog must order their suckling pig 72 hours in advance. Pork-A-Palooza has two weeknight specials running throughout the festival. Tuesdays are Dollar Dog Hour from 6-7pm (walk-ins only), with succulent hot dog sandwiches in white bread with habanero mayo for just $1. And Thursday is officially Ribs Night; from 6pm The Morrison will be serving platters of tender ribs glazed with signature sweet coca cola barbecue sauce for diners to dig in with their hands. See more about everything that;s on offer at the Pork-A-Palooza website.

Great food in The Rocks, Sydney: Endeavour Tap Rooms aren’t your normal pub

Endeavour Tap Rooms_1.2.17_68

The Endeavour Tap Rooms in The Rocks right on Circular Quay could easily be dismissed as ‘just another pub’ from the outside, but to use that old adage – it’s what inside that counts. The Tap Rooms are so much more than a place to have a beer and a bite. Without even factoring in that they brew their own range of 4 boutique beers, right behind one of the bars, the Tap Rooms’ menu is insane, range of bevs other than beer is madness and level of service is pretty top-notch when you consider it’s a tourist-beaten strip of the olde town. Located within the building that once housed Sydney’s longest-running colonial hotel, Seaman’s, dating back to the 1800s, brewing is in the Tap Rooms’ blood, it seems. Complete with in-house brewery on the ground floor of the adjoining Brew Bar, the 600-litre brewhouse serves batches from its eight vessels and continues the fun with four other mass produced brews in the main Tap Rooms from four rotating taps. Scotty the brew master has more than 10 years of experience under his belt, which he uses to masterfully play with all-Australian ingredients. So needless to say, if you dig beer, then come here; but if food’s your bag, then just wait… The menu is one of epic proportions. If you’re meat-free, they cater to that, but if you do eat meat, then hold on to you knickers – it’s good. Think Ranger’s Valley Black Angus braised beef brisket, Borrowdale pulled pork, house-made sauces, charred… Read More

Special cocktail: Easter Negroni by The Rook and 12-Micron

Easter Negroni

There’s a special drink coming to the bars of 12-Micron and The Rook in Sydney just for Easter – and it’s cute as feck. If you jumped on board the Negroni bandwagon when everyone else did in 2018, then wait until you wrap your hands around 12-Micron x The Rook’s Easter Negroni. It’s their latest creation made from coconut-washed gin, cacao infused Campari, La Quintinyne Rouge Vermouth and cacao garnished with a white chocolate coconut parfait bunny with a soft mandarin centre. It’s decadent as hell and will be available for a limited time this April at The Rook and 12-Micron. The classic 3-step cocktail has been transformed into a 10-part masterpiece. First 12-Micron’s pastry team create the white chocolate and coconut parfait before pouring them into bunny moulds. They then whip-up the liquid mandarin centre before adding that to the parfait casing. While the bunnies are setting the coconut washed gin and cacao infused Campari is prepped, before bar tenders at The Rook or 12-Micron put together the finished product in front of your eyes. Check it out and get your own for $24 from either venue.

Woolwich’s finest feed: Cucinetta on the water does stylish food well

Cucinetta 5

Looking for somewhere special to dine? Then we’ll let you in on a little secret. Overlooking Lane Cove River in the peaceful suburb of Woolwich is Cucinetta, an award winning, hatted Italian restaurant which is just about to launch an exciting new breakfast menu that is guaranteed to please. Sydney born and bred Vincenzo Mazzotta, founder and Executive Chef at Cucinetta, creates unforgettable meals by using methods his forefathers used, applying them to slow cooking, pasta and cheese making. Ideally, you’d like to keep a hidden gem like this to yourself. But it would be unfair not to tell others about this beautifully located restaurant serving up delicious, authentic Italian dishes, including the incredibly fresh pastries, baked in-house. The new breakfast menu due to be launched in early April offers something for everyone. Frankly, they had me at ‘Nutella-filled croissants with white chocolate and hazelnuts’. But the ricotta hot cake with orange mascarpone, poached pear, figs, coconut and nuts is hot on the heels of those freshly baked croissants. Also high on the list of ‘must-haves’ is the super fluffy, brioche French toast, with caramelised banana, ricotta, chocolate and salted caramel. But if sweet dishes aren’t your jam, fear not, as there are a plenty of savoury dishes to satisfy, such as the moreish baked eggs with kale, chorizo, capsicum, tomato, chili and focaccia. The zucchini flower fritters with smoked salmon, cucumber, crème fraiche, and poached egg is another dish that is hard to go past. The ambience at Cucinetta is cheerful by day and… Read More

Celebrate Australia with food: South Australian dining series at MODE Kitchen and Bar

Francesco Mannelli Mode Kitchen 1

In the hotel lobby of the Four Seasons Hotel in Sydney, MODE Kitchen and Bar rules the roost – along with Grain Bar – in giving its guests and visitors one hell of a ride in gastronomy. A part of the hotel’s Celebrate Australia dining series, head chef Francesco Mannelli has played with some of the finest fare – and seasonally-based, geographically sourced goods from down under – the country has to offer. It hails from South Australia, really heroing a lot of what the state has to offer. And for an Italian, Mannelli really loves what it does; adding a lot of variety to food he knows well and loves to work with. For Mannelli, simplicity is key when working with such incredible produce. He notes that the best way to highlight an ingredient that is already special on its own, is to create a dish with a good balance of flavour, a contrast in texture and respects the produce. Guests dining on the new menu can experience dishes like sautee Coorong Pippies, served with spicy sausages from Calabria, karkalla and grilled focaccia; a grilled hard to source cut in the form of a Mayura Station Wagyu Tri Tip MB 9+ with roasted balsamic onions; Hiramasa kingfish sashimi with sweet and sour sauce, macadamia and pickled onion and a South Australian kangaroo loin, crusted with crushed Tasmanian pepper, warigal greens and beetroot. “It is one of Mode Kitchen & Bar’s key philosophy to work with local produce, showcasing to our International and domestic clientele…. Read More

Listen up chicken lovers: Chargrill Charlie’s is moving to Melbourne

Chargrill Charlies

Sydney’s chicken people, Chargrill Charlie’s – popular with Justin Bieber and any other international guest that comes to Oz to visit – is opening in Melbourne. Set to open on 6 April in the centre of the city’s inner-east in Camberwell, Chargrill Charlie’s first Victorian store is ready to recreate the friendly atmosphere that has seen the 11 New South Wales venues become a staple of Sydneysider life – just see what they have on offer. The founder of the slow-cooked rotisserie chook in Australia, Chargrill Charlie’s menu goes beyond the tender take-out mainstay. The extensive dine-in and take-away list will tempt you with an abundance of fresh creations, be they healthy or not so much. They’ll also have the usuals like salads, dinner plates, chicken schnitzels, homestyle vegetables, crunchy hot chips, wedges, rolls and burgers as well as the infamous apple pie dessert. Here’s what in store on opening day: From 12pm – 1pm Chargrill Charlie’s will be serving a FREE quarter sized BBQ Chicken + Chips combo. Then, between 5pm – 6pm there will be a FREE half BBQ Chicken + small Salad dinner deal. See more at the Chargrill Charlie’s website.

Cruise Bar at Circular Quay does a decent dinner

Cruise Bar

There’s a reason Cruise Bar is called so. Whiling away a day on the Sydney Harbour with a sweeping view of the famed Circular Quay – where all the ferries dock – and the Sydney Opera House makes for the perfect location to cruise, kick back try some of their pretty well-rounded menu. Cruise Bar has been an institution in Sydney forever, but it’s their new menu that sets them a cut above the rest. They hero seafood, and offer the rest of it out of courtesy – and done well – to cater to the thousands of visitors that get on and off the gigantic cruise ships that dock out the front. Coupled with a small but robust list of wines in a venue that’s as relaxed as it is easy to access, Cruise Bar does relaxed and accessible like the best of them. Find more about Cruise Bar online.

Carbs for Mardi Gras: Textbook Patisserie does a Golden Gaytime croissant

Golden Gaytime croissant 1

If you’re in Sydney’s inner south and know Textbook Patisserie, then prepare to have your pre-Gras diet shot to shit: they’re doing gay croissants. Because the art of butter, crispy, bread-like pastries from the pretty, wrought iron-clad streets of gay Paris just simply aren’t gay enough, John Railey is going next level. Multicoloured croissants made by the Callebaut Chocolate hero Railey will adorn the display cabinets of the Botany Road bakery this Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras season, celebrating in a more delicious way, the freedoms we’re so afforded in this wonderful era, city and country as gays and their friends. The pastry is literally rainbow coloured and bursting with coloured Callebaut Chocolate pieces, caramel, chantilly and caramel peptides for an extra little somethin’. Get them from Saturday 2 – Sunday 3 March for $12.50. Find Textbook Patisserie at 274 Botany Road, Alexandria.

Beresford Hotel and Absolut Vodka celebrate Mardi Gras with

Absolut Mardi Gras bottles

Because vodka is happiness and happiness is gay and gay is the Sydney Mardi Gras, the Beresford Hotel and Beresford Sundays are joining the celebrations in an epic way. MORE: See how Mardi Gras is saving the planet Beresford Hotel from 16 February – 4 March will host a series of experiences including Absolut Mardi Gras brunches, trivia nights, a special edition Absolut cocktail, live-stream of the parade on the big screen and Laneway Party. Here’s what’s on. MORE: What’s on at this year’s Mardi Gras after party The First Mardi Gras Inc. Trivia Night When? Wednesday 20 February The First Mardi Gras Inc, Trivia Night is back by popular demand and will again be supporting events for 78ers, a not for profit organised founded by the participants in the first Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras. Bonnie Bocamp and Alissar Gazal will entertain the crowd, Young Henrys have generously donated a brewery tour for the winning table, and a raffle will be held with prizes from Sydney Theatre Company, Dendy, Sydney Symphony, Art Gallery of NSW and many more. Get tickets here. Absolut Mardi Gras Brunch and Recovery Brunch When? 24 February, 11-1 and 4 March, 12-3 These special Mardi Gras brunch editions at The Beresford will be hosted by the ever-fabulous Maxi Shields, one of the faces of the original We Are Colourful campaign when it launched in 2018. The brunch package offers a bespoke brunch menu of five delicious mains, alongside a range of Absolut cocktails specially created for the series. Think ‘The Bero Toastie’ with Sonoma sourdough, smoked ham, comté, mustard and preserves, or the poached… Read More