Good Food Show 2006

There is only one thing that drives most attendees of the Good Food Show: FREE SAMPLES.The Sydney Exhibition Centre. 23-25 June 2006. Silent witness to the nature of human condition at its most brutal. Forget about physical violence on the football field. There is no louder crunch of shoulders slamming than the mad desperate scramble for the last sample serving of King Island Beef pie.Okay so

In the Kitchen: Sushi Spectacular

Nigiri with prawns and kingfish sashimiThe last time we made sushi was in January 2005. I know this because that's the last time I blogged about it. Who said foodblogging didn't come in handy? =)It was a long time between sushi rolls, which necessitated an even greater leap to bigger and better creations. As always, my kitchen partner-in-crime was the ever-resourceful and gastronomically

La Guillotine, Sydney

Escargots cuits dans leurs coquilles avec un beurre a l' ail $12.00Snails cooked in their shells with garlic and parsley butter (1/2 dozen)I never made it to La Guillotine when it was in its original location in Albion Place. Back then, I'm told, it was housed in a dungeon-like basement, and the decor, in a gloomy atmosphere befitting its name, was dominated by its prison-like steel bars, rough

Rose Turkish Gozleme House, Drummoyne

Cheese and spinach gozleme $7.00Embracing life as a manic foodblogger has flow-on habits which are hard to break. My little digital camera gets carried around in my handbag everywhere. All handbag purchases are now carefully scrutinised to make sure it meets one major criteria--that it is big enough to fit wallet, phone, keys and camera.As I raced out the door for a girlie day out of factory

Sydney Foodbloggers High Tea at Crossroads Bar, Swissotel

High tea spread... all calorie-free of courseOne of my favourite aspects of hanging out with other foodbloggers is the whole novelty factor of watching someone else take endless photos of their meal. As I watched someone frame a shot, eyebrow furrowed, intense concentration evident as they tweaked that plate just a leetle bit to the left, I thought: Omigod. Is this what my dining companions

Bar Biscotti, North Strathfield

Spiced chai $3.90It's funny how whenever I drive past the old Weston's biscuit factory in Camperdown, I can still smell that delicious aroma of biscuits baking, a combination of heated butter, sugar and flour drenching the air with golden brown caramelisation. The factory no longer makes biscuits of course--it closed down in 2003--but those memories from childhood, of basking in that heavy fog of

Warwick Farm Markets

Bacon and egg rollQ: How many markets can you fit into one Saturday morning? Answer: Three.We started off with the Sydney Flower Market, headed to the Hawkesbury Harvest Farmers & Gourmet Food Market, and then just for good measure, finished up at the Warwick Farm Trackside Market.Chirpy chalkboardBut first things first: breakfast. Our first bite of sustenance came in the form of a very tasty

Hawkesbury Harvest Farmers & Gourmet Food Market, Castle Hill

PearsSaturday mornings are best spent in bed, I say, but if there's one thing I'll dutifully agree to set my alarm clock for, it'd be gourmet markets.Last Saturday we headed to the Sydney Flower Market in Flemington at some ungodly hour. By the time we piled back into the car, we were wide awake, so we continued our market martyrdom by heading to the farmers markets in Castle Hill.Castle Hill is

Sydney Flower Market, Flemington

We visited the Sydney Flower Markets bright and early yesterday morning. It may not have been quite as impressive as the flower markets of Europe, but there was still an infectious buzz as customers inspected a rainbow of competitively-priced roses, gerberas, natives and other flowers. It was a crisp chilly morning with only giant flourescents overhead illuminating the cavernous shed at

Osteria dei Poeti, Glebe

EDIT Feb 09: Osteria dei Poeti has now closed.Osteria dei Poeti translates as "tavern of the poets", a name which seems highly appropriate as we settle at our table, admiring its cosy intimate atmosphere, poetry strewn walls, and sense of hidden secrecy on this stretch of Glebe Point Road.The framed poems on the walls are an electic mix, including one from Chilean Pablo Neruda who simply says "

James Squire Brewhouse, King St Wharf

"Oh my god... check out the size of that rack!"We stare agog as our waitress walks past. The beef ribs on the plate she's holding are enormous! =)Its lucky recipient is a little taken aback. The ribs are as hilariously oversized as the ones that get heaved onto Fred Flintstone's Flintmobile.We're having lunch at James Squire Brewhouse, and although our chosen meals don't require a bib and a

Beard Papa's, Chatswood

I know. I KNOW!!!If your initial response to the above headline was anything like mine, your heart would be racing, you'd be blinking in disbelief, and your already overactive salivary glands would really be working overtime.But it's true. It's true. Beard Papa have finally opened in Chatswood. They've been open since the 27th of April. I know! I know! Why did noone tell me?Were it not for

Campsie Food Festival 2006

We headed straight from our monthly shop at the Good Living Growers Market in Pyrmont, to Campsie in Sydney's inner west for the Campsie Food Festival.As always for this event, Beamish Street was closed off to traffic, although the hungry hordes created plenty of traffic jams amidst the myriad of stalls.It's Geoff!We arrived just as Geoff Jansz appeared on stage for his first cooking

Good Living Growers Markets

It was grey and blustery skies this morning but we headed out to the Good Living Growers' Markets this morning regardless.Market tentsRedgate Farm ducks and quailsFresh olives at the Gwydir Grove olive oil stallThe fresh olives were very pretty, especially the ones that were starting to blush into a deep purple hue.Wagyu steak from the Condoblin Wagyu stallBreakfast for one person included a