Burnbrae Wines lunch for Pyrmont Festival

Even though there's now a chill in the air, Sydney is ablaze with outdoor festivals: among two of them, Vivid Sydney which starts on Friday and Pyrmont Festival of Wine, Food and Art, which kicked off last weekend beneath glorious blue skies.

Celebrating wine, food and art from Pyrmont and the Mudgee region, the festival runs through to this weekend too with wine and food matched meals, and art and photography exhibitions.

The view from Ripples Sydney Wharf, Pirrama Road, Pyrmont

Last Saturday I was treated to a sunny waterside lunch at Ripples Sydney Wharf with Mudgee’s Burnbrae Wines matched to a three-course lunch featuring John Susman’s Kinkawooka mussels and Pepe Saya’s cultured butter.

With Burnbrae offering wine tastings ahead of the meal, I could taste two whites, a rose and three reds before electing what to have with my lunch. I rather liked being tasked with matching my own wine and food, though with the delicious drops on offer, it would have been hard to go wrong.

Burnbrae Wines tasting at Ripples Sydney Wharf

Burnbrae's 2012 Pinot Gris was a people-pleaser - much richer in colour than your normal pinot gris with subtle pear characteristics. Meanwhile, their lightly French-oaked 2011 Chardonnay was one that would turn anyone into a 'cardonnay' drinker - perfectly balanced with minimal acidity or oakiness.

The 2012 Rose was aromatic with notes of strawberry and boiled lollies, and almost tasted the part too. Burnbrae's 2011 Shiraz Viognier was just how I like a shiraz, big and fruity while the 4% Viognier content is meant to give the wine intense colour and length of flavour.

Burnbrae’s famed 2008 Clive Gale is a blend of Cabernet, Merlot and Petit Verdot - the latter grape of which I'm not too familiar with although it was a distinctly chalky cabernet merlot on the palate.

Bread rolls and Pepe Saya cultured butter

After wine tastings with Trine Gay, general manager of Burnbrae Wines, we happily tore into warm bread rolls and foil-wrapped pats of Pepe Saya cultured butter.

I remember the first fantastical time I tried this wondrous churned butter and it was every bit as good this time, best served as an even butter to bread ratio.

Crispy tempura prawns with lemon & parsley mayonnaise

There was a seafood bias in the selection of three entreés, which was more than fair given the waterside setting.

The tail-on tempura prawns were indeed crisply battered as advertised, with five fresh, springy specimens to mop up the creamy and sprightly lemon and parsley mayonnaise. We successfully matched the Burnbrae 2011 Chardonnay to this summery option.

Custom Kinkawooka mussels pot and Pepe Saya cultured butter

There was no way I was going past the Kinkawooka mussels entreé, served in a custom branded pot and lid designed for shell discards with Pepe Saya butter and toast on the side.

In what's been a very successful partnership between John Susman (for South Australia's Kinkawooka) and Pierre Issa (Tempe's own Pepe Saya), the two brands together are becoming a signature for mussel dishes in Australia.

Kinkawooka mussels in white wine & cream finished with Pepe Saya butter & crusty bread

The kitchen at Ripples Sydney Wharf had the plump molluscs just cooked with cream, white wine and parsley - the mussels themselves tender perfection in the light, very-drinkable sauce while heavily buttered toast was an ideal mop for all the juices alongside a glass of the Burnbrae 2012 Pinot Gris.

The kitchen pass

Pan seared snapper with steamed Kinkawooka mussels, leek & herb
spaghettini and Pepe Saya butter

Kinkawooka and Pepa Saya also featured in a main offering of pan seared snapper - a generous, pink skin-on portion of the firm fish balanced on a tangle of leek and herb spaghettini which was al dente and pleasingly green in flavour.

The steamed mussels added needed flavour to the subtle sauce of white wine and butter while the Burnbrae 2012 Rose was an interesting wine match.

Char-grilled scotch fillet with potato & horseradish dauphinoise,
roasted truss cherry tomato & red wine jus

It was steak and the Burnbrae 2011 Shiraz Viognier for my main meal, with the wine's big fruitiness pairing well with the tender, full-flavoured medium-rare scotch fillet, doused with rich red wine jus and less interesting vegetable sides.

Warm bread & Pepe Saya butter pudding with vanilla ice cream

Remnants of the sweet Burnbrae Rose matched nicely with desserts: an artfully neat bread and Pepe Saya butter pudding that had great flavours but a little on the dry side, helped along with vanilla ice cream sitting on a gingery biscuit crumble trail.

Apple crumble cheesecake with apple jelly

I hoed into my individual portion jelly-like apple crumble cheesecake, topped with an ingenious apple jelly and biscuit crumble on both the top and bottom.

Basking in the autumn sun after lunch, Burnbrae (with my 'raffle girl' assistance) also drew a prize for a stay at the winery’s colonial-style cottage; five minutes out of Mudgee township and  five kilometres along Hill End Road.

Unfortunately, I didn't draw my own name out of there but it seems I've drawn the autumn/winter festival spirit out of me.

This Saturday 25 May's Mudgee wine lunch at Ripples Sydney Wharf, as part of Pyrmont Festival, features produce from Pastabilities and wines from Robert Stein. More details here.

Food, booze and shoes attended the Burnbrae Wines lunch as a guest, with thanks to RF Media.

Ocean Room: Fall into the autumn tasting menu

On the brink of winter months in Sydney, an elegant 12-course autumn tasting menu at Circular Quay's Japanese fine diner, Ocean Room, is a perfect way to celebrate the very probable end of stocking-less legs and beanie-less heads.

Seated near the floor-to-ceiling glass doors, the view never gets old, even for a local - there's something romantically patriotic about dining on glistening Sydney harbour with the Opera House in full view.

Ocean Room martini from Ocean Room, Overseas Passenger Terminal, Circular Quay

In addition to head chef Raita Noda's autumn tasting menu, Ocean Room has recently installed a new bar menu chock-full of cocktails featuring Japanese ingredients and modern twists on classics. And if you needed more encouragement, they offer 2-for-1 cocktail specials from 6pm to 7pm nightly.

I started with the Ocean Room martini (technically a vesper) featuring gin, vodka, Lillet Blanc and three condiments in the form of house-made spherified liquid-filled balls.

The cocktail itself wasn't a face-slappingly strong rendition, but went down well with the sweet yuzu lemon and pink grapefruit spheres while the Sicilian green olive sphere seemed a little diluted and artificial in flavour.

Kaki - freshly shucked Sydney rock oyster, Guinness, myoga, Yamazaki silk

It was a delight to start the meal with beautiful specimens of freshly-shucked Sydney rock oysters, of which I could have easily eaten a dozen on their lonesome.

However, Ocean Room’s additions and garnishes made it a genuinely special starter, fancied-up with a Guinness stout dressing, myoga pickled young ginger and a gold-flecked ‘Yamazaki silk’ jelly sheet, subtly flavoured with, presumably, Japanese Yamazaki whisky.

Ochazuke - cold-drip dashi & premium gyokuro green tea, Koshihikari rice crust, flame seared latchet, umeboshi sorbet, wasabi dust

As part of the 12 courses I was treated to my first ever taste of ochazuke, which is quite the traditional Japanese dish of rice with green tea or dashi stock poured over the top; like a deconstructed congee.

Ocean Room’s modern, chilled version featured crisp, puffed Koshihikari rice (the best quality rice for sushi making) rather than the steamed/boiled variety, with a combination of cold-drip dashi stock and premium gyokuro green tea poured at the table.

Ochazuke 

Toppings for the dish included just-seared pieces of fresh latchet, a sorbet of salty umeboshi pickled plum and shallot thins, while the two-part iced vessel was rimmed with a green wasabi dust that added bite.

In all, I think ochazuke is a dish that needs getting used to: the cold temperature of the dish, the liquid and various textures, and the slight bitterness to the green tea were all very new and surprising to my palate.

Maguro - Yellow fin tuna, Sicilian green olive & buffalo mozzarella drops, crystallised yuzu, soy pearls, tomato chips

Spherified ingredients made another appearance in the maguro tuna dish where the green olive sphere was spot on in flavour, as too the buffalo mozzarella one.

The spheres were more of an amusing diversion from the main game of the tuna which was served diced like a tartare with an array of condiments to add as you pleased, along with thin wheels of dehydrated tomato 'chips' acting as a cracker for the tuna.

Shinjo - house-made croquette, tiger prawn & calamari, yuba angel hair

Warm dishes started with the excellently executed and unusually pretty Shinjo croquette of prawn and calamari. In a frilly costume of yuba tofu skin strips, the croquette was deep fried to a golden flaking brown to contrast with the bouncy-textured seafood balls.

With such a memorable appearance and texture complementing the seafood flavours, this was easily one of my favourite dishes of the tasting menu.

Onsen - autumn vegetable collection, yaki-onigiri, black shichimi,
house made anchovy & garlic bath

I adored the concept of the Onsen dish which translates from Japanese as 'hot spring'. A selection of vegetables and a miniature yaki onigiri grilled rice ball were laid around a tealight candle-heated oil bath of anchovy and garlic, ready for a warm dip.

Basically an Italian bagna cauda, the fresh and crisp vegetables were an absolute delight and the hands-on manner of eating mixed up the tasting menu with an element of fun.

Sashimi - daily recommendation, seasonal sashimi selection

We played tabletop Tetris to fit the long individual sashimi platters onto the round group table, with each variety of raw fish looking supremely fresh and enticing.

Firm hairtail came in a bamboo container, served diced with shallots and ginger, while bar cod sashimi with slivers of shiso leaf was a first for me.

Sashimi

And then there was chu-toro medium fatty tuna (although I'm sure we were all hoping for otoro), black kingfish with minced garlic and dainty shallots, and Tasmanian ocean trout with pearls of roe.

Shabu2 - wagyu beef, grilled tofu, seasonal mixed vegetables,
dashi consomme, lime chilli soy

Shabu-shabu is a sure winter winner of thinly sliced wagyu beef, cooked lightly in the hot dashi consommé it's served in.

This was comfort in a bowl with exceptional flavours in the broth flavouring the delicate grilled tofu and an array of seasonal vegetables; while the lime chilli soy sauce ably lifted the flavours from the rich, tender wagyu beef slices.

Miso cod - signature grilled sweet miso cod fillet, ginger risotto, orange miso

It seems every modern Japanese eatery can’t help but do their own versions of miso cod; a dish made famous at the Nobu chain of high-end Japanese restaurants.

Also a signature at Ocean Room, the small cod fillet was perfectly coloured and flavoured with a sweet miso paste and then char grilled to a firmly flaking texture with the caramelised surfaces being the ultimate highlight.

The ginger-scented risotto was a gorgeously appropriate accompaniment; bulking up a light but luxurious dish, while the squiggles of orange miso sauce seemed somewhat superfluous with the perfectly cooked fish.

Butabara - simmered pork belly, melting tofu, yuzu chilli ponzu

A cellophane-wrapped ‘gift’ arrived as the next course, served with a test tube of yuzu chilli ponzu sauce. The clear package was cut open at the table to reveal a fragrant, soupy pork belly dish with a block of silken tofu, mushrooms, carrot and cabbage in a creamy, white broth.

Butabara

It was impossible to stop after the first mouthful: the full-flavoured tonkotsu-like pork bone broth and fatty pork belly were perfect for wintry weather while the tofu, vegetables and tangy ponzu sauce lightened the load of porkiness.

Sansui - wagyu flat iron steak, Tasmanian pepper jus, quinoa crusted king prawn, Americaine cream, agedashi taro potato

I had reached exploding point at this tenth course; probably one of the heavier ones too featuring a luxe Japanese take on surf and turf. I was drawn to the large quinoa crusted king prawn, deep fried to a seductively golden hue although the quinoa grains were a little hard rather than crunchy.

The wagyu flank steak was a bit more of a challenge to a (over)full stomach. With a bit of chew, the flank was full-flavoured with buttery wagyu richness paired with a unique taro potato, shaped and deep fried like a potato gem.

Edo-mae sushi - three authentic Tokyo style nigiri sushi, chef’s daily recommendation

The savoury courses ended with sushi, which is typically meant to fill up the stomach at the end - a task completed on me a few courses ago.

Ocean Room do a petite Edo-Mae style nigiri sushi which I learnt about on a previous visit. The rice plays an important part in the delicate sushi while the daily fish selection included tuna, salmon and imperador – the latter of which I would describe as a sweeter, firmer white fish than kingfish.

Amaguri - Amaguri chestnut mont blanc, green tea angel cake, spiced ice cream, chestnut puree, cognac persimmon

While the entire degustation was undeniably seasonal, dessert was autumn on a plate. A mont blanc featuring my favourite chestnuts - very much in season in Sydney's autumn - sat alongside a wedge of brightly-hued persimmon lightly soaked in cognac.

It was a subtle and not-too-sweet pairing with a Japanese touch in the green tea angel cake enclosed within the nutty threads of the mont blanc.

Twelve exquisite courses (with that winning view) for $120 is serious value at this fine end of town. Chef Noda's autumn tasting menu has redefined the idea that Japanese cuisine isn't warming, comforting, cool-weather food - and it's one that will probably have diners falling over themselves to try in the cooler months.

Food, booze and shoes dined as a guest of Ocean Room, with thanks to Wasamedia.

Spice I Am Balmain: A Thai explosion

It's a rare suburb in Sydney that doesn't have a Thai restaurant and takeaway these days. The big flavours of Thai cuisine have captured the local palate and assimilated into a Sydney identity of their own.

The Spice I Am group of restaurants is one of the city's trailblazers, along with Chat Thai, both of which have carved out respective titles among Sydney's many Thai restaurants with multiple venues.

Golden Siam cocktail at Spice I Am, Darling Street, Balmain

My first experience at the Surry Hills Spice I Am many, many years ago was a sweat-dripping feast of laughs and BYO beers. Since then their Balmain and Darlinghurst restaurants have both lifted the bar on dining experience while seeming to drop the heat factor for the chilli-shy masses.

Indeed, there's even a tempting Thai ingredient-inspired cocktail list at the Balmain outlet, including the tropically sophisticated Golden Siam with dark rum and amaretto, shaken into a fizz and hidden well by a trio of pineapple, guava and lime juices.

Mini curry puffs

With Singha and Tiger beer by the bottle too, we nibbled on that classic Australian starter: the curry puff (of which I have a great story and recipe to share at some later date).

They're not kidding at Spice I Am when they say mini curry puffs either - these were adorably cute, one or two-bite morsels of golden pastry filled with a lightly curried filling with plenty of potato.

Bour tod - deep fried prawn betel leaf

My professed love of fresh miang betel leaves was was chucked into the deep fry with the bour tod starter. Somehow, a prawn manages to stick to the surface of the deep fried Phuket style crispy betel leaf - like a surfer on a really thin and crunchy green surfboard.

Served with a drizzle of a sweet chiili sauce, crushed cashew nuts, red chilli and coriander leaves, this oily innovation just made me crave a fresh betel leaf package even more.

Mini pork satay

More familiar was the pork satay with tender, charred lean pork, skewered and also served in a mini size. I could polish off plates of this with sticky rice, hot weather and a few beers.

Yum hua plee - banana flower slad with king prawns and chicken

To the larger dishes we started with a salad of shredded banana flower: a uniquely Thai ingredient that's leafy textured and great with spice and sourness.

Topped with both deep fried king prawns, the slivers of banana flower were mixed with shredded chicken breast and a seriously hot combination of roasted coconut, shallots and a nam prik pao dressing with plenty of chilli.

Homok - steamed fish curry in banana leaf

I had wanted the homok fish curry, steamed and formed in banana leaf, to be like Malaysian otak otak. It was similar, a Phuket-style basa fish fillet minced with curry and betel leaf, although without the char goodness and the intricate spice blend, but again, it was pretty darn hot on the tongue.

At this point, the beer bottles were starting to gather on the table, with water refills coming thick and fast.

Pad prik khing - crispy pork belly

I think the phrase "crispy pork belly" has become one of those triggers for Sydney diners that gets an immediate reaction and/or order.

It worked with us, sending a red curry paste stir-fried pork belly dish with green beans, chilli and kaffir lime leaves our way. This time, the crackling skin on the pork went some way in distracting us from the searing curry and chilli heat, though I wished there were more beans in the dish.

Prawn red curry

There's nothing quite as disconcertingly comforting as a heat-packed Thai curry with loads and loads of steamed rice.

The prawn red curry was fairly generously sized with large, well-cooked, tail-on prawns, and Thai eggplants and slightly bitter pea eggplants which are not always common in takeaway Thai food.

Mango sticky rice

While desserts aren't generally my thing, I make an exception when my tastebuds are calling for soothing help and there is beautiful, seasonal mango on offer (this visit was from late 2012).

Thai restaurants seem to have a knack for sourcing the best local mangoes for their sticky rice desserts - this one featuring an appropriately petite pile of pandan-scented sticky rice - hands down my favourite Thai dessert.

BTS (Better than Sex)

The heavier, signature Spice I Am BTS dessert - well known through their House restaurant in Surry Hills - was a hot mess but not a contender for me.

No doubt, the pandan gelato was perfection but I found the toasted brioche and "Thai caramel sauce" altogether too rich and too sweet to stomach, especially after the explosive flavours of dinner.

Spice I Am Balmain isn't your standard suburban Thai takeaway: it is Balmain afterall, and with seductive cocktails and desserts on offer, I don't think anyone is complaining about the explosion of Thai food across Sydney's palates.