The Royal Easter Show 2010

Sydney Showground, Showground Rd, Olympic Park
April 1-14
Book online or buy tickets at the door

I love the Easter Show for two reasons and two reasons only: glorious carnival food and small, fluffy animals. And because we're only allowed to come so close to the animals and taking them home is out of the question, the food is a much more satisfying exploit. I especially love my once-a-year conjugal visit with the hot dog on a stick - you seriously can't get ones like these anywhere outside of the Easter Show (not since Muscle Beach closed down years ago, sigh). The best part is how cheap all the food is! My mission was to always have something munchable in my hand.

So here are the highlights of our day...

Chicken shaslick, $8

Baby back pork ribs, $10

My lover, hot dog on a stick, $4

Cheese on a stick, $4

I'm havin' a Gouda time

Fresh lemonade, $5

Pacific oysters, $9 for half dozen

I love an oyster so fresh that you can eat it au naturel with a bit of lemon juice. So yum!

Caramel and fig gelato and mango sorbet from Art of Gelato Michelangelo, $6

Kransky hot dog from Wagners German Gourmet Sausages, $8

Fairy floss bucket, $10

I love saying "Hang on a second, let me close my bucket of fairy floss," like it's the most natural thing in the world.

Okay that's all for now. Hopefully I'll get some more free time to do some cooking in the next few days (yay!).

Duckfest 2010 @ MUMU Grill

70-76 Alexander St, Crows Nest
7 courses of duck prepared by Craig Macindoe (MUMU Grill) and Ben Cooper (St Ali)
$95 pp including wines

It's hard to pare down my favourite foods to a top 5, or even top 10. But if I were served duck, cooked any which way, for my last meal, I would die a happy woman.

When it came to the day of Duckfest, I made it a point to not eat until I got to the much loved MUMU Grill so that I was armed with a clean palate and a spacious belly.

The night starts off with a glass of 2007 Polin & Polin Verdehlo, duck liver pate and a quick chat with Craig. The food is mostly prepared, just awaiting some final touches. All is calm here, not a hint of stress or doubt in sight. He tells me that there is such a long waiting list that a second Duckfest has sold out in Melbourne. By this point I'm gushing like an excited schoolgirl because I know that dinner will not disappoint.

Duck consommé

The rich flavour of the duck stock is cut through with the freshness of the spring onion. Imagine the deliciousness of duck juices trickling down your fingers when eating roasted duck. Now imagine a whole cup of it. Yum!

Duck breast with deconstructed XO

Served with a 2008 Little Yerring Pinot Noir. Crispy deep-fried duck breast and scallop are coupled with a hot and sour XO sauce.

Duck sang choi bao - flash-fried duck leg with kim chi and oyster in lettuce leaf

Served with a 2008 Bass Strait Pinot Noir. The duck is so tender that it reminds me of really smooth gow gee filling. It goes well with the pickled ginger and mushroom in the kim chi and oyster.

Twice cooked duck with bok choy and poached pear

Served with a 2003 Parker Estate Cabernet Sauvignon. The meat just falls off the bone as I plate myself up a small portion. The fattyness of the duck is complemented nicely by the sweet acidity of the pear.

"Turducken" - turkey stuffed with a duck, stuffed with a chicken, stuffed with a guinea fowl

Served with a 2003 Ada River Cabernet Sauvignon. I can't tell you how excited I was for this, and it definitely lives up to my expectations. An amalgamation of turkey, duck, chicken and game bird flavours, each layer juicier and more tender than the last.

Duck egg caramel with pineapple and papaya

Served with a Pink Muscato by Innocent Bystander. This is by far my favourite. You can taste the duck fat in the sticky caramel on top. Underneath is a custard that tastes of sweetened duck egg yolk. It is a dessert of complex flavours and the fruit and fresh mint tie it all together.

By the end, Dan and I were just in awe of how amazing the food was and how gracefully the night unfolded. I love it when a menu is creative and it's executed beautifully, especially with a food that is notoriously difficult to cook. Kudos to Craig and Ben for an unforgettable night!

Hopefully this is the first of many Duckfests to come. Craig tells me there's a Porkfest just round the corner, so keep your eyes peeled.

Taste of Sydney 2010

Brazilian Fields, Centennial Park
March 11-14 - tomorrow's the last day so get down there!
Book online or buy a ticket at the door

You know the feeling you get when you've eaten so much that it pains to walk? I've only ever felt this twice in my life - once after eating at the Crown Casino buffet in Melbourne and once again tonight at the highly anticipated food festival, Taste of Sydney.

This was my first Taste experience (the festival is now in its second year) and I was so blown away that not even rain getting on my silk skirt fazed me. Just as live music is made doubly as enjoyable by a crowd sharing the same taste as you (I'm still friends with the guys I met at a Bjork concert years ago), the atmosphere tonight was fantastic being surrounded by top quality food and drink and people who really appreciate their food.

Here are my favourite picks of the night...

The Gourmet Traveller Taste Kitchen

Matt Kemp (Restaurant Balzac), Warren Turnbull (Assiette) and Colin Fassnidge (Four In Hand) doing a live demonstration on cured beef. It's always great fun to watch how professional chefs prepare their food and then plate it up ever so effortlessly.

The dishes

Everything I tried was heavenly! I got a mix of my favourite foods as well as things I don't eat very often (especially wagyu beef and panna cotta, yumm). I really wish I could've kept going into the night (the yellow curry from Longrain Restaurant smelt so good I was drawn to it from a stall away) but my stomach would only allow me to ingest so much in four hours. Guess I have to save up to visit each of the restaurants then!

Saddle of sucking pig with garden peas and smoked bacon jus, Restaurant Balzac, $12

Crispy wagyu beef with wild mushroom and truffle foam, Restaurant Balzac, $10

Sydney rock oysters with Vietnamese dressing, crispy shallot and baby coriander, Assiette, $10

Fig and Heilala vanilla ricotta tart with honey ice cream, Assiette, $8

Beef ribs smoked in watermelon with a watermelon and avocado salad, Danks St Depot, $12

Yellow fin tuna with sweet pork crackling and ruby grape fruit, Flying Fish, $10

Vanilla panna cotta with lavender honey and fresh pomegranate, Jonah's at Whale Beach, $12

Longrain Cocktail Bar

Fantastic cocktail to wash it all down with: Ping Pong (lychees and passion fruit shaked with 42 Below Vodka and fresh lime juice), $12. The fresh lychee flesh and passion fruit pulp is DE-LISH.

The VIC Tourism wine, beer and cheese stall

For 2 Crowns ($2), you can try all the wines, beers and cheeses in this stall. The wine that really caught my attention was the Rutherglen Topaque. Topaque (formerly Tokay) is an intensely sweet and syrupy fortified wine. Some people would classify it as a dessert wine, but it is so indulgently honey-like (due to its slow maturisation process) that I would drink this as dessert!

I also bought some pistachio macaroons from the Guillaume at Bennelong stall ($8) and a pistachio and cardamom cupcake from the Sparkle Cupcakery stall ($4.50). Will eat them tomorrow as soon as my stomach makes room for them!