A Dumpling Feast & Highlights from Sydney’s Good Food & Wine Show

Today was a gorgeous day in Sydney - warm in the sun with very few clouds about. We ventured into Darling Harbour to visit the Good Food & Wine Show which wrapped up today in Sydney. Sydney was its second stop after Melbourne and in two weeks it heads over to Perth followed by Adelaide and Brisbane later in the year. There was a lot of hype leading up to it hitting Sydney so I was eager to get in and check it out.

I entered a competition and had won a free ticket thanks to Mix My Muesli which is a great online store where you can as the title suggests - mix your own muesli. You can customise existing bases or start from scratch, and you can also name your mix too which I find is great for gifts. They deliver the muesli to you and having purchased muesli from these guys I love the fact that they provide preservative free and organic options. If you have ever scoured the shelves in the supermarket looking for a muesli that doesn’t contain preservatives you will know that there are very few brands out there that don’t contain preservatives and that are actually worth eating. I find Mix My Muesli is perfect if like me you prefer to be able to choose preservative free products. I also picked up a second ticket from fellow food blogger Laura - Thanks again gorgeous girl!

We got to the show about 20 minutes before it opened and noticed that long queues had already started to form, that said it didn’t take long once the doors opened to get inside and start sampling some of the great products. Here are just a few of the highlights:

Anathoth Jams and Pickles

Anathoth are a New Zealand based company who have been making jam for over 22 years using only fruit and sugar. What I love is that they taste really great and they don’t contain any additives, preservatives, flavours or colours.

I picked up this great show special for $10 and chose an apricot and a rhubarb & red berry jam. Both are in 475g tubs and came in this cute little insulated carry case with a few recipes. Still not sure why the carry case needed to be insulated but its cute nonetheless.

Caffe Izzo

When we first arrived Pete & Dave wanted to get a coffee asap so we wandered around and stumbled across Caffe Izzo. After getting our wallets out we were pleasantly surprised that they were offering free samples of this great coffee. We each tried a short black and a piccolo latte. Yum! This coffee was GOOD and not bitter at all. They also had some funky looking coffee machines. You can find out more about Caffe Izzo coffee here.

Ingham Turkey

These complementary Mediterranean turkey burgers were delicious. The bun had a turkey patty along with char grilled eggplant, lettuce, capsicum, zucchini and a little tomato sauce. Delish!

This photo makes them look a little on the charred side however they really weren't and were super tasty. It reminded me I should really use turkey mince a lot more. It is sort of the forgotten meat really. Perhaps they need a catchy slogan like the 'get some pork on your fork' one? What do you think about turkey mince?

They also gave us the recipe which looks super quick and easy so I’ll be testing that out on here at a later date.

Food Sampling

Really yummy Ayam red curry vegetable curry - a jar of Ayam, vegetables & coconut milk - Delicious

Like Jerky - but not as dry - really nice

The Chef's Table - Justin North - The Art of Seasoning

The Ford Food Car

Delicious Barilla Pasta

Justine from 2010 Masterchef demonstrates her baking skills

There were a great selection of wines and other alcoholic beverages – I wasn’t in a wine mood as it was only early but tried some great ciders and a few cocktail mixes.

I also met a few of my twitter friends including Jackie M from Jackie M Malaysian Cuisine in Concord and Tegan from Olives & Oil from Spain. Both had some great food to share with the crowds.

I entered a thousand and one competitions, sampled lots of tasty treats, purchased a few different things and picked up some great brochures to help plan our foodie tour of Tasmania in December.

Free Food Sample Bags - Gotta Love It!

Check out my new granny wheels, I really love it! Pete just shook his head and said he thinks it will end up living in the boot of my car growing cob webs but I plan on taking it out for a regular spin!

My new granny wheels

We then walked up to World Square with granny wheels in tow to Din Tai Fung to have lunch. Even though I work nearby I had never visited Din Tai Fung before.

Din Tai Fung - World Square Sydney

When we got to the top of the stairs to where Din Tai Fung is situated we were greeted by several tables – all of which were full of people filling in order forms. Pete and Dave lined up at a desk and the lady behind it tells them it will be about a 30 minute wait. That’s fine so we sat down and started filling in the order sheet. I love the fact that you can watch them making the dumplings and its nice to see they are all wearing face masks and gloves. I get the feeling my Nan would be happy dining here, she always goes on about not being able to see into the kitchens where food is prepared. She is funny.

Order form & buzzer - while we wait

Tai Fung "...every dumpling pastry is delicately hand made to measure between precisely 4.8 and 5.2 grams at conception, with an exact 6cm diameter, before being stuffed to weigh between 20.6 and 21.4 grams" I figure if they are going to be that precise then they must know their stuff. This should be good!

We selected a variety of dumplings on our order sheet while we waited – prawn & pork, pork & vegetable, the famous soupy ones, green vegetable with garlic, drunken chicken and rice and some red bean dumplings for dessert. Dave & I chose the lychee and mint drink and Pete opted for the Italian green apple soda. We only had to wait for about 15 minutes before going in.

Lychee & Mint Juice - $6.50 - Very refreshing 

I didn't get a decent close up of the water spinach but you can see it in the background behind my lychee and mint juice. It was wok fried with garlic and costs $10.80.

The Famous Steamed Pork Dumpling - $8.80 (6 pcs) $10.80 (8 pcs)

Shanghainese Drunken Style  Chicken w/ Rice - Served Cold - $8.80

Vegetable & Pork Jiao Zi - $8.80

I am OBSESSED with Red Bean - Red Bean Dumplings - $5.80 (4pcs)

This place do the dumplings so very well. Service is fast and efficient. The dumplings are divine - in texture and taste, the flavours perfect. We will be back. It’s also a great alternative to weekend yum cha and not as heavy.

Total price for 3 including a drink each and some dessert dumplings : $81

Pete and I finished off the afternoon with a walk around the Bay.

As I finish this post Pete has just finished cooking a vegetable curry - I'm heading into the kitchen to whip up a few parathas with Jimmy's Atta flour to go with.

A great Sunday.