Dine with NSW wine

During the NSW Wine Festival the entire month of March has been dedicated to matching NSW wine with meals created by Good Food Guide-rated restaurants and for $30 and $40 it is an excellent deal and chance to try some of the best restaurants Sydney has to offer.

As a huge foodie of course I had to squeeze in as many of these meals into my Sydney trip as possible, unfortunately that meant only 3 restaurants but this was enough to give me a nice little overview of the Sydney dining scene.

Left: Barramundi with pumpkin brandade at ARIA. Right: Mulloway with black prawn risotto at The Tea Room QVB

Flying Fish: Mulloway, white balsamic pink fir potato, grape, hazelnut and salt bush. 2011 De Iuliis Chardonnay, Hunter Valley.  
The mulloway was cooked to perfection, the flavors, textures and presentation were lovely and to top it off the wine pairing was heaven. One con however, with the restaurant only half full during lunch we were placed at a not so nice table in a corner where the air conditioner unit kept dripping right onto our table, that killed the nice dining experience mood.

ARIA: Roasted fillet of barramundi with pumpkin brandade, caper and piquillo pepper vinaigrette. 2011 A. Retief Chardonnay, Tumbarumba. 
After constantly hearing that this is one of Sydney's (if not Australia's) best restaurants I have wanted to try it for quite sometime, it definitely was the best of the trio, the food was delicious, and very well matched with the wine, the service was flawless. I would spend the extra $$ and go back to ARIA to indulge in their regular a la carte and definitely take advantage of the seven sommeliers they have on hand, mmm!

The Tea Room QVB: Pan seared mulloway, sweet corn and prawn black risotto; dessert of passionfruit crème brûlée and almond tuile. 2012 A. Reteif Winbirra Rosé, Hilltops. 
It was really interesting to try the mulloway at two different highly rated restaurants and to see how differently they prepared and presented the dish. The Tea Room satisfied all my girlie desires, it was great sitting in such a gorgeous setting with a delicious glass of rosé.

This is the last weekend, so if you're in Sydney make sure you don't miss it! Click here for a complete list of participating restaurants.

Rollende Keukens - Rolling Kitchens

The delicious Rollende Keukens or Rolling Kitchens was in town again this long weekend for the 4th year in a row. Dozens of mobile kitchens head to the park at Westergasfabriek turning it into a delicious open air restaurant with live music and theatre, and the atmosphere is nothing like what you would expect in Amsterdam: big trucks, carnival rides for kids, horses, music and smoking BBQ's all give the feel of a small American county fair.  

Although our group missed Korean Taco Party the Korean Mexican fusion stall from last year there was plenty of deliciousness to enjoy, smoked pork, BBQ ribs, pulled pork and coleslaw burgers, spit pork, fresh seafood and shellfish, delicious sweet crepes and gourmet savory galettes were just some of what was on offer and perfectly accompanied by sangria, fresh homemade lemon and mint iced tea's, cocktails, ciders and wines. 

Restaurant Week in Amsterdam

Last week was Restaurant Week in Amsterdam, for €25 you can try a 3 course menu at one of Amsterdam's finer restaurants that you might not usually be able to splurge on. We were a little lazy with organising so we only got to try two restaurants, we will definitely try and reserve in advance next year.

Nomads
Rozengracht 133, Amsterdam
http://www.restaurantnomads.nl/

Food 7/10
Atmosphere 8/10
Service 7/10
Value 7/10

Nomads is one of the most atmospheric restaurants I have ever visited. It is decadently designed like a sultans harem with large mattresses and pillows, private booths with huge sofa's separated by curtains. Nomads comes complete with ambient and Arabian music and on some nights even a belly dancer. The cuisine is Middle Eastern/North African and you wine and dine reclining while hot and cold mezzes are served to you on a platter.

Pros: The deserts are incredible!
Cons: It was a little bit too see-and-be-seen for me. The music is a little too loud and makes chatting difficult.
Tips: Best to go with a group.
Don't order cocktails - with a small bar staff and large crowds cocktails can take more than 30 minutes to arrive.

Flo

Amstelstraat 9, Amsterdam

http://www.floamsterdam.com/

Food 9/10

Atmosphere 9/10

Service 9/10

Value 9/10

Hands down the best food I have had in Amsterdam so far. Flo is a French Brasserie concept restaurant, with plenty of fresh seafood and typical French dishes, the food is excellent quality with excellent presentation. The restaurant has a great atmosphere and really gives the busy Parisian bistro vibe, best of all is the gorgeous art nouveau setting. 

Pros: Michelin recommended restaurant. 

Cons: Couldn't find any!

Tip: Must try the French classics like steak tartare and creme brulee.
Do ask what wine they recommend with a particular dish - the combination can be pretty amazing. 

A Case Against Meat

My attention was caught by an add on Facebook today; the head of an orangoutang in cling wrap ready to be sold in supermarkets. I clicked the link which took me to a page that warned meat sold in Albert Heijn was soy fed, soy which is grown in plantations in South America that are not only damaging the environment but are also the cause of human rights violations. 

I googled around a little and found this video which was part of an investigation by The Economist into Europe's cheap meat, click here to read the full article or watch the video below.

Friends of the Earth in The Netherlands has an ongoing campaigning about this apparently The Netherlands is the world's second largest importer of soy.  If you feel as sick as I do right now please read and sign their petition.  

We have already cut down drastically on meat mostly because we've found the quality of meat here pretty shocking, after reading this though, there is just no way we will be going anywhere near soy fed meat and instead aim at organic and free range. Can that even be found here in the Netherlands? Eating for me is getting harder and harder by the day. I am now a gluten free, sustainable fish only, extremely strictly non cephalopod, organic/free range meat eater. Bloody great...

Dutch Food Meme

I've decided to do the food meme that seems to be going around the Dutch expat blog sphere at the moment. Tagged from Life Abroad.

List 7 items related to food or drink you love, also list 7 items you don't like.

Dutch Foods I Like:

1. Bitterballen - Beer battered deep fried meatballs.

2. Mozzarella Sticks - Cheese wrapped in pastry and deep fried.

Bitterballen and Mozzarella Sticks

3. Poffertjes: Mini pancakes with lots of powdered sugar and butter.

Poffertjes

4. Patat - Fried potatoes with mayonnaise (only if the mayonnaise is on the side, not poured all over the top of the fries).

5. Heineken - Enough said!

Patat & Heineken

6. Hutsput - Mashed potatoes with carrot and meatballs.

7. Hollandse Nieuwe - Raw herring typically served with raw onions and pickles.

Hollandse Nieuwe

Dutch Foods I Dislike:

1. Patatje Oorlog- Fried potatoes with onion, mayonnaise and satay sauce, it's great for a couple bites then it gets sickly pretty quick.

Patatje Oorlog

2. Extremely salty licorice.
3. Oliebollen - Glazed and deep friend yeast dough balls, similar to donoughts.
4. Paard Vlees - Horse meat.
5. Ardenne Pate' - Pork and chicken liver pate' esp. the one from Albert Heijn.
I can't think of a 6 & 7. Most Dutch food is surprisingly good!

Guilt in a paper wrapper

While in The Netherlands these past 9 days we have made an effort to try as much Dutch food as possible. Ham and cheese on bread for breakfast has been a big hit. Fries with mayonnaise however, has probably cured me of my addiction to fried potatoes.

So far we have tried:

Hachee: Beef stew with gravy served with red cabbage and potatoes.

Hutsput(?): Mashed potatoes with carrot and meatballs.

bitterballen: Beer battered deep fried meatballs.

Krokets: Deep fried rolls with meat? inside.

Patat: Fried potatoes with mayonnaise and even worse;

Patatje Oorlog: Fried potatoes with onion, mayonnaise and satay sauce (to my defense, it was actually Mats who ate this!).

Patat & patatje oorlog.

"It started out really tasty, like many other disgusting things" - Mats.

Poffertjes: Mini pancakes with lots of icing/powdered sugar and butter.

Poffertjes.

Traditional Dutch food recipes can be found here.
This article was inspired by Mats' article on Dutch Food.