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.
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.
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.
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| 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.
