GOOD FOOD MONTH: FOOD, ART AND FILMS BY THE WHARF - Review

Reviewed by Regi Su
This October will see the Kings Street Wharf ablaze with art, culture, good food and fine wine. Every day this month, participating cafes and restaurants along the Kings Street Wharf will promise opulent meals as discounted delights for dinner, lunch or even High Tea. What’s more, every Thursday and Friday night will celebrate good food films with an outdoor cinema, allowing 100 people (first in, best dressed,) to spend their lazy summer nights in the warm air of the outdoor cinema. Beside that will be a pop-up exhibition of art, to appease your more cultural side.

I believe this is the first time this specific event has been held for Good Food Month, but I can already guarantee that it will be a success. It really excites me to think that several of the fine dining restaurants along the same strip- the Kings Street Wharf, will all be participating in this great initiative from the Sydney Morning Herald. I think it’s fantastic to place an emphasis on great food, to appreciate art and to have a good night out with family and friends, surrounded by the gems which colour our earthen lives. While Kings Street Wharf is predominantly an area for adults in both their business and leisurely states, this month will turn the area into a family-friendly place as well, with the films like Ratatouille, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and My Big Fat Greek Wedding being shown for pleasure of everyone.

I had a chance to sample the Good Food Month Menu at The Malaya, a participating restaurant in the promotion. The chosen menu was sublime, a great choice for anyone and, as someone who cowers from the red on a chilli, their Chilli Prawns smacked a bite, but nothing I couldn’t handle. For mains, Beef Rendang and Kapitan Chicken delighted with their succulent meats and full-bodied curries. On the side, a light salad of chilli bean sprouts was refreshing and a delight, with tasty morsels hidden therein. We were graced with dessert- a choice of Black Sticky Rice Pudding with a summer taste, an Aussie tribute to an Asian delicacy, as well as balls of Chilli Chocolate Ice Cream, which were absolutely divine. I would recommend the menu to any person testing their exotic side as I would console them that the food is rich, the wine is fine, the tastes transport and The Malaya does not disappoint. If this was only one of the menus promised during Good Food Month, I’ll have to go back and try the rest!

Taste of Sydney 2012

If you are reading this and you didn't go, you missed it! Book it in your diary for next year. Taste of Sydney just had it's fourth Sydney festival. The weather was kind, in fact I got slightly burnt where I missed with the suntan cream.  Don't get on the scales before you go to Taste of Sydney and then weigh yourself again afterwards, that is a very bad idea. I was amazed at how many restaurants were there. There was so much to see we spent three hours there in no time at all.
Taste of Sydney is an array of tents housing different restaurants and food stalls. It also had a large selection of wines, a few beers and cider. It was $25 online to buy a ticket to get in, once you were in you needed to buy crowns, as little or no cash could be used at the stalls. $1 bought 1 crown though nothing was under 4 crowns, that I could see. Most of the food was $10 for a very small portion and if I was going to criticize anything it would be the cost. We ate through (literally) $110 no trouble at all. The drinks seemed to be the best value.
We had some very good Sushi and a fish ball! I had two ciders and a lemonade.  Plus I had a yoghurt, some extremely good salmon, a clam, cheese & pear and more. If you like food and drink this is definitely the event for you, you can try heaps in fact the hardest part is deciding what not to try! Make sure it is in your diary for next year.