ATE MEDIA INFORMATION | FOOD AND WINE IN NEW SOUTH WALES

FOOD AND WINE IN NEW SOUTH WALESAcclaimed chefs, great produce and stunning locations combine with a laid-back lifestyle to give Sydney’s food and wine culture a flavour all its own. You’ll discover myriad unforgettable dining options including restaurants with harbour or beach views, neighbourhoods dedicated to multicultural flavours, aromatic native bush flavours and new dining precincts. And for every delectable taste in regional NSW, there’s a beautiful view to match.

WATERSIDE DINING IN STYLE

One of Australia’s best chefs, Peter Gilmore of Quay restaurant in Sydney’s Overseas Passenger Terminal, will open his new dining establishment, Bennelong at the Sydney Opera House, within weeks. Gilmore’s use of texture and his exploration of nature’s diversity are key elements in his continually evolving, original style that’s been acclaimed worldwide. At Bennelong, you’ll enjoy beautiful dining in a brasserie-style restaurant accompanied by stunning views of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Other harbourside dining not to miss includes Matt Moran’s iconic ARIA, which offers views of Circular Quay, Sydney Harbour Bridge and Sydney Opera House; Café Sydney perched on top of the heritage Customs House building; and, just a short water taxi ride away, Catalina at Rose Bay, a luxe dining spot right on the water’s edge.

The surf is just steps away from your deckchair at The Bucket List, located at one of Sydney’s most famous beaches, Bondi. Breathe in the fresh sea air as you tuck into sweet local prawns and a cocktail flavoured with eucalyptus honey water. Sean’s Panaroma is a cosy 45-seat restaurant and intimate cocktail bar opposite Bondi Beach, where the views are matched by Sean’s comforting home-style food. And Maurice Terzini’s much-loved, always-glam Icebergs Dining Room and Bar is hard to beat for its divine cuisine and jaw-dropping ocean views over Bondi Beach. Watsons Bay Beach Club and Boutique Hotel, also in the eastern suburbs, is a laid-back oasis with an outdoor terrace by the harbour.

Right on the sand at Balmoral Beach on the north shore, The Bathers’ Pavilion pairs beautiful harbour views with chef Serge Dansereau’s passion for local seasonal produce. Pilu at Freshwater and the more casual Pilu Kiosk are just steps from the sand of picturesque Freshwater beach, again to the city’s north, and a great vantage point to watch all the action over a glass of pinot grigio and a plate of stuffed zucchini flowers. Or grab a suckling pig panino from the kiosk and enjoy a casual beach picnic.

Hugos Manly, a favourite for cocktails and gourmet pizza, serves meals al fresco on a relaxed outdoor dining area at the

TOP: BISTRO MOLINES IN THE HUNTER VALLEY. MIDDLE: PETER GILMORE’S SNOW EGG AT QUAY, SYDNEY BOTTOM: ICEBERGS DINING ROOM AND BAR, BONDI BEACH

end of Manly Wharf; Daniel San in the Novotel Manly Pacific is a Japanese-themed casual eatery incorporating a ‘Rooftop Dojo’ cocktail bar with sweeping views over the ocean. At nearby Shelly Beach, the stylish team behind celebrity grazing haunt The Boathouse Palm Beach has just opened The Boathouse Shelly Beach right beside the sand.

Sydney’s Merivale group has converted Coogee’s cavernous old Beach Palace into Coogee Pavilion. The lovely domed building is now a three-level village of dining and cute diversions, including a raw bar, pizza bar, organic juice bar, flower stall, barber shop and games for kids – all with sweeping ocean views (especially from the rooftop bar).

MULTICULTURAL EATS IN SYDNEY

A treasure trove of authentic food and flavours from across the globe, the harbour city’s ‘melting pot’ menu includes Malaysian hawker food, Lebanese charcoal chicken, Shanghainese dumplings, Neapolitan pizza and so much more – no passport required.

Immigrants from China have brought sophistication to the restaurant landscape for at least 150 years – so much so that Sydney now has a number of ‘Chinatown’ precincts. The southern end of the city is home to restaurants that highlight the diversity of Sydney’s Chinese scene, whether it’s the Beijing-style things-on-sticks at Crazy Wings, the hot and spicy Sichuan cooking at Red Chilli or the Chinese Muslim food served at Uighur Cuisine. The city also has a ‘Thai Town’ named in recognition of the top-notch Thai eateries in the same neighbourhood, Chat Thai and Spice I Am key among them. In Chatswood, the Cantonese standard-bearers such as Kam Fook and Fook Yuen are now complemented by a fast-growing number of Korean restaurants, not to mention funked-up Thai at Khao Pla. Chatswood is also home to Hong Kong’s Michelin-starred dim sum restaurant, Tim Ho Wan, where fans can enjoy the crumbly, baked-to-order barbecue pork buns made famous at the original 24-seater in Mong Kok.

Many of Sydney’s outer suburbs provide multicultural dining highlights, too. Ashfield is the place to savour the food of Shanghai; try Shanghai Night for pork buns filled with hot soup, or New Shanghai for lamb and leek dumplings. For Vietnamese, John Street in Cabramatta has the most Saigon hustle and bustle; make a beeline for Tan Viet Noodle House, where the dilemma between choosing the crisp-skinned chicken or the noodle soups is solved neatly by the option of getting both in the same order. For Indian food, head to Wigram Street in Harris Park, where the northern-style samosas of Ginger, the spicy Madras goat curry at Chutney and the crunchy chaat snacks at Billu’s are all but under the same roof.

Middle Eastern food has long been one of Sydney’s strengths, and while Auburn and Granville are among the go-to neighbourhoods, Lakemba might still be king. Haldon Street’s Lebanese hits include fabulous felafels at Jasmins, to scrambled eggs with lamb sausage at Al Aseel or the juicy, smoky chicken kebabs at El-Manara.

One of the best ways to uncover Sydney’s best multicultural dining hotspots is on a guided tour with experienced escorts from Gourmet Safaris, Ultimately Sydney or Taste Food Tours.

NATIVE BUSH FLAVOURS

Bush food has made the journey from novelty to serious culinary staple, with many Sydney chefs creating some of their finest work with a wide range of indigenous produce. Leading from the front is chef, restaurateur and sustainable food devotee Kylie Kwong, who favours bush ingredients such as Old Man saltbush and Soursop flower in her menu at Billy Kwong in Potts Point. She’s also encouraging diners to try edible Australian insects; think roasted mealworms, crushed wood cockroaches and even live green tree ants.

At Bennelong at the Sydney Opera House, Peter Gilmore will use produce from his experimental garden in which he grows many native species. At the CBD’s Bentley Restaurant + Bar, renowned chef Brent Savage seasons his local produce with native plants, including a delicious kangaroo fillet with riberry sauce. Darren Robertson of Three Blue Ducks in Bronte has now moved to The Farm at Byron Bay, where he and his fellow chefs/producers are committed to sustainable food and environmentally friendly practices. While in Bronte, Robertson scoured his neighbourhood for native herbs and plants such as Warrigal greens to weave into dishes. Mark Best, already known for his use of natives such as rosella flower and bower spinach at his award-winning restaurant Marque, is also creating dishes with a strong indigenous flavour at Pei Modern in the Four Seasons Hotel at The Rocks.

Redfern’s indigenous-owned PepperBerries now has Aunty Beryl, Aboriginal Elder and hospitality teacher, at its helm. She’s delighting foodies with bush tucker creations featuring lemon myrtle, Kakadu plum and of course pepper berries, an excellent pungent seasoning for pies. Aunty Beryl Van-Oploo is also involved in running Gardener’s Lodge Cafe in Sydney’s Camperdown, a rustic old gatehouse building transformed into a gourmet café featuring bush tucker.

Further afield, James Viles is the chef/owner of two-hatted, produce-driven Biota near Bowral in the Southern Highlands. Awarded Regional Restaurant of the Year in the Good Food Guide 2015, Biota epitomises regional dining with a focus on local farmers and growers, artisan produce and an onsite kitchen garden.

The Essential Ingredient in Rozelle is a culinary specialist store offering a wide range of native ingredients, including lemon myrtle, wild rosella flower and wattleseed – along with advice on how to use them in cooking. Next door is Herbie’s Spices, where you’ll learn that spices are derived from buds, bark, roots, berries and the aromatic seeds of plants, while herbs are the leaves.

Clayton Donovan grew up on Gumbaynggirr and Bundjalung land on the mid north coast of NSW where he learnt about native produce from the age of four. After becoming a chef, he developed his own style of cooking and learnt more about using native ingredients in a restaurant environment. Donovan has his own cooking show on ABC TV, Wild Kitchen with Clayton Donovan.

DINING AND DRINKING HOTSPOTS: WHAT’S NEW IN SYDNEY

Sydney is bursting at the seams with places to eat and drink, many of them new and some of them operated by Sydney’s biggest names. Peter Gilmore’s Bennelong at the Sydney Opera House is set to open within weeks while recent openings include Sake at Double Bay, Billy Kwong in Potts Point, Tim Ho Wan in Chatswood, and Chiswick at the Gallery in The Domain.

Situated in the back streets of Surry Hills and housed within a heritage building on Mary Street, Firedoor is Lennox Hastie’s acclaimed new restaurant featuring an open kitchen that centres around custom-made wood-fired ovens, grills and an Australian-made Aga. Hastie spent five years working at Etxebarri in Spain where he was inspired by a strong tradition of wood-fired grilling over an open flame. Nelly Robinson’s new restaurant, Nel, is located near Central Station in the basement of Central Station Hotel. Inspired by working with acclaimed chef Nigel Howarth (Michelin-starred Northcote Manor, UK), Nel’s menu showcases the best seasonal produce with a monthly changing seasonal degustation menu.

Other newcomers are located in Sydney’s up-and-coming neighbourhoods sprinkled around the city centre. Inner-city Chippendale has recently undergone an exciting urban renaissance from industrial landscape to cool dining, fashion and arts neighbourhood. Best eats here right now are Ester, LP’s Quality Meats and Brickfields Bakery, with more big names to come in 2015. Automata will be Clayton Wells’ first solo restaurant following stints at Momofuku Seiõbo and Quay; Kensington Street Social will be Michelin-starred Jason Atherton’s first Australian venue; while Noma graduate, Sam Miller, will head up his first restaurant, Silvereye.

Just south of the city centre, Rosebery has also morphed from industrial to fabulous food hotspot with Kitchen by Mike, Black Star Pastry, and Da Mario pizzeria. In Redfern, top-notch modern Korean restaurant, Moon Park, has won an army of fans, and hip new bars such as Arcadia Liquors and The Bearded Tit have transformed the area into a burgeoning nightlife destination.

Quirky, classy and full of personality, small bars are cropping up all over Sydney, serving sassy cocktails, boutique beers, wines by the glass and small-plate foods. A quick selection includes Monopole in Potts Point, The Gretz in Enmore, Bloodwood in Newtown, Love, Tilly Devine in Darlinghurst and 121BC in Surry Hills. In the city, the Baxter Inn has an extraordinary whisky collection; Frankie’s Pizza is a big, dark rock ‘n’ roll space with pinball machines and pumping party tunes; and Papa Gede’s is a voodoo-inspired little bar with comfy couches, church pews and soft candlelight.

DESSERTS AT BLACK STAR PASTRY

GOURMET GETAWAYS

When it comes to food and wine, each region of NSW has an expression of landscape, climate and style like no other. And the best way to uncover that flavour is by following a food and wine trail at your own pace.

Australia’s oldest wine region, the Hunter Valley, is two hours’ drive from Sydney. This dynamic region produces great wines and even greater winemakers, with some family dynasties stretching back six generations. Now home to more than 150 wineries, the Hunter Valley draws visitors from around Australia and the globe, with the promise of a taste of the good life. Enjoy the perfect escape, whether you’re being pampered in one of the valley’s day spas, teeing off from a championship golf course or enjoying panoramic views from an early morning hot air balloon ride.

Orange is a thriving regional centre only a three and a half hours’ drive from Sydney (or a short flight). It is the only recognised wine region within Central NSW defined by height above sea level (more than 600m) and is the highest-altitude wine region in Australia. Orange’s vineyards produce a wide range of outstanding red and white varieties, including merlot, shiraz and cabernet sauvignon, chardonnay, sauvignon blanc and riesling. Local winemakers are also creating interesting blends of wine made from grapes grown at different elevations and soil types.

When it comes to unspoilt destinations, the NSW South Coast is postcard perfect. A meandering drive south from Sydney unearths an astonishing range of local wines, cheeses, vegetables and seafood – plus oysters as the star ingredient. The pristine lakes, rivers and ocean found here form a large chunk of Australia’s 300km-long Oyster Coast, where the speciality is the Sydney rock oyster. It’s also where one of the state’s prettiest wine regions can be found - the Shoalhaven Coast has vineyards that extend from rolling hills in the hinterland to the coastal plains.

Uncover the delicious secrets of Southern Highlands wine and fine food during an easy two-hour drive south of Sydney into a breathtaking landscape of lush pastures and quaint villages. Although young, the Southern Highlands’ wine scene is home to more than 60 vineyards specialising in pinot noir and pinot gris. Add memorable dining experiences, orchards and farms where you can pick fruit in season, gourmet cheeses and farmers markets to your self-drive menu.

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