Taste of Sydney II

Crispy Pork Belly, Cashew Nut Caramel, Watermelon & Mint $12 from Assiette & District Dining

Oysters with Vietnamese dressing, crispy shallots & coriander $10 from Assiette & District Dining






At the chef's Table was Alex Herbert from Bird Cow Fish. The dish she cooked was the Boned and rolled roasted chicken stuffed with mushroom duxelle; pommes puree. We tried the dish earlier, it was brilliant. Quite complicated dish and I can't image how she managed to prepare so many of them for the four days even. Love her food and I will definitely go to her restaurant when next time we visit Sydney.
 





At the Taste Kitchen that afternoon featured Penny Williams, Executive Chef, Bali Asli. While she's going to open up her own restaurant in Bali, that's a bit far away. However, she cooked a fresh and beautiful satay chicken that day and the sauce was amazing!






Black pepper and curry leaf prawn skewers with lime and fresh coconut $10 from Flying Fish


Mussels steamed with chilli, white wine, tomato and parsley $10 from A Tavola / Omerta








Part II

Four hours were definitely not enough to try all the fantastic dishes available but certainly a great food experience to taste some of Sydney's most incredible restaurants in one afternoon. Now I can't wait to go to Taste of Melbourne later of the year!

Taste of Sydney





The handsome and charming French pastry chef Vincent Gadan whipping up some amazing sweet treat at the De Dietrich cooking school featuring Patisse.  Love dessert? Love High Tea? Then book for their monthly High Tea where Vincent designs a special sweet menu each month with a different theme.

Upcoming dates:
Sunday 28th August 2011  Last Days of Winter
Sunday 25th September 2011  Vanilla
Sunday 30th October 2011  Chocolate
Sunday 20th November 2011  Indigenous Australian Flavours
Sunday 18th December 2011  Christmas High Tea

Shop GO1, 197 Young St 
Waterloo, NSW 2017
(02) 9690 0665

Open Hours: 
Monday ~  Saturday 
8.30 to 4.00pm












The four dishes here were Regal king salmon and potato fishcakes with tartare sauce $10, Boned and rolled roasted chicken stuffed with mushroom duxelle; pommes puree $12, Tiramisu roulade with caramel sauce $8 all from Bird Cow Fish and Chilled Vichyssoise, Oyster Beignets, Salmon Roe $10 from Berowra Waters Inn & Ad Lib Bistro. All beautifully cooked and super divide! I love the salmon and potato fishcakes. They were so delicious and I didn't want to share with anyone! Amazing food. Love my day there.










Part I

The reason we went to Sydney for the weekend was to enjoy some beautiful food and also attend the Taste of Sydney which holds once a year. It was a beautiful day, great food, can't expect more!

Restaurants participated and their signature dishes:
1, Stracci with smoked veal ragout ,eschallot puree, bresaola and parmesan $10
2, Regal King salmon carpaccio with orange segments, citrus and chardonnay vinegar
dressing, shaved fennel, salmon roe, baby herbs and crispy salmon skin $10
3, Amedei Milk chocolate mousse with salted caramel and fresh berries $8

Otto Bar
1, Aperol Spritzer – Aperol, prosecco topped with soda $10
2, Campari Passion – Campari, passionfruit and orange juice $10
3, Otto mule – Vodka, ginger beer, mint,limes $10

1, Beef battuta with eshalots, crispy amaranth and mustard figs $10
2, Acquarello Risotto of beetroot and gorgonzola $10
3, Dark chocolate and coffee 'Barbajada' with almond crumble $10

1, Seared scallops with cauliflower bhaji and curry (Etch Dining) $10
2, Organic grass fed wagyu burger (Charlie & Co.) $12
3, Caramel date tart, Earl Grey syrup and vanilla Chantilly (Etch Dining) $10

1, Chicken Liver Parfait with Brioche and Mesclun Salad $8
2, Merguez with Spiced Cous-Cous & Harissa $12
3, Apple Tarte Tatin with Calvados Creme Anglaise $10

1, Crisp Wagyu Beef with Wild Mushroom and Truffle Foam $12
2, Saddle of Suckling Pig with Baby Garden Peas $12
3, Seared Regal King Salmon with a Salad of Pomegranate, Mint and Feta $10

1, Stone fruit roasted with home cured pancetta, verjuice & chilli (vegetarian option is served with grana pandano instead of pancetta) $10
2, Hiramasa kingfish roasted in jerky & nigella seeds with heirloom tomatoes & basil $12
3, Chocolate and rhubarb tart with rhubarb cream, chocolate mint and tonka bean $10

1, Black pepper and curry leaf prawn skewers with lime and fresh coconut $10
2, Seared Petuna ocean trout with a white curry sauce, jasmine rice and raw vegetable sambal $12
3, The Wattalapam – Sri Lankan crème caramel with palm treacle and roast cashews $10

1, Oysters with Vietnamese dressing, crispy shallots & coriander $10
2, District Dining Spicy Free Range Lilydale Chicken with Lime Aioli and Coleslaw $10
3, Crispy Pork Belly, Cashew Nut Caramel, Watermelon & Mint $12

1, Regal King Salmon & potato fishcakes with tartare sauce; fresh lemon $10
2, Boned and rolled roasted chicken stuffed with mushroom duxelle; pommes puree $12
3, Tiramisu roulade with caramel sauce $8

1, Chilled Vichyssoise, Oyster Beignets, Salmon Roe $10
2, Slow Cooked Fillet Of Ocean Trout, 'French Onion Soup' Puree, Peppered Oxtail 'Croustillant' $12
3, Fromart Raw Milk Alpage Cheese, Sauvignon Blanc Poached Apple,Beetroot Oil $10

1, French country style pate with sourdough bread $10
2, Slow cooked shoulder of lamb with smoked potato puree and jus $12
3, Raspberry bavarrois $8

1, Confit Pork Belly, Squid, Chorizo and Chickpea $10
2, 12 Hour Braised Lamb Shoulder with Pea and Feta Salad $12
3, Dark Chocolate Snickers $8

1, Regal King Salmon Curado with Chilli and Star Anise $10
2, Paella a la Maestre $12
3, Churros con Chocolate $8

1, Mussels steamed with chilli, white wine, tomato and parsley $10
2, Potato gnocchi with slow cooked lamb ragu $12
3, Ricotta fritters with berries and honey $8

Billy Kwong 家常便飯



















Billy Kwong
家常便飯

355 Crown St
Surry Hills, NSW, 2010
Australia

(02) 9332 3300

Opening Hours
Mon ~ Thu, 6pm ~ 10pm
Fri ~ Sat, 6pm ~ 11pm
Sun, 6pm ~ 9pm

What We Ordered:
Freshly Shucked Oysters Steamed with Ginger & Shallots $15
Steamed Prawn Wontons with Organic Brown Rice Vinegar Dressing $19
Crispy Skin Pork Belly with Steam Pancakes
Crispy Skin Duck with Organic Mandarin Sauce $47
Fresh Tropical Fruits and Dark Chocolate $15

There are so many restaurants and bars located on Crown Street, Surry Hills in Sydney. This is probably one of the best places to eat and Billy Kwong is one that you don't want to miss. I first saw Kylie on her cooking show on TV years ago and I love the idea she opens this small, cozy restaurant with lovely home style cooking. No booking was needed, so be there early to avoid disappointment. I would hated if there's no reservation service available if the restaurant was in Melbourne, but in my case, due to the policy we were lucky to get a table on a Saturday night, even we have to wait half an hour before they cleaned up a table for us. That's totally fine, as we left our name and contact no. with friendly hostess and walked down the road to have a drink in one of the pubs.

At 9:30pm the restaurant was still packed will people. I was so excited we got a table which could look straight into the kitchen. This is not a fine dining place where you can sit there, drink wine and relax. The restaurant was a little noisy and the tables were close to each other. You sit on wooden stools instead of chairs with cushions. You could probably overheard what was going on from tables next to you and check out what were they having in their dishes. It was fun and interestingly, I kind of like all these atmosphere, as the tiny little place seemed so lively. It was like you were having a large family gathering during the Chinese New Year where talent chefs were your aunts working in the kitchen,  preparing food and chopping roast meat; waiters walking around the tables were like your  uncles serving food to tables where relatives came from all over the country; people sitting next to you were like your cousins who were chatted non stop about the exciting holiday season. It was a true enjoyable moment for me and the experience was so different and unforgettable.

The food was outstanding and all served in reasonable portion.  The service was great. Our first dish was the freshly shucked oysters steamed with ginger and shallots. We appreciated with the top quality and freshness of the oysters and the sauce was simple and light. I prefer this over the oyster dish I had earlier of the day from Tetsuya's. The steamed prawn wontons with organic brown rice vinegar dressing was delicious. The dressing had some sweetness in it instead of very spicy from most of the Szechuan cuisine. This may more suitable for ordinary patron. Again the sauce was light which did not take over the beautiful flavour from the food itself. 

After we had the two entrees, we couldn't wait for the main courses to amazed us and we were totally blow away from the crispy skin pork belly with steam pancakes. Normally I am not a big fan of pork belly and I never order it from Chinese or western restaurants. Since the waiter recommend the dish and promised it was going to be surprisingly good, we decided to give it a try. And the result was divine!!! Pretty much speechless. OMG! I just had the best piece of pork belly in my life in Billy Kwong. Unbelievable! The pork skin was crunch and the meat was juicy. The pancake was thin and still warm during serving. It was a 10/10 perfect dish. However, the journey kept amazing us with the crispy skin duck with organic Mandarin sauce. The duck was beautifully cooked and the sauce was incredible tasty. I could drink the sauce if there was any left in our dish. The flavour was rich and strong. The twice cooked duck was balance off well with the organic sweet and sour plums. I was so blessed. Really, I felt that way at that moment. Nothing beats good food.

This is a place I'd highly recommend.  It's not like one of those cheap Chinese eating out but definitely worth the money. Hubby said it was the best Chinese dinning he had for a while and it was not cooking by Chinese. Haha... Will be back for sure!

Signed copies of Kylie Kwong's new book, 'It Tastes Better' ($69.95) are available in the restaurant. Or try her recipes Salad of King Prawns, Avocado & Watercress and Potato, Carrot & Black Cloud-Ear Fungus Salad with Ginger Vinaigrette  online from her new book.

I love Chinese food and adore Billy Kwong, who don't if you like to try something not so traditional Chinese. Yum!

Billy Kwong on Urbanspoon

Cuisine: Chinese
Food: Excellent
Service: Good
Atmopshere: Excellent
Value: $$$
Recommend: Excellent


*Rating: Excellent, Good, Average, Poor, Very Poor