The Choc Pot, Burwood

I'll be honest, I don't at all dig the entire 'having 50 stores of the same kind within a 20 metre radius' sort of thing. I'm not having a go at them all because I've had one or two good ones but admittedly they're just so wide spread that they get a little sickening; you all know what I mean. The thing that kept entering my mind when I arrived at The Choc Pot was whether it was just some knock-off Max Brenner and that's sadly not a mentality you want to have when trying a new place.

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Taste of Shanghai, Hurstville

Dumpling time again as we make our way into Hurstville's Taste of Shanghai which is also the group that runs the hugely successful Shanghai Stories 1938 down Chatswood.

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Tomislav, Darlinghurst

Tomislav has been on my radar for a long long time. Comparisons between Gastro Park (my favourite restaurant of 2012) make the wait almost unbearable and before we know it we're heading off down the good ol' Kings Cross. 

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East Village Gourmet Food Festival, Zetland

Last Saturday noon was the East Village Gourmet Food Festival. As part of the Good Food month of October, it promised to be a showcase of the Sydney food scene and that it did deliver. 

Entry is free and the sun was out so needless to say finding parking was hazardous. Located down on Joynton Park in Alexandria, the likes of places like Longrain, Salt Meat and Cheese, Gelato Messina and Veggie Patch (without the van) are featured in make shift tents ready to serve out food to the masses. There's also a live band down in the center ready to bust out some afternoon grooves.

This is the first time I've ever tried anything from Longrain. 

Yellow curry of Mirrool Creek spring lamb with pickled mustard greens, chilli &  coriander 16

They've got a mild yellow curry going on with super tender lamb chunks, a lively curry and some pickled mustard greens that works wonders loosening up the gentle heat and giving some freshness.

I wasn't expecting this dish by Foley Lane to be cold but it seemed perfect given the weather. 

WA braised octopus with lime aioli 13

They've really braised it down so it's wonderfully soft and tender, livened up with a generously sprinkling of basil and finished off with a simple tomato sauce. Lime aioli was missing but we didn't bother to ask them for some because it seemed good enough.

Fresh drinking coconut 5

Hot day begs for some hydration so Coco-go-nut's offering of coconut juice is the perfect way to go. 

Messina always do spectacular gelato and on a hotter day, it always tastes better. 

2 Scoops 7

It's easy to fall in love with the italian nougat; delicately creamy, almost honey flavoured ice cream is interspersed with various nuts while the mango gelato tasted spot on with its delicious sweetness.  

Piggy from Dan the Man

Salt Meats Cheese

The rest of the day was spent walking around. There's heaps to find and eat but not enough stomach space for it all sadly.

Really sad that I missed out on dinner under the stars with Longrain but there's always next year. Prices are admittedly a little dear but it's a really nice food festival and definitely worth visiting if you have the time. Until then.


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