2021 Sydney Royal Easter Show: Best food and desserts
Crisp on the outside with a gooey centre, these Big-Apple-sized cookies have landed at Sydney’s Easter Show and they’re a definite frontrunner in the sweet stakes.
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THICC COOKIES & BIGG BROWNIES
If you can make it there, you can make it anywhere, which begs the question, why aren’t NYC’s Big-Apple-sized cookies being made here, Sydney?
Turns out, Christopher Scheldrik was equally perplexed. For ages, he’d been pining after the glorious, oversized creations — crisp on the outside with a moist, chocolate chip-laden centre that’s on the cusp of raw cookie dough.
“I wanted the thick, rich cookies I had while I was in New York but nobody was selling them here. So I asked myself, ‘why is nobody doing this?’ and then I realised that nobody is doing it because I’m not doing it,” he says.
“I work at a bakery (Christopher co-owns CBD pastry chop Banksia Bakehouse), so if I can’t take the leap to do this myself, then I can’t expect someone else to do it.”
So, THICC Cookies was born. While chocolate chip remains their flagship cookie, there are nine other flavours, including white chocolate macadamia, Biscoff Lotus, and for the epic meltdown, Nutella.
Plus, exclusive to the Sydney Royal Easter Show, they’ve added a Cadbury Crème Egg flavour to that list.
You can grab one (or more likely six) for the road, but for maximum hedonistic pleasure, have it heated, then marvel at the ribbons of melted chocolate as you break it in half. An extra serviette, please.
— Woolworths Fresh Food Dome; biggandthicc.com.au
FLUFFY CRUNCH
They said it couldn’t be done, that the market was too fickle and offering anything else but unadulterated fairy floss on a stick was folly.
Undeterred, Michael and Paola Karamallis had a dream of peddling spools of spun sugar topped with sparkles and popping candy at the Easter Show. Well, not really.
The husband-and-wife team actually left their corporate jobs to open a cafe, but instead, hit the markets spinning cones of fairy floss — first with Fairy Floss Bouquets and then, with a grand reveal at the Easter Show 2018, the now-famous and totally Instagrammable, Flurrito — two scoops of vanilla ice cream, a scattering of Froot Loops and sprinkles of rainbow dust, rolled up in a bed of packed fuchsia fairy floss, and sliced in half.
It’s fluffy. It’s a burrito. It’s a Flurrito. What could have been a fluke became famous instead, along with airtight tubs of their 25 different “gourmet” creations, including Fluffy-Tella — chocolate-flavoured fairy floss dusted with powdered Nutella, Crushed Cookies — Chocolate flavoured fairy floss dusted with crushed Oreo cookies & powdered milk, and the award-winning salted caramel — caramel flavoured fairy floss dusted with powdered honeycomb and a pinch of Himalayan pink salt. One for the show and two for the drive home.
— Home & Lifestyle Pavilion; fluffycrunch.com.au
DONUT PAPI
Few foods have such a storied past as the humble doughnut, and appropriately enough, its narrative comes full circle at the Easter Show.
Dubbed “the food hit of the Century of Progress” at the 1937 World Fair, they were later relegated to the morning shift alongside bottomless cups of stale coffee.
Now, judging by the proliferation of dedicated shop, each with display cases filled with sheets of multi-coloured doughnuts, these deep-fried dough rings are back on top.
But amid all that noise, fans of the sweet treat will tell you about a true standout: Donut Papi.
Granted, the Cadillac-pink stall is a real showstopper, it’s the unique way in which brother/sister owners Kenneth Rodrigueza and his Karen Rodrigueza-Labuni have channelled their Filipino heritage, swapping out a generic selection of chocolate, vanilla, and faux-berry filled flavours for more Asian-influenced variants such as the ever-popular Ube (pronounced ooh-beh), a violet purple made of purple yam yet tastes of sweet potato, butter and vanilla.
While doughnuts were the impetus for the business, Donut Papi’s younger brother, Donut Papito, has created a hole-less version they call bombos.
They’re similar to the Italian vanillas and chocolate custard-filled soft pastry, bombolini, but Bombos continue with Asian-influenced flavours including ube, pandan, and matcha as well as crème Brulee, each with custards that peak out the top of the dusted sugar pastry, just begging to be squeezed, releasing waves of the thick, colourful filling. It’s history in the making.
— Woolworths Food Dome; donutpapi.com
BAR POSITANO
Alas, a trip to the Amalfi Coast may have to wait a while, but you can still get a taste of the regions with a visit to Positano, or more precisely, Bar Positano, a mobile Italian cafe and bar that converts into t little seaside utopia.
“We wanted to bring an authentic ‘Amalfi coast’ experience to the show,” says co-owner Luca Andolfo, noting that Positano, Italy, epitomises that experience, so with his wife, Belinda Porra, they’ve transformed their bland space to reflect the small coastal village.
Decorated with “grass”, beach chairs, picket fencing, and a mural depicting clear blue waters and picturesque landscape, it’s the lemon yellow and white striped deck chairs that complete the scene.
So sit back, enjoy some authentic southern Italian street food, then truly relax with a traditional Affogato, a cup of tightly packed artisan vanilla gelato topped with a shot of espresso.
Now that’s amore.
(In case you can’t make it to the show — which would be a real pity — they’re also opening a deli cafe at 259 Crown St, Surry Hills very shortly).
— Home & Lifestyle Pavilion; barpositano.com.au
WAFFLEPOPZ & CHURROS
Necessity is the mother of invention, so when Depp Shah and his family — who were on a long-overdue holiday at the time, were asked to create a novel dessert within a mere two weeks, they channelled their inner Edison and started brainstorming.
Turns out, the inspiration they needed came from the current travels – fresh warm waffles and churros.
Fortunately, as veterans of the food truck scene (they also started the Chips on a Stick business), they were able to get up and running in that short period, with a menu that included freshly-made waffles on a stick, dipped in chocolate and then covered with such delights as M & Ms, 100s and 1000s, or even fresh strawberries, whipped cream and chocolate sauce.
You can also go the classic route and forego the melted chocolate for maple syrup and powder sugar. But it’s the show. Go crazy.
— The Truck Stop; facebook.com/wafflepopz
LAKANTO
Sugar and spice and all things nice, that’s what desserts are made of, that is, unless you’re trying to avoid (or need to avoid) sugar, and if so, things can get pretty tasteless or just downright weird when trying out sugar substitutes.
That is what makes Lakanto’s sugar-free products so unique, as they’re made with monk fruit, a melon-like fruit that gets its sweetness from the antioxidants in the fruit’s flesh.
Spoon for spoon has less calorie than sugar and is suited to gluten-free, diabetic, ketogenic, candida, paleo, vegan and low-carb diets.
Lakanto is used across their line of dessert sauces, syrups, icings, and, well, it basically has your baking needs sorted.
If it all sounds a bit confusing, head to their award-winning stall (2021 Royal Easter Show Gold Exhibitor Award) for daily cooking demonstrations and tastings, specifically they’ve recently released soft serve. Finally, the sweet things in life can be sugar-free.
— Home & Lifestyle Pavilion; lakanto.com.au
WAFFLELAND
Make no mistake, at the end of that stick and underneath blankets of caramel, crumbed Lotus Biscoff, Oreos, M & Ms, strawberries, chocolate, chocolate and more chocolate is a warm, freshly-made waffle.
With crisp golden edges, and a soft centre, they are delicious on their own, but it’s the Show, so load on the extras.
And while it’s technically stick-food, you’ll need that little tray to handle the overflow of toppings, because, well, you don’t want to be wasteful.
— Woolworths Fresh Food Dome
MACARON DE PARIS
She says it’s because they’re handmade, but for something so dainty to taste so delicious, there must be some magic going on in the kitchen.
But hand to heart, Angela Giannaros, co-owner of Macarons de Paris, swears that, compared to thinner mainstream macarons made with machine-whipped meringue and a mere spread of piping, hers are much larger as the it’s all done by hand — both the shell and the filling, yet, in true Parisian style, they still have a light and crunchy shell with a moist centre.
They come in a rainbow of colours (and flavours) but crème Brulee and salted caramel are crowd favourites, along with the true-blue Milo variant.
— Woolworths Fresh Food Dome
BERRY LICIOUS
Covered in chocolate or unadorned in a cup, you’ll only find the freshest berries at Berry Licious, and since they’ve been doing this for more than 20 years, it probably seems like they’ve going down to those strawberry fields forever.
Actually though, since they’ve been on the circuit so long, their supplier has a separate patch reserved for berry Licious, and they are indeed, berry delicious.
— Woolworths Fresh Food Dome
MELON FIESTA
Ay caramba! These slices of watermelon with soft-serve made with fresh watermelon juice, are well worth celebrating. They’re mucho refreshing on a hot day at the show, not to mention, they’re just pretty as picture.
— Olympic Boulevard, Kids’ Carnival
UNICORN ELIXIR
Sure it’s been a long day at the show, but fear not, that unicorn you’re seeing isn’t a hallucination, and yes, it is surrounded by glitter and rainbows.
However, this one isn’t frolicky in a land of lollipops, it’s gotten into adult entertainment as the magic-maker behind Unicorn Elixir’s colour-changing spirits.
Break out the wands and give the bottle a shimmy and poof, you have a swirl of opalescent vodka or gin liqueur.
— Woolworths Fresh Food Dome
EASTER SHOW FOOD SPECIALTIES
The Sydney Royal Easter Show is known for its food on a stick trend and this year is no different with bacon, wagyu pops and even dumplings making the cut this year.
1. BACON ON A STICK
Why bother with a bread roll and fried egg, they’re merely the support act for the headliner: bacon.
So rather than stripping the sandwich down to its bare bones, the gents behind Burger Head have created Bacon on a Stick.
This glorious creation can be had, straight up, in a bucket with fries for a real heartbreaker, smothered in cheese.
— The Truck Stop
2. WAFFLEPOPZ
Piled high with lollies and other saccharin-laden toppings, somewhere under those bedecked breakfast dishes lies a waffle or some semblance thereof.
But for those that actually like to taste their food — much less see what they’re eating — these fluffy waffles-on-a-stick are crisp enough that a helping of chocolate sauce and ice-cream won’t make it a mushy mess, but with deep “pockets” to hold whatever sweets you can throw its way.
— The Truck Stop
3. FAIRY FLOSS FLOWERS
As the nights get cooler and the golden hues of Autumn begin to blanket yards and streets, it’s forever spring at the Easter Show, where Fairy Floss Flowers are always in bloom.
As wisps of spun-sugar are twirled into pastel-coloured petal, they slowly transform into a big bouquet that’s as pretty as a picture. #instagrammable
4. DOLE WHIP SOFT SERVE
It’s known as the happiest place on earth, and since we all could do with an extra cheer, it’s kind and caring mouse-in-chief is sharing a secret from the magical kingdom.
Until now, the cult-favourite Dole Whip soft serve had been exclusive to Disneyland, but in an act of benevolence, it’s making its way across the seas to land just in time for the Sydney Royal Easter Show.
Starting off with frozen pineapple strawberry, mango or watermelon, the dairy-free, gluten-free, and vegan delight is whipped into a frenzy then served up in a cup, cone or, like the original, inside a hollowed-out half pineapple.
5. CWA TEA ROOM
Few things can conjure up feelings of nostalgia like the smell of freshly-baked scones; pair that with some piping hot tea, and you’ve practically got yourself a warm hug from mum.
This winning combination became the foundation for CWA’s annual fundraiser, an event that began as a post-war initiative to benefit the country women of NSW.
Now, a much-loved tradition, no visit to the Show is complete without a CWA Tea Room visit.
6. PIZZA BURGER
If your crew spends hours pondering show bags or can’t decide which ride to hit up first, good luck appeasing everyone when it comes to lunch.
When it becomes a toss-up between a burger and pizza, head to Italian Street Food for the best of both worlds — the pizza burger, a two-in-one creation, of a fried burger bun filled with pizza.
7. FARM FRESH EGGS
The early bird may catch the worm, but who’d want worms when you can score yourself eggs that had just been laid that morning. And it’s not just chook eggs for sale; there’s duck, goose, and turkey eggs as well.
— Poultry Pavilion
8. BIG BUSH BBQ
Resistance is futile, as no mortal can deny the alluring smell of grilled onions and snags at a sausage sizzle and nor should they, as all the money from the Big Bush BBQ goes to NSW farmers via the NSW Show Society.
Each day of the Show, a different society will man the grill, serving up sausages generously donated by Woolworths and knowing you’re helping farmers who’ve had a tough go in the past year, there’s your excuse to justify seconds.
— Orana Pde, opposite Cattle yards; 8am-4pm
9. HOT DOG ON STICK and OLD FASHION LEMONADE
The dazzling cherry-red finish seems suited to a 68 Mustang, but this paint job belongs to another classic — the iconic red and yellow trailers from Hot Dog on a Stick.
It’s been nearly 50 years since Carmel Myer and Frank Pittoff came across cornmeal-battered hotdogs at a fair in California. Completely smitten, they brought the concept to Australia along with a recipe for old-fashioned lemonade and their pristine red and yellow trucks.
Not much has changed since – they still use the same recipe, the same quality ingredients, and heaven knows how they do it, but their fleet of trucks and trailers still carries the immaculate shine.
10. DAGWOOD DOG BENTO BOX
No matter how you slice it, the family that brought the Dagwood Dog to Australia is at it again, this time taking the battered hotdog off its stick and back on the plate — or in this case, a bento box.
MORE SHOW FOOD SPECIALTIES
1. BIG TONY ITALIAN STREET FOOD
From skewered cheesecake to speared lasagne, Big Tony Italian Street Food’s co-owner, Tony Sabia, is essentially the “Godfather of stick food”.
A mainstay on Sydney’s restaurant scene, he’s been plating up Italian fare for decades; his most recent venture, Puntino, held sway in Woolloomooloo for over 25 years.
It’s only in the past six years that’s he’s taken his trade in a vertical direction, starting off with a sausage lollipop.
Tony admits to being a bit befuddled by his inaugural concoction, but his subsequent efforts with food on a stick, including meatballs, pizza, and the infamous lasagne with its deep-fried layers of pasta and meat sauce, have been hits.
With new creations every year, fans of Tony’s novel stick-foods offerings are ones they just can’t refuse.
— Orana Pde
2. BACKYARD BBQ
With school out and warmer weather still hanging around, you could head outside, heat up the grill and settle for a sausage sizzle and a dated playlist, or you could venture out to Giants Stadium for an epic Backyard BBQ with an entire evening of entertainment.
A new addition to the Easter Show’s culinary offerings, groups often can get dibs on their own patch of “grass” (i.e. AstroTurf) complete with picnic table, bench seats and gas grill, all wrapped by a sweet little white picket fence.
“The concept is to move away from the formalities of a corporate box,” says RAS executive chef Tim Browne.
“It’s relaxed, like in your backyard having a steak or sausage butt watching the main event with the best seats overlooking the field.”
These BBQ fiefdoms accommodate 10 guests with plenty of room to move around, and you rule the roost — and the grill — from 5-9pm, at which point your departure is preceded by the nightly firework display.
A big bonus, though, is that four-hour window has no real-time constraints.
“We supply the food and the skies. You arrive when you arrive, and you cook it when you want to cook it,” Browne says.
These evening sessions go for $500 (essentially $50pp) and include 10 award-winning double-smoked Kranskys from Andrews Meats, five steaks, five butterflied chicken breasts, coleslaw, bread rolls and an Eski with two six-packs each of Great Northern beer and cider, 12 bottles of water, two bottles of wine and a selection of sodas.
As it’s a DIY set-up, Browne laughs as he offers BBQ rookies the following advice: “Phone a friend.”
— Giants Stadium
3. BIRDMAN + AMERICAN BBQ
This ain’t your pop’s KFC, thought with its own secret herbs and spices, it’s still finger-licking good.
Unlike its Kentucky cousin, Korean Fried Chicken (also KFC), which is dredged in a dense seasoned-batter, uses a very light unseasoned batter that’s twice-fried, rendering out the fat to give it a thin, crisp and crunchy coating.
Have it straight up, drenched in a sweet and spicy Korean BBQ sauce, or sandwiched in between steamed milk buns with a Sriracha slaw, or with the unlikely pair of roasted meats and loaded fries from Birdman’s offsider, American BBQ.
Managing director John-Ray Boukarim explains: “American BBQ has been operating since 2016; however, the American menu only just came into play with our Birdman truck when we needed to adapt during COVID.”
As food trucks prevailed in the following months, Boukarim notes: “We created a menu that consisted of both American BBQ and Korean fried chicken so that we would have a diversified offering — something they were only able to do with Birdman as it was newer, bigger and had more advanced equipment to keep up with the demand our more tailored menu.”
The two menus are working quite well together, so as they say … “birds of a feather”.
— The Truck Stop
4. MR ALLOO’S NOODLE MARKET
The latest precinct to join the Show’s collection of eateries is a nod to the owner of Australia’s first-ever Chinese restaurant — Mr John Alloo.
The initial menu back in the 1850s was better suited to a British pub until Mr Alloo slowly introduced his patrons to duck and other Chinese dishes.
Fast forward to the present day where you’ll find not just Chinese fare such as pork buns and dumplings from Let’s Do Yum Cha, and premium grilled wagyu from Firepop, but also Japanese fried chicken (karaage) and noodles from Teppanyaki Noodles, and the many tastes of Thailand from Thai Riffic. Mr Alloo would be so proud.
5. THE STABLES
No need to guess where the name came from, but the powers that be did indeed wait till the horses have bolted before replacing the straw-laden abode with leather lounges.
A subsequent and substantial overhaul raised the vaulted ceiling, taking the space from dark and dreary to open and inviting.
For those looking to escape all the bells and whistles out on the show grounds, head upstairs to The Loft, where you’ll find a menu with dishes featuring gold-medal winning products.
If you’re just after a breather while the kids are bouncing around sideshow alley, saddle up to The Sydney Royal Beer and Wine Bar for a selection of award-winning drinks.
Suppose you’re looking to linger a bit longer. In that case, there’s also specialty food outlets, including a show favourite, Burger Head, Gelato Fresco and Pablitos.
That should tide you over till that one last hotdog before you call it a night.
— Hawkesbury Rd
6. CHIPS ON A STICK
We all have our wants and needs.
“I need a Ferrari. I need a tropical vacation. I need a 1970 Fender Stratocaster Sunburst signed by Jimi Hendrix.”
For Deep Shah, co-owner of Chips on a Stick, his need was actually quite genuine, realistic and surely shared by many other Show visitor: as lifelong vegetarians, he and his family were on the hunt for a plant-based option.
Rather than wallow in self-pity, the, along with his brother Kavit, embraced their predicament and outlined their solution — they were after something with an established fan base and could be managed single-handled.
Thus, a conveyable serve of classic Aussie chips in its signature spiral form was born.
“The real secret is in the batter,” says Deep, noting that it took moths to develop one that balanced density and pliability.
It’s not a one size-fits all concoction though as there are 10 different seasonings available.
Ten of thousands potatoes, and a convoy of food trucks later, his quest to invent a family-friendly vegetarian option has been a show food gift to the masses.
A friend in need is a friend indeed.
7. FIREPOP
Scroll through the comments the of most food photos on Instagram and you’ll see the words “yummy” and “nom nom” so often you’d think it was a roll-call so when “phenomenal” and “sensational” are peppered amid the accolades, you tend to take note.
Such is the case with Firepop. To call their product skewered meat is like calling a fridge magnet, art.
Not even close though that moniker could easily be used in the same sentence as Firepop, if only to describe the innovative way husband and wife team, Raymond Hou and Alina Van revere the artisanal products used in each item on the menu.
From the hardwood hexagon briquette charcoal from the Australian-owned and operated company Nature Flame to the ingredient of their signature items, The Butter, made with A-grade wagyu seasoned with award-winning Ollson’s sea salt, a favourite for Australia’s hatted-chefs.
Another highlight on the menu is the semi-autobiographical The O.G. is regionally-sourced lamb with house-roasted ground sesame and cumin dukkah and secret marinade. Music aficionados will recognise the name as a nod to Ice T’s 1991 album Original Gangster, though in urban lexicon O.G. is a serious compliment, “Man, that lamb is so O.G” but it also speaks to the “pop’s” origin – a recipe similar to one his childhood home in Northern China.
There so much more on the menus that’s deserving of high praise but best to try everything yourself. In between bites, you too with be declaring “phenomenal”.
The ‘OG’ (three pops for $13.80, The Butter (two pops for $12.80), and Sugar x Cheese roasted grilled corn ($12).
— Mr Alloo’s Noodle Market
8. GET FISH & TYRELL’S WINE
Before you shell out money for a dozen fat, plump and slightly sweet Sydney rock oysters at De Costi’s Oyster Bar it’s important to know what you’re looking for in terms of quality.
Stop by Get Fish and Tyrell’s Wine Bar and start with how they’re farmed, taking note of how so many of them look the same.
It may seem trivial but in the oyster world, and in the Sydney Royal Fine Food Show’s recent judging of Sydney rock oysters key things to look for are whether ones from a specific area look “uniform”. For the Sydney rock oyster, its rough shell is what helps it take a battering in the waters as they take much longer to grow – between three and four years.
But because they take longer they’re a popular species in that they are fat, plump and slightly sweet. And Sydney rock oysters aren’t necessarily from Sydney, that’s just the species’ name. Armed with insight try a few others for comparison along with a glass of Tyrell’s wine for good measure.
9. FOOD ON A STICK
There’s more to eat at this year’s show than you can poke a stick at … quite literally. Food on a Stick and the Royal Easter Show go together like the birds and bees, flowers and trees, showbags and carnival rides.
And if it’s edible and even remotely solid, it’s all fair game which is readily apparent with such proudly pierces foods including lasagne, deep fried cheesecake, hotdogs, chips, corn, toffee apples, waffles, doughnut, cheese, Dagwood Dog and dumpling plus this year’s standout (or stand-up) Bacon on a Stick from Bacon Head. Hands own, a highlight of the Easter Show.
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