Sydney Eat Street: Truffle season brings exotic tastes to Sydney
Sydney foodies, your year-long wait for the coveted “black diamond” is finally over. The exotic and elusive truffle makes a brief appearance in the winter months so start your hunt early with these delectable options.
The exotic and elusive truffle makes a brief appearance in the winter months so start your hunt early with these delectable options.
Take a tour of the area’s best eateries right here with The Sunday Telegraph’s Eat Street. Are you hungry for more inspiration? Follow us on Instagram. #SydneyEatStreet
THE GANTRY
Sydney foodies, your year-long wait for the coveted “black diamond” is finally over with Pier One Sydney Harbour’s hatted restaurant The Gantry set to officially launch the NSW Southern Highlands and Canberra Region Truffle Festival on June 19 with a six-course truffle degustation dinner.
While organising an ingredient-specific menu can be a challenge, head chef Thomas Gorringe recalls it is actually something he has wanted to do since being introduced to truffles at a similar degustation while working in Canada.
To develop each of the evening’s dishes, Thomas explains the importance of “finding foods that can serve as a vessel to transfer the earthy flavour”, noting that simple dishes with eggs, cream, cheese and butter are particularly good as their fat absorbs the aroma.
MORE FROM SYDNEY EAT STREET:
Top dining spots in Crown St, Surry Hills
10 places to try on Glebe Point Rd, Glebe
With this in mind, Thomas’ menu features a thoughtful approach to “the classics” with such dishes as truffle linguine with parmigiano-reggiano, goose liver pate with truffle, pickled mushrooms and sweet potato, and for the grand finale a dessert with milk chocolate, truffle, hazelnut and cocoa nib.
For those unable to make the dinner, the goose liver pate and sharing-style baked truffle-stuffed camembert will be available a la carte as well as a truffle takeover of the breakfast buffet, which includes truffle eggs Benedict and truffle breakfast tortillas.
Tickets to the dinner are $210 and include matching wines.
— Pier One Sydney Harbour, 11 Hickson Rd, Walsh Bay; thegantry.com.au/whatson
LA FAVOLA
Simple doesn’t mean basic — rather quite the opposite — at Newtown’s fabulous Italian restaurant La Favola.
By comparison, the menu here is kept quite small — a choice of six different kinds of pasta and six different sauces. This way, everything from noodles to stock can be made fresh daily.
There is also a selection of share-style starters including oven baked tomino piemontese, white truffle oil, rosemary and Sardinian flatbread with garlic and fresh truffle.
Its rustic presentation — a generous saucer-sized mound of melting cheese is brought to the table straight from the oven still wrapped in baking paper. For truffle season, it’s topped with an olive and truffle tapenade and a drizzle of authentic truffle oil.
Having honed his culinary skills from age 14 where he began working at a Michelin-starred restaurant in Rome, Fabio Stefanelli followed that up with further experience in several high-end venues around Europe, till finally landing in Sydney.
Here he has swapped white linen for a more casual and comfortable spot that includes some communal tables, which he says, are akin to the “family kitchen table”.
Fabio admits having only worked in fine dining restaurants, he “had never cooked simple food” so it was a welcome change to work with the honest flavours of home cooking of which nothing could be better than fresh potato gnocchi with a mushroom sauce, and shavings of fresh Tasmania truffle.
Of course, a little decadence never goes astray so try the black angus beef fillet carpaccio crispy kale, truffle aioli, rocket, parmesan, fried capers and going with the season more slices of fresh Tassie truffles.
— 170 King St, Newtown; favola.com.au
DEVON
They made a mark on Sydney’s dining scene with a brunch menu of brekkie faves alongside innovative Asian-fusion dishes including their signature Japanese-inspired omelettes. So, come truffle season Devon devotees have come to expect equally clever concoctions featuring the elusive fungi.
“Truffles are such an amazing product with a great taste,” co-owner Zachary Tan says.
“They lend a layer of umami and savouriness into the dishes we prepare, even the desserts.”
One of their most popular items is the truffle sundae made with truffle soft-serve, sea salt and honey inside a waffle cone that is laid out flat and topped with a generous amount of frosted cornflakes and shaved truffle.
Zachary notes while customers have come to expect Devon’s signature items such as the sundae and truffle toastie, they invariably ask “What new dishes will they come up with this year?”,
For Zachary, the ideas come from “different ethnic cultures and their cuisines, other cooks, chefs and available ingredients” as well as his infinity for travel.
This year though, he says that it’s the Hokkaido hotcakes at Devon North Sydney that have become his favourite.
“It’s super light, easy to eat and you can really taste the truffle. Plus, who doesn’t like hotcakes?”
The menu varies slightly between their four venues and will run through the end of August. (For details visit www.devoncafe.com.au)
— Surry Hills, Barangaroo, North Sydney, and Upper Mount Gravatt, QLD; devoncafe.com.au
SOKYO AT THE STAR
Finding truffles is a food lover’s equivalent of hitting the jackpot, so it’s rather appropriate The Star is celebrating the season with a Truffle Month.
Commencing July 1, here at Sydney’s premier entertainment destination, their signature restaurants Sokyo, Flying Fish and Black Bar & Grill will be headlining the month with menus reflecting their particular style and cuisine.
In regards to Sokyo’s featured dish, Chase Toro Toro-Uni, Toro & Truffle Sushi, executive chef Chase Kojima explains: “The colder months is when truffle season starts, and at Sokyo and Kiyomi we’ll be using fresh truffles on our dishes.
“I believe in eating produce which is currently in season — and for me, right now that is truffles, fatty tuna and sea urchin.”
It’s the clever use of seasonal ingredients that has become indicative of Sokyo’s offerings.
“Truffle is not traditionally used in Japan as it does not grow there,” he says, but he also realises that “truffle is a very popular item in Australia” and though not common, it is now used in many Japanese fusion restaurants.
In addition to Sokyo’s Japanese fare, meat-centric Black Bar & Grill will be offering Jerusalem artichokes made with cream, a 62 degrees farm egg, and crispy bread truffle; Rangers Valley fillet — grilled bone marrow, smoked bacon & oxtail salad, shaved truffle, and a Shiraz jus followed by a dessert of crème brulee made with chestnut, truffle ice cream.
Seafood restaurant Flying Fish will serve pan fried snapper with a truffle sauce.
— The Star, 80 Pyrmont St, Pyrmont; star.com.au
WILD FOOD ADVENTURES
This is a hunt you can truly dig … for truffles that is. An hour outside of Sydney, you can go in search of the renowned French Black Perigord truffles in the Southern Highlands with Wild Food Adventures’ Winter Truffles Hunts on June 29 (with more dates likely to be added in July).
Don’t worry, it’s not just about getting your hands dirty, the adventure also includes lunch and a wine tasting.
It’s a fun experience watching the truffle dogs nose their way around the farm’s Robur Oak trees, unearthing truffles from their roots. Lunch provided by Press Shop Bowral’s chef Nathan West features fresh truffles matched with wine tasting from a local award-winning cool climate winemaker.
The menu features truffle-infused brie and light filo pastry quiches with truffle and a truffle fettuccine with parmesan and truffle chicken en papillote with pomme puree.
And, of course, there’s dessert — a mini baked truffle chocolate tarts with hazelnut truffle ice cream. The tour meets in Robertson and rums from 10am to 1pm
— Robertson, NSW (exact address to be provided upon booking; wildfoodadventures.com.au
MUST TRY
TRUFFLE JAFFLE
This humble toasted sandwich gets a Pretty Woman makeover as the standard stuffing is swapped out for a filling of ooey-gooey melted Pecorino cheese and truffle.
To round out this luxe snack, it also comes with truffle-seasoned fries. Available through winter, you’ll find them at Pier One’s food shack out on the pier. Add a drink from the bar, and you’re good to go.
— The Kerrigan, Pier One Sydney Harbour, 11 Hickson Rd, Walsh Bay
THREE WILLIAMS
Always a forerunner with their truffle menu, each featured item showcases head chef Jacquie Ektoros’ masterful use of the earthy ingredient in both sweet and savoury dishes.
There are both breakfast and lunch items ranging from mushroom scrambled eggs on toast to roasted Peking duck linguine with each topped with shaved truffle.
But no matter your choice, the one must for every diner is the truffle French toast made with a crunchy brioche toast, truffle ice cream, gold feuilletine, chocolate brownie, caramel cookie cream, popping candy, truffle anglaise, fresh raspberries, and of course, shaved truffle.
— 613a Elizabeth Street, Redfern
CHEF MASTERCLASS
As part of this year’s Food Program, the culinary element of Carriageworks’ full Artistic Program, this hub of creativity will play host to a series of events including Saturday’s Farmers Market, the Winter Night Market, hospitality-related talks and the Chef Series Masterclasses.
In June, Rodney Dunn, head chef and owner of The Agrarian Kitchen Cooking School and Eatery and author of The Truffle Cookbook, will focus on winter vegetables including a demonstration on how to cook ‘poached leek and celery hearts with truffle hollandaise’ where he’ll be using truffles from the Blue Mountains’ Hartley Truffles.
— Carriageworks, 245 Wilson St, Eveleigh; carriageworks.com.au
MADAME TRUFFLES AND HANDPICKED WINES
The abundance of truffle menus offers foodies countless dishes that feature the musky morsel, but for home cooks, it’s also a motivator to experiment with truffle-centric recipes.
Of course, you’ll need quality ingredients, and when it comes to sourcing fresh truffles, there’s no better place to get them than the seasonal pop-up shop, Madame Truffles.
This year, they’ll be setting up their operation at Handpicked Wines in Chippendale where they’ll not only be selling Australian-sourced truffles but also running several g dining and education experiences. (For details visit www.madametruffles.com.au).
— Madame Truffles at Handpicked Wines Cellar Door, 50 Kensington St, Chippendale; madametruffles.com.au
WHAT’S FRESH
GOLDEN CENTURY WINE BANK
Known as much for their phenomenal seafood as they are for being a late-night dining destination for Sydney’s night owls, Golden Century Restaurant, Cantonese-style cuisine has become a veritable institution.
Now, 30 years after opening their doors, they’ve launched a new venture, Golden Century Wine Bank, a wine-focused dining space with a list of more than 1000 labels, giving you plenty of options to accompany those cult favourite XO pipis.
— Level 3, 393-399 Sussex St, Haymarket
‘I like big buns’: Wacky burgers with a difference
Parramatta’s very own Eat Street is as exciting and diverse as the city itself. Take BL Burgers for example, which brought its premium burgers — including the Blame Canada, Blame Indian and Mac Daddy burgers — to western Sydney.
Revealed: Darling Quarter’s best restaurants and cafes
A stone’s throw from the CBD and bookended by the Chinese Garden of Friendship and Cockle Bay, the established precinct of Darling Quarter offers a variety of restaurants all diners can enjoy.