Sydney Eat Street: 10 things to eat in Zetland
THIS highly populated suburb is a hop, step and a jump from the CBD but a world away in interesting eateries and Saturday markets.
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THIS highly populated suburb is a hop, step and a jump from the CBD but a world away in interesting eateries and Saturday markets.
Tour Zetland’s best eateries right here with The Sunday Telegraph’s Eat Street.
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E-Dragon Dumpling Bar
THE younger sibling of the popular Phoenix restaurants, E-Dragon is the casual and cheeky child compared to its regal older sisters. Where Phoenix is a more formal affair where you can linger over award-winning Yum Cha, E-Dragon is the casual spot where food comes out quickly and packed with flavour. It’s great for take-away, but why hurry when you can sit on cheery yellow stools shaped like saltshakers and peer through a tall window to watch the dumpling-making process?
There is a large menu to choose from, including favourites such as the seafood and scallions dumplings or fried mini pork buns. But if you’re not sure what you want or how to eat it, “just ask”, East Phoenix manager Kris Keristianse says. While it is common to bite the top off a dumpling and slurp the broth inside, he prefers to put in their house-made vinegar sauce directly in. — Shop 36, 2A Defries Ave
Green Square Saturday Markets
THE alluring aroma of grilled onions on a Saturday morning means a sausage sizzle is at hand but it’s the sound of music and playfully yapping dogs that promises something more that just a snag. Run by Rotary Club of South Sydney, this artisan market includes food vendors staggered around the kiosk at Victoria Park, plus regular cooking demonstrations. Manager Karen Levin says that while the market started out as just selling fresh produce, the hot food selection that includes Brazilian, Thai, Turkish and Greek flavours has become the popular choice. — Victoria Park Pde, corner of Gadigal Ave and Levy Walk
Nan’s Place
THIS cosy corner cafe has that familiar and comfortable feeling of waking up and walking bleary-eyed into the kitchen where Nan is frying some eggs and humming along to Johnny Cash. Conversation is on hold till that first sip of coffee and bit of toast. It’s those moments that cafe owner Jodie Johnson has channelled into her cafe Nan’s Place. From the boiled eggs with toast soldiers on the round wooden tables to the country western classics playing overhead, this place is about being in someone’s home.
And as with any family there’s always an inside joke and here it is one of her best-sellers, the “Pop Johnson” — a bacon and egg roll with a housemade Jack Daniels sauce that Jodie said she named after her grandfather because she couldn’t let Nan grab all the attention. — 2a Portman St, Zetland
Kai Ellman’s smoked trout
IT’S a long way from Hanover, Germany, to the markets in Zetland, but that’s how far Kai Ellman went to learn from fifth-generation fish smokers about the traditional methods of preparing smoked trout. As a professional chef, he then took this knowledge and modified it by adding sugar and juniper berries to the salt brine. The subtle favours are influenced by the choice of wood — for him it’s either hickory or apple wood inside his portable smoker. Kai sells them whole, wrapped in traditional brown paper, with string and a sprig of rosemary. — Green Square Saturday Markets, Victoria Park Pde
Eden Coffee Specialty Roasters
COFFEE connoisseurs the world over have a story about how they developed their love affair with coffee. For Tony Pacitto, it was making coffee for his mother, father and relatives. The aunties liked a milder taste while his uncles preferred something bolder. Upon opening his most recent café, he along with son Alex developed two blends – Adam and Eve. — 781-785 Elizabeth St
WHEN IN ZETLAND, YOU MUST TRY
Beef noodle soup
FROM the mother-daughter team that brought you the succulent dumpling at Blue Eyed Dragon comes a delicious beef noodle soup that’s a perfect tummy warmer in winter. — Wu-Gu, RT26, 2 Defries Ave
South American steak sandwich: ‘Chivito al pan’
Chargrilled rump steak topped with three rashers of bacon, tomatoes, boiled egg, melted cheese and chimichurri in a bun. — Follow the Cow, Saturdays at Green Square Markets, Victoria Park Pde
Pork buns
THIS is bao but not as you know it. It’s steamed, but the bun is denser with a mildly sweet taste. Pawitra scoops in thick pieces of pork belly that have been simmering in a broth of cinnamon. —Pawitra’s Eating House, Saturdays at Green Square Markets, Vic Park Pde
Salmon poke
A STAPLE in Hawaii. Poke is typically served as an appetiser with sea salt, or as main on a bed of rice. Salmon and Bear have modified their version. — Salmon and Bear, 6 Defries Ave
Rosewater and pistachio meringues
MERINGUES as big as a grapefruits yet as light as a feather. The outside is crisp while the inside is sweet and airy. — Taste Growers Market, Shop 39, 2-4 Defries Ave
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‘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.