Sydney Eat Street: Enjoy food at Chatswood during Vivid Festival
It’s not just in Circular Quay where the delights of the Vivid festival are shining bright. Chatswood has it’s own spectacular food show going on.
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It’s not just in Circular Quay where the delights of the Vivid festival are shining bright. Chatswood has it’s own spectacular food show going on.
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
GENERAL CHAO
Vivid is full of surprises and General Chao, a relatively recent addition to Chatswood’s dining which has already developed quite a name for itself with its modern Asian menu, is no exception.
Your only hint of the unexpected is the prevalence of bright pinks and purples — the dominant colours of this year’s festival — noticeable in their Vivid-inspired specials.
At first glance, the featured dish plays off the vibrant colours you’d normally associate with summer, but with the first bite, it reveals itself to be ideal for winter.
At the base are pieces of rich salmon belly smoked in jasmine and then topped with artfully arranged shavings of beetroot, cucumber and pickles each with a different yet intense flavour of black vinegar, chilli powder or Szechuan sauce.
Dessert is equally sneaky as the delicate rose-coloured glazed pastry hides a luscious deep purple Black Forest-inspired cherry mousse, almond dacquoise and meringue.
Chef Andi Susanto notes how the seemingly contradictory colour and taste “changes what your mind thinks it should takes like”.
Cocktails are equally intriguing with the Little Dreamer, made with Hayman’ Sloe Gin, the colour-changing pea flower tea and Seedlip Garden or the Vivid Forest Mocktail — with a Seedlip Spice base with earthy house-made rhubarb syrup and a touch of citrus and vanilla. All are so colourful, creative and delicious — no matter what you think you see.
— District Dining, 436 Victoria Ave, Chatswood Interchange; generalchao.com
CELSIUS DESSERT BAR
Game of Thrones fans, this one’s for you.
Celsius Dessert Bar has created Dragon Breath, slightly sweet marble-sized rice puffs that are served in a cup with nitrogen poured over them forming a billowing cloud.
Wait a tick for them to “cool off”, skewer each with the thin wooden stick provided the starting blowing smoke then pop it in your mouth to breathe it out wispy plumes.
Each piece is unbelievably light, it’s almost as if you’re biting down on a puff of air, so expect to giggle from the unique sensation alone.
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Once you’re done playing Puff the Magic Dragon, order the beautiful blue hot or iced sky latte, turn around and check out the Chattie’s Wood sign behind Celsius’ kiosk — by day it has the bold white lettering of the iconic Hollywood sign, but at night, stories of Chatswood’s multicultural past, present and future are told via animation projected onto its facade. (For details visit www.celsiusdessertbar.com.au).
— Bus Kiosk 4, Chatswood Interchange; celsiusdessertbar.com.au
CHONGQING STREET NOODLE
Take a turn off the beaten path where you’ll soon be lured by smells of Szechuan spices and lights of more Vivid installations to the otherwise unassuming Mills Lane.
Before dinner, check out the Sounds of Infinity, a two-way mirror that seems to provide a “visual portal to new worlds of altered light” by digitising your voice into patterns.
To wrap your head around that concept, enter another world — the streets of southwest China and ponder the notion of black holes while you warm up over a bowl of hot and spicy Chongqing style street noodles.
Opt for their signature version with a helping of mince and peanuts on top or try the wontons in an equally chilli-laden broth.
Afterwards, cool things off a bit with their special Vivid dessert, a bowl of brightly coloured glutinous balls with a red bean paste over crushed iced.
These bites of sticky rice are usually pure white and eaten warm but throughout Vivid, owner Sam Zhu has added some colour, a bit of sugar and by serving them cold, makes the texture rather chewy — and in this universe that would be considered rather fun.
— 88 Archer St
NEW SHANGHAI
As if you needed another reason to feast on the delicious Chinese dishes at New Shanghai, they just had to go and add some special menu items just for Vivid including the always-delightful four-colour Xiao Long Bao.
“These handmade natural vibrant colour Xiao Long Bao soup dumplings are our creation for this colourful event,” New Shanghai’s strategy manager Anthony Tam says.
“It’s bringing a touch of Vivid to your tastebuds.”
Other dishes featured throughout the festival include their rainbow beef, sweet and sour crispy whole barramundi, wok fried spinach and crispy tofu with salted egg yolk.
Perfect for a pre-light show meal or as the end to a colourful evening.
— B38, Chatswood Chase, 345 Victoria Ave; newshanghai.com.au
CHINGON CANTINA
It’s dinner and a show at this Mexican restaurant. Located at the epicentre of Vivid Chatswood, The Concourse, Chingon Cantina has created the Glow Spritz cocktail with Belvedere Vodka, and a glowing cranberry juice mocktail that you can enjoy as you watch the surrounding architecture light up in a series of four “acts”.
Order some of the popular pork tacos which has been braised in achiote, a somewhat sweet, and peppery seasoning and served with pineapple salsa.
The Hispanic flavours of the menu even tie in well with the featured projection, which is
titled Co-existence in which each segment depicts a different interpretation of people interacting in a diverse and multicultural community. (For details visit www.facebook.com/chingoncantina/)
— The Concourse, 409 Victoria Ave, Chatswood; facebook.com/chingoncantina/
MUST TRY
GIANT RAINBOW DUMPLING
Go big with this Giant Rainbow Dumpling, a ginormous version seven times the size of Din Tai Fung’s famous xiao long bao (soup dumplings).
Usually stuffed with hot broth and pork mince, this coloured creation ramps up the deliciousness by adding seafood to the filling.
They’re $9.80 and only available through to June 5 at Sydney and Melbourne locations, including Westfield Chatswood.
— Din Tai Fung, Chatswood
GLOW IN THE DAY FAIRY FLOSS
Light up the night in the most entertaining way possible with a huge helping of fairy floss swirled around a glow-in-the-dark tube, magically illuminating each pastel-coloured strand of sugary sweetness.
— Chatswood Mall
VIVID RAINBOW DRINK
The neon and lights down Mills Lane have met their match during Vivid as this small Japanese izakaya (a sort of casual pub) is serving up its own show of colour with their Vivid Sydney Rainbow cocktail.
A mixture of orange juice, gin, blue curacao and green grenadine, it’s definitely worth the detour.
— Yamaei Chatswood, 5/88 Archer St
BEN & JERRY’S
Probably the only thing that’s better than a scoop of delicious Ben & Jerry’s ice cream, is well, another scoop of ice cream covered with their special Vivid Sydney topping
— The Concourse, 409 Victoria Avenue
Originally published as Sydney Eat Street: Enjoy food at Chatswood during Vivid Festival
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