Alternative Media Group

Foodies’ Diary

Author:

Jackie McMillan

Posted:

Wednesday, 16 March 2011

First Birthday Shout Out
Kudos to the zany Luke Nguyen and his crew at Star City’s Fat Noodle for hitting the big first birthday milestone, and serving up 200,000 steaming bowls of their fabulous pho to hungry gamblers. I attended the birthday party, rubbing shoulders with foodie favourites like The Sydney Morning Herald’s Stephanie Clifford-Smith, media darling Adriano Zumbo, blogger Chocolate Suze, and Time Out wine expert Mike Bennie.

Whilst we threw back bowls of Chicken and Abalone Congee and struggled to scoff Roast Chicken & Pickled Cabbage Salad with torturously small forks, it was reassuring to see meal after meal heading out to the neighbouring baccarat tables. I bet it’s easier to bet wisely with a full stomach.
www.starcity.com.au

STOP PRESS: Sustainable Seafood
This Friday the 18th March is Sustainable Seafood Day, so if you swallow something from the ocean, do us all a favour and consider it’s species and the fishing practices used to catch it. I’d like to be eating seafood for the rest of my life, and how we fish, or raise seafood today, will inform whether that is possible. As Patrick Caleo from the Marine Stewardship Council says: “By supporting Sustainable Seafood Day on March 18, and buying Marine Stewardship Council certified products all year round, we can all be part of the global effort to keep seafood stocks plentiful for the future.”

This idea has already taken off in the inner west suburb of Annandale, with Tom Kime’s new restaurant, Fish & Co Café generating quite a stir. On the 18th Tom is hosting a five-course sustainable seafood feast matched by Yealands Estate sustainable wines. For $120/head you’ll also receive a signed copy of Tom’s excellent book Fish Tales, which gives you recipes and information about sustainably fished species from all over the world.
www.fishandco.com.au

You can also spend time with Tom on the 2nd April by joining The Essential Ingredient’s Paddock to Plate Market Tour and Cooking Class. Arrive at the Rozelle store at 7:30am to be whisked (by private bus) to the Pyrmont Growers Market for a guided tour (with tastings) hosted by Slow Food Movement member Tawnya Bahr. After meeting and talking to farmers, you will return to the kitchen to work with Tom Kime, cookbook author, restaurant owner, television presenter and cooking instructor extraordinaire. The half day adventure, which culminates in eating a lunch you’ve sourced and cooked yourself, will set you back $195.
www.sydneyessential.com.au

Finally, while we’re talking all things sustainable, the Australian Marine Conservation Society have updated their useful Sustainable Seafood Guide which will help you make informed seafood choices wherever you are.
www.sustainableseafood.org.au

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