*This class was specifically to be filmed for Sydney Weekender, so don’t worry, classes won’t normally have TV film crews buzzing around :P
The concept and philosophy at the Sydney Seafood School creates the best learning environment for home-cooks. Before participating in the hands-on cooking, everyone is gathered in the auditorium to watch how the dish is prepped and cooked. The steps are clear and the more questions asked the better. Very beneficial to attend the class especially if you’ve never sectioned a crab and torn the shell off before! - I’m definitely going to be coming back for another class! Would be great as a gift too :) I know Mr Barclay enjoyed the class as much as I did. *Mothers Day is coming up! ^^ 
Seafood tips and wonderfully drawn/painted images all over the walls inside the Sydney Seafood School kitchen. Makes me want to paint my walls black so I can use it as a chalk board.. Tammi being all crafty tells me there’s special chalk board paint I can buy. Anyway, these are very useful tips and remember if you want to enlarge the images, right click with your mouse and select ‘view image’.
Isn’t that a glorious sight? 
Blackwattle Bay
San Benedetto sparkling mineral water $9
Cocktail: Pear & ginger lemonade $18 ♥
For my 22nd birthday earlier this year, my endearing significant other took me to dine at The Boathouse on Blackwattle Bay, Glebe. We arrived just as they opened for dinner service so we could take advantage of the beautiful sunlight as it streamed in from the glass panels. It was so lovely to be seated in the corner facing the CBD and Sydney Fish Markets overlooking the rowers on Blackwattle Bay; it kind of felt as if we were dining on the water :) 
Rusty Wire Rock - South Coast, NSW $5.50ea ♥
Moonlight Kisses Rock - South Coast, NSW $4.20ea
Corrie Island Rock - Mid North Coast, NSW $4.20ea ♥♥
Moonlight Flat Angasi - South Coast, NSW $6.00ea
Served with mignonette, dark rye bread, and multigrain bread
Slippery, slimy, creamy, sea-salty.. it’s raw, crude, and has a visceral sensation, oh how I love freshly shucked oysters. Although I was tempted to order one of each oyster on their list, I knew I should save my stomach for the rest of the evening so we had four each. Usually I would pick oysters from the South Coast over the Mid North Coast but our waitress suggested we try the Corrie Island Rock which actually was our favourite! 
Seared Hervey Bay Scallops - creamed corn, pancetta & crustacean oil $27 ♥
Perfectly cooked scallops with the center like sashimi, crisp pancetta and onion rings. What blew us away was the crustacean oil and the creamed corn! Not quite creamed since there were still kernels which were texturally welcome. The smell of prawns and crabs wafted past our noses as our waiter placed this dish in front of the boy, it was delicious!
Remember when this burger surfaced the web/facebook and created a whole lot of hype?! Well, the best place to get your gelato fix in Sydney (nearly as good as Italy! Damn I miss Europe) has now opened The Messina Laboratorio and Patisserie conjoining their Gelato Messina Darlinghurst establishment.
Originally I was going to eat these babies on the day of my birthday before dinner at Gastro Park but things didn’t turn out the way I had planned so I got these another day.. We (the boy, my sis & I) were going to check out Revolver Cafe in Annandale but I slept in so breakfast was ruled out and by the time I left the house, so was brunch lol. Since it was such a beautiful sunny day, we ended up going to Sydney fish markets for lunch before embarking on some serious gelato devouring. For some reason I was convinced that The Messina Laboratorio and Patisserie was at The Star, Pyrmont.. so we that’s where we headed next only to find out that it was in Darlinghurst T_T Parking was $15 flat rate and it seemed like such a waste to head to Darlinghurst after being there for 10 minutes. But since it was such a nice day we bought a 1/2L tub $10 (raspberry sorbet, apple pie, hello sailor - aperol & grapefruit) to eat along Pyrmont Wharf :) Afterwards the boy & I (sister stayed on the wharf with her ipod for 30min) went to the casino to claim my $10 birthday credit and went on the pokies with $16.15 winnings - yay free parking lol!
Samurai - Yuzu sorbet, salted caramel swirl, encased in orange scented chocolate $7.9
I knew I wanted the this the moment I saw it, must be the blood :) The only downside was that the yuzu tasted more like kumquat so it’s a bit of an acquired taste. I didn’t mind but my bro & sis didn’t like it at all. 
Mini Me - Dr. evil chocolate gelato, dulce de leche jam, peanut butter cookie, vanilla gelato, popping candy & feuilletine $9.9
mm :9 my favourite part was the grass made from popping candy and feuilletine which tasted like crispy praline pieces.
These are a few of my favourite things ♥
Quick post on last weeks shenanigans with the food bloggers whilst my pumpkin, sweet potato, carrot & ginger soup is simmering on the stove :) Last Saturday, a hoard of food bloggers bombarded a yum cha feast at Fisherman’s Wharf Chinese Seafood Restaurant, Sydney Fish Markets, organised by two wonderful ladies: Melanie & Laura ♥ *many thanks to William’s carpool service lol :)
Yum Cha (literally in Cantonese means to drink tea) is like a ritual bonding session where small portions of shared dishes are gorged and washed down with lots of tea. You will always find familiar looking dishes no matter which yum cha restaurant you go to; though lately I have noticed there have been variations of the old school har gow, prawn dumplings - with hip new additions like scallops.
The yum cha at Fisherman’s Wharf isn’t spectacular however if you’re looking to impress people, they do have a glorious waterfront view plus lots of fresh seafood! Though the true essence of yum cha is enjoying the company of your diners :)
Some of my favourite dim sum (Cantonese for dim sim) I always must order:
- Siu Mai, pork and prawn dumpling pocketed in a yellow wonton pastry
- Har Gow, prawn dumpling encased by a translucent tapioca based skin
- Lor Mei Gay, glutinous rice wrapped in bamboo leaves
- Pai Gwut, steamed black bean pork ribs
- Gai Larn, steamed Chinese broccoli ♥ favourite vegetable in the whole wide world :D
