Good Food & Wine Show starring Gordon Ramsay!

The last few years I've missed out on the Good Food and Wine show because I'm either overseas, or I've got something else on. This year, I was determined to go! And what better time to go than to see Gordon Ramsay!

I arrived at the show around midday, ready to taste test my way through the show. The moment we walked in, we were in the Wine area of the show. I picked up the free wine glasses that came with our tickets (Only $25!) and started hitting the wine and beer. After 20mins of wine tasting, we moved towards the food area and started hitting every stall, especially those that are steaming!

4 types of curry and rice

Ayam instant noodles

Peter Evans doing a demo

I saw the huge line of people waiting for the Gordon Ramsay book signing, and there was no way I would get anything signed. I decided to hit the food instead. After doing the rounds, we found front row seats at the Good Taste Theatre Kitchen. Initially we sat down because they were the only seats we could find in the whole exhibition centre, but we decided to stay for the next show. And what a great idea that was! Taste test!!

Hash browns with avocado mash and kumatoes

Italian garlic prawns with tomato and fettucine

Mocha brownie ice cream with hot latte sauce

The crowd

I was talking to one of the ladies who worked there, and apparently there were about 8,000 registrations for the show last year, this year there were 18,000! No wonder! Gordon Ramsay was here! ;)

I bought my bazooka of a DSLR with me to the show just so I could grab some good photos of him. Before he came out, they had a good 10mins of listing and promoting every sponsor of the show. They also had a game that got all the audience involved. I was actually left standing with a handful of people fighting for the prizes! Too bad they didn't managed to get to where I was seated! I got every question right!! GRRRRRRR!!

Finally, the star of the show arrived!

GORRRRRRRDON RAMSAY!!

In true Gordon Ramsay style, he came running out and then proceeded to take the mickey out of all the celebrity chefs. Including Jamie Oliver who was called a fat twat and how they sent him a treadmill for his birthday that was never used. He's also recommended that Australia, as the fattest nation in the world, should stop cooking out of the Jamie Oliver cookbooks!

Matt Moran also copped a few comments from Ramsay (They had to pull the curtains after the 4th row to make Matt's show looked full). Danni Minogue also didn't escape when Ramsay commented on how they had a cook off and half of her face melted off. ;)

Not only was he poking fun at all the celebrities, but he also had a go at the audience. Retelling his story of having a French girlfriend, he asked one of the audience members if her bush was as big as this:

Ramsay accompanied by his right hand man, Sarge (Mark Sargeant)

Apparently, hers was bigger.......

Telling us where to *beep**Beep*

There were quite a few fans there who had made masks of Gordon Ramsay. They ran on stage and managed to get a hug and kiss from him.

Fans running on stage

Ramsay demonstrated a 3 course meal in under 40mins. A Chorizo and bean soup, Balsamic Glazed lamb with bean salad, and a french toast like recipe.


Half way through the cooking demo, Matt Moran came running onto the stage brandishing a fire extinguisher. Next thing you know, he had proceeded to spray Ramsay, Sarge and the entire kitchen with it and done a runner!

The aftermath

Apparently Ramsay had attacked Matt Moran during his show, by hiding in the deep shadows of the back stage and hurling bits of food randomly at Matt throughout his whole demo! I guess that was Matt's revenge.

Ramsay was hilariously funny and everyone had a fantastic time there. Well, except for those who were dragged along by their other half! And probably the poor guy sitting next to me who had to endure my non-stop photo taking, the shutter going constantly off and the lens in his face!

At the end of the show, Ramsay gave out a whole heap of prizes, including anything that wasn't bolted down in the kitchen! All the electrical appliances, pots, pans etc. The organisers came running out by the time half of the kitchen was empty!

I had a fantastic time watching Gordon Ramsay, and it was well worth the $25 I paid! (Apparently they put the prices of the tickets up to expand the theatre to accommodate 2500 people). After the show, I did my last rounds of food and wine tasting, purchased all the show bags I needed before being kicked out of the place. Who knew the show ended so early?

GPO Woodfired Pizza

Since our work xmas party last year at GPO Martin Place, I've been addicted to the GPO Woodfired Pizza. I took one of my workmates there for our "World Safari" lunches since she missed out on the xmas party. Since we've move into different departments now, our World Safari lunches are once a month now.

Caprese Salad - Tomato, Bocconcini, mixed lettuce and balsamic vinegar

This isn't your traditional Caprese salad of just Tomato, Mozerella and Basil. It was still nice and refreshing. We thought we would be good and order a salad cos we were going to pig out on pizza!

Spicy Pizza of some sort

Salsiccia - Italian sausage, mushroom and spinach

The pizzas are incredibly light and crispy. Even though the pizzas look huge, the bases are quite thin. One large pizza will easily satisfy most hungry people. My favourite would have to be the Salsiccia pizza as it is loaded with mushrooms, and I love anything with mushrooms. The spicy pizza (Can't remember what its called) was a bit too oily and salty for my liking. I know a lot of guys love this as its the equivalent of a meat lovers. I've also had their Proscuitto and Funghi pizza, Potato pizza and Boscaiola. All were fantastic.

GPO Woodfired pizza is now open at night times. There's no bookings, but usually there are plenty of tables at lunch and dinner time.

Iron Chef - Cabramatta

I took a day off awhile ago as I was just so sick of work. I met up with a friend who also didn't have work and headed off to Cabramatta's Iron Chef for some Yum Cha. I rarely ever get to go yum cha now days as my dad goes every Monday or Tuesday with his buddies for yum cha. So come the weekend, yum cha is the last thing on his mind. Its such a shame though as I LOVE yum cha!!!

Work has given me an entertainment card giving me 20% off at the Iron Chef, which is even better!

Harm Sui Gok

The shells are made of glutinous rice flour which has been deep fried. This gives it a lovely golden crunchy but chewy texture. The filling is pork mince and dried shrimp which has been cooked in a lovely gravy. This was fresh out of the fryer when we got it! SO GOOD!

Siw Mai - Pork Dim Sims

This is a MUST HAVE when I go yum cha. If I go yum cha and don't get AT LEAST one steamer full of Siw Mai it feels like I haven't been yum cha at all. Its like going to a steak house and having a salad. I MUST HAVE SIW MAI!!! This was quite nice, but I prefer the filling to be much chunkier.

Har Gow - Prawn Dumplings

This is also a MUST HAVE when I go yum cha. Although I won't feel as unsatisfied if I don't have this compared to the siw mai. The wrapping is soft but chewy and its filled with chunky bursty prawns and bamboo shoots. I love to eat this smothered with chilli sauce.

Char Siu Bao - Steamed BBQ Pork Buns

We make our own Char Siu Bao at home with home made char siu. They're really really good, but we just can't get the lovely buns as light and fluffy as these. (Plus, my mum hates them fluffy!). These were so satifyingly soft and moreish with the rich BBQ Pork filling.

Fong Jow - Braised chicken feet in black bean sauce

Most people, including a lot of Asians are actually terrified of eating chicken feet. I don't know why, considering you're eating almost every other part of the chicken anyway. These were really nice. Good braised chicken feet is soft and gelatinous. You can put it into your mouth and they'll literally fall off the bones.

Char Siu - BBQ Pork

These were ok. Not as good as mine for sure ;) Plus they weren't ultra fresh out of the oven, which is the only way to eat it. The cart lady did tell me that she's going to go nuke it back up in the microwave before giving it to us. It looks like a lot of BBQ Pork there, but there is actually a layer of peanuts underneath that has been stewed in a soya sauce like broth.

Si Jup Pai Gwut - Steam pork ribs with black bean

I don't know why they keep calling these pork ribs, as most restaurants actually use pork chops or some other cut of pork to make this dish. Most of the time you won't even find a bone in there, and if you do, its a pork chop bone. This was ok, a bit bland for my liking. My mum (and me) definitely makes better ;)

Wu gok - Deep fried taro dumplings

These golden orbs of goodies are made with mashed taro, which is stuffed with pork mince, dried shrimp and other goodies. These are then dipped into beaten egg whites and deep fried to give it the lovely delicate texture.

Ngow Cheung - Steam beef rice noodle rolls

These are made with big sheets of rice noodles rolled around a soft beef mince mixture. A slightly sweet soya sauce mixture is poured ontop after they've been steamed. These are lovely and soft and silky. I always prefer the beef to the prawn or BBQ Pork filling.

Salt and pepper octopus

These were too bland for my liking. It tasted as if they had forgotten to season it. I love my salt and pepper to be salty and really nice and peppery/spicy. I probably wouldn't order this again. Wait, its deep fried, and they always say salt and pepper.....ok, maybe I WILL order it again. Hopefully I won't regret it next time.

We made complete pigs of ourselves, but it was worth it. And with the discount from my entertainment card, we paid about $55 for 2 people. A bargain.

The Phantom of the Opera

I don't know what's wrong with my lately, but my brain just isn't functioning. A friend invited me to a birthday party last Wednesday for the Friday night, and I replied after checking my calendar, that I've got tickets to the Phantom of the Opera that night. Yet Thursday night I kept saying to myself that I'll come home straight away after work etc etc. Hell, I even contacted Cherry Tuesday morning to plan what we're going to do before the Phantom!

Luckily I remember on the day and I didn't go home, otherwise I would've wasted perfectly good tickets to the Phantom and the fantastic meal we had at The Little Snail before the show. I checked the menu before we went and saw that they had a Bouillabaisse on the menu and I knew I had to have that if they had it on the night. And since I was getting an entree and a main, I might as well get their 3 course meal special.

Scampi in a light Tempura Batter

The scampi looks huge, but after you take away the head and the tail, you're left with a piece of 2 inch long meat. Cherry seemed to enjoy it though.

Traditional French Bouillabaisse with Crusty Garlic Baguette

This was anything but traditional. I was expecting a much smoother and pale looking creamy soup topped with croutons with dollops of aioli. This was closer to a seafood stew with garlic bread. It was still really nice though. It was chock full of seafood. Under those two pieces of bread was 2 pieces of fish, 2 scallops, 2 prawns and 2 mussels.

Crispy Atlantic Salmon served with Salsa Verde on Tomato Risotto

Duck A L'Orange on Crushed Kumera and Grand Marnier Glaze

I had the duck and it was quite nice. I've never had Duck A L'Orange before and this wasn't a bad start. I think I much prefer duck confit or chinese BBQ duck more though. The fruity acidity of the sauce was a bit too much after a while. But I still enjoyed the duck regardless.

Sticky Date Pudding with Butterscotch Sauce

Traditional Creme Caramel

This creme caramel was much better than the one we had at Encasa. This was softer and more wobbly. The caramel was sweeter and had a lovely nutty taste. Again, we walked out of there completely stuffed!

Luckily it was a good 5min walk to the Lyric Theatre after that. We got there about 15mins early and sat in our seats waiting for the food to digest. Our seats were about 1/2 - 2/3 of the way back from the stage, and boy was I glad we were sitting back with the show started. I'm not going to give away any details, but this is something you don't want front row seats to, as you will miss out on the full effects of the production.

I've only see the movie edition of The Phantom of the Opera starring Emmy Rossum, and I absolutely loved her (Although I hated the guy who played Raoul and the Phantom). So whilst my expectations wasn't one comparable with Michael Crawford and Sarah Brightman's performance, my expectations certainly wasn't low. And let me tell you, this Australian production starring Anthony Warlow and Ana Marina blew my socks away! The cast, the set and the music was just magical!

Before the show started, I remember Cherry asking me if I was going to get teary eyed like when I watched Miss Saigon. Ok, I bawled my eyes out at one stage watching Miss Saigon. But I never cried watching the movie, so I assumed it would be the same with the theatre production. Well, I didn't bawl my eyes out this time round, but there were a few scenes where I started getting emotional and wanting to cry! That is the power of the play. I loved it! And Cherry loved it! In fact, the whole way walking from Star City back to George St, we couldn't stop raving about the show! I was half tempted to pull my iPod out to listen to the songs again!

I would love to go watch it again, lets see if I can get decent seats for a cheaper price. For anyone who hasn't been to watch a musical before, I highly HIGHLY recommend that you go watch The Phantom of the Opera!!

Michael Buble Concert with Naturally 7

Its been ages since the last Michael Buble concert. Last time we went, we had tickets to his outdoor concert on the Opera House steps. It was windy and raining, but we had a fantastic time! Sitting there in our ponchos, listening to Michael Buble serenading us with the Harbour Bridge and Opera House as the backdrop. It was perfect!

So when I saw the ads for the next Michael Buble concert, me and Cherry jumped at the opportunity to purchase tickets. So on the night of the concert, we decided to crash Encasa and hope we can grab a table without reservations. We did get a table for 2.....that seats 30 people! Luckily, other people sat at the two ends so we didn't look like complete nigels. The food at Encasa was fantastic as usual, and tasted even better after a jug of sangria ;)

Champiñones al Ajillo - Sizzling Garlic Mushrooms

This was so deliciously garlicky. The mushrooms were sauteed with loads of garlic that had caramelised and turned slightly crispy. Absolutely moreish when you dip your bread into the garlic oil or spoon some of the garlic onto the bread.

Patatas Bravas - Fried potatoes topped with salsa and aioli

Crispy fried potatoes that have been lightly salted (perfect on its own) was topped with a spicy salsa and creamy garlic mayo. I couldn't decide whether to eat the potatoes on its own, or smoosh it into the sauce to soak up all that spicy garlicky goodness.

Gambas Sevillanas - Peeled king prawns in spicy tomato salsa

Big bursty king prawns were cooked in a light spicy salsa. I was spooning the sauce onto my plate so I could enjoy every last drop of it with bread.

Pork, Chorizo and bean stew

I can't remember what this dish was called, it was the special of the day. It was a stew made from smoked pork, chorizos and big fat beans! So hearty and comforting! If only the beans were softer. I like my beans soft like baked beans, but the dish was really nice.

I don't know what I was thinking when I ordered dessert, because I was stuffed like a chicken kiev. But we had plenty of time so we both opted to get a creme caramel, EACH.


This was nice, not too sweet, but a bit too eggy for me. I actually really enjoyed the vanilla ice cream on top. I can't remember the last time I had vanilla ice cream.

We decided to slowly walk to the Entertainment Centre, which is less than 5 mins walk away. I was so full I swear I was waddling. But as we got closer, I had to try and walk like a normal person. Why? I had my DSLR shoved into the bottom of my bag and I was hoping cameras were allowed. Luckily the Entertainment Centre isn't as anal as the Superdome, so I walked right on in without problems.

We get seated and soon the concert is underway. We didn't know who the supporting act was until Naturally 7 walked onto the stage. And from the moment they opened their mouths, I was completely blown away!


They started off with an a capella which turned into a full blown song. We started debating as to whether there was any music, or was it all vocal play. It wasn't until they stopped and explain the concept of the band were we totally knocked off our feet. They were 100% vocal play. No instruments, no synthesizers, no special effects. All them. All Natural. And even then, I had my doubts. That was until they gave a one by one demo on how they layer the music! They were absolutely fantastic!

To be honest, of all the concerts I've been to in the last 5 years, I can't remember a single supporting act that I liked. Come to think of it, I barely remember seeing support acts as I usually walk out or just block them out. This time, I wanted to buy their album! I haven't stop raving about them since!

I was disappointed when they're performance ended, but then Michael Buble came out and everything was perfect. PERFECT. I can't describe what it was like watching him in concert again, but all I can say is that he is charming, witty and funny as hell! AND he could sing! Boy could he sing.

Busting some moves

He jumps off the stage to get photos taken with the audience!

Taken when the woman was in the middle of groping his butt

One of his many funny skits

The concert was PERFECT. I can't wait for the next one!