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Credit: Zan Wimberley/Carriageworks
Taking their cues from the streets of Harajuku, Hongdae and AnFu Lu, over 50 of Australia’s biggest names in dining will soon come together for a one-night-only celebration of Chinese New Year – a tantalising Night Market curated by lauded chef and market fixture Kylie Kwong.
In conjunction with the final night of Sydney Festival and the first night of the 2017 Sydney Chinese New Year Festival, the event promises to offer a veritable melting pot of pan-Asian food, influences, pop culture and performance featuring contributions from some of the country’s most exciting culinary and creative talents, many of whom are creating individual dishes that put an Asian twist on their signature style exclusively for the occasion.
Think No.1 Bent Street’s Mike McEnearney using his singular sourdough to create sourdough prawn toast; Good Luck Pinbone creating a vegetarian-style Mapo tofu in a Bun; and Almond Bar dishing up Syria-meets-Asia beef and black bean Shawarma with Chinese cabbage tabouli and white sesame.
“My vision is to offer you a melting pot of multi-cultural food dishes in which all of these brilliant foodies are asked to think of a dish that reflects their own unique style, with an ‘Asian twist’,” Kwong said of her brief. “I guess this is my idea of what our ‘Australian-Chinese New Year’ looks, feels and tastes like!”
Reliable restaurant favourites like Rockpool, Icebergs and the on-hiatus Moon Park will square off against relative newcomers like the brilliant Bar Brosé, the Dolphin Hotel and Long Chim; Outback Pride will offer a range of organically cultivated Indigenous produce and, per Chinese culinary traditions, Skye Blackburn of the Edible Bug Shop will serve roasted edible insects. Sydney institution The Wayside Chapel will also contribute their rooftop honey to flavour Kwong’s signature pork buns filled with artisan food producer (and Australian food royalty) Saskia Beer’s pork.
Quenching thirsts will be a drinks offering curated by natural wine aficionados Rootstock; Tasmanian craft brewery Two Metre Tall Company will be pouring Kwong’s favourite ‘BK Project Brew – Farmhouse ambigua 3’ from tap; Spirit People & PS40, StrangeLove Vitamin Co. and Marrickville-based Poor Tom’s Gin will serve bespoke cocktails; Black Market Saké, Kwong’s Tasmanian gin distiller Killara Distillery, and the Batch and Grifter brewing companies will also be present and in good spirits.
The Night Market takes place Saturday January 28 from 5-10pm. Entry is $10. You can find out more information here.
Tile image: Zan Wimberley/Carriageworks
Cover image: Courtesy of Kylie Kwong
