TRAVELLER
OUR REGION
PICTURES: TIM RICHARDS
Barangaroo Reserve (left); the tasty soft taco with lobster and coleslaw at Wild Sage (above).
A taste of new Sydney Tim Richards takes a foodie tour through Sydney’s newest neighbourhood.
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eated at an outdoor table at a restaurant called Wild Sage, I’m being served a marvellous dish as the first instalment of a food tour of Sydney’s Barangaroo district. It’s a soft taco with lobster, coleslaw, grilled pineapple, chilli salsa and smoked aioli, and it’s delicious. As my group’s guide says, it’s a good example of the diversity of dining in modern Australia. Barangaroo seems the perfect place to sample that modern cuisine. The newest neighbourhood in the harbour city, it’s been built on a defunct industrial space
34 Paradise – Air Niugini’s in-flight magazine
on the western side of the peninsula that includes The Rocks, Sydney’s first European settlement. Threading from shiny new glass and steel edifices to colonial-era buildings, this tour combines food and history, stitching together old and new. As we reach the waterfront there are more people around, sunning themselves on the harbourside promenade and eating at restaurants with water views. A new ferry terminal is a handy feature, allowing people to arrive by boat. We pause to sample sausage rolls from the local branch of Bourke Street Bakery, a chain that was started by two local chefs who wanted to create top-quality baked goods. The rolls on offer are pork and fennel, and chickpea and spinach. While we eat, our guide gives us the back story of Barangaroo, which was named after an Aboriginal woman from the early days of European colonisation. The aim is for the district to be pedestrian-friendly and to have thousands of residents as well as its daily influx of commuters. There are already multi-million-dollar apartments overlooking the water. That’s followed by gelati from Rivareno, which we’re told sources its milk from the Italian Alps. I enjoy the salted caramel, while others choose flavours such as maple syrup and pecan.
Now it’s time for a proper walk to the Barangaroo Reserve. With its plentiful native plants, the reserve meticulously revives the landscape that existed before the First Fleet arrived in 1788. Walking over a rise, we’re granted a beautiful view of the harbour and the Sydney Harbour Bridge. We pause for a beer at the attractive Hotel Palisade, a renovated century-old pub with lots of character. From here, we head down to The Rocks, busy with weekend crowds. Shortly we’re enjoying our next treat, from La Renaissance. This French patisserie has been accredited by the prestigious Relais Desserts organisation, and I’m impressed with the pistachio macaron. Rounding the edge of Circular Quay, the tour ends at Chat Thai. In this big, open contemporary space, we enjoy a culinary finale of green curry and pad Thai, before digesting what we’ve seen of Sydney – old and new. The ‘Taste of Sydney: Barangaroo and The Rocks’ tour costs A$155 (about PGK380) for adults. See tastetours.com.au. ir Niugini flies from Port Moresby A to Sydney twice a week. See airniugini.com.pg.