Review: Sydney Festival 2015

Second time coming to the Sydney Festival Village in Hyde Park. Sadly there was no Stone Hedge jumping castle this year :( but there were many fun attractions down near Darling Harbour. With the last day of Sydney Festival upon us, minus a few events tomorrow, here is my review at last. Be sure to check out their many wonderful events next year, and don't forget about good old Parramatta, they have amazing shows on at Riverside each year!

Gelato Messina:

Cherry Pie - $8
Chocolate biscuit base with cherry gel, vanilla custard gelato and cherry compote
topped w/ whipped cream.
My friend really didn't like the cherries, but the other options where even
worse for her. I quite liked the sour cherries, but I too couldn't have
eaten all of that! The gel I liked, if you couldn't stomach the cherries, at least the gel
added some flavour, but my friend said it was too sweet by the end.
The gelato was really nice though, not really much of a custard flavour,
but definitely vanilla, also I love chocolate, oreo-like bases mmm.

Lemon Meringue Pie - $8
Buttery biscuit base, lemon custard gelato and lemon curd topped with torched meringue.
Again my other friend thought this really wasn't worth her money.
I commend Messina on their efforts but I feel like everyone would just
prefer their normal gelato, myself included. This pie was just overly sweet, not enough tang,
but they did accurately imitate the flavour. The meringue was beaten so stiff,
it was like a marshmallow in my mouth, not easy to swallow.
I did like the fact that they added pieces of zest into the gelato though.

The Nutty Piefessor - $8
Peanut butter biscuit layered with peanut custard, vanilla gelato, peanut crunch, and
topped w/ whipped cream.
Definitely the best of the lot! Sadly one of my friends is severely allergic to peanuts,
otherwise I bet she would've loved this. The flavours were more mild, thanks to the plain
vanilla gelato. Peanuts also add a bit of savoury flavour to a sweet dish in my opinions,
(that's why you'll find nuts in many of my desserts). The base in all pies was really hard to break,
would break your hand before you break the biscuit (just kidding!), but that's what happens
when you freeze the lot. I loved the peanut custard, really just like a smooth peanut butter layer,
but it gave the gelato some added flavour. The brittle on top was also really good, not too sweet. 

Porteno:

Smoked Salmon Bagel - $15
Smoked salmon w/ capers & creme fraiche on a bagel.
I really enjoyed this dish, although by the time we finally got to eat it,
the bagel had hardened a bit and my friend found it really tough
while I found it ok. The flavours were really amazing though,
must of been the creme fraiche but it was really rich in flavour
and smooth. The salmon was also quite generous and the capers
also added a nice pickled flavour.

Southern Fried Chicken & Waffles - $15
Spicy fried chicken with coleslaw, bacon & maple syrup on a Belgian waffle.
Surprisingly this pairing actually worked for me, I guess because of the subtleness of
all the flavours i.e. chicken isn't too savoury, waffle isn't too sweet.
The chicken was not spicy as described, but it was a lovely texture. Well cooked on the inside
with a really crunchy exterior. They didn't mention what sauce was used, but it tasted like
a classic potato salad sauce but better, was just amazing, paired really well with everyone,
definitely preferred it over the coleslaw dressing. The bacon was nice, but not necessary and
although $15 might seem a bit much to pay for takeaway, it was actually a surprisingly generous
serving and quite filling. Finally another sweet & savoury combo I like.

 Bite Size Delights:

Waffle w/ cinnamon and icing sugar - $4
Didn't try any of this, but just looked delicious and at a reasonable price,
definitely one of the cheapest eats in festival village.
My friend commented that the cinnamon and icing sugar were a
bit of an overload.