Tomato and Ricotta with Eggplant
Cornersmith
- 441 Illawarra Rd
Marrickville 2204
It's January, we are in Sydney and there is a festival, aptly named Sydney Festival 2015. Sydney is quite the festival city. From the 8th to 26th January, 2015, around 100 events will be pumping around the city. First stop, Higher Ground, who's bright coloured stripes and many stairs and platforms reminded me the love child of M. C. Escher and rainbow paddlepops. The sun was beating down hard and the volunteers were nursing the shadows and holding umbrellas whenever possible. Brave volunteer souls.
-
- Saying hello with our shadows
Before today I had never heard of Bill Culbert, nor of his fascination with lights. My husband is a budding photographer, and what better subject to shoot than lights. Not as easy as it sounds, and definitely a good way to learn all the functions of our camera. It turns out, finding the gallery was part of the fun. The National Art School Gallery was amidst some construction and the signs were alluring yet not particularly helpful. After some quick map reading and a few paces into the school we found it. There was another couple who seemed just as baffled as we were, so it was a success that we made it to the gallery. I was particularly fond of the sprawl of fluorescent lights and scattered bottles on the second floor. Our third stop was Carriageworks, however I took the opportunity to hijack my husband's spontaneous plans with a sponatneous detour of my own. White Rabit Gallery, a contemporary Chinese art collection in an alley in Chippendale. The space itself is designed specifically as a gallery and extends three levels high. The exit is through the gift shop, which I like because it's a mix of kitschy and cute. If you make it through the gift shop, you'll find the tea shop nestled under the decorative bird cages. Can I say, I love this place, there is something about it which I adore. We missed the 3:30pm cut off for dumplings, slightly dismayed until I saw the beautifully presented dips trio - I really loved the thin crispy bread - and chased it down with the Lychee Iced Tea - perfect for Summer. Those dips were devoured, as quick as you can without crumbling such delicate bread crackers.
National Art School
- Forbes Street
Entrance on Burton St
Darlinghurst NSW 2010
White Rabbit Gallery
- 30 Balfour Street
Chippendale NSW 2008
Carriageworks
- 245 Wilson Street
Cnr of Codrington St
Eveleigh NSW 2015
Onto our final destination, Carriageworks to our Sydney Buddha. I was delighted to discover that this was not the only attraction, at least not for us. I was instructed to join the queue. I looked at the ticket "The Experiment". My first thought was, oh is this an interactive show, are we going to be in an experiment? Then I realised that the content was much darker. Delightfully so. Twisted and dark to the tune of a haphazard soundtrack. Brilliant. The uncertain clarity in dissociation represented so explicitly.
Have you explored Sydney Festival? And, if you're more a foodie, where's best for brunch?
There are many more lazy Saturdays and my belly is calling.
-
- Tomato and Ricotta with Eggplant
-
- Ploughman’s Platter with Pickled Beetroot
-
- Poached Egg Roll with Red Cabbage Slaw
-
- Smoked Salmon Platter with Fresh Mustard
What better way to celebrate a friend’s belated birthday than with fresh, delicious produce? Here we come Cornersmith. I found out about this cafe on one of my usual “best [insert meal or cuisine]” Google hunts. It took about 15 minutes to hustle up a table for 6, which turned out perfect as there was a delay due to a miscommunication between us about the number of the shop, it’s 314 Illawarra Rd, Marrickville, 2204. It took me a while to work out the menu, but as soon as I it didn’t take long for me to make my choice.
