Parramatta Lanes Festival 2012

Continuing on with events of Crave Sydney International Food Festival, my friend and I went to check out Parramatta Lanes Festival. The festival consisted of Lanes of Parramatta filled with various treats of sweets, savouries, beverages and music.

Darcy Lane

Chicken and aioli panini

First stop was Darcy lane. Darcy was the biggest of the lanes where there were hammock chairs (if that is what you would call them) and picnic tables for people to enjoy their meals. I tried a chicken and aioli panini from The Gourmet Rotisserie. This was a great start to the festival, the chicken wasn't dry and the lettuce was crunchy. The combination of chicken and garlic aioli can't do wrong. 

Batman Walk

Pistachio Arancini

Batman Walk was a Parisian themed lane, providing treats from Cafe Sotto and Circa Bakery. We weren't quite ready for sweets yet, so continued on with the savoury delights. The pistachio arancini balls were delicious, with a side of a simple salad composed of rocket, feta and balsamic vinegar. 

Erby Place

Dumplings  and Cocktail in a jar

Erby Place was my favourite of all the lanes. Erby place was an Asian inspired lane with the use of lanterns, origami cranes and images of origami along the car park wall. The seats at Erby Place were milk crates with cushions, and the mlik crate tables had a candle and a vinyl record which created a lovely ambience. The dumplings were from Lan Lan's homemade dumplings. We got an assortment of steamed, fried and dumplings with different fillings. My favourite of the them were the fried or steamed vegetarian dumplings. The cocktail was from Grasshopper popup bar. I chose the plum wine, vanilla & cranberry cocktail. I love how it came in a jar, which I now use for random things.

Ice-cream filled cannolis 

Red cow lane was the least exciting of the lanes. There was a screen that was showing various short films and Bar Coco. The cool thing about Bar Coco was that it served Italian gelato and coffee from the back of a Vespa. We bought some ice-cream filled cannolis, one had hazelnut and chocolate ice-cream, the other mango and lemon sorbet. Note to self: Never mix fruits flavoured ice cream for a cannoli, doesn't taste quite right. The hazelnut and chocolate was a wonderful idea though.

La Toosh tram

Back to Darcy Lane for more dessert, and decided to try the crepe provided by La Toosh Tram. The La Toosh Tram can be found out and about Sydney and can be used for event hire. They menu contains an array of coffee, tea and crepe (both sweet and savoury) options. I decided to go with the cherry ripe crepe. The content of the crepe became a bit sickening, I wish I chose a more simple crepe such as strawberries and cream. On top of the La Toosh Tram there was a jazz playing, which created a lovely outdoor dining atmosphere.

Good food, good times!