In this week’s column: a boutique brewery on Kangaroo Island, coffee and bagels by design at Kent Town, authentic Mexican food restaurant for the city, the producers behind Oz-Asia’s new Night Noodle Markets, a taste of Adelaide’s finest dumplings and more.

Boutique brewery for KI

After recently releasing their own single-origin flour made from Kangaroo Island Pure Grain wheat and milled locally by Laucke Flour Mills at Strathalbyn, the Island’s innovative food producers are set to brew their own beer from Kangaroo Island Pure Grain barley and honey.

The Kangaroo Island Brewing Company is currently establishing a brewery on the Island’s renowned sheep dairy at Cygnet River.

Part owner and general manager of Island Pure Sheep Dairy Justin Harmon reports that all the brewing equipment is on site and trial batches are in progress.

The brewery is on track to be up and running by the summer.

“We’re working on a honey-based beer and a dark ale,” explains Harmon. “We’re also currently finishing off a major extension at the dairy’s tourist facility so that visitors will be able to see into the brewery while they sit and have cheeses, Island wines and beer.”

In other Island news, Penneshaw’s Dudley Wines have extended the deck at their cellar door to allow visitors to enjoy the food and wine while taking in the stunning views over Cuttlefish Bay.

Back on the mainland, Island Pure’s Central Market stall, which stocks 350 lines of Kangaroo Island produce from cheese and ice cream to lamb, seafood, figs and olives, plans to start offering a light lunch menu. The fare will include South Rock Chorizo, Island Pure Labne and Keflatiri and more.

“It will be a taste of what’s available in store,” says Harmon. “We also plan to serve sheep milk cappuccinos.”

Tell Henry

Tell Henry sesame bagel with cream cheese and dill. Photo: Nat Rogers/InDaily

When the Rodeo communications/design company team moved from inner city offices into an old garage in Kent Town at the height of one Adelaide’s coldest winters , they found that making room for an in-house café made the space a lot warmer.

Tell Henry, which is open to the public, is separated from Rodeo’s working space by a three-dimensional  diaphanous metal screen made from steel reinforcing rod, allowing customers and workers to see each other in action. Entrance is via the original garage roller door which allows the cafe and design studio to be fully open to the elements. The Rodeo team has got around this by installing efficient overhead heating to keep everybody comfortable while still getting a healthy dose of fresh air.

Tell Henry is the only Adelaide café using Melbourne’s Industry Beans and with a limited menu (at this stage) of brownies and bagels, it’s become one of the hottest spots on the city fringe with lots of local business trade and school drop-off action.

Café owner Brad Bonar says the café is named after Bob Dylan’s song Don’t Ya Tell Henry.

“It’s not my favourite Dylan song, but he is one of my favourite artists.”

In all weather, Tell Henry opens right up to the street. Photo: Nat Rogers/InDaily

Sazon in the city

One of the Adelaide Hills’ favourite eateries – and one of the best Mexican street food producers around – has opened the doors to their much anticipated city outlet.

Sazon owners and Mexican expats Jose and Oswaldo Estrella are offering tapas, fresh tacos, Mexican beer, margaritas, churros, coffee and hot chocolate at their new at shop 3/19 Grenfell Street (next to Red Door Bakery).

Look out for InDaily‘s Lunch Review of Sazon on Friday.

Noodling at night

Presented by the Adelaide Festival Centre over two weeks each year in September, the OzAsia Festival connects audiences with arts, festivities, traditions and now foods from across Asia.

During this year’s Oz-Asia festival (September 24 to October 4) Adelaide’s Riverbank Precinct will be transformed into an Asian hawker-style market for the 11 nights of the festival.

The Night Noodle Markets have been brought to the festival this year by Good Food Month with producers such as Baotime, Zagyoza, Fat Thai, Pasar Malam, Let’s Do Yum Cha, Shallot Thai, Kiyamachi tei, Spanthai and N2 Extreme Gelato setting up stalls to offer their specialty dishes such as dumplings, bao, dosa, noodles, gyoza and gelato. There will also be themed bars, and music in a fun festival atmosphere from 5pm until late on weekdays and 12pm until late on weekends. Entry will be free.

Caitlin Hillson is the enthusiastic guide behind Feast on Foot’s dumpling tour. Photo: Captured In Time Photography

In the meantime, if you want to get some chopsticks practice and learn to discern your dumplings ahead of the market, book into Caitlin Hillson’s Feast on Foot Dumpling Tour.

Feast on Dumplings is a guided walking and tasting tour designed to showcase the different styles of handmade dumplings made using traditional recipes by local artisans.

Starting at the Central Market and stopping at four vendors over the two-hour tour around the city, Hillson will keep you entertained with her eye for good street art and knowledge of local food history.

Tour participants will taste Russian piroshki, Peking pork steamed and fried dumplings, Korean steamed dumplings and Vietnamese bao.

“It took a lot of trial and error to find Adelaide’s best dumplings,” says Hillson, “but it’s what I like to do”.

Hillson’s concept was for walking food tours was initially supported by Splash Adelaide to bring more vibrancy into the city and recognition for local food producers.

Hillson also conducts a longer walking tour called Feast on the Street and is about to launch a walking degustation during which she hopes to offer cocktails and tastings at venues such as Thrift Shop, Bistro Dom, Cos and 2KW. She also runs a supper club called Good Food Society.

Japanese high tea

Ginza Miyako high tea. Photo: supplied

Another cross cultural food experience to be had in Adelaide is the Japanese High Tea at Ginza Miyako in the Stamford Hotel.

If any cuisine could lend itself to the English tradition of high tea, it’s probably Japanese with its delicate morsels served in gracious style.

Each month on a Sunday afternoon Ginza Miyako serves high tea with a complimentary glass of champagne. What you get is a savoury bento box with a mix of sashimi, sushi, beef tataki, ocean trout confit, tempura prawns, chicken teriyaki and more, followed by a sweet bento box including panna cotta with black sugar wine sauce, chocolate mousse and strawberry mille-fuille with mascarpone cheese cream, to name a few.

The format is perfect as a shared tasting and grazing experience, but we think Ginza Miyako would do better to use smaller bento boxes, separating the cold food from the hot, so the hot food can be eaten while still warm.

The next Japanese High Tea dates are planned for September 27, October 25 and November 3 (Melbourne Cup Day).

This week at the Adelaide Farmers’ Market – Fennel

Fennel bulbs with spring onions and celeriac. Photo: supplied

Fennel is a hardy, perennial flowering plant with a white bulb, stalks and feathery green leaves that is indigenous to the shores of the Mediterranean. It is highly aromatic and flavoursome with a notable aniseed-like flavour that becomes sweeter and more mellow once cooked.

Young tender leaves are used to add flavour to salads, in sauces to be served with puddings, and also in soups and fish sauce. Fennel seeds are often used in sweet desserts and the bulb is a crisp vegetable that can be sautéed, stewed, braised, grilled, or eaten raw. Roasted fennel using just the bulb is a good accompaniment to a traditional Sunday roast. Trim the fennel bulbs and slice them lengthways into wedges.  Toss with olive oil, a little balsamic, salt and pepper and roast them until browned and slightly caramelised on the edges.

Adelaide Showground Farmers’ Market stallholders The Garden Farmers, Patlin Gardens, W & B Hart and Virgara’s Garden all sell fennel at their stalls. The market is open on Sundays (except during the Royal Adelaide Show) from 9am – 1pm at the Adelaide Showground, Leader Street, Wayville.

Prospect Farmers’ Market is located next to Prospect Town Hall on the corner of Vine Street Plaza and Prospect Road.

What’s on?

Babette’s Feast – August 20
Introduced by Adelaide chef Cath Kerry and screening at the Mercury Cinema at 7pm, this mouth-watering, Oscar-winning film is about self-sacrifice, thwarted ambition and lost love. Having retired in 2012 from running the Art Gallery Restaurant, Kerry is an erudite and passionate advocate for the pleasures of the table and Babette’s Feast is one of her favourite films. A fluent French speaker and Francophile, she will talk about the food and wines served in the film (she’ll have a recipe or two for you to take away as well), and identify the glorious dinner services and stemware used. Bookings and information can be found here.

2KW Burgundy Week – August 27-28
Join Mischief and Mayhem founder Michael Ragg for this showcase of his Cote D’Or new releases matched with canapés ($90 per person) at 12pm on Thursday, August 27. Then on Friday, August 28, join Olivier Halley, owner of Chateau de Meursault, for a three-course lunch ($165 per person) as he showcases his iconic wines. Bookings essential. Phone 8212 5511.

Waywood Wines long-table lunch series #2 – August 29
Enjoy a four-course Middle Eastern-inspired feast prepared by Luscious Red matched with current, museum and pre-release vintages of Waywood Shiraz. Tickets are $95 per person. Limited places. Bookings essential. More information can be found here.

Foodies Book Club – September 3
The Adelaide Hills Foodies Book Club is hosting a special author dinner event featuring Beata Zatorska and Simon Target and food from their award-winning book Rose Petal Jam and its sequel Sugared Orange, with the students from Heathfield High School’s hospitality training program (under the guidance of chef Beverley Millott) preparing and serving food made or inspired by the recipes. Tickets are $60 per person. Books will be available for purchase and signing on the night through Matilda Bookshop. For bookings or more information, email Gillian Copping here.

The Artist, The Chef and The Entrepreneurs – September 7
Join artist Emma Hack, co-head chef of Penfolds Magill Estate Restaurant Emma McCaskill, entrepreneur and community leader Genevieve Theseira-Haese, founder and CEO of OzHarvest Ronni Kahn and philanthropist and OzHarvest ambassador Jo Collins at this inaugural event celebrating inspirational women and their experiences with the international community, creativity, philanthropy and food at Madame Hanoi restaurant for cocktails, Vietnamese food and inspiration. A limited number of tickets are available at $150 per person. Contact OzHarvest on 8162 9553 for bookings and information.

Asiafest – October 2 to 11
Food and cultural festival Asiafest will return to Rymill Park for 10 days this year, showcasing more than 20 of Adelaide’s restaurateurs in pop-up food stalls reflecting an Asian street market ambiance and the culinary delights of countries such as China, Thailand, Vietnam, Korea and Japan.

Vale Cru annual tasting – October 18
Discover more than 50 premium small batch wines from 15 McLaren Vale winemakers at The Victory Hotel, Sellicks Beach. Enjoy tasting, cocktail food and a presentation by SALA South Australian Artist of the Year Giles Bettison.

Current Vale Cru chairman James Hook who is also winemaker and owner of Lazy Ballerina, said the annual event has become a tradition among the group’s loyal following but it’s also a unique opportunity to introduce new brands to consumers.

“Among the collective there are exciting wines from Ministry of Clouds and Bekkers, new comers Lino Ramble, Lost Buoy, Dabblebrook and 3 Dark Horses, plus award winners Vigna Bottin and Jimmy Watson recipient Scott Heidrich from Rusty Mutt.

“We have winemakers who have moved to McLaren Vale from all around the world, many also specialising in viticultural practices, and all very sustainability focused.”

Tickets are $20 for members or $40 at the door. Tickets and further information can be found here.

News, tips and information?

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