2015 James Street Food and Wine Trail - Fortitude Valley

Having just gone to the Noodle Night Markets last week, and Regional Flavours the week before, I was a bit hesitant to go to the James Street Food and Wine Trail this week. Nevertheless, I did it out of love for my dear readers.

We arrived at 11 o'clock and followed the trail of people which lead us to the urban picnic.

Having run out of the house in a mad rush this morning (because I woke up late again), I decided to start my day on french bread (in lieu of breakfast).

With the large assortment on display at French Twist, I definitely had quite a hard time making my decision on what to order.

In the end, I decided on a Chocolate and Almond Croissant. The bread was nice and flaky, but the portion of chocolate inside it wasn't enough for the size of the bun. There was a bit too much icing sugar on the top as well, and it ended up getting onto our garments. Other than that, I did find it to be a nice start to the day.

Seeing a crowd outside the Yarra Valley Pasta stall, I knew it had to be worth trying.

We ordered the traditional beef ravioli with bolognaise sauce, served with grated Parmesan. 

While we both thought that the serving size could have been better, we absolutely loved the pasta. The ravioli was smooth and cooked thoroughly. The beef inside was also thoroughly cooked but wasn't too coarse. I liked how the sauce was fresh and light and didn't overpower the taste of the pasta.

  

We grabbed a drink at Chowhouse. The pine coco slushee was very strong tasting. I found the coconut to have completely overpowered any pineapple taste it may have had. On the other hand, upon a friend's recommendation, I got the cup of Pimms, which was very refreshing and fruity. I really appreciated the variety of fruits tossed in, including strawberry, lime, orange and cucumber.

After that we wandered off to James Street Market, whereby a cooking presentation was being held. Apparently they were making satay chicken, but we didn't stay too long to check it out.

In fact we rushed off to grab a loaf of sourdough ciabatta at French Twist for my Sunday lunch.

Whilst we were at James Street Market, I decided to stop over at Fresh Sushi Co, which I've been eyeing off for some time. Being situated next to Fresh Fish Co, I had high expectations of the sushi.

  

Three types of soy sauce were provided. Each had their own specific characteristics in terms of what it is best served with. I found it quite insightful.

We got the salmon and avocado sushi platter. As expected, the rice was quite chilled and not very strongly seasoned, although at least it wasn't undercooked. The salmon was fresh and the avocado was ripe, but I found the rice to topping ratio to be quite insufficient.

We wandered into Gerard's Laneway after that, and had to try their Suckling Pork and coleslaw.

We were quite blown away with how delicious the pork was. The skin was exceptionally crispy, but not fatty. The meat was soft and tender, to an extent where it melts in your mouth. I absolutely loved it. I only wish the portion size could have been bigger.

We finished our trail with poutine at Sixes and Sevens. It was one of the best poutine that I've ever had. The cheese curds were very stringy, and stuck onto the shoestring fries very well. The gravy was a bit salty, but had a slightly tangy flavour which I enjoyed greatly as well.