I've already posted a couple of my highlights from the Discovering Little Portugal in Petersham food tour. However, I thought it would be worthwhile to write a little wrap of what else we got up to on the day.
When we met I was pleased to hear that we'd be heading straight to Silvas for lunch, having been twarted from visiting back in January. I have to admit that just like El Jannah I was a little bit disappointed with the charcoal chicken. Not as much smoke and flavour as I was expecting.
In addition to the chicken we had beef marinaded in red wine and garlic which came served on a skewer hung above the table. The beef was a little bit tough, but I couldn't resist eating the slice of stale bread placed under the kebab to catch the juices. It was salty, garlicy, juicy, tasty and no doubt very bad for you!
Our final two tasters in Silvas were a prawn rissole and salted cod ball. Neither of which I'm sad to say were particularly exciting.
One of the things I was disappointed with during the day was our guide. She didn't really seem to add much value. We barely got any explanations about the various specialities we were tasting / seeing or anything about the history of Portuguese culture. It seemed to be that if we went to a shop where the owner was engaging and enthusiastic we had a good time. Otherwise it could be a bit drab.
Our first stop after lunch was a visit Charlie's Delicatessen. We were given a taste of some quince paste and left to have a look around. Large boxes of salted cod seemed to be everywhere we went.
La Patisserie was next followed by The Spanish Portuguese Butcher and then we walked to the far end of Petersham to visit Georgiou's Confectionary a large chocolate wholesalers. If you were a kid who wanted a sugar high this place would be perfect for you. I treated myself to some chocolate coated raspberries. I can't resist a raspberry.
Our final stop was the Petersham Liquor Mart. This is another place where the guide could have added a bit of value. They cracked open a bottle of, very ordinary, Portuguese wine for us to taste and then we were left to our own devices to look around. No explanations at all.
It might seem that I am down about the day. There certainly were things that could have been improved with a bit more organisation and an engaging guide. However, the good bits - particularly La Patisserie - made up for everything else. A fun afternoon and a good chance to explore another suburb properly.
At least you got to visit all the places. I'm so close but never seem to be able to find the time to come down and visit and explore the shops. Georgiou's is a dangerous place! I came out of there $30 poorer - from candy! Will have to read up about La Pattisserie, havn't tried it yet, nor Sweet Belam.
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