unforgettable-seven-food-experiences-in-nsw

Enjoy a meal at one of NSW’s finest regional restaurants.

Pottsville, a small Tweed Shire coastal town, has been elevated to the top of the fine dining map thanks to Pipit. Ben Devlin’s set menus celebrate seaside dining and local products. You can give your taste buds a new thrill by trying almond milk tofu, yuzu, and bonito, or school mackerel, radicchio, and pecan, as well as unusual sweets like Jerusalem artichoke caramel.

You can learn from the best.

Wagga Wagga Tania Sibrey was raised by a mother who would prepare epic Chinese banquets as a regular dinner. She’s now channeling that love of food and cooking into her Riverina Cooking School, Food I Am. Ben Sales, the pitmaster at Lovedale Smokehouse in Sydney’s Hunter Valley region, will be teaching a Majors Lane Cooking School on topics like ‘low and slowly smoking.’ Enjoy the results of your efforts at The Little Cooking School while in Mudgee. The class is paired with local wines.

Sydney shakes up the world.

The red brick exterior may not hint at a 1950s feel, but step inside Perhaps Sammy to discover how The Rocks earned its 11th place on the list. A dapper bartender will mix a cocktail with local infusions. Want to find a hidden Sydney rooftop? Ask for an upstairs table at Old Mate’s Place, located on Clarence Street. The Cumberland is hidden behind a fridge door in Manly.

Enjoy the Hunter Valley

The Hunter Valley is Australia’s oldest and most prestigious wine region. It offers the perfect weekend getaway. You can taste your way through the Hunter Valley, from a paddock to plate lunch at Margan or a meal at Bistro Molines with a scenic view. Harkham Wines is a preservative-free winery in Pokolbin. Winmark Wines offers premium chardonnays as well as art. Tinonee Estate has a vineyard estate and a restaurant.

Awe, shucks

Thanks to its clean rivers and lakes, the South Coast has a 300km long oyster trail. You can either slurp along a portion of the course or the entire route. Sydney oysters are prized for their intense flavor. Some places also grow a native flat-shell oyster. In Batemans Bay, you can visit The Farm Gate Oyster Shed located on Wray Street or Pearly Oyster Bar & Farm. Captain Sponges Magical Oyster Tours takes you to Pambula Lake, where a charismatic farmer will show you around. Broadwater Oysters is a working oyster farm with a shucking class.

Next-level picnicking

Surprise someone special with an unforgettable picnic. Pretty Picnics will take care of the rest. Choose a theme, such as Moroccan Luxe or Winter Woodlands. This company in Sydney’s southwest, Camden, has organized countless picnics for couples and groups and even set the stage for 50 marriage proposals. You can order a creative package – brunch, high-tea, pavlova, or grazing- and go to a place with a view, such as Wendy Whiteley’s Secret Garden. Observatory Hill, or a tiny harbor bay such as Milk Beach in Vaucluse.

Sydney’s most picturesque tables

Sydney is known for its waterfront dining. Bondi’s Icebergs dining room and bar overlook the ocean pool and that famous golden beach. Watsons Bay Boutique Hotel is a little farther north, where you can enjoy a casual table outside under a striped umbrella while enjoying seafood and cocktails with the city skyline as a backdrop.

Want to get closer to the Sydney Harbour Bridg? The view (and the food) at Circular Qay is unbeatable. You can enjoy the rustic-chic feel of The Boathouse Palm Beach on the Northern Beach. Take a Sydney Seaplane from Rose Bay to an elevated lunch at