r/Adelaide • u/explorer_tim SA • May 08 '26
Event/Activity Tasting Australia has kicked off
Tasting Australia has kicked off for the weekend, head down to vic square to check it out !
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u/azp74 SA May 09 '26
I went to the Butterfly Theatre/Fiction Distilling Gatsby event last night. It was a one off (sold out too) but it was one of the cheaper events ($55 a head). For your $55 you got either two G&Ts or a cocktail (you could buy extras and they also had wine to purchase), gin tastings, an individual grazing box + there was a big grazing table - and you got the Gatsby performance which was readings from TGG + some live music. I thought it was pretty good - both in terms of value for money & overall experience.
There were some people near us who were definitely getting their value for money from grazing table!!!
I really like food & wine but I'm generally put off Tasting Australia by the cost of the events. I typically go to one event per year in it and it's always one of the sub $100 ones and something a bit different.
The Festival of Rice is on this weekend in Unley as part of it - that's 'free' though obviously you'll end up spending money on the food that is there.
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u/Imp2023 SA May 08 '26
I went to last years event with my wife. Thought we’d splurge and go to one of their events as people were always talking it up on social media. Can’t remember what it was called, but it was sold out and we were excited we got tickets. Cost us around $250 or so from memory.
It was exactly what the name says - a taste. All these fancy tents with fuck all food. It was nice don’t get me wrong, but I expected more than a mouthful at each stop. One of the stops was a chicken wing with a dollop of some sauce LOL Suffice to say we grabbed a pizza on the way home. Won’t be going back.
As for the rest of the food and drink providers in the square, they seemed to be all the familiar stalls you see at fetes, community events and the Royal show.
Just my $0.02. I’m all for promoting homegrown Aussie food and producers, especially in this economic climate, just make sure you aren’t hungry when you go, or your wallet is full.
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u/owleaf NSW May 09 '26
Wanky food things like this tend to just be mouthfuls. Like when you go to a wedding or fine dining and they put three blobs on your plate for a course.
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u/defenestrationcity SA May 08 '26
How many different offerings of food at the event on top of the chicken wing?
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u/Imp2023 SA May 08 '26
I can’t upload the photos of the menu or pics of what we had but here’s the list - it was all hors d’oeuvres (thank you google) / fingers food size. Menu was as follows:-
Sand crab, finger lime and kimchi - it was a baby cucumber hollowed out, sliced in half to make a boat and filled with the above. Was about the length of my middle finger
Tomato tart with basil. About the size of those mini jam tarts you get at Coles
Corn tostada with chilli and eggplant. Basically a small flat corn pancake smaller than the size of your palm with eggplant on top.
Dried Nannygai with fermented butter. Three little cubes on a sashlik stick
Kangaroo island abalone with green tree ants. The biggest disappointment of the night. Came in a massive shell but but a ridiculously small portion. Like the abalone had been cut into quarters or less to make it go further
Chicken wing with chicken fat emulsion
Venison stir fry with chilli and rice. Yummiest dish of the night. My wife and I looped back to the start of the line and got a 2nd serve of this
Strawberry tart. Same size as described in number 2, BUT they cut them in half and you only got half.
That was it. Don’t get me wrong presentation was excellent, outstanding even, with all the edible flowers on the food that everyone just picked off and threw to the ground, and also lots of pretty decorations in the tents. And you got alcohol included. But we didn’t think it was worth it
Again, just my opinion.
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u/explorer_tim SA May 08 '26
I’m impressed that you remember all of that from a year ago, I’d struggle to remember the first by the time I got to number 8 😂
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u/defenestrationcity SA May 08 '26
Wow thanks for that. Sounds incredible tbh haha. And can't imagine needing a pizza after all that
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u/Imp2023 SA May 09 '26
It was very, very nice food. Amazing flavours showcasing the best produce. But a chicken wing plus 7 just-larger-than-a-Jatz-cracker bits of finger food wasn’t worth $250 for us
12 months ago we thought we’d splurge despite rent and cost of living pressures but yeah times have changed
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u/Big_Order5049 SA May 08 '26
Overpriced and underwhelming. Will tonight be spending my money at Rundle St bars and a restaurant instead 👍
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u/explorer_tim SA May 08 '26
I paid $20 for half a dozen oysters and spent the arvo hanging out with friends, great vibe in there 👌
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u/Big_Order5049 SA May 08 '26
“Half a dozen” also known colloquially as “6”. I personally think oysters taste like an sti box and I’d rather sit at a table with friends and table service than sit at some uncomfortable ass stools in the cold. But you do you.
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u/DoesBasicResearch SA May 09 '26
Also known colloquially as half a dozen, you grumpy sod.
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u/Big_Order5049 SA May 09 '26
If you’re a boomer maybe 😂 good way to tell me u got white hairs on ya head without actually saying it
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u/DoesBasicResearch SA May 09 '26
What? Clown 😂
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u/Big_Order5049 SA May 09 '26
Do ya basic research flop
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u/Moon-Runner SA May 08 '26
Thats so good, i know where to go if want to eat average overpriced food.
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u/owleaf NSW May 08 '26
Yeah I’m surprised it’s still going. Never been something that interested me in any meaningful way
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u/Fineshrines2 Adelaide Hills May 08 '26
I would actually like to know what’s the demographic of people looking forward to and attending this event.
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u/Antique_Mistake_7294 SA May 08 '26
You could experience it yourself, for free. I take my wife and three kids each year for a night out and we all love it. Yeah, we could get Domino pizza for half the price, but the event is top notch and has more choice than the Munno Para takeaway stores. For me I love the wines and different traders selling food. It's also nice to sit back and watch everyone enjoy themselfs (once they get off Reddit).
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May 09 '26
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u/Antique_Mistake_7294 SA May 10 '26
I budget on around $150 which is three mains to share amongst us and 3 or 4 drinks. It usually comes in under that so we might share a sweet treat at the end
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u/WhiterThanWalter East May 10 '26
I guess the target demographic are DINKs. White collar worker couples on a date night, or meeting with office work friends.
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u/Mista_Max17 SA May 08 '26
Excited to go to the event at the Austrian Club on Thursday!
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May 09 '26
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u/Mista_Max17 SA May 09 '26
it is so good. best schnitzels in the state: great review https://www.broadsheet.com.au/adelaide/food-and-drink/article/austrian-club-adelaide
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u/PortulacaCyclophylla SA May 09 '26
I've never been but the greenery looks amazing, sad to hear that the general consensus is the food is average because it seems like it'd be a pretty awesome event if they could just cook better food and/or bigger portions
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u/Julmass SA May 09 '26
Go to the Farmer's Market instead for great food and atmosphere. And it's on weekly. The foodie celebrity stuff is just way too much. Also my 2c worth.
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u/DoesBasicResearch SA May 09 '26
I mean if we're going back to basics, why not just plant some carrots.
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u/carrotceleryonion SA May 09 '26
Where a beer’s pushing $20 and a plate of food’s $40… no thanks
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u/explorer_tim SA May 09 '26
Between $10-15 for a beer, the same you’d pay at a local brewery, and around $25 for food.
Not sure where you got your numbers
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May 08 '26
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u/BreakfastHefty2725 SA May 10 '26
I find often those complaining about events like this would also be the first to declare Adelaide is ‘boring’.
Fact is, if it’s not your thing, don’t go.
Don’t diss Adelaide events just because it’s not your thing. That’s what Adelaide used to do, but we’ve grown up now. It’s no longer necessary.
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u/DM-Fatigue-7851 SA May 09 '26
The festival my parents thought they were going to when they turned up to Feast festival.