THE ABBOTSBURY ANTIPASTO PICNIC

If you read the subject line and thought, “What’s an Abbotsbury?” then I encourage you to read on. (Hint: It’s a place…in Sydney).

When I was at uni and subsequently working in the Sydney CBD, I was surprised to meet many adventurous people who had lived in Sydney their entire lives and who had never ventured to South West Sydney.

There’s a whole world out there, people!

From European to Asian, to Middle Eastern to South American, South West Sydney is one of the most culturally diverse areas in all of Australia. The delightful upshot of this is that it’s a region with many beautiful and authentic cuisines to be experienced and enjoyed. It’s where people learn to cook traditional, cultural delicacies by osmosis from their mothers, fathers, and grandparents, rather than from a cooking show or recipe book.

What that means is that you can find seriously delicious food in Sydney’s South West. You know, the kind of food that doesn’t rely on hype or fussy presentation or fancy decor or price to justify its worth. The kind of food that is just good, honest, enjoyable food.

For our first Western Sydney edition, we explored three neighbouring suburbs in the City of Fairfield in South West Sydney, starting with Edensor Park (for food), via Bonnyrigg (for coffee), and to Abbotsbury (for our picnic). This little pocket of suburbs has a particularly dominant Italian community which is apparent from the abundant range of delicatessens and continental grocery stores in the area. In fact, in Abbotsbury, the 2011 Census found that 22.5% of its residents recorded their ancestry as Italian. That’s almost one quarter!

In honour of this, we decided on an Italian ‘antipasto-style’ lunch picnic.

Here’s our itinerary:

ITINERARY & MAP

Food:     Fred’s One Stop Shopping, Edensor Park

Coffee:   Cafe Harvest, Bonnyrigg Garden Centre, Bonnyrigg

Picnic:   “The Dairy” at Western Sydney Regional Park, Abbotsbury

FOOD:

FRED’S ONE STOP SHOPPING

 661-671 Smithfield Road, Edensor Park 

Fred’s One Stop Shopping, or just “Fred’s” as it is known to the locals, is part of a family owned and run fruit and vegetable empire that was established in Western Sydney in the early 1960s. It’s one of the best in the area for fresh fruit and veggies and to prove the point, in 2014, Fred’s won its second Fairfield City Business of the Year award and the title of most outstanding fruit and vegetable shop for the fifth time.

As well as the huge variety of fresh fruits and veggies, Fred’s also sells a mouth watering selection of cheese and cold cuts from the Delicatessen and a range of continental groceries.

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Here’s what we picked out for our antipasto picnic:

♦   Mixed marinated olives with a scoop of extra Sicilian green olives for me. (I only like the hard olives).

♦   Jamon Serrano Prosciutto sliced very thin. (The only way).

♦   Vecchiet Calypso Hot Salami – We were assured this was the hottest of the lot. (It has to be hot).

♦   Pepperdews stuffed with fetta cheese – These are small marinated peppers which are sweet but with a mild heat complemented by creamy, salty fetta cheese. (Trust us, they’re amazing).

♦   Buffalo mozzarella – Need I say more? It ended up also being a perfect balance to the prosciutto and hot salami.

♦    Olive Panini – Those delish rectangle rolls that kind of feel a little oily with a hard chewy outer crust and flour dusting.

Buon appetito!

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If you are after something more filling or substantial, there is also a salad bar which sells prepared salads, and for dessert, browse the aisles of continental cakes and biscuits, or pick up some creamy Greek yoghurt and fruit.

Check out Fred’s website for more details. 

COFFEE:


CAFE HARVEST

Bonnyrigg Garden Centre, Cnr Elizabeth Drive & Wilson Road, Bonnyrigg

The Bonnyrigg Garden Centre has been around for 40 years and sells a range of plants and gardening accessories. I have no green thumbs and have, through basic negligence, killed all plants and herb patches gifted to me. So lucky for the plants, it also recently opened up a lifestyle centre within its grounds which is home to the Cafe Harvest. Now there’s something for everyone!

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This little cafe serves a good coffee drop and has become a popular breakfast and lunch spot due to its pretty location in a beautiful and unique garden setting.

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Take a walk around and smell the spiky green plants…? Don’t worry, there’s roses too.

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There’s also a homewares store next to Cafe Harvest which sells a variety of gifts, furniture, and household accessories!

The Bonnyrigg Garden Centre is only a short drive from Fred’s and on the way to our picnic destination. See the Bonnyrigg Gardens Centre website for more details.

PICNIC:

“THE DAIRY” AT WESTERN SYDNEY PARKLANDS

Cowpasture Road, Abbotsbury (turn left at the roundabout)

Set in the heart of Western Sydney, the Western Sydney Parklands comprises 5280 hectares that streches 27km from Blacktown in the north to Leppington in the south. To give you an idea of the scale of this, it is 16 times the size of Sydney’s Centennial Parklands (!).

We went to “The Dairy” which is a smaller venue located in Abbotsbury via Cowpasture Road for our picnic.

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This section is good for groups who are after a quieter and more picnic oriented visit to the Parklands or to read a book on the grass and take some time out.

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If you go up to the crest of the hill, you will see gorgeous open views of the surrounding landscapes and can find picnic tables (with shelter) and facilities.

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We set up our picnic close to “The Dairy” gates, as this little section has a stunning outlook. See what we mean?

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Here’s how we assembled our antipasto-style picnic:

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And here are some close ups for food porn factor:

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We aren’t fussy so didn’t bother with plates or cutlery for this one. We did bring a nice wooden board and a jar for the olives but this isn’t mandatory – technically, you could just eat off the deli paper and out of the containers provided, but we are suckers for presentation and making it look special and encourage you to do the same!

All you need to do to make a delicious lunch is tear up some bread, add some prosciutto and mozzarella and Roberto is your zio.

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Facilities

→  BBQ facilities: There are 4 electric BBQs located throughout the picnic ground.

→  Shelter: There are sheltered picnic tables (in a very modern design) which are available on a ‘first come, first served’ basis.

→  ToiletsThere is a toilet block near the picnic tables.

→  Dogs: Dogs are allowed to walk anywhere in the Parklands but must be on a lead at all times.

→  Parking: There is a formal car park up near the picnic tables, but you can also park along the drive on your way in. If you’re driving, the gates are open from 8 am to 7 pm daily and 8am to 5pm during the months of June, July and August.

→  Bicycles: Bring your bike because there is a cycling track which runs for 27 kilometres if you need to burn off your picnic lunch.

→  Walking: If you’re not into bikes, bring your walking shoes, as the bike track also accommodates walkers / runners. Sorry, no excuses!

See the Western Sydney Parklands website for more details.

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Final note

There is so much to discover in Western Sydney (including the South West) and not too many people writing about it, so we have made it our personal mission to keep exploring and updating you on these gems.

The bonus of having a vast cultural mix in the area means there is so much variety to suit any craving. It’s a region where you will find a kebab van parked around the corner from a shop making cevapi rolls, in walking distance of a delicatessen serving panini and beside a Vietnamese bakery assembling Bánh mì.

We have so much inspiration for delicious and fun picnics, coming up!

Next week on The Picnic Press: We do an express lunch time picnic in the Sydney CBD. See? There’s always time for a picnic.

Ciao amici!

L&M

P.S If you love Mark’s photos, check out his other work at Mark Jay Photography and on Facebook.

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THE FRESHWATER PANINI PICNIC

Last Sunday, The Picnic Press hosted our first guests – our dear friends, Kylie and Angelo, and their gorgeous girls, Sienna and Asher (‘Ashie’). Kylie and Ang are from the Northern Beaches so we had the brilliant idea of taking our picnic blanket to them to capture the last bit of Autumn sun by the beach.

Mark and I had run the Sydney Morning Herald Half Marathon that morning so we were pretty keen to avoid using our legs for the rest of the day. That meant we had to locate food, coffee, and a picnic spot with a view, all in a very tight location. Challenge accepted!

Here’s what we decided to do:

ITINERARY & MAP

Food:     Pilu Kiosk

Coffee:   Pilu Kiosk

Picnic:   Freshwater Reserve, overlooking beautiful Freshwater beach

 

FOOD:

PILU KIOSK

 End of Moore Road, Freshwater

Pilu restaurant opened in 2005 and has been awarded two Chef’s Hats by Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide every year since for its quality Sicilian cuisine. It’s located in a beautiful heritage-listed weatherboard beach house perched above Freshwater beach, which is between Manly and Curl Curl beaches.

The Pilu Kiosk is a little offshoot of the restaurant located next door to Pilu and specialises in casual dining and takeaway panini, pastries and coffee.

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I was lucky enough to first dine at Pilu restaurant for a wedding in 2009. The food was a-ma-zing. In fact, it was so good, I still distinctly remember the main course almost five years later – snapper fillet baked in Italian white wine and encrusted with tart green olives (That’s right, hey Jackie?). Yum!

My dining experience at Pilu was however unfortunately stymied by a wardrobe malfunction that I have chosen to share as a lesson for my girls out there.

I decided on the day of the wedding that the dress I was wearing required a waist belt. I made a dash to the shops and found one to match but the only size available was a size too small. I purchased it anyway, figuring I could channel my inner fashion MacGyver and punch an extra belt hole so that it just fit, alas, not so comfortably.

This was all fine until post-ceremony when they started serving canapés. I am someone who likes trying little bits of everything. It frustrates my family to no end when they find half a biscuit or a bite stolen from their meal when they are not looking. Most of the time, just one bite is all I want and need.

Canapés are therefore my kryptonite. I was practically stalking waiters to sample the delicious morsels. My inability to say no and/or pace myself caused a serious dilemma once we sat down to the three course dinner and I realised I had no other “emergency” belt hole.

‘Why not just take the belt off?’, you say. Well, I come from a “beauty is pain” school of mothering, so this was not an option – I arrived in the belt, I had to leave in the belt. Refusing dinner was not an option either. I had read the menu and it wasn’t going to happen.

So I pushed through.

I made a pact with myself that it would all be okay provided I stopped consuming liquids. As the night wore on, I became really thirsty.  I clapped through speeches while imagining the relief of ripping that damn belt off. I danced without breathing. I gritted my teeth and smiled for photos while cursing the belt in my head. I suffered.

When it came time to remove the belt a mere six hours later, my stomach didn’t know what to make of its sudden freedom and it panicked. I was unwell.

I learnt two important lessons that night: 1) Pace yourself, lady and 2) In future, don’t let anything hold you back.

I therefore wore my comfy jeans to our picnic, just in case. I knew ahead of time what I wanted – the famed Pilu Kiosk signature roast suckling pig panini. It was my main motivator while running that morning. Also, this panini had become somewhat of an urban legend for me. I had stopped in several times at Pilu Kiosk previously and each time they were sold out. This time, I was definitely getting one so I made Kylie and Ang meet us for lunch at 11am.

In case you hadn’t heard, the suckling pig panini is made with signature Pilu suckling pig. Yes, that’s right. You are pretty much getting Pilu restaurant specialty, without the restaurant price tag.

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The panini is served on lightly toasted Sonoma bread filled with succulent pork with sweet apple, shaved fennel and rocket, and then drizzled with a mustard mayonnaise. The pork is so tender, so I can see why it is legendary. One word of warning, however – don’t expect crackling. If crackling is what you’re after, we’ve got plans to share our hidden gem which sells amazing pork with crackling in a later issue, so you don’t miss out.

We set up our picnic at a beautiful spot in Freshwater Reserve overlooking Freshwater beach with the sun on our backs and tucked in.

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Check out The Kiosk website. Note: the suckling pig panino is a big seller so we recommend getting there early to avoid disappointment – if you miss out, don’t worry, there are other delicious sandwich varieties and breakfast options too.

COFFEE:


PILU KIOSK

End of Moore Road, Freshwater – as above

Pilu Kiosk specialises in takeaway Lavazza coffee and for the girls, “chinos” (babycinos). We let our lunch settle and then wandered back for a coffee later in the afternoon.

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I don’t take sugar in my coffee but I love a cappuccino because I enjoy that little sweet aftertaste at the end. The best part about Pilu Kiosk’s cappuccino is that they use real chocolate shaving on top. Ashie approves.

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PICNIC:

FRESHWATER RESERVE

End of Moore Road, Freshwater and just in front of Pilu – too easy!

Freshwater Reserve isn’t a huge space but it does have the same million dollar views as Pilu restaurant.

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What could be better than beach views, sunshine, salt air, suckling pig panini and a coffee/’chino’?!

Sharing it with our friends, that’s what.

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Being friends for over 25 years means we now look a bit same-sies

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I’m pretty sure Kyles is laughing because Sienna called me a “hippomapotamus” when I asked her what kind of animal I am. Don’t you just love honesty?

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Ashie rocks the ‘nonna socks’

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That hair! Love!!

That’s the beauty of a picnic. It gives us the perfect chance to catch up with our loved ones, have a laugh and engage in simple pleasures with no distractions.

That’s how we like it!

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Facilities

→  Tables: There are a couple of sheltered picnic tables, but you need to be quick to grab these.

→  Toilets: Public toilets can be found in the neighbouring Freshwater Surf Life Saving Club.

→  Playground: There is a small play area with swings for the kiddies, although Sienna and Ashie had just as much fun picking flowers and enjoying their ‘chinos’.

→  Parking: We managed to get free all day parking on Charles Street, just down the road (outside Harboard Beach Hotel). There is also a car park directly out front, but you may have to pay for parking.

→  BBQ facilities: If you are so inclined, there are BBQ facilities here as well.

→  Beach: In summer, you are perfectly positioned to make a stroll down to the beach so don’t forget to pack your swimmers!

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See you next week!

L&M

P.S If you love Mark’s photos, check out his other work at Mark Jay Photography and on Facebook.