Baranaroo

Barangaroo is a huge, 22 hectare in-process development in Sydney that is rehabilitating an old, run-down docklands area by Darling Harbor. The area begins as a seamless continuation of King Street Wharf, an extension of the Darling Harbor complex where a wide central promenade is lined on one side with modern, mid-rise and high-rise office and apartment buildings whose ground floors consist of one mid-range to upscale restaurant after another. The other side of the promenade is lined with tour boats that were just waiting to take us out for New Year’s Eve fireworks viewing. The street behind promenade continues the pattern—with dozens more high-rises and ground-floor restaurants, and a couple large refurbished buildings in between.

And this is just the beginning. Barangaroo Central, the largest segment of the development, is still in the early stage of development.

The far end of Barangaroo is devoted to public use. There is the Cutaway Cultural Space, a nicely landscaped park and waterfront area that leads to a large artificial hill, underneath which is a huge, cavernous cultural venue for the hosting of all types of exhibitions and events. The top of the hill, meanwhile, is currently a lawn but will be a large, six hectare botanic garden that will stretch to the headlands.

Barangaroo Restaurants

• Cirrus, a seafood restaurant with Asian influences at which we had three dishes, each of which we enjoyed. Tom’s favorite was Moreton Bay bugs with house-made XO sauce; Joyce’s was grilled South Australian marron (a large crayfish) with lemonade fruit and sea lettuce. We shared a main of hapuka (groper) which we enjoyed, even though the delicate taste of the fish was somewhat masked by the sauce. The sommelier suggested a wine that we would not have otherwise considered: a 2016 Harkham “Azizza’s” semillion from the Hunter Valley. (Although we generally find new vintage semillions a bit crisp and tart for our tastes, this was moderated by a few months in old oak.)
• Old Town Hong Kong, a popular Barangaroo dim sum and lunch place that we enjoyed so much that we returned for a New Year’s Peking duck takeout (in conjunction with our king crab legs, Moreton Bay bugs and tiger prawns). Our dim sum lunch consisted of: pan-fried pork dumplings in birds-nest crust, BBQ pork bun, seafood lettuce wrap (with prawn, scallop, calamari and white fish) and a huge, especially good fried oyster. Drinks were a 2015 Wilson Watervale Riesling (Clare Valley) and a Tsing Tao. We were less impressed with the whole Peking duck we ordered from the restaurant for our at-home New Year’s dining. Although it had little fat and was indeed quite good, there was far less of it than we had from the Christmas duck we took home from Golden Century restaurant for a similar price.
• Love, Fish, is a seafood restaurant at which we had, what else, but a chilled seafood platter for two. The dish included oysters, king prawns, Moreton Bay bugs, black mussels, snapper ceviche with tapioca pearls and sea urchin with egg yolk on rye honey bread with radicchio. Although we were leaning toward a semillion-chenin blanc, our server recommended a gruner veltliner (2015 Adelaide Hills from Main & Cherry), which we found very dry and minerally, but with no fruit.