Sugar Hit: Old Sydney Holiday Inn, 18 Oct 2010

When the urge hit to venture out for yet another impromptu Sugar Hit the easiest option, we thought, would be to head to a hotel which would be more likely able to accommodate us without a booking than a restaurant or café with lesser seating. We drove down to The Rocks and managed to find parking quite easily across the road from the Park Hyatt and I was ready to settle into the romantic interior and beautiful view when we were politely informed that bookings for Sugar Hit there were a must, and that there were only two sessions available – 9pm and 9:45pm.

So much for our theory. Hrmph.

Out comes our trusty copy of the Sydney International Food Festival program and, for somewhere nearby, we head to the Old Sydney Holiday Inn to try our luck. It is a hotel I’d never set foot in, despite walking past its entrance many-a-time; mostly when on the way to Pancakes at the Rocks during my younger years I must admit. We are seated in the ground floor lounge of the hotel atrium which allows a view of all the open balcony hallways housing the hotel rooms. By the flicker of alien green faux candlelight, the waiter tells us there is only one serve of their Sugar Hit remaining for the evening. Monsieur Poisson and I agree to share it between us, and are secretly grateful as the month’s sugar intake is taking its toll on us.

Old Sydney Holiday Inn’s ‘Orange on The Rocks: white and dark chocolate mousse, honeycomb pieces, chocolate ganache, orange segments highlighted with Cointreau and woven caramel nest’ is served with a Brown Brothers Orange Muscat & Flora that is more watery and less sweet than we’ve had elsewhere. It is poured from a smaller bottle but we’re uncertain as to whether this has anything to do with it. The wine complements the orange flavours of the dessert well but the chunks of honeycomb are sweet enough without it, or the pool of chocolate ganache on which it sits.

The described ‘woven caramel nest’ is far from being a nest, but instead are strands of spun sugar laid across the orange segments. The mousses are interestingly piped into either end of a rolled tuille biscuit, giving rise to an appearance similar to cannoli. The dark chocolate mousse is a particular delight especially with its occasional hidden chocolate chips and when eaten with a broken shard of tuille in lieu of a spoon.

Old Sydney Holiday Inn

55 George St, The Rocks, Sydney NSW

Tel: (02) 9255 1871

happy eating!