Ending the week on a sugar high, one of my favourite events every year for the Crave Food Festival is the Sugar Hit. This is where restaurants and hotels across Sydney put a dessert dish and a matching Brown Brothers dessert wine and open up their doors to diners from 9pm-11pm so that they can enjoy a sweet ending to their night for $20. Or you could be like me and enjoying a second, third or fourth dessert, I’m not judging! 
Here’s a sample of what’s on offer:
Azuma Kushiyaka – Sydney CBD
At Azuma Kushiyaki restaurant, at any lunch time chef Tetsuya could be the diner sitting next to you. In fact the first time I visited Azuma, he was sitting at a table across the room. Their kushiyaki (items grilled on skewers) are sublime but they also have a deft touch when it comes to desserts. Their Sugar Hit is a two tier Japanese lacquered box filled with lots of little tastes of Japan with traditional and modern Japanese desserts.
A selection of Eastern and Western-influenced desserts and sweets, created daily served with Brown Brothers Orange Muscat and Flora wine
There is a choice of green tea or Brown Brothers Orange Muscat and Flora wine and we opt to try both. The top layer of the sugar hit comprises of a Sake sample, a full sized green tea tiramisu where sponge fingers are generously soaked in shochu and the light cream and mascarpone layer is alternated with green tea. There is also a dark chocolate coated handmade chocolate filled with a nutty milk and dark praline and a little explosive surprise inside (pop rocks). There were also two petite butter cake bites filled with red beans and soaked in sake which I quite liked-and I’m not usually much of a sake drinker!
The second layer has a more traditional Japanese offering-anmitsu which I remember eating during the untenably hot Japanese summer. It is a mixture of sliced seasonal fruit, large bubble tea sized tapioca pearls, sweetened red beans, chewy shiratami rice dumplings coated in a kinako soybean powder (that looks like peanut powder and has a similarly nutty, sweet taste) finished off with a Japanese brown sugar syrup. It’s refreshing and chewy and I think back to my time warding off fatigue by eating this. And last but not least is the white sesame ice cream which is house made and tastes and has the lovely creamy texture of a rich egg custard based ice cream with the light smokiness of white sesame.
Catalina – Rose Bay
We drive up to Rose Bay’s Catalina and check out our fellow car park inhabitants. There are Porsches, Jaguars and Audis (and as a new driver I notice they are rather haphazardly parked across lines-I guess if you have one of those cars you need to show that you really park how you want!). We take a seat inside Catalina where the view of the lights reflects and sparkles on the dark, black water. Keen sailor Mr NQN whispers to me that the man sitting behind us owns one of the Sydney to Hobart winning super maxi yachts. My point? The crowd at Catalina is very chi chi indeed.
A slice of dark Valrhona chocolate and date tart with rose-petal ice-cream served with Brown Brothers Tawny Port
If you want to have a taste of a dessert at Catalina, their Sugar Hit is a nice introduction (although I have very fond memories of meals here B.B. Before Blog and it’s worth visiting for the savouries too). The dessert is a slice of dark Valrhona chocolate and date tart with rose-petal ice-cream with a glass of Brown Brothers Tawny Port. The tart is rich and gooey and the occasional medjool date imparts an even richer texture rather than a flavour against the dark Valrhona chocolate. The rose petal ice cream with texture from the rose petals is ambrosial and there is also some rose petal syrup lacing the tart. And the pairing with the Brown Brothers tawny port is excellent cleansing the palate when the tart gets too rich so that you’re eager to begin the chocolate feast again. This dessert is also on the regular menu for $19 so the sugar hit is a very good deal.
Hilton Hotel Glass Brasserie – Sydney CBD
The Hilton Hotel’s Glass restaurant by chef Luke Mangan seems to be buzzing with diners this Tuesday evening and we take a seat at the wine bottle lined room and have a look at the dessert offering. It’s actually a dessert on their regular menu although for the sugar hit it is presented in a different shape.
Milk chocolate bavarois, tonka bean creme brulee, caramel sorbet and salted beans served with Brown Brothers Patricia Noble Riesling
There is a two layered milk chocolate bavarois covered in a thin layer of sponge in a dome shape and there is also a layer of tonka creme brulee which is similar to vanilla bean and there is a slight hint of cinnamon in this moussey, light dessert too. It is topped with some toasted peanuts, silver leaf and milk chocolate curls and a slightly tangy caramel sorbet and a peanutty crumble. Mr NQN likes the Brown Brothers Patricia Noble Riesling wine here (although I’m driving so no drinkies for me!) with its many awards stamped on the label.
Inter Continental Cortile Lounge - Circular Quay
I seem to have made it to the Inter Continental’s Sugar Hit for the last few years in a row despite the constant battle for a parking spot nearby. The Sugar Hit is as always on the ground level Cortile lounge where there are high banquette seats to hide behind or tables, lounges and chairs. This year’s sugar hit is said to be a tribute to Spring with the use of blood orange.
Pistachio and bitter chocolate vacherin with blood orange custard served with Brown Brothers Moscato
The dessert here has quite a few components to it (we’re told twelve parts) including a pressed pistachio flourless cake with bitter chocolate mousse with a layer of bitter orange jelly. This sits on top of a disc of an orange and star anise jelly which is quite firm. To the side there was a bergamot and pistachio macaron which tasted mostly of almond-I would have loved a tangier orange filling to this although the texture of the macaron is nice and light. To finish it off was a squirt of light blood orange and orange blossom flower creme pâtissière and syrup of orange confit.
Shangri-La Lobby Lounge – The Rocks
The Shangri-La hotel’s Sugar Hit offering is located in their ground floor lobby lounge and bar and it is a slightly different concept this year. It consists of a sampler plate of their chocolate high tea menu with six petit four sized items on a long plate as well as a glass of Brown Brothers sparkling red dessert wine. The regular chocolate high tea is $62 for two with 11 chocolate desserts, tea, coffee or hot chocolate.
We start at one end of the plate with the chocolate and cherry tart which has a buttery crunchy tart base and a burst of kirsch with a whole cherry inside the baked chocolate filling. Then we try the whisky candy bar which I like because of the crunchy texture in the crispy feuilletine base and top layer of whisky infused chocolate. The next item is the white chocolate pistachio sponge with a white chocolate and rice pudding bavarois which lends it an interesting texture although I did think that this didn’t taste particularly pistachioey.
The next item was an interesting one with a plastic dropper filled with smooth raspberry sauce stuck into a light chocolate bavarois cake on a joconde sponge base. The multi layered gold leaf topped gateau opera was next and there was an interesting crispy pastry layer that give this normally very rich buttercream joconde sponge cake an unexpected added texture. The last item was the gianduja macaron which needed a bit more resting time as it was quite crunchy and not soft as it should be.
Ocean Room – Circular Quay
Circular Quay’s Ocean Room gives good room. By that I mean that when I look left there is a gaze drawing ceiling feature featuring poles of light wood and numerous drop lights and to the right is the Opera House. Not too shabby a view either way! At 10:30pm there are still plenty of tables dining and ambling towards dessert.
Gorgonzola panna cotta with seasonal fruit compote and shoyu caramel served with Brown Brothers Rose
The Sugar Hit dessert is not a menu item and is a gorgonzola panna cotta with cognac infused bananas and shoyu caramel finished with some junmai sake jelly with diced orange zest. Blue cheese works well in a dessert and it lends itself to sweet flavours and there is just enough gorgonzola to let you know it is there and give it extra flavour but not enough to make you hesitate for the second spoonful. And if you get some with the shoyu (soy sauce) caramel then you don’t taste much of the gorgonzola at all in the wobbly dessert. The grilled bananas are sweet with a toffee top and taste like lady finger bananas which can be a bit more floury. The plate is matched nicely with a lightly sparkling Brown Brothers Rose.
Sheraton on the Park Gallery Tea Lounge – Sydney CBD
What’s the saying? Location, location, location? Right opposite the Night Noodle Markets sits the Sheraton on the Park hotel. We walk into the ground floor Gallery Tea Lounge where they used to do one of my favourite afternoon teas (sadly no more, the format has changed). When we walked past at 8:30pm it was empty but come 9pm it was booked tables only. And we note that their sugar hit is on from Thursdays to Saturdays only.
Dark chocolate cake with raspberry coulis served with Brown Brothers Orange Muscat and Flora
The dark chocolate cake especially made for the sugar hit is brought out and on the base is a vanilla biscuit layer and then on top is a truffled chocolate layer. The chocolate used is Belcolade and the cake has a glossy glaze on top although we both wished that the biscuit layer was thinner as it was almost 1cm thick. The Sugar Hit is a reasonable deal in the context of their menu considering that cakes are $19 here.
Spiedo – Sydney CBD
Spiedo is part of the new city Westfields and Sugar Hitters can expect to be seated in the outer area “under the fig tree”. Those visiting on a Thursday night when late night shopping prevails may find the noise from the food court downstairs off putting though and I’d save this for a non shopping night.
Buttermilk panna cotta, strawberry granita and basil served with a Brown Brothers Orange Muscat and Flora
Wobbly – check! The buttermilk panna cotta, not on the regular dessert menu is appealingly wobbly like a woman’s fleshy bosom and is topped with a rhubarb granita and a deep fried basil leaf on a bed of buttery crumbs. It’s a simple dessert although the flavour of the buttermilk panna cotta is satisfying with a touch of tang and the crumbs are crunchy contrast to the smooth panna cotta. I actually preferred the sound of the other desserts on offer and at $14 (or $18 for a dessert plate) they’re a good alternate option if you don’t drink wine.
Tomislav – Darlinghurst
One thing you can be guaranteed when you visit Tomislav is that the desserts will be fun. Chef Tomislav Martinovic is somewhat of a gentle giant, he looks intimidating but he plates up fun desserts based on his childhood with a modern twist using his chef’s armament of “boys toys”. His offer for this year’s Sugar Hit is a choice of any of his desserts matched with a Brown Brothers dessert wine. As we had already tried the vanilla cheesecake (his signature dish based on a Sara Lee French Vanilla cheesecake) and the apple crumble and they’ve just sold out of the chocolate cake we opted for the rice pudding.
Warm rice pudding with spiced caramel broth and rhubarb sorbet served with Brown Brothers Patricia Noble Riesling
The rice pudding is a thick, smooth rice pudding that I want a big bowl of by itself please. Not that it isn’t paired well with the thinly sliced rhubarb with grenadine (done with a meat slicer and with the texture of very thinly sliced apple) and cardamom and cinnamon spiced caramel broth. But the rice pudding where the rice is cooked in a custard and then blitzed and then strained so that it has evokes the flavour of rice pudding but not the texture is pure comfort food. And curious to make his signature cheesecake? He shares the recipes for the cheesecake and the custard pudding here.
Westin Hotel Lobby Lounge – Sydney CBD
Back in the city and Martin Place at night is quiet and worlds away from the bustle during the day. We walk past the hordes of skateboarders doing their moves outside the hotel and enter the Westin Hotel’s lobby lounge. It is quiet this Wednesday night but the adjoining bar with patrons is livelier.
Sago and coconut soup with a chocolate and mango marquise served with a Brown Brothers Orange Muscat and Flora wine
The dessert here is a two part dessert with a chocolate and mango marquise which starts off with a thin milk chocolate base, a biscuit base, a bitter chocolate layer and a mango moussey layer and it reminds me a little of a chocolate and orange combination. it is then topped off with crunchy caramel macadamias and a sugar decoration. The other part is a coconut and sago soup sweet with vanilla and a honey flavour. Even though the two parts seem a little incongruous they actually work really well together and the soup complements the cake well. Mr NQN and a tweeter @lacewings7 who spotted us both thought that the wine match was not a good one and that the wine was too strong for the dessert.
So there you have it, a sample of the desserts on offer this month but there are more on the Crave list-I was just too sugared out and had to wave my white flag of surrender. And although it probably wasn’t the most prudent idea with bikini weather coming up I went to bed every night with a smile on my face!
On a disappointing note, although we had a booking at Tony Bilson’s Number 1, when we turned up at 9:30pm last night they were long closed. The Sugar Hits are supposed to be on every night from 9-11pm so this was puzzling especially given that we had a booking. We can only suppose that they closed early due to a slow night and neglected to tell those that had a sugar hit booked. Edited to add: Tony Bilson’s restaurant has gone into receivership so it has been closed down.
So tell me Dear Reader, which dessert appealed to you most?
Azuma Kushiyaki
Regent Place, 501 George Street, Sydney, NSW
9267 7775
Catalina
Lyne Park, Rose Bay, NSW
Tel: +61 (02) 9371 0555
Hilton Hotel
Level 2, Hilton Sydney, 488 George Street, Sydney, NSW
9265 6068
Inter Continental Hotel
117 Macquarie Street, Sydney, NSW
02 9240 1396
Shangri-La Hotel
176 Cumberland Street, The Rocks, Sydney, NSW
92506144
Ocean Room
Ground Level, Overseas Passenger Terminal, The Rocks, NSW
92529585
Sheraton on the Park
161 Elizabeth Street, Sydney, NSW
Tel: +61 (02) 9286 6000 (Sugar Hit on Thursday to Saturday only)
Spiedo
Shop 6004-6005 Level 6, Westfield Sydney, 188 Pitt Street, Sydney, NSW
8072 9999
Tomislav
Level 2 / 13 Kirketon Road, Darlinghurst, NSW
9356 4535
Westin Hotel
1 Martin Place, Sydney, NSW
82231111
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58 Comments | Add your own
The desserts are all so beautiful to just look at, let alone eat!
Thanks for taking one for the tea and trying them all, Lorraine!
Have a lovely weekend.
SSG xxx
Tony Bilson’s number 1 might have been closed because they have just gone into receivership. See the article in smh today. http://www.smh.com.au/national/the-diary/the-last-supper-20111013-1ln1t.html
there is no way I can choose just one favourite! This is sugar heaven indeed!!!
The Sugar Hit from the Shangri-La. Definitely! Although I was fascinating by some of the Japanese offerings as well… Basically, I just love the idea of dessert tastings!
Ohhhhhh! Where to start?!! I hope you didn’t have to eat all of that in one night! Not being a sugar addict the most appealing to me was Tomislav’s rice pudding with rhubarb sorbet, it’s so symmetrical and lovely colours! So simple yet effective! Almost like a Japanese plate but alive!
So much to choose from! How delightful
All the desserts look fabulous but nothing beats that first image – scene stealer every time.
You didn’t eat all this in one night did you?!
Oh myyyyyyyyy.. you’ve definitely had a “sugar hit” alright. They all look absolutely stunning! I’m torn between which ones to go to. But thank you for posting because now I can see what I want to try.. hehe x
I want the chocolate and date tart – so decadent!!
This thorough report couldn’t have come at a better time! I’m planning on conducting a Sugar Hit “research” round of my very own next weekend, and this provides a wonderful preview of what to expect. The only thing stopping me from trying everything is my, er, uni student income ;D
Thank you so much for taking the time to do this!
I think my favourite would be the milk chocolate bavarois from the Hilton Hotel. Gorgonzola panna cotta? Hmmm! No thanks.
I’m compiling a loooong list of places to visit on my next holiday to Sydney!
OMG! As dessert-only bloggers, we are hoping that the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival in March next year has a Sugar Hit series like this!! Your pictures are so wonderful, too bad our Sydney flights to visit this month for the Crave Festival has been disrupted by Qantas strikes!
This looks goregous – i need to travel to Sydney – one of the places on my list.
I have no words to describe how I’m feeling now after looking those glamorous desserts. I don’t have a favorite, everything sweet is good for me, but if I have to choose, I can say chocolate souffle…
While reading, I initially thought you did all this in one night!!! I was baffled how you managed to weave through the traffic and find a parking spot at each location!!
The Catalina dessert appealed the most to me, but I’d rather eat it while hungry, and not after a rich meal.
Good on you for driving around the inner city Lorraine; that always freaks me out.
oh my goodness! thats definitely a lot of ‘sugar hits’! i dont think i could pick a favourite, they all sound fantastic!
Wow you certainly did get a sugar hit. That’s disappointing about the last restaurant and terrible service not to let you know if you had a booking!
I think I’d go for the one at the Hilton – you sold me on the tonka beans tasting like vanilla with a hint of cinnamon. Yum!!!
I do not have a sweet tooth so desserts do nothing for me and all these sugary stuff just made my tummy churn a little. But, I really enjoyed all the beautiful photos beginning with the Sydney Opera House. I think you take some of the most beautiful photos of any food blog and I only wished I had your eye for composition.
I really shouldn’t have looked at this when I’m dieting. It all looks soooooo good!
I’ll have one of each thanks! I’m really not fussy
Wow – I have had that Ocean Room one before and it’s uhmahze – gorgonzola in pannacotta. Would would’ve thought?! x
Wow!!! That was a lot of dessert! I think being able to pick anything from Tomislavs dessert menu is a good option but the dessert box at Azuma sounded amazing! Thanks for doing the research!
It’s all gorgeous Lorraine, but I think my teeth hurt. The only way I can enjoy dessert is if I’ve limited sugar for about 10 days, then I go crazy for this kind of thing.
Food porn at its best! So many sugary delightful concoctions. I am a tad jealous Lorraine
ANYTHING with pop rocks takes my prize!
As brings me back to childhood with wonderment and surprise!
Glad I could enjoy the desserts through your eyes, TRUE!
Your photos FELT like I could reach out and say, “I’d like to try THIS one” WHOO HOO!
Top of my bucket list – make the rounds of every restaurant I passed dessert up in (modeling days were not fun), and let gluttony rule! May have to come back to Sydney next year – I’m sure I missed a few there, too.
Oh my, you and your sweet tooth do get around haha fab!! That gorgonzola panna cotta looks SO amazing!!
NOW this is what I call a night with the stars….well done. Diabetic coma coming on??
OMG, a night of eating nothing but desserts at restaurant after restaurant? Man, they need to have something like this in the states. We are obviously behind!
Lucky lucky you with such great restaurants vying for your dessert patronage, instead of them just being something tacked on at the end of a meal.
Sugar High would be a great name for a dessert bar or icecream parlour! I like the chocolate plate and the Japanese tray the most, because I love a good degustation or tasting platter- you’re sure to find something to love and the chef gets to play around a bit with the ideas.
I’m looking forward to the Glass sugar hit most!
Wow! What a sugar high. I love the idea of Sugar Hit, but I wish it started earlier than 9pm! Haha such a grandma…
The desserts that appealed to me most above are Hilton Hotel Glass Brasserie, Tomislav, and Catalina.
My goodness! You’ve been busy in the two weeks – but I guess all that sugar helps!
The japanese restaurant’s dessert appealed to me the most. Probably cos i’m craving for some japanese now!
Oh my goodness Lorraine. I have a sugar high just reading this post! Did you eat all that in one night? Bravo to you, incredible effort
I really can’t decide which dessert I want to eat, they all look really, really amazing.
Oh I agree. Sugar High would be a great name for a dessert bar! If only I had the money to finance it! And because I don’t have a sweet tooth, I would not eat the profits. Investors, please note!
Wow, that sounds like my kind of festival! Dessert and matching wine? Amazing
I think they all look delicious, but that chocolate and date tart has particularly caught my eye 
Stunning and mouthwatering each and everyone of them. I’ve said it before but oh lucky you!
They all look so darn amazing, but I can’t seem to get past the Azuma one. Show-stopper!
I think some of your captions are missing an ‘S’ cause it’s Brown Brothers, right?
Talk about dessert heaven!
What a good idea! I love a dessert crawl.
Fabulous buildings. Wow.
The tasting plate would be my pick, I can never resist the option of several desserts in one
You really have to suffer for your art don’t you?
Oh my, that is a LOT of sugar! Everything looks fab though, I think they need to do something like this in London – how awesome would it be to dessert hop… here’s hoping.
You must be so wired, how do you sleep with all that sugar? I loved the glass in the second photo, but I have to say my favourite is The Shangri-La hotel’s variety plate. Not too much of any one thing, but a great tasting. Gorgeous venues too!
Oh boy… dessert heaven. The Japanese sweets made me some idea.. I haven’t had mochi for a while and I am craving for it. What a beautiful alley of desserts. Every single dessert looks well thought and beautiful! Now I wish I have all these in front of me!
I cannot pick which would be my favourite, they all look devine! I’m really craving all things sweet now hehehe
I’m actually really sad about Bilson’s going under receivership
I’ve heard many people raving about the sugar hit at Number 1 wine bar though. Tomislav desserts never disappoint but the most intriguing one would be the brulee at Glass Brasserie!
Oh, so hard to decide! I think the gorgonzola cheesecake and the Azuma desserts, although I actually am drawn to the chocolate Valhrona dessert for once, because dates and rose? Yes please!
Oh wow Lorraine that was a sugar hit and a half, well done to you and Mr NQN for doing so many.
I went into a sugar coma just reading that.
Probably ALL OF THEM except the Gorgonzola one. Just can’t get my head around that.
Holy moly how could I choose one dessert out of that? I feel myself slipping into a sugar coma just reading that post. Sweet ecstacy!
pick one favorite? you must be joking!
Thank you for taking me on this journey, one I have always wanted to go on. Maybe next year………
just looking at these gorgeous photos has made me run off and cut a slice of cake, to compensate that I can’t eat these desserts!
10 sugar hits! thats crazy! i thought ive done a good job in tackling 6 this year. *bows*
Now that is alot of comments. Nothing like a sweet tooth to bring us all out. my favourite has to be Warm rice pudding with spiced caramel broth and rhubarb sorbet served with Brown Brothers Patricia Noble Riesling. Hard to beat rhubarb and never thought it would go with wine.
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