c o l d

There is snow on the hills and the sky has an ominous hue foreboding more of the same. A pot of mystery soup (last week's vegetables, with a can of organic tomatoes and kidney beans) cooks on the stove.

Too cold to think, let alone write - so here are some more pics from last month’s trip to Hobart.



more pumpkins than you could poke a stick at



you’ve got to love a coeliac aware pub



A strange name for a café, really

UPDATE: No idea why we found that last one so funny? This educational video might help. (Err actually it is an ad for ice cream but just ignore that).

the final Tassie treasures

A few last words on Hobart town.

My return flight to the mainland was ridiculously cheap but the price meant it was to be carry on luggage only. The weather necessitated some bulky clothing and there was only a little space left in my daypack.

Other than the cake, I managed to slip in a couple of tokens. The honey porter had meant to be sampled before leaving, however the lack of a bottle opener for the crown seal thwarted that one (my trusty Swiss army knife no longer travels the globe with me in the post September 11 world). I’m not a huge beer fan but thought this brewed in the bottle number from Taverner's sounded interesting. On tasting it reminded me of UK Real Ale. There was an odd, not entirely appetising nose but the flavour was a touch floral with a remnant of honey.



My travelling companion had sought out the unheated honey that she’d seen featured in an SBS program. Made by a French apiarist in the authentic style of his homeland, the honey is thick and white. At first glance it appeared like creamed honey. The texture is slightly granular and dense. With a few flavours on offeri the Prickly Box stood out as the most distinctive. You can read more about Miellerie Honey and it’s maker in this recent piece from The Mercury.



Time to head out to the Slow Food Market and meet up with some fellow bloggers. See you there!

country women Hobart style

Just a block down the hill from the delicious Royal Thai restaurant in Elizabeth Street is the CWA shop. We’d trudged past it 4 times at night before we could see inside during the opening hours. The window display featured homemade cakes and hand knits. It was a taste of op shops (thrift stores) like they used to be – except everything was handmade and brand new. Except the recycled coffee jar which go for a premium.



It was with great delight to finally walk through the doors to find Doris (number 98, which could well have been her age) with a spry but rather shy number 19. Almost half the shop is devoted to knitting, mostly old fashioned layettes and other baby attire. Many of the goods were priced at the cost of the wool. Seriously, if you want some woollies for a little one, or the most gorgeous green knitted elephant (for a mere $10), this is the place to shop. It puts new wave crafters to shame!

But the food, oh the food. Preserves like tomato chutney, passion curd butter and every jam and marmalade under the sun, sat with their plain labels and cellophane hats. The cakes and biscuits were all duly marked with their ingredients, date made and the number of the maker. You must remember pride is not a quality valued by the Country Women’s Association, so when I purchased a fruit cake (a late entry for the solstice event I reckon) there was a little blush from number 19 and Doris let the cat out of the bag that she’d made it. But I still couldn’t pry her name out of her.



On leaving, a woman barely 20 unloaded 3 boxes of yoyo biscuits and other goodies from a car – no not doing a delivery from her gran, a new generation of CWA bakers. So you can be sure as long as they keep their shop, baking like your mother might never have made is still to be had in Hobart town.

Country Women’s Association Gift Shop
165 Elizabeth Street
Hobart

Shop hours:
9.00 am - 4.00pm Monday – Friday
10.00am - 1.00pm Saturday

eating Hobart

The Apple Isle

With so many great suggestions in hand, our trip to Hobart was one, long picnic (albeit in slightly Arctic weather).

The first meal was on waking bright and early. We’d planned to get up at a decent hour and head off to the Salamanca market. Just after opening the place was buzzing already and we dived into the first café with a name I recognised and fortified ourselves with caffeine and sustenance.

Retro Café, reminded me of something out of Brunswick Street in the ‘80s. Fortunately I’m fond of Fitzroy boho so I warmed to it immediately. As promised, the coffee was excellent. In fact it was the pick of the crop in my time in town. Food included the usual hot and cold breakfasts on the menu but the specials board had a number of enticing options. My friend went for a veggie stack of roasted tomatoes, other vegetable offerings, poached eggs and pesto while I opted for some local smoked salmon served with eggs, spinach and hollandaise. Serving sizes were decent and though the most expensive of the three cooked breakfasts I had in town (still reasonably prized in the teens) it was the largest and left us feeling satisfied.

Stepping out the door of the cosy café and back into the market I wished we were staying somewhere we could cook, as the fresh produce looked great. The next few hours were spent wandering and grazing. Taking in Battery Point, scoping out Jackmas and McRoss, looking at the scenery and making a final market sweep (and sampling some tempura mushrooms from a market vendor that we just had to try) before entering Knopwoods for some mulled wine by the fire.


Berries in winter - Salamanca market

Though we’d been eating all day, there was still dinner to look forward to. Orizuru a modest Japanese restaurant on the water came highly recommended and despite the weather sushi was just about all we were able to fit into our stomachs. Sharing a dinner platter for two ($47) – the sushi, sashimi and nori rolls were fresh and certainly up to standard. Being Tasmania this also came with oysters that I am told were excellent. Considering the location, the restaurant was surprisingly understated.

Fortified by warm sake we headed off to the wilds of North Hobart in search of entertainment. But that’s another story!

Sunday started considerably later than the day before. With aching eyeballs we headed off for a bracing walk to Jackman & McRoss, the much talked about bakery in Battery Point. Scoring a table beside the window we finally managed to get the eye of the hesitant young waitress a to order some much needed coffee. My long black, though drinkable lacked substance and I’d rank it bottom of the three brews I had in town. While the hot breakfast specials were modestly priced my eggs and spinach with aioli on a chunk of white sourdough was more entrée sized. The aioli was a little sparse and appeared to have been grilled. Though tasty it left me wanting. Or at least that was the excuse I used to justify ordering a more jumbo sized chocolate croissant. My friend was seduced by the porridge, scented with orange and served with glazed figs. The little soufflé dish of cooked oats looked good but wasn’t quite as exciting as she’d have hoped. Sadly there were no carnivores with us to taste test the savoury pastry topped with a slice of black pudding, which was one of the most unusual ‘danishes’ I’ve ever seen on offer.



All the lovely bread for sale at Jackman and McRoss, Battery Point

Our final dinner was a stunner. It had taken a little coaxing to talk my companion into walking past the nearby Thai restaurant and trek up Elizabeth Street once more, in the gentle rain and darkness. But dinner at Royal Thai was definitely worth the journey. Recently relocated to flash new premises, this was some of the best Thai food I have eaten outside of Asia. I swear I have to go back to Hobart with a large group of people solely to sample a wider variety of dishes. We’d already decided that our bodies were craving vegetables and flipped to the vegetarian section at the back of the menu. There was a lot to choose from. Feeling a little tired and cold we opted for comfort choices of noodles and curry. What was delivered to our table by the friendly and efficient waitress was pad Thai and green curry at its best. The noodle dish was presented authentically with peanuts, chilli, bean shoots and lemon on the side to season ourselves, while the curry was freshly spiced with notable flavours of basil and chilli but balanced by a whole range of other notes. Not a huge fan of dessert, I couldn’t resist a combination of sticky rice, banana and black beans, wrapped and steamed, providing a satisfying and not too sweet way to finish the meal.

Our final meal of note was back at Salamanca place for breakfast at Zum. This sleek eatery would not have been out of place in Paddington or South Yarra and was buzzing at 9 o’clock on a Monday morning. There was even a local TV celebrity at the next table. Coffee was good and served promptly. Almost as enjoyable as Retro’s it made a close runner-up in my tally sheet. I succumbed to the delicious local smoked salmon once more, which was served on a well executed thick round of roesti with spinach and hollandaise. This was the winner, satisfying, well presented and a “potato pancake” cooked to perfection. We stayed awhile chatting and savouring both the food and the atmosphere.

With still so many unexplored food options, Hobart is a town I’d definitely return to. We filled three days easily, navigating the inner city on foot. With carry-on only luggage I was restricted in what I could bring back to the mainland but the market and nearby deli’s had so many treasures it was hard to restrain ourselves. I’ll give you a peak of those tomorrow!

Retro Café
31 Salamanca Pl
(03) 6223 3073

Knopwoods Retreat Tavern & Wine Bar
39 Salamanca Place
(03) 62235808

Orizuru Sushi Bar
Victoria Dock
(03) 6231 1790

Jackman & McRoss
59 Hampdon Rd.
Battery Point
(03) 6223 3186

Royal Thai
199 Elizabeth St
(03) 6234 1366

Zum Salamanca
29 Salamanca Place
(03) 6223 23239