Tasmania - Hobart - Day 1

Oh Hobart. Where do we start with you? 

Brad and my visit to Hobart in December last year (yup, still catching up there), was my first visit and so I was naturally very excited. How could I not be with a whole new eating ground to explore? 

Fortunately it was only an hour and a half drive from Port Arthur, so I didn't have to wait, wiggling away in the passenger seat with excitement, for too long before I got to eat anything!

Learning that our hotel wasn't quite ready to check us in, our first port of call was naturally the Jackman and McRoss bakery in Battery Point. The place was pumping! And clearly beloved by locals and popular with the tourists! 

And why not? The cosy bakery has a lovely warm and rustic atmosphere to it, with plenty of table space, table service and lovely large front windows which let the afternoon light gently saturate the space. 

We, somewhat stupidly, sat smack bang in front of the display case with all the luscious cakes and sweets. Oh why Ashley. Why?

But I was good, at first, settling in with a lovely chai latte and an insanely delicious vegetable frittata. It was smooth and oh so buttery. Probably incredibly naughty, but who's checking? It's generally hard to be totally overwhelmed by frittata (in my opinion) but this won me over completely. 

And after our more savoury nibble, I had to tuck into one of the sweets at least, surely! Although sweet, sugar dusted fruit pies and vanilla slices beckoned, I could not turn down the big fat blueberries on the blueberry tart. Cool and sweet, with a lovely short pastry shell. Oh and juicy! Of course!

After our little tea and coffee break, we made our way down Salamanca Place, where the market would be if you are there on a weekend, to suss out what dinner options we might have. There were plenty of delicious looking options, and the stroll around the cove was lively and lovely. 

Eventually, we passed by some floating fish and chip shops and all I wanted were oysters. For this, we stopped by 'The Fish Man', which was actually a fish monger on the water, and got half a dozen. Not as cheap as in Port Arthur unfortunately, but these were plumper and still incredibly cool and satisfying. 

I'm so happy.

We then checked into our hotel, the Leisure Inn Hobart Macquarie, which was actually a bit bigger than I expected it to be and perfectly comfortable. There was a bit of street noise, but it was pretty easy to filter out. 

Brad being a boy, promptly turned on the tv once we got into our room and zoned in on the cricket. So with a slightly exaggerated sigh, I announced I would go for a walk and took myself out to see what was in the immediate area. 

Which was how I stumbled upon this adorable little shop. When I saw it from the outside, I had to do a double take. It looked a bit like an op shop, with rather adorable and vintage looking bric-a-brac, but in clear big letters on the window was 'THE RETRO FUDGE BAR'. 

I had to go look. 

It was the cutest space, it was actually home to a vintage store, except with a twist. There was also a big display counter of fudge. And loads of it. More than 17 flavours. Woah.

Made with lots of love, Matthew and Tania have been making fudge for over 5 years, first selling at the Salamanca Market before setting up their own brick and mortar shop (although according to Facebook they're moving from this location that I found the at). I bought some red velvet flavour which I brought to one of Brad's aunts when we stayed with her in Strahan, and it was so smooth and velvety. Just a divine treat. 

This is one thing I came to love about Hobart, and the area around it, there were so many little home crafted goods that seem to have enough of a market in Tasmania and don't make it across to the mainland. I loved finding these little treasures and tasty nibbles and hope if I make a trip back, that I can spend more time sussing them out…and maybe actually go to the famous Salamanca Markets too!

For dinner, Brad and I wound up at the Mill on Morrison. We had strolled by it earlier, and although the menu was a bit all over the place and seemed to be lacking a clear and concise vision, had way too many yummy sounding things on it for me to ignore. 

And it had decent ratings on TripAdvisor and Urbanspoon. I'll take that. 

The Mill on Morrison is housed in a beautiful historic flour mill in the CBD, and it keeps a rather vintage feel to it, with not much done to it's interior. It felt a bit like a dance hall with some tables added to it. As such, the restaurant was pretty noisy as the acoustics weren't great, but on the bright side, it looked like a great place for a big family gathering in the middle of the restaurant, as there was plenty of space for the kiddies to run around, without the chance of them running into someone, or something!

The menu is big. There's a lot on it. It's meant to be a tapas style menu where most of the menu items are shared, and it seems to take inspiration from everywhere, tacos, to paella, to garlic popcorn. Why not?

Despite this, as generally larger menus mean less focus on execution, I found the food quite tasty, playful and well presented. By no means is The Mill on Morrison a formal dining experience, it's meant to be casual and laid back. 

The beetroot and wild rice salad, with pine nuts and goats cheese was an incredibly generous serving for $10 and I absolutely loved how earthy this whole dish was. 

The pea, mushroom, blue cheese and walnut arancini were hot, crunchy and fulfilling. I wouldn't have minded the blue cheese to be a little more pungent though! 

We happened to be in on a night where they were doing a bundled deal for their tacos and a corona. So we chose a chicken, avocado and corn puree taco, chilli beef, red bean and cumin yoghurt taco and a pulled pork taco with chipotle peppers and apple sour cream. 

I found the shells to all be a little bit 'wet', but this kind of worked nicely as it made it easier to fold around the filling and make for a slightly neater eating experience! All of the fillings were tasty, the chicken being just pleasant, the beef with a great kick of chilli and heat, and the pork was probably my favourite. The apple sour cream really giving it a sweet and refreshing note. 

We also a mac and cheese with leek and gruyere. Oh my god. All the cheesy sin in one little bowl. So good, although so bad! 

Sure, we were stuffed afterwards, but when there are sundaes on the menu, you just can't say no to dessert! Coming in two sizes and in a variety of flavours, we opted for two small sundaes, just to try more flavours.

My reaction upon seeing them?

"It's like…Disneyland…."

Whimsical and playful, one had a champagne sorbet with strawberries and a hairnet of caramel, whilst the other was rocky road with chocolate ice-cream, marshmallows and nuts. Maybe not the most sophisticated of desserts, but totally enjoyable and totally fun. 

All in all, a low key and fun meal. And a great first day in Hobart…next up, MONA and Garagistes...

Jackman and McRoss
59 Hampden Road
Battery Point

TAS 7004

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Retro Fudge Bar

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(Was located at 83 Harrington Street, but I think they've moved. They are also at Salamanca markets)

The Mill on Morrison

11 Morrison Street
Hobart
TAS 7000

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Sneak peeks and fun times!

In an attempt to catch up on my backlog, I've lumped an event, a few launches and a couple of other small fun things in this one post! Whoohoo, hop on the Hungree Express!

Candied Bakery

81A Hudsons Road

Spotswood

On Australia day a couple of friends invited my friend Mini and I to their local in Werribee, to have a few brews, play some boardgames and catch up, as I hadn't seen them in probably half a year. 

Since we were making the trek to the west, the only suitable thing to do was make a pitstop at the minimal and bright Candied Bakery in Spotswood. Whimsical, but completely unpretentious their desserts and baked goods are classic Australian with a twist of American influence. 

The main affair for me, even before we had had lunch was the soft serve, which happened to be Milo this day (was kind of hoping for peanut butter and jelly). It was so smooth, with a little milo crunch on top, and I quaffed down far too quickly. Mmhmm.

Pawn and Co. 

Disclaimer: I was invited to attend this launch 

402 Chapel Street

South Yarra

Few of my favourite things. Food. Photography. Mantique shows. I'm a bit odd like that. When Brad comes over on a Wednesday night (or whichever night they've moved the shows on to), I sit us down on the couch and tune into 7Maaaaateeeeeeee to laugh at the antics of the guys on American Pickers or be amazed at how much random movie memorabilia is sold on Hollywood Treasures. Love that stuff.

So I was quite excited when I was invited to the launch of Pawn and Co. on Chapel Street in South Yarra. The concept, drink our alcohol and buy all our shit. Well, they probably have a more eloquent way of saying it, but that's essentially it!

Everything in the bar can be bought, from the random antiques like a giant scale, or the taxidermined albino kangaroo (a real conversation starter for sure) to the hand rails (made out of walking sticks) and apparently, the  bar staff's clothes! Could make for an interesting hens night…? 

Couple this fun concept with tasty cocktails, a nice view above Chapel Street and an assortment of sliders and meatballs and you have a fun and chilled out place for a drink and a nibble. The pork, fennel and apple patty slider was a winner in my books, the Jamaican chicken and banana meatball not so much my thing…although Tegan did like it! 

The Wise Tapas Bar and Restaurant

Disclaimer: I was invited to attend this launch 

173 High Street

Prahran

Literary quotes, tapas and alcohol. Where do you get all this? At The Wise Tapas Bar and Restaurant, on High Street, just around the corner from Chapel. 

It was a cosy and intimate space, it kind of felt like a romantic library, with dark woods, big leather armchairs and a smattering of books casually lying around the place. Quirks in the decor like quotes on the ceiling from a range of sources made for fun conversation starters. 

Caryn and I rocked up to the launch early, so perched ourselves in the optimum people viewing spot, where we were shortly joined by Allan and Ricky, who all enthusiastically tucked into the tapas samplings that came out from around the corner. Score perfect spot?

Tapas was the star here, with all the favourites covered, with some interesting and perhaps less common additions. 

Manchego and jamon made me soft at the knees, whilst I loved the one spoonful of gorgeously bright paella and the rich lamb moussaka (which seems more Greek than Spanish to me) was incredibly moreish. It was a pity some of the dishes came out a touch cold, but that happens when you're serving up a big crowd. 

I think in the evenings The Wise could be a lovely spot to have a quiet drink with a date, or perhaps just somewhere to lounge back and have a moment with that intoxicating new book of yours…

Acland Street Cantina 

Disclaimer: I was invited to attend this launch 

2 Acland Street

St Kilda

It seems that The Prince in St Kilda has been having quite the makeover lately, with the big brother upstairs getting a fresher, modern take and downstairs (where the wine store was) getting turned on it's head to become a Mexican joint, where one can dine on Mexican goodies or buy home to enjoy in the comfort of your own home. 

The place is darned big. You wouldn't guess when you first walk in, where there are some dining spaces, a little shop area and a bar, but stroll on down the hallway and say hello to the much bigger bar space, which is dark and rather sexy. 

Whilst we happily drank coronas, Spanish pinot grigios and fun and fruity margaritas, the kitchen pumped out sweet lamb empanadas, topped with figs, ceviche with a kick, soft shell fried fish tacos which were so tasty and the most wickedly cheesy quesadillas you may ever come across. Suckers were like half a cm thick with cheese. 

Whilst we didn't get to try a huge variety of food, I am keen to come back and try more! I absolutely in particular loved their soft, gluten free, taco shells, only thing is they are a bit out of the way for me…sigh…St Kilda!

Red Emperor

3 Southgate Avenue
Southbank

Red Emperor has been a family favourite for as long as I can remember. Therefore, it saddened me greatly when I learnt that they were moving, sure, they were still in the same location and moving down one floor, but there was something rather iconic and special about those large windows that overlooked Flinders Street Station. 

Now located one level down, Red Emperor is now a much more intimate space, it's a touch stifling for me, but that's because I intensely missed those high ceilings! To it's credit, the acoustics are well done, and the interior is still quite slick and sexy. 

The most important thing though, is that the food is still all awesome. Still classic and beautifully executed. Mum and my favourite is still the twice cooked quail, as finger-licking good as ever...!

MFWF: Chan's Dumpling Festival

Disclaimer: I  received complimentary passes to this event

When one thinks Guiness World Record, one is usually thinking of strong muscly men lifting stuff, more piercings than you could poke a stick at and other such bizarre human interests. 

But yum cha? Whoever thinks of doing a world record with yum cha? And in Australia of all places?

Well Chan's Yum Cha did and boy was it an event! Chan's Dumpling Festival was held during the Melbourne Food and Wine festival in the Treasury gardens, the challenge was to gather more than 500 people to have two courses at dim sum, at around the same time. 

On the perfectly warm and sunny weekend it was, the event lived up to it's name! It was incredibly lively, with lion dances, Chinese massage and wu shu demonstrations, despite a slightly long wait between courses, there was always something to be watching or doing! 

The lunch consisted of prawn har gow, sesame prawn toast, ginger prawns, shitake dumplings, pork buns and deep fried banana fritters, all from Chan's Yum Cha range, which you can actually buy at the supermarkets. It was a real feast, and surprisingly fairly tasty, especially considering how many people they had to serve and the fact that it would have had to be mass cooked in a separate kitchen and shuttled to the site! 

Was the record beaten? More like smashed! With 771 people present, and around 750 people officially counted. Not a bad effort hey?