Cuisine Down Under (Water)

I had heard a lot from others that the seafood in Australia was to die for; however, I needed to find out for myself. Even the CEO from my last co-op would take frequent trips to Melbourne for work and told me I had to take advantage of the food here. Born and raised in Massachusetts, I’ve had the opportunity to eat some spectacular seafood, but I was excited to have even more of it. The hostel we’re staying at provides us with breakfast (usually toast and cereal), the ingredients needed to make sandwiches for lunch, and dinner every day. I feel like that’s incredibly unique for a Dialogue of Civilizations, helping us out because Tasmania is a little more expensive than the US. Although we’re given a lot of food, within the past two weeks we’ve all ventured out to find different types of cuisine: specifically seafood.

As the first Friday approached, all 16 of us decided that it was time to try it out. We decided to go downtown to Mures, a restaurant down by the water in Hobart. A large amount of the fish selection that was here was straight from the fryer: fried scallops, squid, and blue ribeye. I got the fried scallops, and they were delectable. Usually when I go to a unknown place, especially restaurants, I like to ask the people that work there for their opinions on the food. The man I asked about the scallops said that he hated them, but that for some reason pushed me even further to get that exact dish. Scallops are known to be pretty fishy tasting, but I believe that I possess that acquired taste. A lot of the other students on my trip got the squid or fish and loved it. At this point, I had only had one seafood dish but was instantly hooked. On the way back from our trip at Wineglass Bay, we stopped at a vineyard for coffee and snacks. Turns out, there was a small seafood shack right near by that was selling fresh oysters.

Six fresh and clean oysters spun out in a ring on a plate arrived before me. There was a lemon on the side that was to be squeezed onto all the oysters before slurping them down. If you’ve never had oysters before, I can’t guarantee that you’ll love them. Some people are put off by the texture (slimy, gooey, cold, and wet). Some people also gulp them down without chewing them at all, but me, I like the flavor of the oyster itself. In my opinion they’re even more fishy than scallops. The addition of the lemon on top was a perfect, tangy complement to the strong, pungent taste of the oysters. We each also got a side of scallop and salmon chowder. It was spiced just right, serving as the best chowder I’ve had to this date.

Other than seafood, I’ve only tried some Japanese cuisine. We went to lunch yesterday at a place called Bento Box. A medium size box consisted of steamed rice, salad, and two entrees of your choice. I got mixed tempura and dumplings. Additionally, there was strong presence of multiple cuisines at Salamanca Market. This is a large market that runs every Saturday stretching from one end to the other downtown at Salamanca Place. Aside from the many small shops vending trinkets and clothes, there was an abundance of food stalls. Walking up and down the street there was a certain smell that peaked my interest: Asian cuisine. Although Hobart is known for its seafood, my mind was set on juicy dumplings. Arriving in a little cardboard box containing four plump dumplings, I finished them within minutes. The market sold everything from baby clothes to tree nuts to pizza to soaps! Some other people within our group had tried breakfast bagel sandwiches made by a Minnesotan lady, while others downed raw oysters at a small stall. With just my first experience there, I could already tell that I would be coming back for weekends to come.

Here are a dozen large-sized fresh oysters from Salamanca Market. They taste great with lemon and Tabasco drizzled on top!