[REVIEW] Hobart in a Heartbeat

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I recently took a road trip around the Island with one of best friends, a whistle stop tour which started in Hobart, took us to the Bay of Fire, then Launceston before finishing up in Devonport. We had just week to soak it up but that week was enough to have me hooked.

We spent a few days exploring Hobart, visiting the MONA, strolling the coastline, wondering through various markets and ate and ate and ate and ate and ate. Holy moly did we eat and each and every time was glorious. The food scene in Hobart is a hidden gem and we were lucky enough to find some diamonds.

Daci and Daci

A gorgeous little café set close to the water, it had a very oldy worldy feel about it with dark wood finishings and gold trimmed tables. It was the ideal place to sit and relax after our flight into Tassy. We ordered a pumpkin salad and sausage roll to start but that’s not what I want to talk about. The sweets were the highlight. They had an entire counter dedicated to cakes, pastries, chocolate and sweets. Picking one was the hard part but thankfully eating them was the easy part.

We eventually opted for the banoffee pie and tarte tatin and I think we made a good choice. The tarte was super sticky with lashings of caramel perfectly balanced against the tart apple. The banoffee pie was smooth and creamy and had a real hit of banana flavour. It also came with a squiggle on the plate and when there’s a squiggle you know they mean business.

"Who's FULL just reading THIS?"

Farm Gate Market

Of course we did a bit of research prior to travelling and word on the street was there’s a truck famous for its sushi rolls. Farm Gate Market is one of the many food markets in Hobart and we were lucky enough to be visiting while it was on. Searching for the sushi truck didn’t take long, just look out for the ridiculously long queue. Moments after joining it a camera crew and producer came by and told us they were filming for Tasmania Tourism and did we mind being filmed. Clearly I was ok with it and Charlie didn’t care as long as she got to eat. We watched in amazement as our sushi rolls were made fresh in front of us and the colours of the sushi roll were vibrant and it tasted as fresh as it looked.

And yes we did manage to make it to the big screen. Here’s the link to our 5 seconds of fame.

https://gobehindthescenery.com.au/video-gallery/south/surfing-sushi-chef/

Honey Badger

One of the great things about becoming an adult is that you can make ridiculous decisions like having desserts for dinner and no one can tell you otherwise. Making the most of our responsible, mature, adulting ways we opted to go to Honey Badger for a feast of sugary goodness. A cute café set in Salamanca Square it was clean and bright with quirky signs and bold yellow teacups. Making ourselves comfortable we ordered the banana roti with caramel sauce, fudge ice cream, condensed milk and toasted cocnut and the black panookie (a cookie baked in a pan) with toasted marshmallow and chocolate ice cream, chocolate sauce and toasted almonds and all washed down with a cup of tea. Both equally tasty and equally devoured.

The Winston

Let me paint you a scene. It’s night time, it’s drizzling, two young ladies (clearly not from these parts) find themselves outside a local pub, not the prettiest looking of pubs but a good old fashioned local. The door bangs open as they step inside, eyes cross the bar to inspect the two foreigners, a slight silence descends on the room before picking up quickly to its usual chatter. Normality is restored.

The Winston, known for its rather outlandish offerings, was buzzing with people drinking, playing pool, and eating burgers out of what looked to be dog bowls. Which is exactly what they were. I thought the novelty of the pub was fun and it was nice to be so deeply submerged in a local eatery. The burgers were pretty insane but surprisingly good. A maple glazed donut burger and a chicken waffle burger with battered bacon are almost too much to think about let alone consume. If you come to The Winston don’t expect finesse, expect to be seriously full up.

Machine Laundry

"FOOD, glorious food."

Ending our trip on a high was breakfast at Machine Laundry. Named so because it is a café come laundrette. It’s turquoise walls and neon sign were fun and provided instant joy. The same can’t be said for the scramble egg roti. I found it quite bland and uninspiring but luckily the parmesan and pancetta pancakes made up for it. They definitely didn’t skimp when it came to portion sizes, two giant pancakes were enough to feed the two of us and they were packed full of cheesey goodness. Of course we couldn’t say goodbye to Hobart without one last sugary morsel. OK, two last sugary morsels. A hot chocolate the size of my face and banana and ricotta hotcakes with a sprinkling of brownie. The pancakes were incredibly fluffy and I now believe it should be law to serve all pancakes with a side helping of brownie.

We left Hobart with a good taste in our mouth (both figuratively and literally). A beautiful town complimented perfectly by the wonderful people and food offerings. A piece of paradise right on our doorstep.

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