Restaurant reminiscing

I've lived in London since the start of the year, but in a few weeks I'll be returning to my hometown of Hobart, Tasmania. While there are more than a few things that I will miss once I've left the big smoke, there are a handful of places back home that are making me feel like an excited child in the lead up to Christmas. Naturally, they're all to do with food.

Here's my list of Hobart's best places for food:

Vanidol's

Vanidol's does Asian and it does it very, very well. It specialises in Thai, Indonesian and Indian food and is very reasonably priced for the quality of the food. My favourite dish is Gai Pad King (chicken stir-fry with fresh ginger and vegetables), but surpassing the individual dishes are the banquets. They're amazing. There's two options, priced at $38 and $45 per person with a minimum of four diners. I've had the more expensive one thanks to an uncle's birthday dinner and I can definitely say it was well worth the cost. It included four courses with multiple dishes with each course, from soup to spring rolls to a startling array of main dishes. I had to leave before dessert (at that point I don't think I could have fit it in anyway) but my mother being the woman she is doggy bagged it and I had it the next day. Dessert was a Snowball - coconut and ice creamy goodness - covered in chocolate sauce and even the next day it tasted incredible. I recommend booking, it's always really busy, or they also do takeaways if you prefer to enjoy the deliciousness in the comfort of your own home. 

Mezethes

Mezethes was somewhere that I had been intending to try for ages and took forever to get around to it. I finally went in my last few weeks at home and instantly fell in love and have since spent five months wishing I wasn't on the other side of the world from it. Mezethes is a Greek taverna in Hobart's famous Salamanca market area, with nice atmosphere and fantastic food. I had lamb cutlets and, coming from someone who isn't a big meat eater, it was one of the best meals I've had. The meat was so tasty and practically melted in my mouth. I can't wait to go back and try something else...although knowing me I'll probably end up having the lamb again. You can also get takeaways for lunch and apparently they do good breakfasts. 

Cargo 
Cargo Bar and Pizza Lounge is relatively new on the scene, arriving on the Salamanca stretch a couple of years ago. As the name suggests, it specialises in tasty pizzas and comfy couches and is the place to go for after work dinner and drinks with friends. The décor is stylish without being pretentious and the pizzas use simple and fresh ingredients to good effect. I'm yet to have a bad pizza there and I can assure you I've tried a few, including the amazing dessert pizzas. There's a long cocktail list and other mains available if pizza doesn't take your fancy. They also have pizza and a nice array of ice cream flavours to take away.  

Sush

Sush is the chosen destination of many hungry city workers at lunchtime. They do big handrolls of sushi, perfect for grabbing quickly and eating in or taking back to the desk. London doesn't do sushi the way Australia does and I've seriously missed being able to get my fix. Sush's handrolls are hearty - they're packed to the brim with rice and fillings. My favourites are sundried tomato and cashew nut, prawn, and smoked salmon and cream cheese. You can eat in or takeaway from the shop, or you can order it by the box online.

Breadd

You haven't had a real salad roll until you've had one from Breadd. When you walk into the tiny city centre shop you're hit with the amazing aroma of baking bread - and the taste of it is even better than the smell. The Turkish pides come in a range of flavours, such as chilli, wholemeal and (my favourite) herb and garlic. They're usually still warm when you get them and the spread of homemade dips and fresh salads to fill them with provides something for everyone. You can also buy a bag of rolls to take home and they make any old sandwich taste like something special. As well as the rolls, Breadd does great soups, hot drinks and various muffins, pastries and cookies. The city shop has no seating so if you want to eat Breadd instore you have to head out to their Kingston shop, which is a lovely place to eat and read the paper with the delicious aroma in the air.

 

Salad Bowl

Salad Bowl in South Hobart is my favourite place for food shopping. They have beautiful in-season fruits and veggies, freshly baked bread in a variety of shapes and sizes, a great range of meats and deli products (including amazing homemade dips) and heaps of Tasmanian specialties, like Valhalla ice cream. They also have ready made meals, including salads and curries, a divine bakery section and plenty of good wine. Shopping there is so calm compared to the supermarkets, and in Australia's supermarket duopoly it's nice to support a small store. If there's more than one person lined up, an assistant seems to appear from nowhere to serve you and they're always friendly. As someone who spent five years working casually at one of the big supermarkets, I can safely say that it would have much more pleasant in this place. Ah well, at least I get to shop there now!

View Favourite Hobart food haunts in a larger map

Good news!

So apart from the fact that I now have a food blog, the other good news is that I have succeeded in making my boyfriend like risotto. He's on what you might call a food discovery. Being brave one night he'd tried a risotto at a restaurant, and after finding it terrible formed the opinion that he didn't like them. But after the first bite of last night's chorizo and mushroom risotto he was a convert. This is very good news as I have become somewhat in love with risottos and find them the perfect comfort food, especially in winter, and I enjoy the therapeutic process of cooking them. I was a little bit worried, partly because I made the recipe up (using the now memorised Jamie Oliver basic risotto) and partly because I'm slightly poor and bought cheap ingredients. But I'm pleased to report that you can make a delicious risotto for £6.38, including the wine. I was rather impressed with my budgeting prowess. 

Here's the recipe if you feel like a cheap and tasty risotto. I made it for two people.


Chorizo and Mushroom Risotto

1 Spanish (red) onion, diced

4 mushrooms, sliced

100g chorizo, cut into strips

1 cup arborio rice

1/2 cup of dry white wine

500ml chicken stock

1/2 cup finely grated parmesan

olive oil

knob of butter

1. Heat oil in saucepan on low to medium heat. Add onion, cook until soft but not brown. 

2. In a separate saucepan, bring stock to the boil, then turn down to a simmer. 

3. Add rice to onion, cook for a few minutes until translucent. Pour in wine, stir until it's soaked into the rice. Then add a ladle of stock and keep stirring.

4. Once each ladle of stock is soaked in, add another and continue process until all stock is gone. If you run out of stock before the rice is cooked make more stock or just boil a kettle of water and pour a little in a time.  

5. Meanwhile, cook mushrooms and chorizo in a pan over medium heat. The fat from the sausage will provide enough oil to cook the mushrooms in. 

6. Once the risotto, mushrooms and chorizo are all cooked, add the sausage and veg to the rice and stir through with the parmesan and butter. Let the risotto rest for a minute, if it's too stodgy add a little water and stir. 

Eat!