July 29, 2010

Sydney Fish Markets

LOVE the Sydney fish markets. I just love them. Where else can you get fresh sashimi for a quarter of the price that you would pay at a restaurant? And it’s so easy to get to! You can catch a bus, walk from Central (okay, it’s about a 20 – 25 minute walk but it’s good exercise!) or if you’re feeling rich, catch the light rail.

I am always up for a trip to the fish markets and this one was a cracker.

I like walking around the markets to peruse which store has the best priced and freshest-looking seafood. And also just to ogle what’s on sale.

For example – check these out:

The sign reads ‘Alaskan King Crab Legs – Cooked’. They must be some delicious tasting legs! And what happened to the rest of the crab???

I also had a chuckle when I read this sign:

In case you can’t see, it says ‘Do not look at the price, quality is the important!’

Hehe.

Usually in food courts, I steer clear of the seafood in bain-maries but for some reason, it looks delicious at the fish markets.

Soft shell crab, prawn dumplings on skewers etc

Garlic prawns

Barbecued octopus

So what did we end up eating?

Firstly, I had already decided that I was finally going to try the Lobster Mornay.

Half lobster mornay from Doyle’s ($19.00)

Secondly, I always have to get sashimi – kingfish and tuna.

Sashimi Bar

And lastly, oysters!

Pacific oysters – $14.99 doz

After disbanding to collect our food, we managed to score some prime real estate seating by the water.

And then time to dig in!

Half lobster mornay -$19.00 (with some fish also in the box that belonged to my friend, Moose)

Close-up

After all my build-up, the lobster mornay disappointed. The sauce and cheese lacked zing but it wasn’t very meaty 🙁

There was some good flesh in the tail though, and I devoured it in two bites. Yum.

Salmon sashimi and kingfish – approx $16 (salmon at 44.99 per kg; kingfish at 49.95 per kg + 20c per soy sauce packet)

You just can’t get better sashimi than at the fish markets. It is so smooth and fresh. This looks like a huge amount, and it was, but Moose and I polished it off. Don’t forget that the sashimi bar charges 10c per set of chopsticks and for soy sauce as well so think about using your fork from other places if you feel like saving some pennies 😉

Pacific oysters -$14.99 per doz

Mmm. Fresh, plump oysters with a dash of lemon. Delicious. Moose said that he had one that was a bit gritty but I lucked out and all of my half doz were perfect!