“Put a shrimp on the Barbie” has somehow become the quintessential American phrase to describe Australia. Which makes no sense at all. First of all, Australians mimic their mother country in using the word ‘prawn’ to describe those crunchy crustaceans. And second of all, it’s impossible to imagine an Australian eating anything but fried potatoes covered in sweet chili sauce, or reheated, plastic-wrapped meat pies. Oh, and really really mediocre and expensive fusion.
Alright, that’s not true, every once in a while there’s a food gem. But in general it’s back to hunter/gatherer basics as Australians desperately try to ward off scurvy.
With one huge exception. Hobart, capital of Tasmania is possibly the best place in the world to eat fish. And to prove it, this one-time penal colony fronts a ridiculous number of restaurants for such a small population.
Every single fishing pier is covered with fish restaurants: fancy restaurants, fresh fish and chipperies, a sushi bar, fish markets, and barges tied up to the sides of the docks selling, yes, more fish and chips. Even restaurants not lucky enough to own waterside space tout curried scallop pies, huge fish menus, yet more fish and chips, and signs boasting their own private suppliers.
Here, as in all of Australia, the trick is to stay simple. All snobbiness aside, anything more complicated than frying or boiling seems to confound most Australian chefs. The open scallops and poached blue-eye at the swank behemoth Mures Upper Deck, are fantastically unmemorable, but the fish and chips at Fish Frenzy on Elizabeth Street Pier are perfect: hot and slippery and crunchy; covered in fresh beer batter or crumbed (which apparently means ‘covered in crumbs’).
The locals seem to know which is freshest among the barges at Constitution dock, so I suggest going for wherever the lines are longest. Flippers has some sexy crumbed Travelly and battered blue eye, while the barge second to the end has crumbled everything, chips covered in a buttery curry sauce, and Cadbury ice cream delivered fresh from the factory just outside of town.
Steer clear of anyone selling ‘shrimp’; they’re definitely not Australian.