Hobart, Tasmania is a hub for food and art crafted with local ingredients and inspired by the nature of the island. What do independent bakers, chefs, and craftsmen love? A market of course! Hobart has an incredible weekend market scene with something for everybody. The Salamanca Market on Saturdays is best for art, jewelry, and souvenirs. Farm Gate on Sundays is the best for fresh fruits, veggies, meats, and cheeses. And the Hobart Twilight Market on Fridays is the best for kicking back with a beverage while enjoying food and live music.
The market alternates between Brook St. Pier (downtown Hobart) and Long Beach (Sandy Bay), so we hopped on down to the Sandy Bay locale to give some bites a try.
Let’s dive into everything we ate at the Hobart Twilight Market!
1. Fish, Calamari, and Chips from Wattlebanks
Wattlebanks is a seafood food truck that dishes out freshly fried fish, squid, and scallops, all served with chips. (AKA fries for my American readers.) Wattlebanks is big on the summer market and festival scene, and they also do catering for weddings and parties.
We got the squid and fish, both were delicious. The fish had a solid crunch on the outside while still being soft and juicy on the inside. I appreciated the fact there wasn’t too much coating, which allowed the fish to be the star. The squid was also top tier. It was ultra-tender and not the least bit chewy, and the coating had a slight peppery flavor that took it up a notch. Each platter was $20AUD/$14USD, which isn’t “frugal”, but I also wouldn’t say it was a horrible value.
2. Pad Thai and Thai Fish Cakes from Jasmine Kitchen
Jeremy and I love Thai food, so we jumped at the chance to get some Thai grub from Jasmine Kitchen. We started with the national dish of Thailand, Pad Thai ($20AUD). It had a lovely balance of sweet, salt, and sour and a hefty handful of peanuts and bean sprouts to add two types of crunch. I’m never mad to be eating Pad Thai, and it was my favorite dish we tried from the Hobart Twilight Market. (Curious about the history of Pad Thai? Check out my deep dive HERE!)
We also got the Thai fish cakes ($12AUD). The consensus was that this was our least favorite bite. While I enjoyed the kick of spice, the texture was rubbery and it didn’t tickle my fancy.
3. Lamb Souvlaki Pita from Get Greek
Get Greek is a speciality food truck serving platters and pitas with the flavors of Greece using the ingredients of Tasmania. We got a lamb souvlaki pita ($21AUD) that was filled with tomato, onion, fries, tzatziki, and lamb. The lamb was well cooked, the pita was fluffy, and I’ll never be mad over the tang of tzatziki. But the ratios were off. There was far to much onion and tomato and not enough lamb. Close, but no cigars.
4. Pork and Spring Onions Dumplings from Yummy Dumplings
To wrap up our Hobart Twilight Market foodie extravaganza, we got an order of pork and spring onion dumplings ($10AUD) from Yummy Dumplings. This spot makes all it’s dumplings by hand, and you can taste the difference. The dough is perfectly thin and the filling packs a punch with serious flavor. Absolutely delicious, and I could have easily eaten them all myself.
