Waterfront, The Rocks

First Impressions/ Service - Poor

We visited Waterfront on a weeknight as walk-ins. It was half-empty at around 7pm, with a massive sign out front advertising a steak special. When we approached the greeter (who was right next to that big sign), she didn't bother to look up from her paperwork. When we managed to get her attention, she looked at us with the expression of Grumpy Cat. She asked if we made a booking, to which we answered in the negative. Without saying anything, she turned around and headed in. We looked at each other, shrugged and assumed (correctly) from the amount of available tables that she was leading us inside.

Our table wasn't set properly, lacking salt and pepper shakers and napkins. I brushed it off, thinking that the table might have been recently vacated. Once we were ready to order, it took quite a bit of waving to get the attention of a waiter. This turned out to be a chronic problem for the rest of our stay, from asking for napkins to asking for the bill. It would have been understandable if the staff were busy, but there were always a couple of waiters/ waitresses who would hover at the borders, chatting and laughing amongst themselves.

The Food - Better

Food arrived promptly - in fact, we were done with our meal within an hour.

We commenced with the "Seafood nibbles", a platter made up of prawns, scallops, calamari and a small pot of black mussels. Just quickly - The tiger prawns and flash fried baby calamari were battered lightly - calamari was a little dry but the prawns were great. The grilled scallops were the most visually appealing part of that platter, with a mouthwatering topping of garlic butter. Mussels were cooked in a light sauce which didn't interfere with the briny flavour of the meat.

Seafood nibbles ($39.00)

My main was the "Twice cooked pork belly". My favourite part of the dish by far was that lovely layer of sticky, caramelised crackling. The lentils tasted a little odd at first in combination with the pork, but it started to grow on me mid-way through.

Pork belly ($35.00)

After nagging him about eating too much steak that week, the Boy had graciously ordered the "Roast chicken breast 'coq au vin style'", which he reckoned was on the small side. The chicken was moist, made more so with the mushrooms and the wine-based sauce.

Roast chicken breast ($34.00)

Did the food make up for the service? We used an Entertainment Book voucher, so, in our case, it somewhat did. I doubt we'll return, though. There are other restaurants nearby with better food, service and the same view. A tip for those who plan to visit, sitting outdoors can expose you to the elements at night, so bring a coat.

Hobart, Part I

Over the Easter long weekend, I abandoned all responsibility and escaped for a few days to Hobart, Tasmania. Although various people had tried to prepare me for the chill (and kept reminding me to pack warmly), I didn't quite believe them when they said it would be cold. I was also bemoaning the limited size of my sports bag, which was one third full when I threw in my towel - so regrettably I couldn't bring any of my fluffy marshmallow socks! Fortunately, I survived the biting cold, strong winds, and occasional rain, thanks to my favourite woollen winter coat and trusted scarlet umbrella.

Mures Lower Deck

Arriving in Hobart on a public holiday meant that no retailers were open and that our food choices were limited. As it took longer than expected sorting out the car rental, it was way past lunch time and we were starving. This meant finding food was our number one priority, which was quite an arduous task, what with interpreting the GPS's garbled messages and navigating through the various one-way roads. We happened to come across the 200-over-year-old Victoria Dock, home to numerous fishing boats and fish and chip vendors that were actually feeding the hungry.

My full bladder demanded that we eat somewhere with indoor plumbing, so we retreated into Mures Lower Deck, a cafeteria style eatery with a fancier component on the upper deck. Mures Lower Deck is family and group friendly, with large tables, stuffed toy souvenirs, and ice cream for the kids. As a random note, I thought the water dispensers were peculiarly sophisticated, with chilled and room temperature options.

Furniture!

 Ordering is at the counter and they give you a buzzer, just like in a food court. I won't elaborate too much on the food - it's standard fish and chips, except pretty fresh. Also, I was ravenous at the time and all I remember was devouring my share in an absolute frenzy.

Fisherman's basket: $14.90 (snack), $19.90 (meal)

Breadcrumbed scallops: $11.90 (snack)

Greek salad: $7.90 (small)

Battered fish: $14.90 (2 pieces)

Shark/ fish heads and stuffed animals.

Next on our agenda was grocery shopping! With technology what it is, we whipped out Google Maps and looked up our nearest Woolies, which was an easy 10 minutes' walk from Victoria Dock. Having paid for 2 hours of parking, we had plenty of time to walk over to Woolies to pick up a few necessities and walk back.

Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens

 It was evening by the time we settled into our temporary home and we figured there was time to squeeze in a bit of sightseeing. We decided on the botanical gardens, as its website stated that it's open all year round. Being the last day of March, we were fortunate enough to have until 6.30pm instead of 5.30pm to look around. I have to say that the gardens were pretty impressive. Though smaller than Sydney's botanic gardens, each exhibit was carefully designed to suit a particular theme. I also really appreciated the considerable variety of plants and flowers. Sadly, I didn't get to see the whole garden because we ran out of time, but there was an arbour of rose plants that reminded me of smaller scale European gardens.

Entry fee: Gold coin donations

Opening hours: 8am to 5.00pm, 5.30pm or 6.30pm, depending on the time of the year

Time spent: approximately 2 hours (you could spend half a day there easily)

 

  Prince of Wales Hotel

 We decided to head to Battery Point for dinner, which was interesting to look at as a suburb. The houses were cottage-style and had so much character. Battery Point also had a vintage-looking independent petrol station and a convenience store that charged exorbitant amounts for their biscuits.

Cool petrol station!

Prince of Wales Hotel (I keep nearly typing out the word hospital) is located on 55 Hampden Road. The restaurant is located further inside, past the area with locals on bar stools catching up with each other on beers.

I ordered a whole-baked rainbow trout stuffed with herbs and lemon. It came with a side of mango salad and thinly sliced rosemary potatoes. I was actually not expecting much from this meal - simple but hearty pub food, perhaps, but nothing that tasted as good as what was actually served.

The trout was pretty bony, but the flesh flaked off easily, and it was quite easy to avoid any unpleasant stabs to the mouth as long as you avoided the head of the fish. They added just the right amount of lemon to the stuffing inside - a good amount of acidity to kill any fishiness, but not so much as to make you pucker your lips in distaste.

The rosemary potatoes were sliced thinly as if in a gratin, but baked until golden and crunchy. The mango salad was moist from the generosity of the dressing, and it tasted light and tangy from the mixture of mango, spinach leaves, capsicum and french onion.

Rainbow trout ($22.50)

Below is what my travel companions had:

Seafood chowder

The seafood chowder came out burnt (you could smell it from across the table), but they replaced it without a fuss. The garlic bread was lovely and soft.

Cheese platter

 The calamari came drizzled in coriander and lime aioli and served with vegetables.

Panko rubbed calamari

Tasmanian scotch fillet steak

Garfish, Crows Nest

As its name indicates, Garfish focuses on seafood - more specifically, fish. With an open kitchen and clean, minimalist decor, Garfish looks both approachable and upmarket. The menu is extensive, partially due to the seasonal specials menu that lists a range of fish, cooking methods and sauces from which one is able to mix and match at leisure.

Generally, the more expensive and fancy the restaurant is, the more the food is handled and the more complex the dish becomes. Nonetheless, when it comes to seafood, there are times when it is best to allow the natural flavours of the ocean take centre stage. Garfish tends to do this.

Interior

Menu!

 The waitress who came to take our order was very friendly and stressed that the chefs are open to adapting menu items, such as having main-sized entrees. We didn't need this flexibility, but it's something that I'm sure many appreciate.

When ordering the grilled ciabatta, I was given an and/or choice between the garlic butter and black olive tapenade toppings, to which I answered, "Both please!". The slices of bread were toasted lightly - no rock-hard or burnt bits - with thin layers of spread. The garlic butter tasted lovely, but the olive paste stood out more (probably more because it's less commonly found).

Grilled ciabatta ($4.00)

The second entree to arrive was a plate of oysters that were prepared in three ways. All the oysters were fresh and not too fishy in flavour.

The shot glasses in the middle contained the 'oyster shots', which consisted of fresh oyster sitting at the bottom of Bloody Mary. While it was an interesting combination, the taste of the tomato was quite overpowering, making it too sour for me to finish. In the end, I only drank about half of the shot before picking out my oyster and moving on to the next part of the oyster plate.

Oyster plate (half dozen) ($20.60)

I actually started off my oyster plate with the oysters natural, which were accompanied with mignonette dressing. The sea salt and vinegar provided a nice kick to the oysters, refrained from interfering with its natural flavour, and was probably my favourite method of preparation for the day.

Oyster natural

The third set of oysters were crisp fried and served with soy, mirin and ginger. The crunch of the batter and the lime juice that we squeezed over the oysters reinforced the Asian influences of the dish.

Oyster crisp fried

My third entree was a plate of grilled marinated baby octopus with garlic, rocket, red onion, lemon, capsicum, and a creamy sauce. While the taste was nice, the octopus was tough and rubbery. As someone who grew up choking easily on various items of food, I was concerned that I would find myself amidst feelings of deja vu. I tried slicing the octopus into bite-sized pieces, but ended up failing to saw through it.

Baby octopus ($18.00)

My lunch partner ordered the fish and chips (or in this case, snap peas). One of the pieces of beer battered fish was heavily sprinkled with sea salt, so it's important to spread it around as evenly as possible to avoid choking ("Well of course," one might say, but alas, this salt calls for extra care). I have no complaints about the way the fish was deep fried - the batter was crispy, the fish was not too fishy, and the meat was soft and flaky.

Beer battered fish ($25.50)

The main that I ordered was poached Atlantic salmon with cauliflower puree and fresh greens. Though it doesn't look elaborate, the salmon was cooked perfectly - it was especially mouthwatering when eaten with the creamy puree. The fish tasted fresh, and the meal was light overall.

Poached Atlantic salmon ($30.00)

Conclusion? Garfish manages to deliver tasty fish dishes that are uncluttered by excess ingredients. Nevertheless, the jury is still out regarding their treatment of other types of seafood.