Goodies for foodies

ADELAIDE’S CENTRAL MARKET

I can’t believe I’ve lived here four years and not yet blogged about one of Adelaide’s greatest institutions and attractions, the Central Market.

Since moving into the city, a weekly trip to the market (on the free city bus) is rapidly becoming a fixture. More than 80 fresh food stalls and boutique eateries offer unimaginably good produce direct from the producers and with prices to suit all budgets and tastes, savoury or sweet.

Just $3 will buy you all the items shown opposite. Although a free cheese tasting session at the Smelly Cheese Shop usually results in some more extravagant purchases, such as the whisky infused Occelli al Malto d’orzo e Whisky (with Barley malt and Whisky)  at $13 for 100g, or French Langres ($8.50 per 100g) to be consumed only with Champagne.

Combine the trip with breakfast or lunch and it doesn’t feel like the weekly shop at all. One week we breakfasted at the Latvian Lunchroom with a “Gatherer’s breakfast”- potatoes, mushrooms, gherkin, fried egg with dill- and a “Hunter’s breakfast”- black pudding replacing the mushrooms accompanied by sour rye bread. For a light snack, try a pirag– a bite-sized pastry filled with chopped bacon and onion. In the evenings you can partake of Baltic cocktails whilst learning about Latvian culture and history and stocking up on provisions.

Another week, a light lunch at Jamface, the cafe run by local TV chef Poh Ling Yeow (or just Poh), known for her show Poh and Co, for the most delicious New York style pastrami on rye with a sweet slaw and a lemon tart for dessert. I was just wondering whether Poh herself had made my sandwich when in she walked with a delivery of homemade goodies, followed by a camera crew. So maybe she had made my sandwich and maybe I’ll see it on TV.

With Chinatown and its associated restaurants and shops, and dining precinct Gouger Street nearby, the Central Market is a perfect destination whether for shopping, eating and drinking, browsing, socialising or people watching.

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