The Sydney Fish Market is one of my must-visit spots every time we make the trip down under. Not surprising, considering how much I ADORE seafood! The abundance of fresh, readily available seafood just makes me go weak in the knees!
There are two shops that I like best. One is Claudio's, right out at the carpark near the entrance to the main building. It is always bustling inside, with many of the staff busy cleaning, and cutting up fish, shucking oysters, and serving customers while customers and gawkers alike jostle for position. It is a feast for the senses, though my kids don't like it very much. They crinkle up their noses at the smell and tiptoe around, complaining of the wet floors the way that modern children do. But even they can't help but be fascinated by the huge fish, crabs and other manner of seafood that can be found there.
Every time I walk in, I always end up wishing that I lived in Sydney and was able to cart all that seafood home! Super fresh, available, and at a fraction of the price we get charged for the imported stuff in Singapore. Sigh.
One of the nice things to do at the Sydney Fish Market when the weather is good is to try to grab a seat at the tables outside, or on the lawn next to it, grab some yummy cooked seafood, and tuck in for a good lunch. There are a number of stalls in the main building selling fish and chips, calamari, oysters, prawns and the like in virtually any style you fancy. I was told that one of the stalls even serves Singapore Chilli Crab! Well, my favourite stall is Peter's. I like that the fish and chips are cooked to order, and their calamari is just awesome. You do have to stand in line for a while but at least you are unlikely to be inundated by China tourists, in contrast to the stalls near the entrance. During this trip, I couldn't resist and ordered half a lobster for myself too. Best decision ever.
By the way, if you choose to eat outside, do note that there are a number of rather daring seagulls who might swoop down and attack your food as you are carrying it! So keep your eyes peeled and hang on tight to your food!
We ordered too much as usual and ended up giving away some of our prawns to the next occupants of our table. I think they seemed pretty pleased with the gift!
Full as we were, we made one last stop before leaving to a stall at the back for some chocolate-coated strawberries. They do cost A$3(!!!) for one, but they are pretty huge - maybe the size of 1.5 ping pong balls? - and they taste amazing. There were a bunch of other chocolate-coated fruit as well and I know I'll be back to try more next time.
It was, for me, a very satisfying start to the afternoon.
thanks for the info .. I will be heading to sydney next week with my 19 month old boy and yr blog has been very informative.
ReplyDeletehi there, thanks for the encouragement. if you haven't discovered it already, i have quite a few posts on sydney and it's surrounds from our various trips there, all tagged under Sydney: http://www.lifeisinthesmallthings.com/search/label/Sydney
Deleteand i have more to write!
hope you have a great trip!
This post brings back memories of visiting the Sydney Fish Market when I was 4 months preggie with #1 and couldn't stand the smell of it all. Felt horrible the entire time while the husband chomped down sashimi and had a good time himself. haha. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteHey Jayne! Oh dear, that sounds terrible. Come to think of it, I was preggie with #2 during one of our trips there too, and it was the most miserable thing ever, since I couldn't have any sashimi or oysters! Definitely never doing that to myself again if ever I have #3!
DeleteFish Market! Our favorite place in Sydney too;).
ReplyDeleteAnd the outdoor narrow green area with the visiting birds never fail to be a playground to the kids, at least to my girls... hahaha