Excuse the lower resolution photos... taken from my iPhone.

More exciting Tasmania posts and some cooking posts soon to come... but for now:

I wasn't the only one who started a new job at my place of work. My newest, shiniest colleague, Kaitlin joined the crew a couple of weeks after me. She is originally from California, and I have an uncle in California (hi there!!! I know you read my blog!), and one boring Thursday morning we got talking about food.

Kaitlin was telling me a story about this place called Pink Berry in the US, and how people started calling it Crack Berry, because it's like crack to some people; they must have a dose of it everyday. She mentioned there were some copy cat versions down here in Melbourne, but the craze of it was nothing like in L.A. Infact, there was one just down the road from our office. So on a gorgeous sunny lunch break, I scooted up the road to get me some yoghurt action!

There are 3 flavours of yoghurt to choose from; original, pomegranate and green tea. You can then choose from a range of toppings, including fresh fruits &muesli. You can even get it blended up into an 'igloo blend'. They even have a range of winter warmers, which sounded deeelicious.

The yoghurt is 98% fat free, and is a real tart yoghurt. No added sugar like you would find at those other yoghurt bars. It goes nice with a range of natural sugar toppings. I went for a green tea yoghurt with an organic triple chocolate crunch topping. The green tea flavour was not evident, it was more just green in colour, but nice, creamy and tart.

Kaitlin got original flavour with strawberries, mango and chocolate coated goji berries. On my next trip I think I will be getting lychees in mine! nom nom nom
Check out their cute website: http://www.igloozoo.com/

Do you have a frozen yoghurt bar like this near you?

One of the things everyone tells you to do when go you to Hobart, is go to the Cascade brewery. So, that's exactly what I did. I booked Dad (the non-drinker), and myself a spot on the 11am tour of the brewery. I was told on the phone, that because it was a weekend, no one would be working in the brewery, but we would still be taken inside to see how it all works.

Even though no one was working in the factory, we still got a very thorough explanation about how the beer is made, and I learnt about different kinds of hops used to produce beer.

 We were given 3 bottle caps when we paid for the tour. These were redeemed the end of the tour for 3 samples of any beers, ciders, or non-alcoholic beverages on offer.
I started with the Mercury Sweet cider. I found it to have a subtle flavour, but I still prefer Pipsqueak cider by Little Creatures. I know my friend Alana prefers Mercury to Pipsqueak, but at the end of the day, it's like wine; it's down to your own personal tastes. I like the bitterness that Pipsqueak has, but I also like beer; Alana, on the other hand, does not. (Not that there is anything wrong with that! I still love you Alana!)

I also sampled the Pale Ale, and Apple Isle. I have been drinking the non-alcoholic Apple Isle for yonks, so I know it's fizzy, sweet and just all around awesome.

Beef & Cascade Stout Pie - $23.00

Served with sauteed root vegetables.

I was expecting a pie in pastry, but this pie was just as good. Very tender beef chunks, smothered in a delicious gravy with a nice stout flavour. It worked well with the mash potato on the top of the pie, and the tomato relish.

Grill Rump Steak - $19.50

Served with potato and a medley of vegetables.

(Steaks served with mushroom or pepper sauce; or Maitre de hotel butter)

Mum and Dad both got the steak, after seeing another table munching away on their steaks. They both enjoyed the steak, but had trouble identifying one of the vegetables it was served with. When the waitress came to clear away the dish, Mum asked what it was. It was swede, a nice alternative to your standard potato.

I thought the menu at Cascade would be better. I was expecting great food like at Little Creatures Brewery, where the food matched the beer perfectly. It was a pleasant dining experience however, with a lovely atmosphere, and my free 3 samples of beers and cider.

Cascade Brewery
140 Cascade Road
South Hobart
Telephone: (03) 6224 1117
Website: www.cascadebrewery.com.au

Tours of the brewery run twice daily; 11am and 1pm. Bookings are essential.

The Salamanca markets run every Saturday from 9am - 3pm, just outside Hobart. It is a HUGE market that houses lots of food, crafts (mainly wood work), and a variety of fun stuff.

Lots of local produce, including fruit, beverages, gourmet sauces and freshly baked goods.

Lots of food stalls around the markets.

Lots of different crafts, and funky things to buy.

4 BBQs of sausages cooking away. I have never seen so much sausage in all my life!

The best busker I've seen in a long time. If you are ever down there, check him out; skinny white man that sounds like Louis Armstrong!

Pretty poppy flowers, and gorgeous terracotta roses.

For more information on the Salamanca markets, or stall holders, check out their website: http://www.salamanca.com.au/

My tip; go early to avoid the afternoon crowds!

Curious?
To find out more information, head over to My Food Trail to find out what it is all about. You can even join in on all the fun too!

When I put the shout out for food recommendations of places to eat in Tasmania, Rachel from Beyond Beeton, and Zoe Skewes from Herald Sun Food both recommended this place.
So after trawling through the Salamanca Markets 1.5 times (the 0.5th time was to go back and buy myself a hat), we walked up Kelly's Steps to the next town, Battery Point.

A gorgeous double shopfront is ever so inviting, with is French cafe style chairs, and gorgeous selection of yummies on offer. You would be silly to just walk past I would think.

Roast Potato, Garlic, Basil & Sundried Tomato Soup $8.50

Having still being mega full from my ricotta hotcake breakfast at ZUM, I opted for a lighter lunch.

It was a fairly rich soup, with full of flavour. I would have liked the sundried tomatoes to be cut into smaller chunks, rather than tossed in whole. With the bread roll, it was an extremely filling lunch. So filling, I couldn't finish it.

Poached Trout with Horse Radish & Boconcini, on Spiced Black Rice & Buttered Leek $9.50

Dad rather enjoyed his trout dish. The spiced black rice being served like a hamburger patty, played tricks on the mind. He commented that the trout was rather juicy, and not dry at all.

Lamb Shank in Pastry, with Fetta, Sundried Tomatoes, Carmalized Onion & Spinach $9.50

I wanted to order this, but Mum had her eye on this right from the start. When you are a blogger, having variety is key. However, darling Mum did let me try it, and my goodness it was amazing. Deliciously tender lamb with all of those flavours combined made for a real treat.

Our waiter was very attentive, given the business of the place. With lots of yummy treats on offer, I would recommend this place to anyone that was heading out to Battery Point (5 minute walk from Salamanca). Prices are $2 more when dining in, but when you get excellent service, it all makes it worth while.

Jackman & McRoss Bakery
57 Hampden Road
Battery Point
Tasmania

I had grand plans of treating the family for breakfast at the Machine Laundry Cafe I had heard so much about. Alana had told me they do excellent breakfasts, and I had previous read about the place and thought it would be a great place to blog; a laundrette and a cafe in one. However, I couldn't find the place, at least not until later on in the day, and it looked like it would be impossible to get a table.
I also read the about Retro Cafe close by. They had won the Gourmet Traveller Restaurant Guide's award for best cafe in 2005. But the breakfast menu in there was so limited, and the atmosphere was pretty flat, I had no desire to eat there.

Zum had been recommended to me by Zoe Skewes (@HeraldSunFood) on Twitter, and the breakfast menu there had lots of variety. It had such a fantastic atmosphere, I was so glad we finally ended up there.

Eggs Benedict $15.00

Poached eggs, ham, house hollandaise on toscana bread

Mum thoroughly enjoyed her eggs benedict. I was relieved because I had dragged her around for quite a bit trying to find the Machine Laundry Cafe, and she kept whinging she would have been happy with a croissant from the markets.

Ricotta Hotcakes $15.00
Served with a berry compote and King Island Cream

I have been wanting to try ricotta hotcakes since seeing and hearing about Bill Granger's famous ricotta hotcakes.
When my dish arrived at the table, we all took a step back to take in the size of the serve. This was a breakfast of champions! The hotcakes were so light and fluffy. Teamed up with the berries and cream (and I'm not a huge cream person), was just freaking fantastic. I had trouble finishing it all, but I'm so glad I did; or I would be sitting here wishing I had.

Chocolate Croissant $5.00, Blueberry Muffin $4.50, Mocha $3.60, Chocolate Milkshake $5.00

Dad started off with a croissant, but wasn't sure if he was full or not, so then ordered a muffin. He also thoroughly enjoyed both.

ZUM is now one of my favorite places in Tasmania for sure. I noticed there is also one on Elizabeth Street in North Hobart.
Service here was outstanding. The wait staff constantly working extremely hard to keep everyone happy.

They also sell one of my favourite beverages; Charlies' Homemade Lemonade, as well as drink from the Phoenix range. In fact they are freely available in Hobart! I have such trouble finding them in Melbourne.

Raspberry Muffin - $4.50

We tried to have breakfast here again before our Cascade tour, but a table of 20 came in just before us and slowed down the kitchen. We had to cancel our order and get muffins and pasteries instead, or we would miss our tour. This raspberry muffin was so moist and delicious, packed full of fruit. Zum wins again!

ZUM Salamanca
29 Salamanca Place
Hobart, Tasmania
Ph: 03 6223 2323
www.zumsalamanca.com.au

I tried to not make my list of things to do, eat and see in Tasmania too big. I had seen Onba's menu online through my research and I liked the variety on offer. I thought my mum would like to try the duck liver pate in the tapas menu, and there seemed to be a good range of dishes to keep everyone happy, not matter what time of day we ended up being there. Lucky for me, it was our first night, we had just landed, and needed a place to eat!

 I had the smallest bottle of Sprite I've ever seen in my life! 

Mum however didn't order the duck liver pate, since she has been known to make a pretty damn good pate herself. This suited me as I'm not pate's hugest fan.

Crab meat omelette with spring onion relish and sweet soy sauce  $12.50

With a similar sauce used in peking duck, the fresh crab omelette was amazing. Very refreshing, and a full body flavour. I'd love to try and recreate this one at home.

Pan-fried roast hazelnut crusted goats cheese with lemon myrtle infused quince syrup $13.50

The hazelnuts worked so well with the incredibly creamy cheese. It was the quince sauce that really made everything work together. The sweetness really complimented the savouriness of the goat's cheese. Served with crackers, it was a great way to start dinner.

Chicken breast filled with semi-sundried tomatoes, spinach and fetta served with potato gnocchi and roasted red capsicum and tomato sauce  $26.50

My chicken dish was truly amazing. Crispy skin chicken, filled with feta, semi-sundried tomatoes and spinach, was not dry at all. The red sauce was amazing, I think it might have had a hint of mint in it, that just brought it to life. This is only the second time in my life I've had gnocchi, so I can't say if it was good or not, as I'm not really an gnocchi-connoisseur, but it was delicious. Quite evidently hand made too.

 Venison "civet" fore-quarters slow cooked in a red wine stock and served with a braised root vegetable and potato mash $26.00

The venison just melted away in your mouth. Just perfection on a plate. A rich red wine flavour dominated the dish, and worked ever so perfectly with the creamy mash potato. (Sorry about the fuzziness of the photo, still trying to learn the art of manual focus when you are photographing someone else's dish when they are in a hurry to eat it!)

Spring Bay Mussel Pot (1kg) steamed with white wine, dill & cream served with shoestring fries and garlic aioli  $26.00

Mum seemed please with her 1kg of mussels. When we were waiting for the dish, I asked her if it was with a white wine sauce or a red sauce. She said she didn't know…. she obviously stopped reading after she saw '1kg of mussels'.
Served with fresh chips and aioli, it was a very good sized meal!

We all left nice and full, with good memories to start our long weekend. The staff were super friendly, with someone always around to great new customers who entered the restaurant. Our main waitress was delightful, she did tend to wink a bit though ;)

Check out the gang at Onba for breakfast, lunch, dinner or tapas!
They also have free 30 minutes of wi-fi if you buy a drink.

Onba
301 Elizabeth Street
North Hobart
Tasmania
Phone: (03) 6231 5931
Web: www.onba.com.au