Pefect place to stop, revive and imbibe in Midlands’ village of Oatlands
It was wonderful to tumble through the door and into the welcoming atmosphere of The Imbibers, a wine bar and cheese emporium full of deep leather couches, crackling log fires and no shortage of excellent booze and food, writes TasWeekend food reviewer Alix Davis.
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THE IMBIBERS
74 High St, Oatlands
Opening hours - Wednesday to Sunday, 11am-9pm
On the menu
Grazing board for two, $55; Pyengana open toastie, $16; a Really Old Fashioned, $28; wine and cheese flight, $34.
he main street of Oatlands was quiet on a recent Friday night. The sky was clear, but rain was forecast for the weekend and the multitude of chimneys quietly puffing woodsmoke was an indication that people had settled down in front of their fires. Winter’s chill hadn’t bitten just yet, but it was on its way.
So it was wonderful to tumble through the door and into the warm and welcoming atmosphere of The Imbibers, a wine bar and cheese emporium full of deep leather Chesterfields, crackling log fires and no shortage of excellent booze and food. Our host Nathan McGiveron is on hand to recommend a beverage and while wine is the main event, there’s also a healthy selection of craft beers and local spirits to choose from. The Imbibers’ ethos is one of “support local”, so the focus is on products that come from no further than 60km away. Two beers (Last Rites, $8; and Eleventh Order, $9, both from Cambridge) are downed in quick succession to slake a well-earned Friday thirst and a Southern Ocean Soda Co. leatherwood honey and sea salt soda ($6.50) is a refreshing alcohol-free option that’s pleasantly dry.
Ensconced in our seats in the front window, we are well-positioned for some people watching, (consisting of one man and his dog – a Smithfield, of course!) and chatting with some locals enjoying a ladies-only cocktail while their husbands are at the RSL across the road. Nathan is also happy to chat and is full of the history of the building, which at various times has been a dentist, bootmaker, butcher, and dispensary. Nathan and his partner also run accommodation next door and turned one apartment into this bar about 18 months ago. “After years in retail and hospitality, I was sick of working for other people,” says Nathan who oversaw the renovation including new floors, rescued lath for a feature wall and display cases for the many wines and snacks that are available to purchase and take away – perfect if you’re spending a weekend in town.
We order a grazing platter for two ($55) and upon its arrival immediately cancel our vague dinner plans. Crafted from a plank of Tasmanian oak, the board is groaning with wedges of a coffee-rubbed cheese from La Cantera, a pepperberry cheddar from Wicked Cheeses and a blue cheese and a brie from Coal River Farm. These are accompanied by plenty of lightly toasted Pigeon Whole Bakers sourdough, Tasmanian Baking Studio lavosh (my MVP) and a dish of beetroot and feta dip by Heartlands Larder in nearby Ross. There’s also Polish sausage and lonza (cured ham) from Ziggy’s, smoked salmon, and pickled cucumbers by Mariki.
Every item on the board is delicious and dipping in and out of these small bites while chatting to other customers is my husband’s idea of heaven. A great soundtrack of electro-swing adds to the vibe (think pop hits given The Great Gatsby treatment) and the joint is jumping.
We finish our evening with a Really Old Fashioned ($28), an Oatlands take on a classic Old Fashioned that includes a whole Poltergeist gin-soaked cherry and an intoxicating blend of Shene or Mackey whisky with a bitters-soaked sugar cube. Actually, we finish our evening with a nip of Osare limoncello ($11), made in Moonah with lemons from the neighbours and plenty of Italian history.
We return on Saturday afternoon after a day cruising around chatting to the locals, shopping at the various galleries and antique shops and touring the recently opened Callington Distillery. We’d enjoyed a filling breakfast at The Kentish Hotel but the effects of the Big Daddio were wearing off and a Pyengana open toastie ($16) was just what we needed to tide us over until dinnertime. The soundtrack this time is Gilbert & Sullivan and we sing a rousing chorus from The Mikado’s Three Little Maids before heading back to our accommodation, stopping only to chat to the various locals we’ve met during the day.
While there is a set wine list, wines by the glass change daily and you’re welcome to try a tasting flight ($20 for 4 x 60ml glasses) or a wine and cheese flight ($34). Gin and tonics come with a selection of four Tasmanian tonics and 15 Tassie gins and there are plenty of local rums, brandies, vodkas, whiskeys and liqueurs on offer as well.
I’d be happy to discover The Imbibers in any big city around the world; to stumble across it in Oatlands is a special treat indeed.
New Vietnamese Moonah eatery is streets ahead in tasty dishes
BANHMI BITES
11 Springfield Ave, Moonah
Opening hours: Sunday-Wednesday 11am-8.30pm, Thursday-Saturday 11am- 9pm
On the menu
Viet spring rolls, $8.90; noodle salad, $14.90; pho, $15.90; crackling pork banh mi, $9.90; satay chicken rice dish, $14.90
It’s all about the bun when it comes to banh mi. Sure, the filling is important and we’ll get to that later, but the bun is crucial. Too crunchy and it’s like eating a knife sandwich. Too soft and it’s like gumming on a sponge. Thankfully, the team at Moonah’s new Banhmi Bites have gotten their buns just right. “At first we thought we’d make our own buns,” says co-owner Jenny Tran. “But it was very hard to get a consistent result and get it rising properly. So now we work with our baker to get the buns just how we like them.”
A classic banh mi ($10.90) – the much-loved Vietnamese pork sandwich – includes a number of elements that all add up to a flavour-packed lunch. There’s a slick of mayonnaise, a smear of pate, chunks of roast pork, the crunch of lightly pickled vegetables and a kick of chilli. We opt for the crackling pork version ($9.90) which is stuffed with (as promised) pork with a satisfying crunch. It could have done with slightly more chilli – but that’s easily remedied by helping ourselves from the jar of pickled chillies laid out at the cutlery and condiment station.
And we certainly weren’t the only ones looking for a banh mi fix on the day we visited – hungry customers were waiting in the late autumn sunshine as their orders were being assembled. There are a few tables and benches inside and things move pretty quickly, so if you want to sit down, wait five minutes and a spot will most likely appear.
I can’t go past a Vietnamese spring roll – the best ones use a netted spring roll wrapper that results in a crumbly, spiky wrapper that’s wonderfully light and really lets the filling shine through. The spring rolls ($8.90 for four) here are wonderful – a vegetarian filling that’s fragrant with herbs and full of flavour. Wrap them in the lettuce leaves provided and top with grated carrot (and extra chilli if you like) and then dip in the sweet chilli sauce. I could happily eat multiple rounds of these and call it lunch, but that wouldn’t make for a very interesting review so we refer back to the menu.
While chicken and pork are a mainstay of Vietnamese menus, there are also plenty of vegetarian and vegan options here and co-owner Mimi Doan says they’re working on expanding their vegan offering further. I order the noodle salad with grilled chicken ($14.90) but there’s also a tofu option available. This classic dish (bun bo xao) is made up of fine rice vermicelli noodles topped with cucumber, carrot, peanuts, herbs, lettuce and your protein of choice. A sweet spicy dressing is served separately and you toss the whole thing together yourself. It’s one of my favourite dishes – plenty to fill you up, without weighing you down and the fresh flavours really shine through.
Pho (beef noodle soup) is one of Vietnamese cuisine’s best-known dishes and evolved in the 1880s, taking on influences from both French and Chinese cuisine. Many of the spices used in the broth come from China, while the eating of red meat (pho traditionally contains thinly sliced beef) comes from France (which colonised Vietnam from the 1880s to the middle of the 20th century). Banhmi Bites’ recipe comes from Mimi’s grandmother who lives in Hue, the old Imperial city that sits on the former border between north and south Vietnam. The fragrant beef broth ($15.90) contains cinnamon, coriander, star anise and cardamom and is served over a pile of soft rice noodles. Slices of beef, white onion and fresh herbs sit on top – add your own bean sprouts, pickled chilli and extra sauces.
Mimi and Jenny met in Hobart and became housemates – this is their first business together, created because they wanted to offer locals the traditional Vietnamese tastes they missed. Mimi would cook at home and Jenny, who did her cooking training in Hobart 15 years ago and has worked in venues all over town, thought they needed to share these “hometown tastes” with others. Her instincts were right and I’ll definitely be back for more of, well, everything really.
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