Taster to some of the best food at Tassie’s No.1 tourist mecca

There’s so much great food at Salamanca Market to choose from that it’s hard to know what to tuck into first. So we’ve compiled a short list to help whet your appetite and encourage you to take a stroll and find your own favourites, writes Alix Davis

ALIX DAVIS

3 min read

August 30, 2024 - 12:00PM

Salamanca Market is Tasmania’s most visited tourist attraction, rain, hail or shine. Picture: SAM ROSEWARNE

Food and Wine

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It’s hard to believe it now, but in the 1960s the Georgian sandstone warehouses of Salamanca Place were marked for demolition as they were considered “dilapidated, rat-infested hovels”.

Thankfully, that didn’t happen and the row of beautifully preserved buildings is now Hobart’s most famous street and, on Saturdays, home to Tasmania’s most-visited tourist attraction – Salamanca Market.

The first market day was in January 1972 and since then it has grown to 300 stallholders offering items from makers, artisans, producers and designers.

Set among the historic Georgian sandstone buildings of Salamanca Place in Hobart, this famous market attracts thousands of locals and visitors every Saturday of the year. Picture: Alastair Bett

Now, I love a Huon pine chopping board as much as the next person, but today I’m here for the food.

There is plenty to choose from and there’s no way I’m going to be able to get through it all so consider this a taster designed to whet your appetite and encourage you to take a walk and find your own favourites.

After a quick lap to get the lie of the land, I begin with a red velvet cookie ($6.50) from Short & Sweet Baked Treats. Red velvet flavour is essentially chocolate with colouring added to give it the distinctive hue. These plump, soft cookies are studded with white chocolate and have a cream cheese centre that softens up nicely if you warm it in the microwave for a few seconds. The teenage taste team I had with me gave this the double thumbs up.

A plump, soft red velvet cookie, studded with white chocolate and with a cream cheese centre, from Short and Sweet Baked Treats is one of the many delectable sweet treats available at Salamanca Market. Picture: Alix Davis

One of Deep End Farm's Taiwanese pork bao zi buns. But you’d better be quick to get one of these steamed, warm parcels of deliciousness, as this weekend will be the last time they will be available as the stallholders who make them are retiring. Picture: Alix Davis

Something savoury was in order after such a sweet start to the day and Deep End Farm’s Taiwanese bao zi buns were just the ticket. Ingredients for the buns are grown at Deep End Farm in Geeveston and made there by Cassandra and David. The steamed buns are, well, steaming and stuffed with fillings including beef, pork and vegan (all $5). I choose pork and am rewarded with a warming parcel of tender pork and soft dough drizzled with a little sauce.

Deep End Farm’s Dave Rolph and Cassandra Huang who make the popular Taiwanese bao zi buns are retiring but will be at Salamanca Market one last time this weekend; Picture: Nikki Davis-Jones

From Taiwan I travel to Turkey and a bowl of one of my favourite eastern Mediterranean snacks – lokma. These small balls of fried dough from stallholder Lokmanca are drenched in honey syrup while hot and then served topped with your choice of flavours. I go with traditional cinnamon ($13) and get stuck into a generous portion (sharing is advised!) of a dish I last ate in Athens, where it is known as loukamades.

Lokma from Lokmanca is a tasty Mediterranean snack available at Salamanca Market. Picture: Alix Davis

There’s no shortage of pastries at Salamanca and just a few steps away a croissant shaped like a bow tie ($7) catches my eye. The stallholder – Rivryan Tastes – tells me it’s stuffed with passionfruit custard and I’m sold. Inside, it’s a bit more brioche than croissant – soft and buttery but without the airy layers of a traditional croissant. Nonetheless, it’s delicious and their line-up of flavoured croissants is impressive.

A curry in a cup from Pocket Curries, features a delicious curry (or a combo of all three of Pocket Curries’ tasty offerings), in a neat “cup” made of thin naan and is another of the highly recommended dishes to tuck into at Salamanca Market. Picture: Alix Davies

A light drizzle has turned into a downpour and I take momentary refuge in one of the galleries housed in the old warehouses. It’s well worth poking your head into these stores that do a wonderful job of showcasing the artists and makers of Tasmania.

The gallery associate asks me if I’ve tried the curry in a cup yet – it’s her favourite – so I unfurl my umbrella and head back out. Pocket Curries serves three different curries, with rice, in a neat “cup” made of thin naan.

Today they’re offering butter chicken, vegie curry and tarka dahl (all $12) and I go for a combo of all three, topped with chilli and coriander. It’s rich and full of flavour and I love being able to tear off a bit of the naan to swipe through the curry.

A wood-fired flatbread from Flamecake. This Fun Guy option, features grilled halloumi nestled into pesto mushrooms, rocket and a spoonful of pepperberry relish. Picture: Alix Davis

It’s a challenge juggling my umbrella, shopping bag and phone but I somehow manage to slip a couple of gluten-free meringues ($3) into my bag of loot. These delicate light-as-air confections come in 13 flavours – it was a tough choice but I’m pretty happy with my selection of baklava and choc raspberry. The meringues are crisp, with just the slightest hint of a marshmallowy centre.

It’s still well before 11am when I line up for my last meal of the morning – a wood-fired flatbread from Flamecake. There’s a decent crowd waiting for their orders, which is always a good sign and my Fun Guy ($16) option features grilled halloumi nestled into pesto mushrooms, rocket and a spoonful of pepperberry relish. I fold it in half and demolish it as I walk through the rain – my appetite not dampened by the weather, but certainly whetted by the options on offer. I need to return next weekend to try everything I didn’t get to today.