Me Wah

As you drive along Sandy Bay Road in Hobart past the popular Salamanca and Battery Point restaurant scene you enter a mix of takeaway outlets, supermarkets, butchers & bakeries, restaurants and local cafes. In amongst this suburban shopping strip is 'Magnet Court' which is also home to a previously restaurant I've blogged about, Don Camillo.

Walking into the restaurant you are greeted by two stone chinese lions either side of decorative frosted glass doors. Inside, the restaurant is no different with beautiful authentic Chinese furniture, pottery and wall art that achieves a look that is rarely well-executed. 

Admittedly, prior to me starting this blog - AJ and I have been to Me Wah time and time again and the reason is quite simple, it is some of the best Asian cuisine you will find in Australia. Their wine selection is critically acclaimed and the restaurant has been repeatedly awarded in a number magazines and surveys. 

Me Wah can be enjoyed in either yum cha on the weekends, a la carte, banquet or take away. One of the most refreshing points about the restaurant is that the quality of the dishes regardless of how and when you have them is outstanding. 

Tonight we opted for one of the banquet selections. AJ and I were dining with friends and decided to go for the basic selection of entrees, soup, lamb, pork, chicken, beef, rice, noodles and dessert. This selection is titled the 'Bamboo' ($55/head), although there are plenty of other options for seafood lovers ($75/head) or for those who want to sample some of Tasmania's premier exports prepared in the Chinese style ($120/head). 

On to the meal:

On the first plate; a chicken spring roll, pork dim sim and barbeque duck puff. The next; a serving of chicken and sweet corn soup.

The third plate; baby lamb cutlet cooked in sake, garlic and chilli. The next; thinly sliced char sui pork.

The fifth plate; sautéed chicken breast with macadamia and snow peas - this was served with a fried rice with plenty of fresh vegetables.

The sixth plate; seared eye fillet with a black bean sauce -  this was served with a heap of Singapore noodles.

The seventh plate; fried vanilla ice cream with a caramel sauce and a serve of coffee (or tea).

The banquet service at Me Wah is different in that the dishes are run in a quasi-degustation style. Foods are paired together and not just dumped on the table all at once for diners to fight over. On the subject of service, Me Wah's waitstaff are impeccably trained and you will not go thirsty (even if it's just a top up of tap water) or need for anything under their watchful eye. 

The quality of our meals on this evening was consistent with our past experiences. Each dish was expertly prepared, there was thought and attention that went into every element and the quality of the produce (even where you may expect cheaper cuts) was superb.  

Each visit to Me Wah only affirms my adoration for their menu, service and dedication to delivering the best Chinese cuisine in this island state. 

Home Hill Winery

Today was a beautiful sunny (albeit windy) day in Hobart. 

AJ and I decided to roam further than our usual inner CBD eateries and drove down south to Huonville. Here, you will find a bunch of great fruit and vegetable stands, quirky little homesteads and many farming properties which is a great contrast to the suburban Hobart landscape but only a half hour drive away. 

Now, Tasmania is known by many wine aficionados to be Pinot Heaven and for good reason too! In the Huon region you will find some wineries spruiking their wares but none as well known as Home Hill winery - a multi-award winning winery that is set in. picturesque Ranelagh.

The winery comprises a restaurant, function centre and vines all around. A beautifully designed main building with plenty of natural light, exposed wooden and steel beams and water features makes the place an enticing eatery. There are plenty of wines to taste other than Pinots and many are worth stocking up on if you're visiting.

Now on to the meal: we ordered some sourdough to kick things off, shared a plate of braised beef cheek, mains were gnocchi and duck and had some desserts of chocolate terrine and panacotta.

The entree was presented with crispy sweet potato shavings, vine-ripened tomatoes, moist and rich beef cheek (that pulled apart with the slightest prod of the fork) all atop a creamy sweet potato puree. This dish was a great example of beautifully prepared beef cheek, all flavour and no nonsense. 

The Gnocchi was a rich main of light potato, vine ripened tomatoes, shallots peas, parmesan and brie . 

The brie, parmesan and cream made for a somewhat overwhelmingly decadent sauce but the addition of the tomatoes, peas and shallots cleansed the palate. 

The serving size for a dish of this type would be probably best to share. 

Moving on to the duck breast which was the real winner of the day. 

Beautifully rendered down duck breast with slight caramelisation on the skin but left tender throughout the meat. This was served atop of a rich parsnip puree, broccolini and some more of those crispy sweet potato shavings.

After all of that richness - it only made sense to up the ante! So AJ and I decided to grab some desserts.

A generous block of baked chocolate terrine served with two scoops of sorbet; one mixed berry the other blood orange. The latter was a cleansing and delicious compliment to the dark, smooth and devilish terrine.

The panacotta was creamy and had a superbly balanced texture. It was served with some fresh berries, mixed berry sorbet and was an excellent example of a dish that can be difficult to accomplish. At the end of all that we decided that our next meal was definitley not going to be on our minds (probably for a few days). 

The quality of the produce, the relaxing winery setting and the skill in which the food is prepared makes Home Hill's restaurant a worthwhile visit for anyone travelling the Huon trail. 

Even if you're not a wino before you visit, you'll enjoy the meal and may even discover a love for some Pinots, Chardonnays or even a delicious Rose.

ethos eat drink

Spring was in fine form on a beautiful Saturday in Hobart. AJ and I were keen to get out of the house to have some lunch so headed into town to Ethos. 

 Tucked away in a little alley off Elizabeth St you enter into what is essentially an old Hobart home. 

It is tastefully decorated with a mix of exposed brick and rendered walls. Vintage bottle chandeliers, local artworks and heaps of natural light. 

Ethos offers a small but quality range of beers and wines. Including some speciality teas and their unique hot chocolate.

AJ ordered the hot chocolate after receiving some advice from a friend that it was 'amazing'. You are served a bottle of hot milk, a block of either dark, milk or white ganache which you unwrap, place in the mug and pour the milk over. The result is a rich and beautiful hot chocolate that AJ was willing to share with me - but only a little.

Hot Chocolate

Pickled Vegetables

 The menu here is a mixture of a la carte or fixed offerings. The menu includes tapas style dishes, slightly larger plates and plates to share. 

We opted for one of the fixed offerings; a croquette of the day - which was Brawn (offal), pickled vegetables and the daily lamb. 

Ash opted for some a la carte

choices; the fried chickpeas,

refried bean empanada, chorizo

with red wine potato.

 The favourite dish was probably the chorizo with red wine potatoes. The potatoes weren't anything special but the chorizo was unlike any other I have tried. Rich, moist, spicy and with a unique texture that just melted away with each mouthful.


 The chickpeas were also a surprising delight. They were crunchy yet light and dashed with a slight spice of chilli. 

A great tapas that could also double as a great beer snack.

We'll definitely be back to ethos to try some other treats!

The Mill On Morrison (Update 2)

Our good friends were down from Launceston so we ventured to the Mill again. Same superb selection, great flavours - well cooked.

Won't bore you with the details of what the Mill on Morrison is all about (read the older posts for that).

Here are some of the different treats we tasted...

• Glazed beetroot with whipped goats curd.
• Some mini-beef burgers...(Apologies for the dirty plate!)
• Crispy fried Chicken wings with a Honey Soy glaze...
• Lamb Canneloni with tomato puree: a beautiful slow cooked lamb filling with a wafer-like baked canneloni
• Goats cheese and semolina gnocchi with rocket pesto and a tomato puree: pillowy and light flavoured - well balanced with pesto and the acid from the tomato puree.(Probably the favourite tapas of the night.)

Don Camillo

Down the Sandy Bay Rd strip of shops, among banks and dry cleaners you will find one of Hobart's oldest restaurants - Don Camillo. 

The restaurant is cosy and is decorated evolving selection of artworks by Tasmanian artists. AJ and I have been here 3 or 4 times now and have been generally impressed by their menu of traditional italian specialities. 


On past visits - we've had; the 'Filetto' a tender cut of eye fillet wrapped in pancetta served on a cannelloni bean mash, the 'Pollo Involtini' a filled chicken breast wrapped in prosciutto with gnocchi. These are arguably some of their 'signature' dishes - I think during our meal I spotted at least 20 plates of the 'Filetto' from the kitchen. 

But tonight we thought we would try something that we hadn't had before.

So to start out the night we ordered some antipasto as an entree. This was a good selection of salami, stuffed bell peppers, cheeses, olives, etc. - but rather pedestrian in flavours. I think it is difficult to judge a restaurant on how they put together antipasto - for the mere fact it is other peoples produce that is featured. Everything was fresh but it just wasn't impressive as a restaurant entree. 

Now I must make mention of the long delay between courses. This was rather atypical of the restaurant - but it was a very busy night based on past visits. The owner was very apologetic and even offered us a free round of drinks which we thought was a kind gesture. 

For mains we tried a tried and true Italian favourite, but something AJ and I hadn't had in years - Spaghetti and Meatballs, and the Veal Cottoletta. 



The spaghetti was fresh, the meatballs were flavoursome, but unfortunately the sauce was lacking rich tomato flavour. I also took issue with the pasta to protein ratio - being probably 10:1. It was an enjoyable dish but was let down by the absence of a full bodied and well seasoned sauce to tie it together. 

AJ had the Veal and it was excellent. Tender, with a golden crumb that was delicate and crisp. The herbed tomato sauce and melted boccocini was a great addition. Unfortunately, the salad was let down by a odd-tasting dressing. 

We weren't unimpressed with the main courses but had come with greater expectations based on past visits.

Now, on to dessert. The tiramisu was a delight that made up for the mains. It was rich with mascarpone and espresso but had a light and pillowy sponge with a quenelle of hazelnut cream. The swirl pictured on the plate was an espresso reduction with Frangelico for a bit of decadence. 

 We also tried the Fig & Bread and Butter pudding which was served in a gooey butterscotch reduction, a scoop of Valhalla ice cream. It was moist, sweet and an excellent example of why simple desserts are often best. 

The combination of flavours sometimes reminded me of a sticky-date pudding but the mixture of figs throughout provided some textural and balance to the palate that could otherwise be overwhelmed by the sweetness. 


While there was some disappointment, our enjoyment peaked with the last trio of dishes. On our next visit there will likely be a return to the old favourites for me.

The Beach House

On Friday's AJ and I aren't usually in the mood to cook so generally will opt for some take-away. Out we went to a restaurant that had elluded us for quite some time - the Beach House in Lower Sandy Bay.


This restaurant has been through a few management changes during our 3.5 years in Hobart, and every time we've gone to check it out it's been closed for dinner. The Lower Sandy Bay locals swear its a good spot for breakfast or lunch being only metres from the beach. On this Friday, our luck was in supply and The Beach House was open for dinner.


The restaurant lies beneath an apartment complex that looks out over the Derwent River, so during your meal you spot any passing boats or just watch the water. This venue would be perfect for a birthday function with a bar stretching its entire length. 


We sat down at our table and inspected our menus that listed a simple pub style selection. We opted for the Pork Belly (I really need to expand my horizons - but there wasn't too much else on offer) and the Pumpkin, Spinach and Cheese Risotto Balls.

The Pork Belly was served with a crispy sweet potato garnish. This was wafer-like, crispy and added texture. The two portions of pork belly were placed on wilted spinach and on the plate were three quenelles of roasted capsicum puree. The pork fat had not been rendered down enough for either of us and the crispy skin on top was burnt. The capsicum puree was more like a capsicum dip. These issues weren't fatal - the dish was still tasty, but as I now become a Pork Belly veteran it was not in my Top 10. Overall, I think the best thing about the dish was its plating.

The Pumpkin, Spinach and Cheese risotto balls were served in a rich tomato sauce. The sauce was fresh and well seasoned, the risotto balls were crispy and moist. These kinds of dishes are prepared well in advance. A bit of sauce, plate three risotto balls, pop in the commercial microwave and voila! Unfortunately, the biggest let down was the temperature the dish was served at. An easy fix - but something that let down our enjoyment of it.


Now reading back on what I've said here may look harsh but we weren't paying counter meal prices. Pork Belly, and the components of a vegetable Risotto aren't in the realm of expensive produce for restaurants - so we expected more. In a crowded region of cuisine, Sandy Bay restaurants compete for this small population's loyalty. Suffice to say; we weren't won over. 

Jack Greene

Like most capital cities around Australia, Hobart has no shortage of burger fare. In the immediate CBD vicinity we have 'Devil's Kitchen', 'Burger Got Soul' and plenty of other wonderful little cafes and restaurants offering a protein-packed-pattie between some-kind-of-bread. So why would we possibly need another? Well, the answer is simple - sometimes even in crowded restaurant markets a bit of competition will spark imagination - and in this case Jack Greene is no exception.

As you enter this 'Sherlock Holmes' style bar restaurant and you'll be looking for a place to smoke your pipe or even be wondering if it was Colonel Mustard in the library with a copper pipe. A trendy, hipster-esque place with an impressive beer menu and a delightful selection of regular and mini-burgers. The walls are decked out with wood-paneling, the bars are marble and the burgers are delightful. 

AJ and I shared a Pork Belly and a Smoked Barbecue Chicken burger with some of the crispiest yet pillowy fat chips I've had. There isn't really too much to say about this place other than it'd be a great place for after work drinks, a start for your pub crawl or just to look at some great decor - antlers and all.