[Travel Tasmania] Snacking at Barilla Bay Oyster Farm, Lunch at The Cannery and a Visit to Lavendar Farm - On Our Way to Port Arthur

Hmm, when in Tasmania, eat as many oysters as we could? Hehe, and thus although we just had breakfast, some pastries, we just couldn't resist to drop by Barilla Bay Oyster farm to have a-go at their oysters.

Barilla Bay Oyster Farm

let's find a parking lot

We were there rather early at about 1130am, and the place was quiet. It's a big place and one could browse the merchandise available in the main shop and there's plenty to see. 

what is a candy abalone?

I'd be here whole day

One could order the oyster from a staff manning the counter and we got ourselves a dozen and also a box of prawns to try.

a dozen natural oysters and a box of prawns @AUD47 for both

plump and refreshing

These oysters were nicely plump and of a good size. I think these were bigger than Bruny Island's oysters.

prawns

have a bite

The prawn was firm and meaty. Lovely subtle flavours. Eating cold food in the morning is really not my thing but glad that we had a taste of the different varieties of oysters offered by different farms/places.

cute

sweeter than I thought but pretty good

Barilla Bay Oyster Farm

Address: 1388 Tasman Hwy, Cambridge TAS 7170, Australia

Website: http://www.barillabay.com.au/

Business Hours:

Closed: Tue and Wed

Sun - Mon: 11:30 am–3 pm

Thu - Sat: 11:30 am–3 pm, 5–8:30 pm

Ok, we have a schedule to meet, so no dawdling dears. Go go go! We reached Dunalley at close to 1pm and decided to walk walk around before getting lunch.

a monument

Abel Janszoon Tasman was the first European to sight Tasmania and lovely to see a monument at this place to commemorate the discovery.

East Bay view

sit and keep calm

ours run on diesel though

hehe, we have this back home at the HDB playground

there's an actual playground here, wheeeeee~

Ok, the sky was gray and the slight drizzle meant, no more playtime and oops, Hence and Tracy must have been waiting for us for about 20 minutes, sorry!

The Cannery

The Cannery

interior

Was mesmerized by an actual fireplace as this is one of the things that I only get to experience overseas.

The Cannery serves seafood so one could order up seafood platter, or fish and chips or pasta. We decided to get fried calamari, pasta and fish and chips to share and it was a good decision!

Was surprised by how pretty the pasta looked when it arrived!

Linguine with prawns, scallops, calamari, fish, cherry tomatoes, chili and rocket @AUD36

creamy and delicious

The pasta tasted milder than expected in terms of seasoning so the cut chilies were wonderfully sought after for that burst of spice. Lovely with a squeeze of lime too.

Salt and Lemon Pepper Squid @AUD30

The slaw and tartar sauce were lovely. Salt & Lemon Pepper Squid was nicely fried to a golden hue. Squid was tender too! But I think I liked the fries more. Hahaa!

give me more fries!

Having only tasted fish & chips from a small shack in Mornington before, I wondered if there's any difference for the ones served at restaurants in Tasmania.

Beer battered fish and chips @AUD30

This version was nicely deep-fried with airy batter, and I think the fish used was gummy shark. My drinks of choice to go with all the fried food, is Mercury Draught. I was on a mission to try local brands. Mercury Draught is made in Tasmania and by far, I think I liked this the most!

Mercury Draught @AUD8

apple cider

alfresco dining area

Enjoyable lunch stop at The Cannery.

The Cannery

Address: Old Cannery Market, 4 Imlay St, Dunalley TAS 7177, Australia

Website: https://www.facebook.com/The-Cannery-Dunalley-111223637026751/?ref=py_c

Business Hours:

Daily:

Mon - Wed: 11 am–7 pm

Thu - Sat: 11 am–8 pm

Sun: Sunday, 11 am–4 pm

Ok, we resumed our drive to Port Arthur after lunch and made a stop at the Lavender Farm.

Port Arthur Lavender Farm

let's explore

outdoor area

wildlife spotted

lavender

Bought some souvenirs and products with lavender in them as gifts to bring home. The lavender nougat was pure sweetness.

Port Arthur Lavender Farm

Address: 6555 Arthur Hwy, Port Arthur TAS 7182, Australia

Website: http://www.portarthurlavender.com.au/

Business Hours:

Daily: 10 am–4 pm

[Travel Tasmania] Exploring Richmond - Breakfast at Ashmore, Pastries from The Richmond Bakery, Ducks Sightings at Richmond Bridge

It was morning time, with a slight drizzle and we dropped by Richmond for breakfast. Tracy wanted to revisit this town so she brought us along.

Weather was not so fine that morning, so the sky was gray with a slight drizzle. Nothing that a good breakfast with a hot cup of coffee couldn't cure.

from the outside

cafe menu

I need eggs in da morning. I really do. Hahaha. 

The shop has a warm local vibe and it was cosy inside. There were two staff that morning. One more aloof while the other was more friendly.

interior

Orders were taken from our table by the lovely staff and it was only a short wait before our drinks and food started to arrive.

flat white

no need for additional sweetness

I was pretty impressed when the eggs benny arrived. Presentation was on-point! The taste of the hollandaise sauce here was definitely more flavourful than any that I have ever tasted. Rich, slight tangy and thick. Good call on this.

Eggs Benedict with Pulled Pork @AUD27.50

poached and yummy

Next, my friends ordered the sweets. Pancakes and scones.

Devonshire Tea @AUD15.50 (2 scones with regular jam and cream + a regular hot drink)

No idea why but the regular cream and jam tasted soooo good! Think we got the mulberry jam. One can't have too much cream, the more the better on the scone!

Pancakes with Bacon and Maple @AUD21

Hehehe, pancakes served with ice-cream? Why, give me more of course! This was a good choice as well to pair savoury bacon with sweet maple glaze and topped with ice-cream on the soft pancakes. Yums.

lovely tree from across the street

One thing that we discovered in this town, is that the washroom are located outside of the shops. One just needed to ask and the locals will direct you to the nearest Public washroom.

Ashmore

Address: 34 Bridge St, Richmond TAS 7025, Australia

Website: https://www.agfg.com.au/restaurant/ashmore-on-bridge-street-43747

Business Hours:

Daily: 8:30 am–4:30 pm

Next up, we went to visit a nearby bakery to see if we could get any vanilla slice.

raining outside

main counter area

sandwiches, pies, quiches

pies of all shapes and sizes and sausage rolls

I didn't realize it then, but looking back now as I typed this, it was at the Richmond Bakery shop that I first became acquainted with 'Curried Scallop Pie'.

Curried Scallops Pie @AUD10.90

can you see the scallops?

Initially we thought we'd do a take-away and eat inside the car or something but then, decided to just dine-in since it was still raining outside.

indoor dining

Vanilla Slice @AUD4.80

Blackforest

Lamington @AUD5.20

inside a lamington

The curried scallops pie was interesting. Not the curry that I am used to, and it was really mild. More like cream with a hint of curry. Leaning on the sweet side. But the pie here was one of the better ones that I had in this trip.

The best item for me personally, was the Blackforest cake. Best texture, best taste. Lamington was better than I thought it would be.

The Richmond Bakery

Address: 6/50 Bridge St, Richmond TAS 7025, Australia

Website: https://www.therichmondbakery.com.au/

Business Hours:

Daily: 6 am–5 pm

Then, we moved on to our next destination which is a nearby attraction in this town.

Richmond Bridge

According to Google, it is a picturesque sandstone bridge over the Coal River built in 1825 by convicted prisoners. Not sure why, but there're ducks waddling or resting peacefully nearby.

Mallard

Muscovy

behind the scenes