Sunday morning was spent grocery shopping. Interestingly, I had the opportunity to go through 3 different types of markets. The first one was an organic farmer’s weekend market. Second one was a typical grocery and the third, an asian one. The last two in Chatswood, an Asian centric Sydney suburb. The first one was interesting enough. We got there kinda late though, at 12. Yea, that’s still morning for me.
So anyway, some of the shops had closed and we wanted some apples which were all gone. We did get some free range eggs though. There was a wide variety of stuff available, from a good selection of vegetables to some meat vendors. One guy had some pretty nice smoked fish, another had a good selection of mushrooms. Then there were a couple of palm readers and an organic health advisor (whatever that means). There was a definite hippie/environmentalist vibe there. A car had stickers taking the mickey out of John Howard, some lady was all decked out in hippie gear and I heard the words green and environment pretty often. One stall sold everything made outta hemp. Smells were lovely as well. One dude was grilling up sausages and onions, there was a turkish bread stall and a Jap okonomiyaki stall (huh?). All that to some guy playing on his guitar and a multitude of different breeds barking at each other.
Some stalls were just weird though. As in not mystic hippie weird but just out of place weird. Like the fake Von Dutch windbreaker stall or the cheapo made in China sunnies or the awnings guy, possibly promoting to his neighbours more than anything else.
The contrast with the hypermarkets was bleedingly obvious though. Seemingly sanitised environs with convenience as the key word. There were organic products but the retailers were far removed from the customers. The concern was to make as much money as possible, regardless of anything else. I don’t find anything wrong with that in and of itself though but you do appreciate the organic farmers who grow their own produce. They do it because its good and afterall, without small growers, there wouldn’t be any individuality and we’d all get perfect shrink wrapped apples all the time.
So whilst the organic markets had its little tinge of opportunism and mass market retail, you have to appreciate how they at least care about what they’re selling and the people they’re selling it to.
My first proper night out, we went to Garfish for dinner at Manly. Located right next to the wharf, it was a rather chic eatery that specialised in seafood, quite tellingly. The joint in Manly happens to be the third and latest branch, opened in 2006.
The interiors were rather understated; simple but stylish. The really interesting thing were the large flatscreens. Scenes of the Manly wharf were interspersed with the view inside the wood fire oven and you get to watch the chefs prep the food as well. I suppose it takes a certain audacity and confidence to be able to do that so much respect there.
The menu was unfussy and simple but still had an air of sophistication about it. I had a sample of some tartare with chips and some tomato relish with mash. These everyday items actually came off pretty well. The tartare was wonderfully light and the chips were well fried. It actually went really well with my beer or maybe it was the other way around. I thought the relish was a little too sweet for me but the mash was delightfully smooth if a little too simple. We also had some sourdough bread and ciabatta. The sourdough was pretty good. Hard, crispy crust and really soft white. Served with olive oil and zaatar which was quite nice. The ciabatta was nice and fluffy, slightly crispy and went well either with some garlic or tapenade.
Have your fish the way you wish is Garfish’s tagline. You pick your fish, the way its cooked and what to go with it. I had a fillet of Hiramasa Kingfish with an artichoke and mushroom cream. The combination is pretty classic, mushroom cream and fish. The special bits were the whiff of parmesan in the cream, which was a light grey since it had some porcini in it. The fish was fresh, well cooked and tender. The skin exceptionally crispy and everything went together really well.
I feel the restaurant’s concept works well. The simple but delicious food, the relaxed interior and casual dining style was really enjoyable. The TVs made sense as well, an assurance and touch of modernity and technology. It was a total concept with a strong idea to deliver good seafood and in my opinion it works well enough. Price wise, its not exorbitant as well. My meal with a beer was under 40AUD. Overall? 2 thumbs up.
