Sydney Fish Markets: Part 1 of the Foodie Triangle

When I tell visitors from abroad to put the Sydney Fish Markets on their itinerary, if not on their menu, they often regard me with suspicion as if I have suggested they wear eau de fish to an upmarket dining establishment. But once I explain that it is the first stop on our regular Foodie Triangle, their interest suddenly piques.

The Sydney Fish Market is a foodie’s delight. Set along tranquil waters overlooking the Anzac Bridge and Blackwattle Bay on the other side, it is a far cry from fish shops that assail your sense of smell the minute you enter them. The retail outlets are brightly-lit and the display of fresh fish and seafood inspires cooking from the simplest of dishes to the more elegant dinners.

Many retail shops offer takeaway seafood, either in cold platters or cooked on demand. These can be eaten indoors,

or at one of the tables by the water.

Alternatively, there is always Doyles at the Markets, the seafood restaurant of the same fame as Doyles at Watson’s Bay.

Our weekend foodie venture always starts at the Sydney Fish Market perusing favourite retailers, checking the best produce and comparing quality and price.

For the best range of oysters, we can’t go past Christie’s Seafoods. Not being a fan of the Sydney Rock Oyster, we are lured by their range of harvested oysters from all around Australia. There is always a line to buy them freshly chucked from the oyster bar. In the past, we were able to buy unopened oysters such as those from Coffin Bay and take them home to be eaten minutes after chucking them. Unfortunately, regulations have taken the pleasure out of the best way of eating an oyster and they can no longer be sold unopened to the public.

Eating an oyster that has been rinsed in water compared to one that is freshly-chucked is like comparing paté to foie gras! There is no comparison.

With a vast choice of seafood on display, it is often difficult to make a choice. Fresh sashimi, sliced on request often competes with

luscious prawns, cooked or raw, of different size and varieties such as the tiger prawns and banana prawns.

Cooked Rock Lobsters often tempt for that take-home lobster mornay to be enjoyed with a bottle of Champagne.

It is difficult to resist the pretty white scallops in their half shells,

or these colourful beauties lightly grilled with a beurre noisette.

Decisions… Decisions…

Maybe take home cooked Balmain bugs to accompany a favourite pasta,

or spanner crabs to be picked with the patience of a saint, while listening to some Jazz or alternative rock, depending on the mood of the crab picker.

Occasionally, Alaskan King Crab legs rise tall from the ice

and fish appear as if they’re chasing other fish, like these Barbounia or goat fish (known as rouget in France), a tasty fish but with fine bones that make them difficult to eat.

For those who don’t like the surprise of a bone in their fish, there are fillets like this monkfish or stargazer as it is known in New Zealand.

Whole salmon and trout often tempt to be slow poached and served with a good dose of home-made aioli.

At times, the fish like to strike a pose for the camera.

and like these snappers, some even poke a tongue out.

Others like the Barramundi may even adopt romantic poses over ice.

while live crustaceans get frisky like this feisty marron trying to escape from the Styrofoam box.

Armed with a couple of dozen oysters from Christie’s, sashimi to complement the sake chilling in the fridge, a selection whole fish and fillets to be frozen and eaten later in the week, it is time to move on to the next stop of our Foodie Triangle.

Part 2 of The Foodie Triangle continues here.

Sydney Fish Market
Bank Street
Pyrmont, Sydney NSW