Pelican Patrol

Some of the vast selection of fish at the market

giant octopus

Scary perch

Ibis having a scratch

Ever hopeful pelican


After the long day yesterday and the champagne (I don’t think Elaine mentioned that) at the Opera House it seemed like a good idea to have a quiet start to Thursday, so it was late morning before we set off to Darling Harbour for the fish market. As we had been promised, no sooner had we arrived than we saw a pelican at the harbourside eager to share in anything that was discarded. Elaine realised that she had left her camera in the car and as seafood and fish are not my favourites I volunteered to go and collect it. The others went shopping, primarily in search of ingredients for Bouillabaisse for that evening. Mussels prawns and a variety of fish that I didn’t choose to investigate were bought. I was more interested in the Ibis that was hanging around just outside the market and the caption “if it was any fresher it would still be swimming”. The fish certainly looked really fresh – though Elaine’s tummy told a different story the next day. Before the shopping was complete there was time for Ruth, Bob and Elaine to share in a dozen oysters while I enjoyed a flat white (do they sell these in the U.K.? – cappuchino without all the froth) and a double choc cookie. We resisted the temptation (not great for me) to stay at the market for lunch and went back to Ruth and Bob’s, where Bob spent most of the afternoon preparing the Bouillabaise for the evening’s feast which the others all enjoyed, while I relished a fine piece of lamb!

Elaine’s view: The market was an incredible place.. It was like Harrod’s or Selfridge’s fish hall, only ten times over. Each fish hall was owned by a different company who all displayed the vast bounty of the sea in an attractive manner, although not in the massive fish sculptures you see in the above shops in England. They don’t have to because the variety of fish is overwhelming enough. Bob was like a boy in a toy shop, clutching his Rick Stein’s bouillabaise recipe. (Rick Stein Lives in Sydney for some of the year- I can see why). Bob went from hall to hall searching out the freshest, and, being a yorkshireman, best value, fish. There are loads of Chinese and Japanese families at the market. Many are involved in the retail of fish but many others come with their friends to gather and eat vast quantities of fresh shellfish, sashimi( raw fish) or fried seafood. They come armed with chopsticks and dipping sauces and sit by the quayside in the sunshine while the pelicans and gulls wait hopefully in the water below for any tit bits they might drop. I sampled some chinese prawn dumplings which were not very good and Bob and I had twelve fresh oysters with lemon which cost the price of buying two oysters in England. However, I think I must have eaten a rogue one because the next day I was very poorly, although no one else was, so it may have been the prawn dumplings!
Bob is an extremely good cook and he was left to create the boullaibaise. I was allowed to be sous chef and make the sauce rouille, which I have watched Helen make before. Basically this is grilled peppers and chilli made into a paste then mixed with garlic and olive oil and lemon into a garlicky mayonnaise. Its very potent stuff which you put on top of your fish soup and croutons! The resulting soup was amazing and we all, bar Stephen, drained a large bowlful.