Today was our first full day in Hobart. It was a really relaxing day where we aimed to soak up some history and art and seek out good food.

First thing was first, it was time to return the car, so off to the suburbs and back we went. Public transport was not the best in Hobart, but there was a bus we were able to take back into the city. Public transport was actually free this month too.

Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery

We spent a couple of hours in the morning at the Tasmanian Museum, which was actually quite interesting, particularly the parts about the Thylacine, Antarctica and a collection of coins from a private collector which had coins from Ancient Rome, Middle Ages England, and early Tasmanian Banknotes. There was a lack of exhibits about convict and Indigenous history. There was also a small but lovely collection of paintings.

The Thylacine is an extinct marsupial and is a symbol of Tasmania, appearing in its coat of arms. Its story is a sad one, one of greed and disrespect for nature that was common in C19th and early C20th. The most complete collection of Thylacine remains are housed in ths Tasmanian Museum.

Banks were established very early in Van Diemen’s Land to address currency shortages. The first bank was established in 1823. Here are some lovely bank notes from 1881:

Roman Tetradrachm (14-37 AD) depicting Augustus and his heir, Tiberius.

Commemorative coins for the 150th Anniversary of British settlement, 1954. QE2 visited Hobart in the same year.

There was also an ice core sample from Antartica, taken from 200m below the surface and is about 300 years old. These facts were fascinating on paper but the sample itself was essentially a big block of ice in a very reinforced freezer, there wasn’t a whole lot to see! (And I couldn’t get a good photo because of all the glass.)

Art Gallery

I had forgotten that the museum housed the famous painting, The Conciliation by Benjamin Duterrau. Anyone that grew up here has undoubtedly seen this painting at least once via a history textbook. It is known as the first painting depicting a historical event in Australia, that being the negotiation of a peace agreement between British settlers and the Palawa people of what we now know as Tasmania. The latter group’s numbers were dwindling fast and they were to cease resistance and accept government protection.

But we now know this painting is highly romanticised and shows no acknowledgement of the aftermath of this “treaty”. At the time this work was being produced, it was “evident” that the treaty was a “disastrous failure”. At least the Art Gallery plainly admits this.

The gallery had four portraits of Tasmanian Aboriginal Australians by Duterrau, also quite well known artworks. Unfortunately I did not get better photos.

John Glover was an artist known for his paintings depicting the Tasmanian bush. The fauna here in Australia is very different to the ones in the UK, where he is from, so I imagine they were fascinating subjects for him.

And let’s finish off with some modern art from the “Made/Worn: Australian Contemporary Jewellery” exhibition… the following are two beaded neckpieces featuring adorable cats, who are wearing necklaces themselves of previous British monarchs…

At 11:30 am we had to leave for our lunch booking at -

Me Wah Restaurant (美華)

Whilst doing research on where to eat in Hobart, A came across Me Wah restaurant which was supposedly the best Cantonese restaurant in Tasmania. He was really keen so we made reservations for lunch at 12:00 pm, meaning we had to leave the museum despite not having seen all the exhibits.

On the way, we stopped at Lady Hester for some filled doughtnuts to have in the afternoon. They were ok and a bit too rich and sweet.

I noticed this part of Sandy Bay had a lot of Asian restaurants and stores geared to newly arrived immigrants. Possibly because the University was just a bit further down the road.

At the restaurant, there were a good amount of people waiting the restaurant to open up. So it was clear that it was a popular place. Because we were here on Thursday, it meant there was no yum cha trolley service and we would have to order a la carte. We ordered:

• Sui mai (AUD 12)
• Har gow (AUD 14)
• Scallop dumpling (AUD 12)

The above three are yum cha classics we had to get. They were quite good, full of flavour, not oily or falling apart. But bloody pricey.

• Prawn and Sea Urchin roll (Prawns, melting cheese, asparagus, sea urchin sauce) (AUD 18)

Now, I admit this one was a bit of a strange pick. I saw the words “Sea Urchin” and didn’t read the rest. Had I read the words “melted cheese”, it would’ve been a HARD NO. This dish wasn’t awful but it wasn’t great. It was like a spring roll… but with cheese??? Cheese has no place in Southern Chinese cuisine and unfortunately it was quite prominent. I could NOT taste any sea urchin, surprise surprise.

• Braised E-Fu noodles with shiitake and vegetables (AUD 19)

Finally, some carbs to get us on our way. If we had just ordered dumplings we would need a lot to get our tummies satisfied. I really enjoy E-Fu noodles for the texture, but unfortunately it doesn’t get much love and can be hard to find. I had recently introduced it to A and he was sold. One thing I know about E-Fu noodles is that they are made with crazy amounts of oil.

Tea cost AUD 2.50 per head and all up that was a pretty spendy lunch at AUD 80. It was good but not $80 good. 7/10 #ipinions

After Lunch

Very full now, we left the restaurant and took the bus back to the Museum and continued looking at all the exhibits until its closing time of 4 pm.

I was determined to find fresh sea urchin and knew Tassie was a great place for it. What better place to find it than Hobart? I had read online sometimes fish mongers sell it, but it really depended on the season and whether they wanted to stock it or not. Otherwise, most of the haul goes off to the mainland to nice restaurants or overseas. I decided we should pop into the Information Centre and just ask after finding the internet to be not very helpful. Whilst we left empty handed, I was very surprised with the level of attention and effort put forward by the staff member that assisted me. The guy made a few calls, looked at a few restaurants’ websites for their menus and finally, decided to ask his boss, who had previously worked in the fishing industry!! This second guy also picked up the phone to call some people he knew.

We were there for quite some time (which was fine) but wow, what service! After this, we walked back to Constitution Dock to ask the two fish monger stalls there if they carried any sea urchin, but no luck. One told me to call back the next day, which I did, but again, nothing.

Battery Point

So then we decided to head south and walk along the foreshore. We came across the CSIRO Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies and had a look at their boat, the Investigator, which was docked.

Just around the corner was the Castray Box, the finish line for the annual Sydney to Hobart Yacht race held every Boxing Day. Some older locals approached us and made conversation. They were quite friendly but I think we disappointed them because they had thought we were foreigners (and therefore, not as interesting or exotic).

The suburb we were in was Battery Point, which is Hobart’s oldest suburb and full of well preserved houses and buildings from the convict era. It was really quaint area but to no one’s surprise, it is now one of Tassie’s most expensive suburbs. Funny, because it was very working class.

We popped into the Shipwrights Arms for a drink, as it is one of Hobart’s oldest pubs, having started pouring drinks in 1846. I had a Rosé and A had a Mercury Draught cider. Neither of which would’ve been consumed in 1846

Yummy Inn City

For dinner we walked to Yummy Inn City for dinner. Yep, Chinese again. It claimed to serve food with mala (麻辣) and it was getting cold so maybe that was just what we needed. The menu wasn’t big so we ordered what looked like the signature dish - Grilled Barramundi with extras and rice, which came up to AUD 50.

Unfortunately it was not that mala. The fish itself was not that big so there was not much protein. But whatever bits we managed to eat was pretty good. The sauce/soup that the fish was in was not that tasty and again, not that mala. The extras that we ordered included things such as noodles, wombok, potato and tofu which would’ve been great had they not stinged out, so the rice was necessary.

Once again, if you lived in Hobart, you may be fooled into thinking this was good Chinese. Sorry

Why are we eating so much Chinese in Hobart of all places???