Week of eats: A taste of Darwin

As I type with frozen finger tips, I definitely know I’m back home in the winter weather & no longer holidaying in Australia’s sunny ‘Top End’, Darwin. We flew in late last night & are still stepping over half-emptied bags and laundry piles.

Until I get all my photos sorted & some more thoughts organised, I thought I’d share some of the stand out food moments from Darwin’s restaurants, cafes & much-loved markets.

It has to be said: it’s hard sticking to our primarily Paleo eating template when there’s crocodile burgers to taste. This trio from the infamous Humpty Doo Hotel was our inspired grub of choice en route to see the jumping crocs – pics to follow, don’t you worry!

The Asian influence on the food scene in Darwin is particularly noticeable at the markets which pop up throughout the surrounding suburbs right across the weekend in the dry season. This laksa most definitely lived up to the recommendations we had from both locals and previous travellers. I got this at Mindil Beach Markets but apparently the favourite laksa-vendor to many is to be found at Parap’s Saturday markets.

The Asian influence (especially South East Asian) is not limited to market food – there are plenty of restaurants in Darwin dishing up rice paper rolls, creamy curries and spicy seafood. Chow was a notable favourite.

Good coffee in Darwin is notoriously hard to find but newcomer The Pearl offered one of the better beans (we ranked it 2nd behind Pierre’s long blacks at Rawgasm Cafe in the mall). Being from increasingly cafe-saturated Newcastle though, we are pretty snobbish with such things! While the coffee was certainly above the local average, it was the inspired cafe food that grabbed our attention. This Arabic rice pudding was a feast for the senses.

Have you been to Darwin? What were your thoughts on the food options?

I’ll be sharing more from our Top End adventure over the coming week – stay tuned!