Forget shelling out on an expensive airline ticket; world flavours are only a few kilometres away at Subi Farmers Market.
You can experience an atlas of global flavours here every Saturday morning. Just make your choice, find a dish and take a seat at the Subi Farmers Market on a Saturday morning. Here’s Sloane Carvell’s picks of the international stalls you’ll find this summer at SFM.
Home Flavours – Brazilian Street Food
Home Flavours are bringing the taste of Brazil to SFM. Gabriela and Cinthya are experienced chefs who have started their own business. Delicious empanadas can be found at their stall – just look for the market-goers patiently waiting near the veggie stalls next door. Empanadas are a traditional Brazilian pie, with flavours like chicken and cream cheese, beef, salmon and heart of palm. They also have a beautiful Bolo de Cenoura, which is a marble carrot cake using WA purple carrots with a spiced dark chocolate ganache. My favourite Home Flavours offering is the Pão de Queijo, a warm Brazilian cheese bread which is the perfect snack and trust me when I say you cannot stop at one.
Tokyo Alley Street Food
Tokyo Alley Street Food’s passion is serving up fresh Japanese street food and, judging by the queue on a Saturday morning, it speaks volumes about its tastiness. The most popular dish is their okonomiyaki, a Japanese savoury pancake, usually consisting of batter mixed with ingredients like cabbage, meat, or seafood and topped with a sauce and bonito flakes. Tokyo Alley Street Food’s okonomiyaki is made with a western twist – it’s topped with streaky bacon making it perfect for an Aussie breakfast! They also make yakisoba, a Japanese stir fried noodle.
B the Baker
B the Baker is a family-run business with amazing baked goods made by baker and pastry chef Bala, including his highly sought-after sausage rolls and the most delicious Indian chicken curry puff you will ever try. Think flaky pastry generously filled with chicken curry on the inside – they are so hard to stop at one. Bala’s baked goods include pastries, cinnamon buns and beautiful fruit loafs too, and keep an eye out for fruit mince pies during the run-up to Christmas.
Popii
I am a sucker for a Pastéis de Nata or a Portuguese custard tart or two. Natasha and Steven, Popii owners, have nailed these with a crispy, flaky pastry around a rich custard filling with a hint of cinnamon that has been baked to have a caramelised top. The custard is luxurious and smooth, and firm enough to hold the tart together to the last bite. It’s literally perfect. In fact, it’s what dessert dreams are made of.
Florence Fine Foods
Francesco and Cristina of Florence Fine Foods are bringing their traditional Italian flavours to SFM. Chef Francesco worked as a professional chef after attending culinary school in Spoleto and has worked at starred restaurants in Europe. Meanwhile, Cristina has a background in hospitality and has worked in luxe hotels as well as a fine dining restaurant in Spoleto.
They have a beautiful range of gourmet products available at the market made by Francesco such as pestos, fresh sauces like Napoletana, Romesco and mushroom, as well as homemade fresh pasta, Italian truffle products, marinated olives and artichokes. The basil pesto is one of the best I have ever tried – try it with some fresh casarecce pasta to cook at home. They have also recently opened a lunch spot in the city for pasta and have their own private catering business.
