Nick from Ocean Fresh Seafoods will have plenty of Christmas produce to go around. Photo: Fyshwick Fresh Food Markets.
Times might be tough, but Canberrans are still expected to splurge on sensational seafood for their Christmas celebrations.
Lobsters, prawns and oysters are a festive treat for many families, and this year there will be no shortage of Australian produce to choose from at the Fyshwick Fresh Food Markets.
While there’s still a cloud hanging over the availability of South Coast oysters following flooding, there will be plenty on offer from northern NSW.
Ocean Fresh Seafood owner Nick Smith says with a warm Christmas expected, seafood will be the number one choice for many Canberra families.
“Every year, people love to enjoy the festive season with prawns and oysters,” he said.
“This year, we will have Sydney Rock Oysters from Wallis Lake, and hopefully Pambula, as well as beautiful Pacific Oysters from Coffin Bay in South Australia.”
Nick will also have fresh green king prawns from SA, which are great thrown on the barbie, and cooked tiger prawns from Queensland.
For anyone wanting to make a great festive feast, lobsters from Newcastle will also be available.
Nick said with a bumper harvest, there’s no need to pre-order, just pop in and grab a selection of seafood. Ocean Fresh Seafood will be open from 4 am on Christmas Eve.
“There will be plenty. We have looked at figures from previous years and bumped the numbers up, so there will be loads of fresh produce to go around,” he explained.
“There’s nothing better than sitting outside having a couple of beers, peeling prawns and sucking a few oysters back on a hot summer’s day.
“It’s the Australian laid-back Christmas that we’ve all come to love.”
While prawns and oysters are always on top of the Christmas list, fresh fish shouldn’t be forgotten.
“With the hot weather, people like sashimi, sushi and light fish dishes,” Nick said.
“Hopefully, we’ll have some blue eye cod, which is my favourite, John Dory and yellowfin tuna.
“We’ll have plenty of sashimi-grade ocean trout and kingfish as well as amazing rock cod from Rocky Point Aquaculture in Queensland.”
If prawns and oysters are out of reach this year, there’s no reason why beautiful, fresh fish can’t be the star of the dinner table. And smoked fish is always a winner served as canapes or with a light summer salad.
Nick said that for those wanting to buy their seafood early, he could provide frozen produce packed in foam boxes and advise customers on how to keep it fresh.
“We’ve found over the last couple of years that people prefer to come in a few days earlier and buy frozen seafood. That way, they can shop in their own time and avoid standing in long lines.”
The market gates will open from 7 am on 21 December, 6 am on 22 December, and 5 am on 23 and 24 December. The markets will be closed on public holidays. Usual trading hours resume on 28 December.
The Fyshwick Fresh Food Markets offer a range of fresh seafood, meat, bread, deli goods, and fruit and veg for Christmas (and the coffee shops will also be open early for those keen beans in need of a caffeine fix).
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