A WHALE OF A TIME
TASMANIAN COASTAL SEAFOODS AT THE GULCH 48 Waubs Esp, Bicheno
6375 2000
Open Monday to Saturday 11am to 6pm, Sunday 11am to 4pm
In colonial times, the rocky rise in central Bicheno was popular with whalers tracking their quarry. These days, Whalers Lookout is simply a gentle climb through a scenic reserve that allows a lofty view of one of Tassie’s top ten fish and chip shops.
Visiting the coastal hamlet with friends during the recent school holidays, we find the eating options have diminished since our last sojourn just 12 months ago. This is mainly because The Farm Shed, run by local couple Helen Bain and Subi Mead, is concentrating on wine and gin tastings and no longer focusing on food. It’s a great shame, given that their grazing plates alone were worth the two-anda-half hour drive from Hobart.
Locals in the know suggest the Sealife Centre, with magnificent views over Waubs Bay, and fish and chips at The Gulch as alternatives when we discover our Farm Shed feast plans have been dashed.
We work up an appetite for a late lunch with a walk along the coastal track from Diamond Island to the Bicheno Blowhole. The marine geyser is putting on an explosive display on a blustery Thursday afternoon as the wind sweeps up from the south.
As we approach The Gulch, about 10 minutes’ walk away, hundreds of squawking seagulls are circling over Governors Island. On a guano-covered outcrop a little further offshore, fur seals enjoy the October sun.
The shopfront is manned by a beanie-clad man wearing a Harley Davidson T-shirt. He seems a little harried amid what has obviously been a busy lunchtime.
I order a fish basket ($45 for two) and a couple of glasses of Devil’s Corner pinot grigio ($7), taking my paper ticket and proceeding to the rear of the building as instructed. Given the stiff breeze, the dockside dining area — complete with concrete-topped tables, milkcrate seats and a rusty wheel barrow full of succulents — is empty.
Beanie man soon materialises at the rear counter with my wine. Thanking him, I head up to a warehouse space adorned with nautical knick-knacks such as a 4kg crayfish shell mounted on a timber map of Tassie and a myriad of polystyrene buoys. My companions have already found a window seat at a large timber table.
The rustic surrounds remind me of my alltime favourite fish-and-chip vendor — the Dunalley Fish Market. You can dine inside a draughty old shed alongside the Dunalley canal or outside at one of the rickety wooden tables.
If you are lucky, you may spot a seal bobbing about in the fast-flowing current or an enormous stingray. The catch of the day — sometimes flake, sometimes flathead, calamari rings and octopus tentacles — is crumbed, fried and served in an old-school newsprint and white paper parcel with wedges of lemon and optional salt and vinegar.
The Gulch dining area slowly fills up as we wait for our number to come up. About half an hour or so later, 55 is finally called. Bingo!
Our prize is a white cardboard box brimming with battered flake, whiting, a couple of scallops, prawns and calamari rings, and a tangle of tender octopus tentacles. The chips buried underneath magically remain crisp. While not fancy, it’s warming fare to share as we take in the sea air and the milliondollar view.
At the time of writing, the results have just landed on the annual Fisheries Research and Development Corporation’s National Fish and Chips Awards.
The national winner of last year’s people’s choice award — Tasmanian Gourmet Seafoods at Cambridge — this year reeled in the judges’ award for best in the island state. Fraggle’s Fish and Chips, in the Launceston suburb of Invermay, netted the state people’s choice award. The Gulch came in at number nine on the overall Tasmanian leader board, just ahead of Fish Frenzy in Hobart. It might not rate as best in the state but we had a whale of a time.