Once upon a time, we used to live on a sailing boat and travel around the world. It seems like a lifetime ago that we were exploring far away lands and living in our own floating bubble. One of the things I miss the most is catching our own dinner and enjoying the freshest seafood. We used to trawl a line everyday during ocean passages, hoping to catch a fish large enough to last a few meals ( mahi-mahi, yellowfin and tuna were always on the most desired list ). When at anchor, some of the locals would come and trade their catch, sometimes for money, other times for essential items or just out of kindness. I have fond memories of buying whole octopus or live lobsters from the bottom of a dugout canoe in the middle of nowhere!

We’ve been back in Sydney for 6 years now. The big sailing boat is long gone, we ventured into the fishing charter business for a while and occasionally brought some fresh fish home, then withdrew due to other commitments. So basically we no longer fish. 

Just as well, we have very good local suppliers, my favourite being Mrs Fish.  The brainchild of Lauren and Tony Carbone, Mrs Fish is a fresh seafood stall at the Sutherland Shire Farmers Market, held every Saturday morning. I have been a regular customer of theirs for a while now, swapping fishing stories, recipes, and the odd batch of cookies. They buy their fish fresh from the Sydney Fish Market, cut, fillet and vacuum pack it so that you don’t have to rush and eat it straight away ( though, why wouldn’t you want to? ) Only the shellfish comes “loose”: prawns, mussels, oysters, or lobsters. 

Due to Covid restrictions, the fresh produce markets all over Sydney have been cancelled and a lot of the stalls have had to reinvent themselves ( I believe “pivot” is the word? ) and Mrs Fish is no exception. They offer home delivery around the Sutherland Shire, with a minimum spend of $80 ( which is not hard to reach if you eat seafood a couple of times a week like we do ) with Tony personally dropping off the goodies at my doorstep.

Last week, I decided to splurge and in addition to our usual oysters and fish fillets order, I bought some lobster tails. These come snap frozen, so I kept them in the freezer for a few days until we were ready for them. I initially wanted to include them into a seafood stew, but then we decided to go out on the boat and all I could think to have onboard was lobster rolls!  

Honestly, can you beat fresh bread, soft butter lettuce, boiled lobster and tangy mayo dressing? And because I am a bit of a cheat on the boat, with limited space and supply, I used store bought items like mayonnaise and salad dressing, so prep only took minutes. 

This post is not sponsored by Mrs Fish, all seafood was independently paid for. I just like their stuff and they’re really nice people!