Three Blue Ducks, Rosebery

For over a month, the ND food group preparing and planning for a Rosebery food crawl and it finally happened! Foodie adventures was meant to begin at midday in Rosebery but due to a late departure and traffic, I didn't end up getting to the Saporium, Rosebery, until 12:45pm. By that time, the group were all hungry and in search of food.

The Saporium houses a few cafes, restaurants, a health food store, and holds weekly "markets" (i.e. a dozen or so food and goods stalls) on Saturdays from 10am-3pm. However, there was limited food options there that tempted our taste buds (maybe Mr Bao but it was rather expensive at $6 per bao) so we decided to head outside and walked through The Cannery to the Three Blue Ducks.

Three Blue Ducks

Entrance to Restaurant

The Three Blue Ducks is located in a massive warehouse, with high ceilings and ample natural lighting, that has been converted into a restaurant & homeware store.

Left Above: Front Door
Left Below: Interior of Restaurant
Above: Pickled Vegetables on Display

They also have a small garden area just off to the side of the entrance, which is home to Bob (their large outdoor charcoal BBQ):

Hunk of Meat on Bob

Although there was clearly a free large table, our group waited for ~5min before being seated. I think their menu includes items that are intended to be shared as it includes 'small' and 'big' plates but our group ended up either sharing or ordering our own food, depending on our appetite.

Since it was well past 1pm and I skipped breakfast in preparation for this food crawl, I ended up going solo and chose Pete's Poke ($27):

Pete's Poke - Raw Fish, Cucumber, Avocado, Radish, Kimchi,
Brown Rice, Seaweed & Pickled Beetroot Egg ($27)

For what was served, I would consider the dish as overpriced - there were only 5 sides of raw fish and the overall portion size was insubstantial. I did appreciate the quality and effort put into making it (okay, most of the elements were probably pre-prepared and the dish assembled to order) but by the end of the meal, I was still hungry... I could have easily eaten two servings without being full. The issue here I think is that the ingredients are relatively light and aren't 'filling'. Also, the kimchi was rather salty (... was the wombok cooked!?).

Here are some pics of the other food options here:

Free Range Fried Chicken Wings, Lemon &
Fermented Chilli Sauce ($14)

Salmon Head with Charred Corn, Broccoli, Soy & Mirin
Dressing, and Puffed Rice ($28); Sweet Potato Hummus,
Charred Onions, Black Sesame & Focaccia ($13)

Charcoal Grilled Pasture Fed Sirloin Steak,
Burnt Herb Salsa, Pickled Onion & Mustard ($8.50/100g)

Charred Occy, Corn, Grapefruit, Pickled Chilli,
Mixed Leaves & Fermented Radish ($28)

Overall impression from the group - decent food offerings but not something to get excited over. Highlight seemed to be the salmon head dish.

Off to the side of the restaurant, away from the kitchen, is a large store that sells up-market Australian-made furniture and other home goods, including $80 feather dusters, $5000+ rugs and $2000 module seats. It's great for home inspiration but I personally wouldn't willing pay the above figures for furniture...

Homeware Store Next to the Three Blue Ducks

This food crawl was continued with a trip to Gelato Messina HQ and more in the local vicinity.