I love visiting markets and this month I thought we would try something different for this column and meander around the Swan Settlers Market.
It’s an easy drive, about half an hour from the city and the market is undercover, air-conditioned with plenty of parking.
The building was constructed in 1919, to utilise the convenience of the East-West railway line for fruit packing and was known as the Swan Settlers Co-op.
After 80 years of operation the co-op closed its doors, so this market breathes new life into the historic building.
There’s lots of stores selling a variety of items and Annie’s Lane collectibles was a great step back in time with rows of interesting items.
They also have a lot of old machinery on display so you get a little history lesson there too.
Our focus this time was on the food, and we were on a mission to try as many dishes from as many vendors as possible.
Our mission was thrown off course as the first store we spotted was Mr Cannolo selling really crisp and creamy cannoli. Now I am a sucker for a good cannoli and it was hard to focus on anything else with the large display of delicious filled Italian morsels.
Owner Carmelo (pictured above) was friendly and fun, and we had a great chat and obviously were enticed into buying a box of his best. He also makes other delicious treats and his coffee was excellent too. So it wasn’t the wisest start to this brunch chowing down on a cannoli or two; ok it was three.
Before we got completely off course and ate the entire box we decided to try a brunch plate from Gryphon Smokehouse, which serves American style barbecue.
The brunch plate was huge, and seemed bigger after the cannoli. It was definitely one to share with homemade pit beans, a poached egg, corn bread, potato hash and slices of delicious brisket ($19.90). It was smoky tasty dish and we enjoyed it as an alternative to the standard brunch fare.
Gryphon also offer other breakfast dishes including a muffin and there are loads of options for lunch. I hadn’t had the opportunity to try an American barbecue and Gryphon was a great entrée into this cuisine.
We were battling to eat much more but we couldn’t go past the Malaysian and Cocos Island stall Umi’s kitchen. We ordered a bowl of beef rendang with a jala roti. The curry was spicy and the beef was tender, dipping the light roti jala into it just added another element to enjoy. This serve was around $10.
There were other food vendors, which we wanted to try but our eyes were bigger than our stomachs.
So we took home some Pho (noodle soup) from the Vietnamese café TeaMoreRolls. Also available was Turkish kebabs and gozleme, fried treats from Volcano Food, Malaysian drinks and sweets from Rasa-Rasa Manis and a variety of soups, burgers, platters and wines served at Holy Mary Cellars.
As we couldn’t eat any more we supported local traders buying some pickled jalapenos from Koojedda Country which had a great range of jams, pickles and local flowers.
We also bought some homemade Scottish shortbread and tablets.
Other stores we marked for next time were the local distillery Sin Gin and the La Petite Fromagerie which had an excellent selection of cheeses. So much to choose from, so next time I will save the delicious cannoli for last.
Swan Settlers Market makes a great day out. Take a drive to the beautiful Swan Valley and soak up the atmosphere of this rural setting so close to the city.
Swan Settlers Market,
124 Lennard Street, Herne Hill, Swan Valley
Open Saturday and Sunday – 9am – 5pm, public holidays – 9am – 5pm
