Melbourne seems to win a lot of "best in the world" awards recently. Simply Spanish was awarded the best paella outside Spain. I'm not sure what kind of accolade that is - I presume it's the Spanish judges protecting the sanctity of their dish internally. It was pleasing to see the winner was a classic rabbit and snails. It reminds me of my dream of Paco Gandia, the best in the world (within Spain) that I was so close to when I visited Alicante, but couldn't squeeze in the trip. Next time.
Although Simply Spanish hasn't yet adopted their winner for the local market, it is bound to happen soon now. In the meantime I visited the South Melbourne market one for a taste. Like those I've seen in markets before (eg. Borough and Covent Garden) there is a giant pan cooking continuously. I tend to find these nice enough however they also lack the crispy slightly burnt rice bottom that is a great part of paella. Subsequently I ordered a personalised one instead.
- Flame Grilled Calamari (served with fresh lemon & herb infused olive oil dressing) $15.5 - a deliciously tender calamari which was used to scoop up the potently seasoned oil dressing. I could swear there was minced salted anchovies in there such was the flavour of it. The smell and taste were excellent and strong;
- Smoked Pork & Mushroom paella (cooked with thyme & white wine) $21 - the paella was cooked through with a little bit of crisp base but could have been a bit more al dente. The flavour was remarkably mild, with the advertised smoked pork likely being shredded pork hock. I expected a stronger flavour - maybe it was overpowered by the calamari. It was nontheless nice and satisfying.
There's a lot of paella types to try including ones with chorizo, seafood or squid ink. Once they start the rabbit and snail I'll definitely try that. The atmosphere outside is also pleasant on market day to sit in the sun and join the people.