Our trip to Canberra was planned as we all love art galleries and the Vanity Fair Photographic Exhibition was the main draw for Queen Viv, Miss America and I. Mr NQN’s Canberra motivation was a rally drive with Neal Bates – being half Finnish, he is rally car crazy and the chance to meet Neal Bates and be a passenger was a dream come true thanks to the people at Toyota!
So after having a look at the exhibit we went to the Old Bus Depot Markets. My friend The Second Wife recommended it after her recent trip to Canberra. In a large converted bus depot it’s spacious and filled with food on the left and arts and crafts on the right. Naturally we head straight to the food and the first stand we see is the Batemans Bay man roasting nuts. He’s proffering up a scoop of freshly roasted honey macadamias to those that walk past. The packets of nuts are very reasonably priced with peanuts at $3 a packet and macadamias and pecans etc for $4.50 a 100g packet with a myriad of flavours such as green mango macadamias, wasabi and seaweed macadamias and maple toasted pecans. Of course we buy some, it’s cold ok and we need some warming up or so we convince ourselves…
Our next stop is the hydroponic herbs and lettuce stand. I have to admit I have a black thumb. My herbs live by some sheer miracle but I kill plants as I forget about them (which is why I am cautious about having children!). However they have guaranteed that this is unkillable so perhaps when we get back to Sydney to Fox Studios markets I may buy a box to see whether I kill them or not.
We next stop at the organic chocolate stand where we purchase some organic chocolate bear lollipops and some dark ginger truffles.
There are also cherries from Young with a friendly couple that offer us samples of their cherry wine. They tell us that cherries are among the hardest fruits to grow when compared with other fruits. We bought a bag of Poppa’s Dried Cherries from them but a lot of the cherries had the seeds still in them either whole or crushed up so I didn’t use them for the cake I had intended to just in case someone accidentally bit into them and cracked a tooth.
Pretty much everything in the food section has generous plates of samples to be offered and there’s none of that obligation that can often go along with samples where they stare at you and then ask if you want to buy some straight away which is a pleasant change. We sample a fantastic carrot dip from a man who also sells baklava and other delicious Middle Eastern sweets. He tells us “Try more! Try everything! Keep trying!”. We love the carrot dip so much we buy two lots. It’s freakishly good whilst being low fat and contains carrot, yogurt, spices and garlic.
Feeling cold and thirsty, we find a man who is making a killing with his drinks. Three vats of hot drinks hold Mulled Apple Cider, Mulled Wine and Hot Honey, Lemon & Ginger as well as a machine dispensing freshly squeezed oranges via a Lotto ball like mechanism. We get a cup of the Mulled Apple Cider (made using absolutely huge cinnamon sticks) and sip the hot beverage gratefully.
Mulled Apple Cider $4
Olives, olives and more olives to sample!
Cheese, cheese and more cheese to sample!
Another plentifully sampled stand was the olive and cheese stands where fat, juicy olives and creamy soft and hard cheeses in an amazing array of flavours can be tried and purchased. They also have a sausage selection next to the cheeses.
Sausage selection: mild on the left, hot on the right
There are also ready made foods and snacks to eat ranging from Ethiopian to Spanish but the stand with the crowd is undoubtedly the Crepes and Baked Potato one.
It has started raining so we have a quick browse of the collectibles section at the front of the markets (prices are higher than in Sydney generally which is saying something!) and we high tail it back to our hotel for some warmth with a belly full of samples and drink.
So tell me Dear Reader, what are your favourite types of samples? Cheeses? Olives? Chocolates? Wine? Or something else entirely?
The Old Bus Depot Markets
Wentworth Avenue, Kingston Forehore, Canberra, ACT
Open every Sunday 10am-4pm
http://www.obdm.com.au/
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27 Comments | Add your own
Oh that bought back memories!!
As a kid I used to love it in the supermarket when they would do the fryups of continental sausage – my Dad would make return visits… eeek.
When we were up in Cairns last year we went to Rusty’s markets – and they have tons of tropical fruit we just don’t get here – so I had fun tasting all the fruits I’d never eaten before… want to go back.
awesome!. i’ll be in canberra in october so hope to visit these markets on the sunday if i get a chance
Oh grandma, what big cinnamon sticks you have! (All the better to stir you with, my dear)
I love samples, and enjoyed so many delicious ones of spreads and dips and tapenades when I was lucky enough to spend a day at Niagara-on-the-Lake last year that we didn’t need to buy lunch!
I do tend to stear clear of the more ‘stick your hand in and grab some’ samples, as you can’t be sure where some of those previous hands have been before (or rather, I am all too aware of where they have probably been before!).
That carrot dip is amazing!! We used to live in an apartment complex across the road from those Markets, we used to go quite often. The fresh OJ from the drinks guy is pretty good too.
I love the olives at the Old Bus Depot markets.
yumyumyum! I also alwyas love to try olive oils and balsamic vinagars whenever places have them for sampling
I love the saucy spice co, we had the pumpkin spinach curry last night
I am so picky about balsamic, that I won’t buy it without trying it. I must admit bakery samples excite me even though I don’t have a sweet tooth. It’s that one little bite I like.
I used to live in Canberra and I loved the little Canberran markets with shops and stalls selling herb plants, homemade jams, muffins, etc. But that nut shop/stand is one of my favourites! Their honey macadamias and garlic macadamias are so moreish!
Oh no! You didn’t try the ethiopian food? It’s fantastic. I recommend returning immediately
(And the glass blowing next door is also kind of cool). I’m going to Canberra in 2 weeks for a girl’s weekend. Can’t wait!
Hi there…I have just discovered your wonderful blog…I absolutely love love love it!!! We used to live near these markets…but now we are on the coast…closer to that nut man…Happy Cooking…Dzintra♥x
i love cheese & cracker samples
i am marking this down in my diary, & getting Richard to drive me down there! (or up there? im so bad with directions)
im going canberra next month actually, for the floriade, but friends have planned it for a saturday
we could stayover night…
My favourite samples? Make-up and creams, especially the ones from Molton Brown and Kiehls! Great market.
Love the way the stallholders display their wares for tasting, haven’t seen anything like it here. Not being a breakfast type of person, I love Saturday morning shopping and manage to eat enough samples to stave off hunger for a couple of more hours of shopping – organic lamb sausages, bread samples, chicken schnitzel, cheese and iced coffee being some favourites!
interesting place! love that organic chocolate stand
It looks as though those markets have improved since my last visit- plenty more food on offer. I usually try dips and tapenades and anything chocolate over other samples
Oohh.. I’m from Canberra and I LOVE these markets! The nut stall is my favourite as well as the dried pasta stall.. did you see that one? There was also a chilli wine stall..
The Ethiopian food is my favourite, you’ll have to try it one day! 
This looks like a wonderful trip. Ginger truffles – yum!! I have not been to Canberra for 21 years – scary, huh?
Unkillable plants? I think I need some of those too! The markets sound like a great reason to visit Canberra
any place with a plethora of free samples is a gem. lovely market!
Hi there! I’m not sure if you know, but the local government is thinking of relocating the old bus depot markets. Timing and location are still up in the air. It’s a very nice place to visit, one of the more interesting places in Canberra.
I live in Canberra & love going to the OBD markets. The only problem I have with those markets is its always the SAME stallholders so I usually go every couple of months. Next time you come down this way you will have to go to the Farmers Markets at EPIC (Exhibition Park in Canberra) which is on every Saturday morning. Its just wonderful but you have to be there early so you miss the crowds. I’m there very Saturday morning at 7am!!
What a great market, it looks like they have anything and everything a girl could want. My favorite samples are jams, relishes, and chutneys on crackers or small pieces of bread.
You’re a great ambassador for your country! I really started to want to visit Austrilia after I have been subscribing your blog!
//Viktoria, Sweden
Hi Liss-Haha aren’t parents funny and embarrassing at times!
Oh I’d love to go to a market with different types of fruit. There’s one fruit that tastes like chocolate apparently!
Hi Simon-Great stuff!
Hi Conor-
Indeedy! Isn’t that fun when you get to ahve so many samples you don’t need lunch? 
Oh yes that’s a very good idea! No use getting sick for samples!
Hi Gab-Isn’t it! I’d love to get the recipe for it
Ahhh cool, we loved the apple cider! 
Hi Fiona-Yes those olives are amazingly good and such variety too!
Ah yes you come across some really nice oils and vinegars at markets don’t you!
Hi jess-Oh wonderful!
Hi Angela-Fair enough! It varies a lot!
Haha yes I love the innate portion controlling of the baked goods
Hi Trisha-yes he’s so generous with the samples there and they’re so nice and fresh!
Hi Jetlagmama-Sadly no we were stuffed from the samples and other assorted goodies
Have fun – girls weekends are great! 
Hi Dzintra-Thankyou so much!
Oh that’s a great location then! Thankyou so much and you too! x
Hi betty-Hehe well you would have had a ball at the cheese place! Ooh fantastic stuff! It will be warmer then too!
Hi Anne-haha true that! Although usually they’re just testers I suppose!
Hi Moya-It’s a nice policy so you buy it if you like it, not because you feel pressured to buy it. Ahh great plan, I like it!
Hi nora-It was very nice!
Hi sandra-That’s good, a market definitely needs food! Mmm yes I love buying dips mainly because I love eating them
Hi Min Ai-Oh cool!
There wasn’t a dried pasta stall that I could see. What a shame! 
Yes we saw the chilli wine stall-wow that stuff is hot! 
I should for sure! 
Hi Cakelaw-Hehe it had been a while for me too! The ginger truffle was delicious and the gorgeous little girl I gave the lollypops to loved them!
Hi Jacq-I definitely do too! I can kill anything!
Hi grace-I know, a place with good samples is a place I like to be
Hi Shirley-Oh really? I suppose it will lose the name though? It was definitely worth the stop!
Hi Kelly-Ahh right! Yes that can be a tad frustrating if you want new things (but I suppose I didn’t notice it as a one time visitor). Wow 7am, you are devoted! :O Thankyou very much for the recommendation!
Hi Faith-Mmm yes they are good too, and I often find that I buy jams a lot. I’m not sure why but a trip always has to involve bringing back a type of jam
Hi Viktoria-Aww thankyou so much for saying that! Wonderful, and thankyou for reading and subscribing!
You have to try the HONEY !!! So many flavours and colours. You will never buy supermarket honey ever again.
how do you get a stall space? and how much for a art and craft stall
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[...] hours if you will. Earlier that day we’d visited the Braidwood Bakery and then gone to the Old Bus Depot Markets and then settled our weary selves into Hotel Realm. Booked thanks to the lovely people at Toyota it [...]
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