I am not sure what I expected from a stroll around Rusty’s Market in Cairns, but I was served a trip around the world. So there it was, a small market with less than a couple of hundred or even smaller stalls, with offerings from many different pockets of the world ━ so much so, It could easily be the most multicultural Market I have ever shopped in, even more so compared to the iconic Queen Victoria Market in Melbourne or Bugis Village in Singapore.
There are two entrances to the semi-open-air Rusty’s Market ━ . The one facing Grafton Street has a local coffee shop with a long queue in front of it ━ I can’t attest to it because I am a Melbourne coffee snob who has been sorely disappointed by many coffee shops in Cairns. Also, I didn’t try it. The other entrance is more of an open door with many stalls facing Sheridan Street, from food to fruits.
Speaking of fruits, I was so delighted to see many of my favourite tropical fruits. I thought I could only (quickly) get fruits from Indonesia, such as rambutan, longan and mangosteen. Then there were dragonfruit, durian and wide varieties of mango and banana. I also got to see Taro in its’ raw form. Taro is a root vegetable we usually eat as a fried snack in Indonesia called Talas Goreng. I later learned that Taro is the staple food of the indigenous people living in Australia.
Meanwhile, the food stalls, forming a food court with a row of tables and benches in the middle of it, offer many immigrant street foods – from Japanese Karaage (deep-fried Chinese-style) chicken to French crepes to German Currywurst, which tasted pretty comparable to the one I had in Berlin years ago. Then there were the Vietnamese Bhan-Mi, Thai salads, Filipino delights and many others.
I also stopped for some olives and cheese from an Italian food stall selling homemade pizza bread. Then there was the best Spanakopita I have ever eaten in my life ━ , a Greek savoury pie made of dough and filled with spinach and feta cheese I had in an unnamed Greek stall.
Then there were the most beautiful freshest vegetables, the kind I grew up eating back home, like kangkung and sweet potato. I also got to see Taro in its’ raw form. Taro is a root vegetable we usually eat as a fried snack in Indonesia called Talas Goreng. I later learned that Taro is the staple food of the indigenous people living in Australia.
Aside from food, Rusty Market is filled with other knick-knacks. From freshwater pearls, jewellery, second-hand books, and house plants to kitschy stuff. The one thing that caught my eye was the colourful house dress, or Daster, as Indonesian call them. Whenever I turned into a corner and saw many in varied patterns and colours, I felt transported to when I was a young kid following Amma around the Market in Jakarta, where colourful Dasters were a common sighting.
Then there were a few stalls selling indigenous products such as spices and skincare ━ worth checking out (and getting some) as it’s not as common to find them in other parts of the country.
Rusty’s Market is your salt-on-the-earth type of Market
The Market is not as boujee as Melbourne’s Prahran Market nor as traditional as Bali’s Badung Market, but I’d say it’s a must-visit in Cairns ━ , even more so than the galleries and museums.
If you want to experience the local life in Cairns, spend some time in Rusty’s Market.
You can buy something here to support the local Market. Also, I’d urge you to have a meal here accompanied by live music in the food court area. From a personal experience, it could just be the few good-priced meals you would have as a tourist in Cairns. I recommend the Spinakorpina from the Greek stall right in the middle of Rusty’s Market for your primary and a healthy and delicious dessert from The Grateful Coconut near the Grafton Street entrance, right behind the coffee shop I mentioned earlier. Also, stock up on delicious tropical fruits.
Rusty’s Market is open to the public only from Friday to Sunday, so do plan your trip well.
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