Karumba Hot Bread
After leaving Mt Isa it was time to hit the road and head further north. We didn’t really have a plan or set route, but we decided to make our way up to Normanton/Karumba way and see what happens.
The two priority’s were finding a cracking spot to camp and find more cracking ’s to eat. As it turned out both Normanton and Karumba had existing bakeries in town, that meant the ’s were all sorted, so all that was left to do was to find a place to make camp.
Both bakeries are owned and operated by the same gentleman named Jimmy. (who unfortunately I didn’t meet) Both places are open Monday to Friday during peak periods. The Karumba bakery is situated Yapper street and the Normanton one right in the centre of town. It’s the big pink building that cannot be missed.
As I had nothing officially lined up, I decided to head into the Karumba bakery, introduce myself and smash a few ’s !!!
As I was looking through the list, one of the locals introduced himself and insisted I try the “Beef Curry”. He told me it was one of his regular go to ’s and I wouldn’t be disappointed.
THE REVIEW
1. Value for Money – $5.30 was very good value for this sized . While it wasn’t huge, it was quite satisfactory for the $5.30 prize tag. 9/10
2. Meat Ratio – While the was extremely full, the pastry was very thick so there wasn’t a lot of space for the filling. But overall this was filled almost to the brim with quality meat. 9/10
3. Meat Flavour – The curry flavor itself was sensational, but sadly the inside of the , did fall out very easily and was quite runny. Going back to the flavor the curry mix was spot on and tasted delicious. 8/10
4. Pastry – Overall not to bad. The top was just about perfect, however the base was extremely thick, probably a tad too thick. As mentioned above the inside was very runny so eating this was a little tricky. The pastry did hold up but you needed to plan every bite to make sure it didn’t fall out. 7.5/10
5. Temperature – A smidge to hot, I had to wait several minutes before I could tuck in. 8.5/10
Overall Rating 42/50
The scoreline may not have been reflected, but this was pretty good. The pasty was satisfactory and the curry flavor was also outstanding. The only negative was how runny the inside was. This could prove a challenge for any bloke trying to eat the on the run or in the car. In saying that, I’m positive there are punters and lovers out there that prefer this sort of loose texture. Would I come back and have another one ? 100% yes, even if it was just for the curry flavor alone. That curry flavor was beautiful.
This bakery is a little gem and has everything you need. The bread was up there with the freshest I’ve ever had. The sweets looked outrageously delicious.
Karumba is a little community situated in one of the remotest parts of this county, so to have a bakery of this quality open and doing well is a huge boost to locals and tourists.
As mentioned earlier if you cannot make it all the way up to Karumba, Jimmy also has the bakery at Normanton. The bakery is run by is sister and been operating for four years.
Karumba and Normanton are popular and can be extremely busy. Mostly known for its fishing and boating, this area offers so much more. The water ways and sunsets are simply stunning and it’s a perfect place to do nothing and relax. Plus the area has an exceptional range of caravan parks and free camping options.