One of the joys of travel is tasting the cuisine of a new land, and Australian cuisine offers the finest ingredients carefully curated by a foodie community passionate about quality and taste. Here are six unique Australian flavors, and the best places to sample them, all located in inner Sydney.
Seafood
Fresh, local seafood is one of the defining characteristics of Australian cuisine. With its large open windows overlooking the beach, Northern Bondi Fish Just a few steps from the sand is an unusual place to try some local specialties. There are small plates like soft-shell crab sliders, grilled Tasmanian scallops, rock oyster and whiting tacos, plus beer-battered flathead and chips, and whole baby Hiramasa kingfish. Try the XO Moreton Bay Bug for a unique taste of Australia. Worms are curious creatures, a bit like miniature lobsters with a shovel-shaped appearance and a sweet, rich flavor.
Bush Tucker
First things first: Aboriginal communities have been enjoying the Sydney region’s unique produce for thousands of years, and in recent years more and more bush tucker flavors have found their way onto city menus. Find out all about it at the Royal Botanic Gardens on Wednesday, Friday or Saturday, when Aboriginal guides lead the group. Heritage Tours Incorporating cultural education and bush tucker taste testing ($40/free for adults/children under 8). or visit Biri Biri Aboriginal Cafe At 137 Redfern St, Redfern, where local elder Auntie Beryl van-Oploo trains locals in the food business, dishes like ‘boschetta’ with native tomatoes and outback spices, or pepperbark-smoked salmon with fennel myrtle. Prepare recipes. Arancini
Kangaroo fillets
For many, this meat is a must-try on a visit to Australia. Kangaroo is lean, juicy and strongly flavored, and unlike tourist fare like emu or crocodile, the locals actually eat it. In fact, they love it. You’ll find it all over town, from pub grills to fine dining establishments, and in the meat section of most supermarkets. If you’re invited to the barbeque, grab a sirloin steak (soy sauce and honey make a great pickle), or head out and see what the chefs are doing with it. For a row with a view, go architecturally daring. Barangaroo House, opened in December 2017 and helmed by former Noma chef Corey Campbell, where he serves it with manthari (a local berry) and blueberries ($38). Or try the kangaroo burger. Mo Gourmet Burgers In Bondi, Coogee, Newtown or Manly ($16.95) where it’s served with sage, garlic, caramelised onion, tomato, rocket, mayo and (like all great Aussie burgers) beetroot.
Classic Sausage Sizzle
If you’re in town during the election, stop by a primary school for ‘democracy sausages’ – sold by P&Cs who hold fundraising barbecues outside the school halls, next to the polling booths. are used as You’ll get a white roll, a greasy sausage, some tomato sauce and, if you’re lucky, some charred onions. And you’ll be taking part in a great Australian culinary tradition. If there is no election, the same favorite fundraiser is offered by community groups outside Bunnings hardware stores every Saturday and Sunday. Netball clubs, bush regeneration groups, churches and childcare centers alike raise funds by sizzling sausages for weekend shoppers – Alexandria (8/40 Euston Rd) or Randwick (cnr Clovelly Rd & Kemmis Try branches in St). They usually cost around $2.50. enjoy
Fusion food
Mood Oz cuisine is heavily influenced by the culturally diverse communities that call Australia home. The 2016 census revealed that 49% of Australians are first or second generation immigrants and the local palette has expanded the flavor fusion in wonderful ways to make it unique. Sydney’s multicultural food hubs are typically confined (such as Harris Park for Indian and Pakistani food, Merrickville or Cabramatta for Vietnamese) but if you’re looking to try some interesting fusion, pop in. Billy Kwang in Potts Point where the Australian Chinese menu celebrates the ‘sweet, sour, salty, marine, peppery, tart, citrus, bitter, floral and woody notes of Australian indigenous ingredients’. The changing menu includes the likes of dumplings with warrigal greens (a local vegetable), saltbush cakes and the famous red braised caramelised wallabies with black beans and chilli.
Smashed avocado on toast
In late 2016, this simple dish created quite a stir. An Australian columnist has linked millennials’ difficulties breaking into Australia’s tight real estate market to a desire to dine on ‘mashed egg toast’ rather than save for a deposit. Since then, the cafe staple has become an ironic dining phenomenon in Sydney, where housing is the second most unaffordable in the world. Want to get your savings back? Our picks include fire-roasted capsicum hummus, char-grilled corn, grape tomatoes, jalapeños, Meredith chili chevre and avocado toast with seasoned leaves. Two chips in Marrickville, or smashed avocado, artichoke hearts and heirloom tomatoes with spicy coriander and za’atar at Israeli-European Shank too In Surrey Hills, Randwick, Newton, Enmore, Balmain or Erskineville.