Australia Eating

Eating

Australian cuisine reflects the culture and region of Australia. First, it should be recognised that Australian chefs are regarded around the world for their creativity and skillful mixing of Asian, Western and local dishes. One could argue that 'Asian Fusion' originated in Australia. Melbourne is a 'foodies' paradise and Sydney has many wonderful restaurants for locals and visitors alike. There are four aspects to Australian cuisine for a visitor to look out for: First, BYO. That means Bring your own/buy your own (alcohol). In many of the urban communities of Australia you will find very small restaurants where the menu and food is of the highest quality for an affordable price. And you can save money by picking up a nice bottle of local wine from a bottle shop around the corner. This includes beer as well. Expect to pay a small corkage fee. Asian Fusion. From the Rockpool in Sydney, to many other restaurants around the country, Australia's geographical and cultural relationship with South East Asia has resulted in some of the best Asian-inspired dishes in the world. Counter lunch. If you were raised in an English household, you will know what it is to have a roast beef or lamb, potatoes and peas. Most traditional pubs in Australia offer what is called a counter lunch. For around five dollars, you can sit at the bar at lunch time and have a very hearty English meal of meat, potatoes, gravy and veggies. With a nice cold beer of course. This English influence is prevalent in a whole range of grocery store items like pasties and sausage rolls. The BBQ (barbecue). Some restaurants and pubs have sort of buffets of raw steaks and sausages, lamb chops and kangaroo that you select, pay for, and then head over to a large communal grill and cook to your own perfection. BBQs are also a staple of Australian social culture. Due to the climate, many locals have a 'barbie' at least once a week. These social affairs are for families and friends to sit around in a garden, grilling everything from sausages ("Snags") to steaks and anything else that will fit on the grill. Contrary to the stereotypical belief of foreigners, Australians rarely "Throw a shrimp on the barbie" (also, in Australia a shrimp is more commonly refered to as a prawn). {edit}Eating vegetarian Eating vegetarian is quite common in Australia - usually for health, lifestyle and ethical reasons - and you will find that many restaurants will offer at least one or two vegetarian dishes, or will have an entire section of the menu dedicated to vegetarian dishes. Vegans may have a more difficult time finding food that is compatible with their diet, but any restaurant with a large vegetarian menu will probably be able to sensibly discuss the ingredients of various dishes. In large cities you will find a number of vegetarian and vegan restaurants. Religious diets People observing kosher or halal will be able to find specialist butchers in the capital cities, and will also find a number of restaurants with appropriate menus and cooking styles. Outside the capital cities, it will be much more difficult to find food prepared in the correct way. Beyond cuisine There are a few peculiarly Aussie 'delicacies' - some of which have become infamous among travellers game enough to sample them! A classic example is Vegemite: a yeast-based spread made from the remains of beer brewing plus salt (lots of salt!). Many believe that, unless sampled before the age of four, it's unlikely that anybody could develop a taste for the nearly black goo. The locals, however, tend to regard taking a jar of Vegemite as essential when packing the bags for travel. A word of advice for keen experimenters - try a very thin spread of Vegemite on hot buttered toast. Aussies sometimes refer to biscuits (what Americans call cookies) as "bikkies". One of the most famous of the local bikkies, one that has had export success, is the Tim Tam. A chocolate fudge-filled sandwich of two chocolate biscuits, all wrapped in chocolate, this decadent bikkie gave rise to the "Tim Tam Slam". This decidedly messy maneuver requires nibbling the chocolate off both ends of a Tim Tam, then using the biscuit as a straw to suck up your favourite hot beverage, more typically coffee. The hot drink melts the fudge centre and creates an experience hard to describe, but finesse is needed to suck the whole biscuit into your mouth in the microseconds between being fully saturated & dissolving into your cuppa. Other Australian sweets include the lamington, a small sponge cake covered in a thin layer of chocolate icing (frosting) and then dipped in desiccated coconut; the pavlova, a meringue cake with a cream topping usually covered with fresh fruit - a popular alternative to traditional Christmas pudding during the holiday season and ANZAC biscuits a mix of coconut, oats, flour, sugar and Golden Syrup widely believed to have originated when anxious First World War wives and mothers baked and sent them to soldiers fighting overseas. "Damper" is a traditional type of bread that was baked by stockmen during Colonial times whilst in the Outback. It is made with the most basic of ingredients and usually cooked over a woodfire. Do not expect to find this bread in urban bakeries - it is only commonly served to tourists on camping trips in the Outback. Drinking Varieties The Australian staple drink is beer. Australia also has a very active wine industry and local consumption of wine is increasing. Drinking imported wine is a novelty; you will find that most wines for sale both in bottle shops and restaurants will be Australian wines. Young Australians are increasingly fond of mixed drinks, particularly vodka, bourbon and whiskey mixers, which are often sold pre-mixed in bottles and cans. Spirits are served in pubs, but not in all restaurants. Legal and cultural aspects The legal drinking age throughout Australia is 18 years. It is illegal both to purchase alcohol for yourself if you are under 18 years of age or to purchase alcohol on behalf of someone who is under 18 years of age. The seller will get in the most trouble for doing this and therefore many alcohol vendors will require proof of age if you appear to be under 25 (sometimes under 30) in their judgement. Acceptable proof is generally government issued photo ID with both your name and date of birth on it: in particular, a drivers licence issued by any Australian state, a photographic identity card issued by any Australian state or a passport are generally accepted. Many licenced venues do not even allow under-age people on their premises. Those that do will require that the under-age person is accompanied by someone over 18. Alcohol can be purchased for consumption on premises only in licenced venues: pubs, clubs and many restaurants. You can also purchase alcohol for private consumption in bottle shops, which are separate stores selling bottled alcohol. You typically cannot buy alcohol in supermarkets or other retail outlets, but bottle shops and major supermarkets are often found in very close proximity. Alcohol consumption is banned in many other public places, particularly parks and footpaths. This is under the control of local council authorities. Otherwise, public drunkenness varies in acceptability. You will certainly find a great deal of it in close proximity to pubs and clubs at nighttime, much less during the day. Being drunk with a group of friends is far more acceptable than wandering around drunk and alone. Note that public drunkenness is a criminal offence and if picked up by the police you may spend the night sobering up in a holding cell or be charged. Driving while affected by alcohol is both stigmatized and heavily policed (by random breath testing police patrols) in Australia, as well as being inherently dangerous. The acceptable maximum blood alcohol concentration is 0.05% in all states, often lower or not allowed for operators of heavy vehicles and young or novice drivers. This alcohol level is reached by approximately one standard drink per hour of consumption (the term 'standard' is a misnomer: most drinks sold in pubs and restaurants are substantially larger than a standard drink). In Australia every single police car can operate as a breath test station. There are also "booze buses" which are large vans set up typically on busy routes to test large numbers of drivers. Booze busses are usually deployed more heavily on long weekends, ie. Australia day , Easter and Christmas. a summary of Australia's attitude to driving under the influence is the massively popular government slogan "if you drink, then drive, you're a bloody idiot".