Australia

Bakeries

Usually a good place to buy bread rolls, a pie or a sausage roll. some, like the beechworth bakery, or the bakery in historic gundagai offer an experience as well.

Restaurants

Australians eat out frequently, and you will usually find one or two options to eat out even in small towns, with a wider range in larger towns and cities.

Clubs

Clubs, such as bowling clubs, leagues clubs, rsls are in many towns and cities. they are most common in the states of queensland and new south wales. most allow visitors, and sometimes offer good value meals. some offer attractive locations, like the water views from the twin towns in tweed heads.

Cafes

Most towns and suburbs have a cafe or coffee shop, serving breakfast and light meals and cakes throughout the day. not unusual for them to close before dinner.

BYO Restaurants

Byo stands for bring your own alcohol. in many of the urban communities of australia you will find small low-cost restaurants that are not licensed to serve but allow diners to bring their own bottle of wine purchased elsewhere. this is frequently much cheaper than ordering a bottle of wine in a restaurant. beer can be taken to some byo restaurants, others allow only wine. expect to pay a corkage fee which can vary from $2 or $3, to $15, or may be calculated by head. byo is not usually permitted in restaurants that are licensed to sell alcohol.

Fast food restaurants

Mcdonalds, subway and kfc are common. burger king is known as hungry jack's. red rooster is a australian chain, offering barbecued chicken and other mostly chicken-based items.

Take-away

Milk bars or take-away stores usually sell pies, barbecued rotisserie chicken, hamburgers, fish and chips, gyros, kebabs. ubiquitous in every town and suburb.

Food Courts

Most shopping centres have a food court, even in country towns.

Picnic

The australian climate is usually amenable to getting whatever food you can, and heading to the nearest park, river, lake or beach.

 

Cuisines widely available in Australia, often prepared by members of the relevant culture, include:

Chinese

Synonymous with the term "takeaway" in the past generations. many chinese restaurants still cater to takeaway addicts today, mostly of the australianized chinese variety, but major cities have small "chinatowns" or suburbs with a large number of ethnic chinese residents, that have excellent restaurants serving authentic chinese food.

Thai

As above. suburban thai restaurants of indifferent quality are starting to replace the previous generation of chinese restaurants of indifferent quality, but australia also has excellent and authentic thai restaurants.

Italian

The italian community is one of the largest ethnic communities of non anglo-saxon origin in australia, and they have contributed greatly to the cafe culture that has flourished across the major cities over the past few decades. restaurants either serve italian food that has been adapted to suit australian tastes, or authentic regional italian food, with the latter tending to be pricier and in more upmarket surrounds.

Lebanese

Especially in sydney.

Indian

Especially north indian.

Japanese

Including bento takeaway shops and sushi trains.

Vietnamese

Although many are vietnamese chinese run and thus provide a more chinese experience.

Asian fusion

Refers generally to asian-inspired dishes.

Kangaroo

If you fancy some, it is commonly available from most supermarkets and butchers shops. head to the nearest park, and barbecue it until medium rare. best not to overcook as it may become quite tough. it tastes much like beef. it occasionally makes it onto the menu in restaurants, mostly in tourist areas. kangaroos aren't endangered, and kangaroo grazing does far less damage to the sensitive australian environment than hoofed animals, and far less carbon emissions too. if you are not ready to go vegetarian, kangaroo is the best environmental statement you can make while barbecuing.

Crocodile

Meat from farms in the northern territory and queensland is widely available around the top end, and occasionally elsewhere. at rockhampton, the beef capital of australia, you can see the ancient reptile on a farm while munching on a croc burger.

Emu

Yes, you can eat the australian coat of arms. emu is low in fat, and available in some speciality butchers. try the coat of arms pie in maleny on the sunshine coast.

Bush Tucker

Many tours may give you an opportunity to try some bush tucker, the berries, nuts, roots, ants, and grubs from australia's native bush. macadamia nuts are the only native plant to australia that is grown for food commercially. taste some of the other bush foods, and you will discover why.

vegetarian

Eating vegetarian is quite common in Australia and many restaurants offer at least one or two vegetarian dishes. Some will have an entire vegetarian menu section. Vegans may have more difficulty but any restaurant with a large vegetarian menu should offer some flexibility. In large cities you will find a number of vegetarian and vegan restaurants, as well as in the coastal backpacker-friendly towns along the east coast. The market town of Kuranda or the seaside towns of Byron Bay are a vegetarian's paradise. In other regional areas vegetarians are often poorly catered for, but most towns will have a Chinese restaurant that will provide steamed rice and vegetables. Sydney and Melbourne in particular cater well for vegans and vegetarians with a large number of purely vegetarian restaurants, vegan clothing stores and vegan supermarkets.

beyond cuisine

Vegemite, a salty yeast-based spread, best spread thinly on toast. If you aren't up for buying a jar, any coffee shop will serve vegemite on toast at breakfast time. It may not even be on the menu, but the vegemite will be out the back in the jar next to the marmalade. If you do buy a jar, the secret is it to spread it very thin, and don't forget the butter as well. It tastes similar to Marmite or Cenovis. Australians are quite used to the taste, and may spread the Vegemite very thick; but this is not recommended for first-timers.

The Tim-Tam, is a chocolate fudge-filled sandwich of two chocolate biscuits, all dipped in chocolate. You can buy a packet or two from any supermarket or convenience store. Tim-Tams are required to perform the Tim-Tam Slam manoeuvre. This requires biting off both ends of the Tim-Tam, then using it as a straw to drink your favourite hot beverage, typically coffee. The hot drink melts the fudge centre and creates an experience hard to describe. Finesse is needed to suck the whole biscuit into your mouth in the microseconds between being fully saturated and dissolving. Tim-Tams are sold in packs of 11, so be sure to agree on the sharing arrangements before buying a packet with your travel partner, or onward travel arrangements may be disrupted. During summer, Tim-Tams are often stored in the freezer, and eaten ice cold.

The lamington is a cube of sponge cake covered in chocolate icing and dipped in desiccated coconut. It's named after Lord Lamington, who served as Governor of Queensland from 1896 to 1901. The home-baked form can be found at a local Saturday morning market, or you can buy one from a bakery if you are desperate. Avoid at all costs the plastic wrapped varieties sold in supermarkets.

The pavlova is a meringue cake with a cream topping usually decorated with fresh fruit. Served on special occasions, or after a lunchtime barbecue. Often the source of dispute with New Zealand over the original source of the recipe.

ANZAC biscuits are a mix of coconut, oats, flour, sugar and golden syrup. They were reputedly sent by wives and care organisations to world war soldiers in care packages, but the story is likely apocryphal. They are available from bakeries, cafes and supermarkets, and are popular in the lead up to ANZAC day 25 April.

Damper is a traditional soda bread that was baked by drovers and stockmen. It has basic ingredients flour, water and perhaps salt and usually cooked in the embers of a fire. It is not routinely available in bakeries and only commonly served to tourists on organised tours. Best eaten with butter and jam or golden syrup as it is dry and bland.

A pie floater is a South Australian dish available around Adelaide. It is a pie inverted in a bowl of thick mushy pea soup. Similar pie variations are sometimes available in other regions.

A Chiko roll is a deep-fried snack inspired by the egg roll or the spring roll. Despite the name, it contains no chicken. Its filling is boned mutton, vegetables, rice, barley, and seasonings. Its shell is thicker than an egg roll, meant to survive handling at football matches. Available anywhere you can buy fish and chips.

markets

All of the capital cities and many regional towns in Australia host a "farmer's market", which is generally held each week in a designated area on a Saturday or Sunday. These markets mostly sell fresh fruits and vegetables, as hygiene standards in Australia forbid the selling of meat directly from market stalls. Butchers who set up shop at a farmer's market would usually trade their wares from a display cabinet within their truck. The attraction of markets is the lower prices and freshness of the produce. The attraction for the traveller will be the cheap and excellent fruits on offer - depending on the region and season. In regional areas the market is usually held outside the town itself in an empty paddock or sports field, markets in capital cities are easier to reach but the prices are typically more in line with those you would find in supermarkets. See the destination guides for details.

religious diets

People observing kosher or halal will easily 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 a strict religious manner.