Aussie Food

Thank you to everyone who voted in the blog. Although the voting was extremely close, it appears that people are most interested in the Australian food. Lucky for you (and me), my job keeps me close to the food service industry. In fact, I went to a food service expo this week and learned everything you would ever want to know about the Australian food service industry. Here are a couple fun facts for you.

1. Almost 40% of Australian's disposable income is spent on dining away from home.
2. Australian's have adopted Italian food as their own local fare.
3. Coffee is very much a part of the culture here, but Australian's have a very "immature" palette meaning they have a taste for milk based coffee such as cappuccinos and lattes and not the strong stuff that you would find in France or Italy.

From a personal standpoint, I find the food to be quite good although lacking flavor at times. Australia doesn't really have it's own food with the exception of meat pies and sausage rolls. These are the must eat foods you would enjoy at a rugby game similar to a hot dog at a baseball game. As you walk down the street you notice little restaurants and cafes everywhere with cuisines from all over the world, especially Chinese, Thai, Indian, Turkish, and Italian. Unfortunately, there are very few Mexican restaurants and I am going through slight withdrawals.

As for differences, ketchup is called tomato sauce here and is used very rarely. Chili sauce is the preferred condiment here. If you want a burger, you have to be specific and call it a beef burger as chicken sandwiches are called chicken burgers. Pickled beetroot is commonly added to burgers, fries are called chips, lettuce is called rocket or salad, and it's near impossible to find fountain soda or post mix soda as it is called here.

At lunch, it's very difficult to spend less than ten dollars. If you use a credit card, it's almost required as many cafes require a ten dollar minimum purchase for credit card transactions. The typical cafe will make a variety of salads and sandwiches in the morning and keep them in a glass case for purchase the entire day. For fast food, you can find McDonald's, Hungry Jack's (Burger King), KFC, and even subway.

Grocery shopping is done almost on a daily basis for most Australians and would be done at a Woolworth's, Cole's, Aldi, or an IGA. Food is weighed in kiligrams (about 2 pounds per kg) and liquids in liters.

For beer, Pure Blonde, Tooheys, and Victoria Bitter are the local favorites and can be found at any corner bottle shop (liquor store) or hotel (bar). Cases come in packs of 30, but you will pay close to fifty dollars for them. And don't ask for Fosters. It can't be found anywhere.

The biggest surprise? - There is an Outback Steakhouse in Sydney! Go figure!