Trip to Australia

[Suzi Edwards]

Will I get stoned to death if I start this post with "g'day"?

I guess I'll find out ;-)

I'm in the very, very early stages of planning a trip to Australia in March/April. I know nothing at all about the Australian dining scene and would really appreciate your help and advice.

Left to my own devices this would be a three/four week food tour but as I'm going with my brother he'll want to think of it as a tour of Australia with some food highlights thrown in. However, as we're just at the planning stage I can cunning weight the itinerary to make sure we're spending time in the places I can get seriously good food. And my brother will never know!

So, what are the five restaurants I can't miss out on? Best food city? What's the single best restaurant in Australia? What dishes characterise Australian food? Which things, if I miss out on them, will you all laugh at me for?

Thanks in advance for your help and suggestions. I already know we'll be in Sydney for a while and I can't not go to Tetsuya's and Rockpool. I've read the Bourdain piece about Oz and have some ideas from there. A friend really recommends The Grange.

If you could plan three weeks in Australia what would you eat?

[lamington]

Will I get stoned to death if I start this post with "g'day"?

Do you remember Monty Python's Life of Brian...

There are some eGulleteers here who will be able to answer the food-experience-maximisation questions far better than me, so I'll leave that to them.

One route could be Sydney, Hunter Valley (that's north, near Newcastle), then down through NSW to the Murray River, across to Mildura for wine and dining, down through some of Victoria's wine regions to Melbourne, the Yarra Valley (east, close to Melbourne), then sort of westwards up the coast (after a southward dip;)) to Adelaide and the Barossa Valley. That's just a quick sketch...

[Suzi Edwards]

Thanks for that. I'm not a huge drinker and not really interested in the vineyards. I did that in South Africa (Horseriding around the vineyards. My first, and certainly last time on a horse) and decided I'm happier drinking a small amount of wine with a meal than seeing the grapes :-)

So, you're already helping me to think about what I want. Mainly cities.

[BrentKulman]

So, you're already helping me to think about what I want. Mainly cities.

←

I lived in Australia for four years a while back and the one piece of advice I would give everybody who visited was not to confine themselves to the cities. It seems a shame to travel halfway around the globe to visit what are really very familiar urban environments. Nothing against Australia's cities (Melbourne is a gracious lady, Sydney is a spectacle) but it is in the countryside that you will really see something different.

Visit Ayers Rock, the Warnambool Peninsula, the Blue Mountains, Broome, the Great Barrier Reef. Go see the fairy penguins, spend a couple of days on a station in the Outback. The food won't be as memorable but those are the things about Australia that you cannot replicate elsewhere.

If you are just looking for dining recommendations in the cities, I cannot help you there as I have been away for almost 20 years.

[lamington]

Thanks for that. I'm not a huge drinker and not really interested in the vineyards. ... decided I'm happier drinking a small amount of wine with a meal than seeing the grapes

I'm not a big wine person either, tarka, but the wine-growing areas are very attractive country areas of Australia, and some of the wineries have good restaurants (and some don't or are horrendously expensive). The general route I suggested above is very scenic -- but if you want to stick to cities, then Syd-Melb-Adelaide should consitute your itinerary (or you could reduce it to two cities + environs depending on what sightseeing priorities you have). Brent Kulman's point about missing so much of Australia's beauty by staying in the cities is very true, however.

I don't know how far in advance one has to book for Tetsuya, but the Flower Drum in Melbourne, regarded by some as one of the best Cantonese restaurants in the world, can require booking a long way ahead.

The Citysearch websites for Melbourne and Sydney can be good sources of summaries of the main newspaper reviews. What sort of dining are you interested in? Fine modern Australian? Fine in general? Trendy? Avant garde? Just the best of anything? Ethnic diversity? All and everything?

[Shinboners]

If I was going to show a visitor the different varieties of experiences that Melbourne has to offer, and if money was no object, here's where I would take them.

Pelligrini's Espresso for coffee (making sure that it's Paul behind the machine).

i Carusi for pizza

The bratwurst shop at the Queen Victoria market for a bratwurst in a roll

Pacific Seafood BBQ House in Richmond for some Chinese food

The Flower Drum for some haute Chinese food

Grossi Florentino for Italian

Babka Cafe in Fitzroy for breakfast

Max Brenner for their hot chocolate

The Terminus Hotel in Richmond for a beer and a big bowl of shoestring fries

Abla's in Carlton for some homely Lebanese cooking

Melbourne Supper Club for a glass of wine

Casa del Gelato in Carlton for gelati

Edited January 3, 2005 by Shinboners (log)

[PCL]

Nice work Shin, though I'd say Matt makes a better coffee than Paul at Peli's...

To add to the list:

Pure South in Southbank for 'modern Australian'

Ladro's in Collingwood for pizza

The Wine Shop (under the Supper Club) for wine and food

Cookie in the City for modern asian/australian, great bar too...

Vlado's in Richmond for meat, period.

Desgraves Espresso in the City for coffee...

Akita in North Melbourne for Japanese

Shira Nui in Glen Waverley for sushi...

Claypots in St Kilda for seafood...

Flower Drum is definitely worth a visit, but a cheaper alternative would be Tea House on Bourke in Camberwell. It's run by Flower Drum alumni and is just as good in my mind. Bookings for both as told by others is problematic, but PM me, I can usually swing something at either of those places.

But Tarka, if you narrow it down to what you want to eat, that would help. By our very nature, cuisines are varied and almost always you'd find something exemplary. Melbourne of course, is the best food city. Don't let anyone tell you different. Full Stop.

[Suzi Edwards]

Wow. Great information.

I think it is possible to understand a country through the food. Now, I'm nowhere near doing that with the UK, but I've started to have a go. My understanding of Australian food is that I would be able to get some exceptional Chinese, Japanese and Thai food, I want to try "fusion" as this is how Australian food is often (mis)represented in the UK (?)

I want to eat a Moreton Bay Bug. I don't really want to eat kangaroo. I want to eat in a mixture of high-end and really seriously good local places. Tetsuya and Flower Drum sound very interesting. I've heard good things about The Grange.

Someone mentioned avant-garde. That's a *big* thing for me. Show me Australia's El Bulli and I'll be a very, very happy girl.

[Shinboners]

I want to try "fusion" as this is how Australian food is often (mis)represented in the UK (?)

Someone mentioned avant-garde. That's a *big* thing for me. Show me Australia's El Bulli and I'll be a very, very happy girl.

←

For "fusion" food in Melbourne, I'd go to Ezards at Adelphi. Check www.ezard.com.au.

You might also want to check out Pearl. Australian food with Asian accents, and the quality of the produce that they use is extraordinarily good. www.pearlrestaurant.com.au

Onto something like El Bulli, I think that the closest Melbourne might have to that would be Reserve (in the city) and Fenix (in Richmond). I only know this as these two were mentioned in the Age Good Food Guide as doing molecular gastronomy, but I haven't been to either restaurant. Finally, one of the chefs at Lake House (Daylesford, country Victoria) did a 3 month stint at El Bulli, but I doubt he'd be bringing too much from his time in Spain to what he does at the Lake House.

Edited January 5, 2005 by Shinboners (log)

[ozmouse]

all those restuarants above are a great snap shot of melbourne!

i would add a trip to the Victoria or Prahan Markets, or one of the ethnic areas (footscray or springvale) for a close up view of all our markets and ethnic neighborhoods. (fish markets in sydney)

While i am not a asian/chinese expert, i find melbourne's chinatown delivers some of the best yum cha around (including some experiences in hong kong!). a unique experience for thouse not use to it.

and concur with brent's comment's as well. i take all my international visitors to the 'bush', and it always has a food destination. chris's@skene's creek comes to mind - brown brothers winery, Simone's in bright, de bortoli's in Yarra Valley. (and of course....sigh.... sunnybrae@birreugerra ... when it was still running!)

regardless... you will be blown away at the style of australian cuisine (not to mention the value) and i too concur, melbourne will deliver your best overall food experiences. (but im biased!)

enjoy your trip

[PCL]

There's foam in this town if you want it (Melbourne) but why?

There's air too, but that's free!

Reserve is just down the road from where I live. Worth a visit or no? Despite my arrogance I've been away for like 3 years, and to be honest, I'm having difficulty with the new places or what seems to pass for food these days. Living in London made me yearn for home and now I'm back, I miss Paris.

[craft_man]

We just returned from a 5 week trip to NZ and OZ. I posted a complete trip report including where we dined and recommendations. See Nov - Dec Trip Report in the Fodors Forum - http://www.fodors.com/forums/

As far as we were concerned, far and away the best restaurant was Tetsuyas in Sydney.

[SYoung]

As far as we were concerned, far and away the best restaurant was Tetsuyas in Sydney.

←

I second that. We just came back from a trip to Sydney and Melbourne and went to many restaruants and Tetsuya was defintely at least a step above the rest and a can't miss if you're in Sydney.

[Dim Sim]

I might add some more to Shin's list of places to go,

queuing to get into Supper Inn ( upstair ) is a very Melbourne experience, great congees, and donuts, not to mention Quails, and hot pots.

Hotel Spencer for homey wholesome pub grub

Wednesday night, Gaslight Market at the Queen Vic market, though I think it finishes some time in Feb

Pack a picnic pack and head for the Melbourne Zoo for the Jazz at twilight ( not too sure if they are doing it this year )

Mo Vida for interesting tapas

and of course the hundreds of bars in the city laneways waiting to be explored, like Meyers Place bar.

by the way have any of you been to The Brasserie by Philippe Mouchel , PCL, Shinboner, anyone ? I am going there in the next few week, would be interested to hear some reports.

[PCL]

Been wanting to go to The Brasserie, but spousal unit has been relentless in refusing to even entertain the idea due to the Crown factor. I'm planning on sneaking a 'working' lunch in there soon. Off topic, but nonetheless a timely reminder.

[Scott]

Will I get stoned to death if I start this post with "g'day"?

I guess I'll find out ;-)

I'm in the very, very early stages of planning a trip to Australia in March/April. I know nothing at all about the Australian dining scene and would really appreciate your help and advice.

Left to my own devices this would be a three/four week food tour but as I'm going with my brother he'll want to think of it as a tour of Australia with some food highlights thrown in. However, as we're just at the planning stage I can cunning weight the itinerary to make sure we're spending time in the places I can get seriously good food. And my brother will never know!

So, what are the five restaurants I can't miss out on? Best food city? What's the single best restaurant in Australia? What dishes characterise Australian food? Which things, if I miss out on them, will you all laugh at me for?

Thanks in advance for your help and suggestions. I already know we'll be in Sydney for a while and I can't not go to Tetsuya's and Rockpool. I've read the Bourdain piece about Oz and have some ideas from there. A friend really recommends The Grange.

If you could plan three weeks in Australia what would you eat?

←

Tarka,

the single best restaurant in Australia is Cheong Liew at the Grange in Adelaide. Rockpool is dreadful, and the flowerdrum in Melbourne is amazing.

cheers

s

[Shinboners]

by the way have any of you been to The Brasserie by Philippe Mouchel , PCL, Shinboner, anyone ? I am going there in the next few week, would be interested to hear some reports.

←

I haven't been yet. I'm tossing up where to go next month - The Brasserie is an option, but then again, so is Sel de la Terre. I'll have to check the menus first to see how much they'll cost. Do let us know what you think of The Brasserie.

I've already written off Reserve as an option - it's just a little bit too pricey for me right now.

Tomorrow night, I'm heading over to Eno-teca for drinks, and afterwards, going across the street to hopefully (very hopefully) get into Ladro. I went to Eno-teca last week to have a coffee at lunchtime and returned in the evening with my fiancee for drinks. It's a nice little place with wines and provisions for sale, quite a lovely place to spend an hour or two.

Edited January 17, 2005 by Shinboners (log)

[Shinboners]

Been wanting to go to The Brasserie, but spousal unit has been relentless in refusing to even entertain the idea due to the Crown factor.

←

The Crown factor weighs on my mind too, but I'll be making an exception for The Brasserie.

[ozmouse]

And i waive the Crown factor for Cecconini's as well. Not cheap, but enjoyable dining imo.

Edited January 18, 2005 by ozmouse (log)