Australian Food and Drink
Many not-so-new Australians remember a time when it was difficult to buy anything but basic beans, peas, carrots and beef in Australia. But be prepared: in some places circumstances have not changed much. In remote country towns you can expect cafes offering 'Chinese and Australian' menus - meaning sweet 'n' sour pork served with slimy potato chips or a hair-raising take on ubiquitous Thai favourites. Don't ask why the curry is 'green'! While excellent continental and other ethnic speciality food shops abound in big towns, the notorious 'Australian' cakeshops and milkbars are still in business, serving cups of cheeno made with Nescafe, stale lamingtons (sponge cake coated with chocolate and coconut), greasy chiki rolls (grated vegetables wrapped in batter and deep fried) and similar horrors. The American influence is increasingly apparent. Suburbs and highways are colonised by McDonalds, Kentucky Fried Chicken and Pizza Huts and their Aussie imitators, serving cheap eats and takeaways.
Many newcomers are fooled by the myth that in Australia everyone eats steak for breakfast. Though it is cheaper than in most other developed countries, most people either can't afford to eat prime cuts three times a day - or wouldn't want to swap their 'breakie' of muesli for a steak, anyway.
The foodie industry is flourishing due to high disposable incomes, plenty of rural capacity to produce the necessary ingredients, and ethnic cooking styles imported by newcomers or brought back home by adventurous restaurateurs.
Melbourne, Sydney and Adelaide have reputations for the best quality and highest number of restaurants per capita. Italian, Greek, French, East European, Spanish, South American and Middle Eastern cuisines flourish. There seem to be Thai, Chinese, Japanese, Indonesian or Malaysian restaurants in every main shopping centre. Many cities have impressive 'China Towns' rivalling those of the larger American cities. Most Australians know and love the varieties of South-East Asian and other Oriental cuisines, due to prevailing high standards and low prices. Thai and Chinese food are to Australians what Indian cuisine is to the English, or Mexican to the Californians and Aussie children usually learn early how to use chopsticks.
Aussie Cuisine
There are a few restaurants specialising in bush cooking, using ingredients considered great tucker by Aboriginals. Exotica like roast witchetty grubs served on a bed of alfalfa sprouts with peanut sauce, emu egg omelettes, and sweet pies made from little known native fruits like quandongs are the result of a fad that caters more for tourists than local foodies.
Though you sometimes find Kangaroo ala King on local menus, the national emblem is the exception rather than the rule while crocodile is mainly an option for diners in Queensland and the Northern Territory, where these reptiles abound. Despite the fact that the emu - that leggy, ostrich-like bird on Australia's Coat of Arms with the kangaroo - has been approved for consumption nationwide as 'poultry', it is mainly of interest to tourists or the export market so these indigenous delicacies are mainly farmed intensively for consumption by enlightened diners in other countries. However, there is a more conventional 'Australian' cuisine - featuring the wonderful local seafood like crayfish, barramundi, John Dory and jumbo prawns as well as exotic tropical fruits. The recipes and presentation at such restaurants are often a fusion of French, Italian and South-East Asian styles.
