Australian Food Odyssey by Wang Xiaomei Zizi

Hello everyone, I am Wang Xiaomei, Sina Weibo: @WangXiaomeiZizi, http://weibo.com/wangxiaomeizizi. Travel photos will be first released on Sina Weibo. Welcome to follow me! This Spring Festival, I took my family to the southern hemisphere, visiting four of Australia's most livable cities and the Red Centre. Actually, when I was planning the itinerary, I didn't make any food plans. After coming back and organizing everything, I realized that Australia has so many great flavors! Taking this food event opportunity to recommend them to everyone, hoping you won't miss out. Sincere recommendations for Australian food: 1. Australian Lobster – Supreme delicacy of the southern hemisphere (Western Australia vs Eastern Australia) 2. Australian Burger – The amazing “Number One in Australia” burger (Uluru specialty kangaroo meat burger, Cheeky Monkey, Grill'd) 3. Fish and Chips – The British fast food that has swept the globe (Must try it at least once in a British-style country) 4. Wine Tasting – A wine tour full of Australian charm 5. Australian Desserts – The century-old shop with long queues, English afternoon tea at Hopetoun Tea Rooms 6. Australian Chocolate – Century-old chocolate HAIGH'S 7. Pork Knuckle Meal – Australia also has a German village, Hahndorf 8. Airline Meal – Free delicious food even on budget airlines, Virgin Australia

Australia is located in Oceania in the southern hemisphere, bordered by the South Indian Ocean to the west, the South Pacific Ocean to the east, and the Southern Ocean to the south. It is truly a maritime nation. For ordinary people, one of the advantages of this geographical condition is the abundance of high-quality seafood of various kinds! First stop for Australian food: Sydney Fish Market. The Sydney Fish Market is the third largest seafood market in the world after Japan and Spain, and also the largest seafood market in the southern hemisphere, combining wholesale, retail, and dining. It opens at 5:30 every morning, starting with a seafood auction where seafood buyers from all over Sydney come to see the day's catch. Along the way, many Chinese people asked me for directions, all heading to the Sydney Fish Market. There are quite a few Chinese-Australian employees here, some can speak a little Chinese, and most signs are entirely in Chinese. Tourists can choose from a variety of seafood: from large king crabs, Australian lobsters, abalone, to small oysters, scallops, sushi, fish and chips, squid, seafood salad...

Showing off various foods in the fish market~~~ The biggest focus is: Australian lobster! And of course, all kinds of fish, crabs, oysters... all local Australian specialty seafood. The vendors have already processed them into ready-to-eat portions, making them easy to buy.

Various cooked foods, like assorted seafood skewers, guaranteed to whet your appetite

Of course, being a seafood market, there are also essential Japanese sashimi, looking very fresh, and sushi that looks great too

However, because this is a well-known attraction, the prices are high. I saw that almost every table of Chinese people ordered a lobster. Many small portions of shrimp platters, sashimi, fish and chips, various skewers, salads. Chilled raw lobster costs about AUD 40 each, ready to eat, cooked but cold. If you want it processed into different flavors or heated, there is an additional processing fee of AUD 10.

Live lobsters and king crabs cost AUD 159/kg, each at least 1.5-2kg (over RMB 1000), truly only affordable for wealthy Chinese tourists.

Of course, the Sydney Fish Market is not just about seafood; there is also a large fruit and vegetable supermarket. The items in the supermarket are neatly arranged by the staff, with bright colors. Doesn't it make you want to touch them?

We first ordered a lobster, then a few platters and salads. Actually, we wanted to steam it hot, but the processing fee was also AUD 10... so we chose the closest option, ginger and spring onion flavor. I felt the chilled lobster wasn't as fresh and tender as the one I had in Boston. Then came the Western platter, prawn platter, lobster platter, sashimi platter, fish and chips, etc. A big seafood feast, total bill AUD 270 (about RMB 1350).

The biggest goal of coming to Australia was to fulfill my father's dream of visiting Uluru. During the 2016 Spring Festival, the whole family flew to the southern hemisphere, from Sydney to the heart of Australia – Uluru! As the sun set, we raised our champagne glasses in front of the big rock of Uluru, celebrating that we had finally arrived in Australia!

At the Kings Canyon rest stop, there is a specialty dish: kangaroo meat burger. In Australian supermarkets, kangaroo meat is sold, and the indigenous people eat it. However, kangaroo meat is quite dry and tough, not sure if you can get used to it? Price AUD 15 each.

Speaking of burgers, I have to mention Australia's burger chain – the famous Grill'd restaurant. It can be found in almost every major city. Showing off the thick beef burger, tastes good. Beef burger AUD 13 each.

The two burgers above are quite representative of Australia: kangaroo meat and the chain store. Now for the real deal...

Next comes the highlight of this article! CHEEKY MONKEY – my favorite restaurant in Western Australia. Because: Great environment (lake, vineyard, and children's playground), fantastic atmosphere (decoration style, small bar counter, and long tables suitable for gatherings), delicious food (I could be described as amazing – I, who always refused junk food, actually fell in love with Australian burgers)

The outdoor environment, though not as large as a winery, has mountains and water—quite nice. Now let's look inside the restaurant. The key part is the restaurant... Notice the two rows of awards hanging on the wall! Sorry I didn't climb up to take a close-up.

I always thought burgers were junk food, but the few times I had burgers in Australia surprised me. The best one was at the [Cheeky Monkey] restaurant in Perth, Western Australia. The three of us ordered the signature burger (well done), Mexican salad, seafood pizza, and a special beer sampler. 1. Signature burger: This burger is said to have won first place in the Australian burger competition, and it truly lives up to its name! I especially liked the pan-fried bacon inside, the thick beef patty wrapped with some vegetables. 2. Mexican salad: Although it's a salad, it works as a main dish. Great taste and can be used as a diet meal. 3. Seafood pizza: In comparison, this one was just average, good for filling the stomach. 4. Beer had 8 flavors, very interesting! We ordered three dishes and the beer. Total AUD 110 (about RMB 550).

If interested, you can study the beer flavors.

Having talked about burgers, I should also mention another globally popular British fast food – Fish and Chips! On Kangaroo Island in Adelaide, there is a fish and chip shop that claims to be "the best fish and chips in the world"

Note the ending: "The best fish and chips in the world"

The difference of this fish and chips lies in the type of fish used; the fish meat is very tender.

On the way to the Great Ocean Road, in Apollo Bay, there is a good restaurant called George's, where the fish and chips meal is also quite popular.

Fish and chips meal, prices range from AUD 13 to AUD 18.

In Western Australia, there was also a major activity – visiting the lobster factory. Let me recommend a foodie travel tool here – the Dream Trip App. It has very detailed recommendations for local specialty foods, along with many expert reviews for reference. For a foodie like me, especially one with choice phobia, it's a lifesaver. Moreover, this app can also check attractions, plan itineraries, and is a blessing for travel newbies. I was recommended by my best friend and can't stop using it. It's so practical that I use it for every overseas trip.

Tourists line up to enter, first watching a promotional video to understand the lobster farming and sales channels. There are quite a few Taiwanese employees here, all very dedicated. The happiest part: this time we ate fresh lobsters!

Nitrogen-inflated "lobster balls" are transported daily by these large trucks to transit stations, then air-freighted worldwide.

Seeing so many live Australian lobsters, don't you want to eat them? Below is my lunch: one lobster meal per person! Half a lobster + a few large prawns, AUD 35 per person, AUD 105 for three. Very fresh, much better than the Sydney Fish Market. The lobster fork is very interesting; use the curved end to hook the meat, and the whole piece comes out. A hearty meal, isn't it satisfying?

Australian wine tour: The winery owner also has a huge warehouse storing various vintage cars.

If Chinese people abroad choose to build "Chinatowns" in city centers and open restaurants, then Germans abroad often establish villages far from the city. For example, in Adelaide, South Australia, there is such a famous German village – Hahndorf. Having never been to Germany, I finally tasted authentic and delicious German pork knuckle.

The restaurant's signature is a family-style platter with German sausages and bread (AUD 99), but the portion was really too large, so I only tried the pork knuckle rice. Price AUD 50 (about RMB 250). The pork knuckle meat is tasty, but the fatty part is very greasy. A bite of sauerkraut at this point helps cut the grease. So sauerkraut and potatoes are the ideal accompaniments for pork knuckle rice.

Australian-style winery: At first glance, isn't it a perfect wedding venue? The scenery is picturesque. Many wineries seem to have such a small lake (reservoir), and vineyards in the distance! The grapes taste very sweet.

Let's go inside to see the interior.

There are many wines; this is just a small part of them.

The wine tasting begins, and the staff will introduce different wines to you one by one. Starting with champagne and ending with red wine.

But I'm not good at tasting wine; I basically took one sip of each. Actually, I'm more interested in the owner's collection! That is a room full of vintage cars! If these were put in an auto show, they would outshine many luxury cars!

In Adelaide, at the intersection of Rundle Mall and King William Street, there is a building with a golden egg on its roof. This is a century-old Australian chocolate shop – HAIGH'S. After a hundred years of vicissitudes, Haigh's is popular among all age groups in Australia for its mythic history and nearly perfect handcrafted chocolates. From the ranking on the foodie travel tool Dream Trip App, you can see how much tourists love this place.

The final city we visited – Melbourne, the capital of Victoria.

When in Melbourne, besides the Great Ocean Road, Penguin Island, Sovereign Hill, and Puffing Billy, I recommend visiting two famous arcades in Melbourne's CBD: Block Arcade and Royal Arcade.

At the famous Block Arcade, I saw a long line of people at the entrance, many elderly people waiting in line. It turned out to be a century-old English afternoon tea (dessert shop) in Melbourne. Seeing the crowd, I didn't join the line.

I just took photos of the cake samples in the window; each one was mouthwatering! No wonder so many people were queuing... Unfortunately, I didn't get to taste them this time.

This is an English tea house established in 1892, also the oldest English afternoon tea in Melbourne. It is said that reservations are required, and it closes very early. Every day, there are huge crowds queuing.

Finally, I have to show the in-flight meal of [Virgin Australia]. During this Australia trip, we took four domestic flights, all on Virgin Australia. Virgin is a budget airline in Australia, but it has a high on-time rate and includes one 23kg checked baggage, making it my first choice. I originally thought there would be no free meals on a budget airline, but surprisingly, Virgin Australia not only provides snacks and drinks but also served a pretty good main meal once. Excitedly, I took a photo to share.

For flights under 2 hours, they provide a drink + cake (+ yogurt or nuts). For 3-hour flights (with time difference), they provide a main meal.

Writing up to here, thank you for reading. If you like it, please give me a "heart". Recommended Australian food: fresh Australian lobster and Australian burgers.