Dining

Traditional English fare has given way to more cosmopolitan cuisine, particularly in the country’s larger cities. Visitors can thank the post-World War II waves of immigrants from southern Europe and, more recently, from Asia who brought with them spices, garlic and a variety of recipes. Fresh local produce and seafood (no longer coated in a heavy batter) are being served almost everywhere. We liked the crayfish (lobster), prawns, Sydney rock oysters (raw with a touch of lemon and black pepper), Moreton Bay bugs (a type of lobster), coral trout, coral cod, barramundi (wrapped in plantain leaves), bream, trevally, Tasmanian salmon, mud crabs, mussels and scallops.

The once-maligned “bush tucker” (a stew made of native specialties) is occasionally featured on menus in trendy restaurants in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. Crocodile, buffalo, kangaroo (usually kangaroo-tail soup), witchetty grubs (large white insects) and damper (campfire-cooked bread) sometimes crop up on Outback/tourist-type menus. Do try Vegemite, a yeast spread that has the same standing that peanut butter has in North American cuisine. But it’s best to start with a small taste (and we mean small).

You’ll still find a definite British influence in the heart of blue-collar Australia, however. Steaks (beef) and chops (lamb) are popular and often cooked on a “barbie” (barbecue grill). The national dish remains the meat pie, a pastry shaped like a small pie and filled with mysterious meat in a dark gravy. (It is best eaten with “sauce,” which is the Australian word for ketchup.)

Beer still reigns as the national beverage. Every state has its name-brand beer (Swan Lager in Western Australia, Boags and Cascade in Tasmania, etc.) and its loyal drinkers. But wine, once called “plonk,” has mounted a strong challenge to beer. Wines from the Hunter Valley, Mudgee, Barossa Valley, Yarra Valley and Swan River Valley are very good, sometimes great. You’ll find all the familiar varietals, plus one - shiraz - not often produced outside Australia.