The food in Sydney is so good that paring this list to ten dishes is hard. However, taking the taste, flavor, size, ambiance and cost among other things into consideration, here's a list of my favourite dishes that should be your favorite too!
1. Halal Snack Pack
If you haven't eaten the Halal Snack Pack in Australia, you haven't lived. If I had ten meals left on this planet, I know that this meal would be on the list. And I am not alone. In fact, the Australian Halal Snack Pack, a fast food combining layers of hot chips, grated cheese, halal doner kebab meat, garlic sauce, barbecue sauce and chilli sauce has been voted one of the best meals by people, and in 2015, it even inspired a Facebook group called the Halal Snack Pack Appreciation Society, where members could leave reviews of their favourite snack packs. Although the fame of the snack pack has rocketed in the last few years, its heritage goes back a lot further. Kebab shops have been around in Australia since the mid-60s and proliferated in the 1980s. It’s not clear who first served the kebab components over chips in a polystyrene tray, but the South Australians are claiming it as a local invention called AB. Lots of disagreement, but one thing everyone agrees, is this dish is the BOMB.
2. Roast Lamb
You can't go wrong with meat in Australia. Their cows, lambs and cattle are juicy. It must be the grass or the extraordinary mix of arid and wet conditions. Who knows? All I can say is there is a reason Aussie Lamb is a top exporter and is enjoyed in more than 100 countries all over the world. Plus lamb in Australia is pasture-raised, grassfed, and free of artificial additives as well as hormone growth promotants. To try the best lamb, I would suggest hitting up a Greek cuisine restaurant in Sydney. My favorite is a place called Ahgora, where the slow roasted lamb is to die for. Try it out with some delicious Halloumi.
3. Chicken Parmigiana or Schnitzel
Though not the tastiest in this list, it is indeed THE classic Aussie dish, inspired from Italian-American cooking. This dish is a staple offering on pretty much every pub menu in the country. Though originally eggplant, this dish includes a chicken breast topped with tomato sauce, melted cheese and sometimes ham so ask if you want that removed. It is often served with salad and chips, although there’s a split between those who think the chips should be under the parmy and those who think they should be on the side.
4. Chicken El Jannah
Yummy! Another delicious meat dish. Chicken El Jannah is to Lebanese style chicken as Nando’s is to Portuguese. They have their special garlic sauce especially smeared over a succulent roast chicken. The place is family run, with their own set of ancestry Middle Eastern marinades. There may be some wait times on weekends since this is a popular spot.
5. Hamburgers
The burgers in Australia are legit - mainly because Australian meat is divinely ordained. But no jokes, all the burger joints in Australia are amazing and just getting any ordinary beef burger is an experience. One of my favorites is a place called BL Burgers in Paramatta and Five Points Burger.
6. High Tea
Yes, high tea is a thing in Australia and you can enjoy it with Victorian settings and quaint cutlery. Just head down to the harbour where there are abundant choices to enjoy your high tea, from the Tea Room to the Tea Cosy. The fare often includes a delicious cup o' tea with scones, sandwiches and other smaller hors d'oeuvres. Cream and jam also accompanies the food and the cream is legit. This definitely qualifies more of an "experience" so if you are looking to fill your stomach with deliciousness and care of nothing else, then I'd go back to number one on this list.
7. Avocado on toast.
Ditch the vegemite and go for avocado! Yes, I know it's weird but Australians LOVE their Avocados – especially with their eggs and breakfast dishes. I like them for sure, but not the way Aussies do. In most cafes you will notice that you can order a side of avocado with your poached, scrambled or fried eggs. You may even notice that the avocado is already included within the breakfast dish. And its not just basic Avocado on toast. There is usually tomato, nuts or feta that accompany this dish.
8. Fish ‘n’ chips
I wasn't going to miss this one. Sure, I don't love fish n chips but no Aussie food list would be complete without a few traditional British bites. You can try these pretty much everywhere and Sydney harbour is flocked with restaurants selling their fish and chips but you are guaranteed a good dish because Australia has some of the best seafood in the world!
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