Food In Australia
Hostel, motel and hotel accommodation is readily available in most Australian cities and tourist destinations. Smaller towns usually have a selection of motel rooms available at a number of venues. Accommodation rates are broadly comparable, if perhaps slightly less expensive than their equivalents in Europe or North America. often Pubs in small towns will offer an amount of rooms available.
Budget hostel-style accommodation with shared bathrooms and often with dormitories is approximately $20-$30 per person per night. Facilities usually include a fully equipped kitchen with adequate refrigeration and food storage areas which allow travellers to stay healthy and save money by cooking their own meals. All hostels also have living room areas equipped with couches, dining tables, and televisions to provide travelers with a cozy and relaxing environment. About 150 hostels are part of YHA Australia, a member of Hostelling International. You’ll also find a network of Nomads World Hotels properties, almost always a cheaper option than most other hostels but part of the now fading “flashpacking” movement. (Flashpacking – backpacking in style but still at budget prices!)
All state capitals would have at least one major hotel up to 5 stars that is comparable to many other high profile hotels around the world. The majority of Australia’s hotels are located in the Central Business Districts (CBD) of the capital city. Hotel services and hospitality are often excellent such as room cleaning services, free morning newspapers, meals to your door and a high-speed internet connection up to 24mb/s (but often with a premium fee twice the cost of the local internet).
All hotels would have a restaurant (or bistro, depending on the type of hotel you are staying in) on the ground floor next to the check in desk. The restaurant or bistro would often serve food that comparable to many other up-market restaurants outside the hotel. Also on the ground floor would normally be a fully equipped bar.
Tourists choosing accommodation in Australia normally consider the itinerary before booking for a hotel in a particular area. It is best to carve out the trip before considering the hotel of choice. There are many helpful travel portals that enable people to choose the right kind of hotel based on their travel plans.
Motel rooms in the cities will generally cost $50 per person per night at the very least. Typically, motel-style accommodation will have a private room with a bed or number of beds, and a separate, private, shower and toilet. Breakfast is commonly included in the price of the room.
Food Eaten By The Locals
Sydney / The Matsudas Originally From Japan
The Matsuda family in the kitchen of their home in Sydney, with a week’s worth of food. Takeo Matsuda, 88, and his wife, Keiko, 75, stand behind Takeo’s mother, Kama, 100. The couple’s three grown children live a few miles away. Cooking methods: gas stove, microwave. Food preservation: small refrigerator-freezer.
One Week’s Food in October
Grains & Other Starchy Foods: $22.72 White rice, 6.6 lb; bread, 12.4 oz; wheat gluten, 3.9 oz; macaroni salad, 3.5 oz; udon noodles, 2.8 oz.
Dairy: $8.09 Milk, 1.1 qt; Meiji Bulgarian Style yogurt, 1.1 lb; Yukijirushi cheese, sliced, 5.4 oz; Yukijirushi cheese wheel, 5.3 oz; butter, 2.5 oz.
Meat, Fish & Eggs: $32.32 Eggs, 20; Spam, 1.5 lb; fish paste, boiled, 1.2 lb; tuna, canned, 14.1 oz; red sea bream, sliced, 13.3 oz; bacon, sliced, 9.2 oz; mackerel, fresh, 8.8 oz; salmon, fresh, boneless, 8.4 oz; pork, sliced, 8 oz; round herring, dried, 6 oz.
Fruits, Vegetables & Nuts: $67.99** Apples, 2.2 lb; oranges, 2.2 lb; persimmons, seedless, 14 oz; hackberries, 7.1 oz; pumpkin, 5.3 lb; goya (bitter gourd), 4 lb, often homegrown; yellow onion, 2.6 lb; cabbage, 1 head; tomato, 1.8 lb; avocados, 3; okra, 1.3 lb; bok choy, 1 lb; carrots, 1 lb; corn, canned, 15.2 oz; salad greens, 9.6 oz; taro, cooked, 8.1 oz; red kidney beans, 7.1 oz; oshiro natto (fermented bean curd), 7.1 oz; soybeans, 7.1 oz; yam leaf, 7 oz; Super Sweet corn, canned, 5.5 oz; bean sprouts, 5.3 oz; enoki mushrooms, fresh, shrink-wrapped, 3.5 oz; konbu (kelp) stock, 3.5 oz; chili peppers, 2.8 oz; konbu (kelp), 2.1 oz; Asa wakame (seaweed), .5 oz. Purchased or picked wild: nigana (bitter greens),* 13.1 oz; yomogi (malabar spinach),* 9.6 oz; mugwort,* 2 oz.
Condiments: $44.28 Red miso, 1.3 lb; Okinawan honey, 1.1 lb; salt 1.1 lb; S&B golden curry, 1.1 lb; Mitsukan apple vinegar, 16.9 fl oz; soy sauce, 12.2 fl oz; bonito shavings (dried fish), 10.6 oz; bitter orange juice, 10.2 fl oz; ketchup, 10.2 fl oz; Topvalu BBQ sauce, 10.2 fl oz; Econa salad oil, 8.8 oz; purple potato powder, 7.1 oz; jam, 4.9 oz; sesame dressing, 4.1 fl oz; pepper, 0.7 oz.
Snacks & Desserts: $7.88 Werther’s candy, 11 oz; Meiji pudding, 10.6 oz; ginger candy, 6.4 oz.
Prepared Food: $3.15 May Fair beef stew, canned, 12 oz; gyoza (meat dumplings), 7.4 oz.
Beverages: $27.83 Asahi beer, 6 12-fl -oz cans; Minute Maid fruity vegetable juice, 6 12-fl -oz cans; Seakuwasar citron juice, 1.6 qt; awamori (Okiwanan rice liquor), 24 fl oz; Orion beer, 12 fl oz; UCC Mocha Blend coffee, 3.5 oz; tea bags, 50; tap water, for drinking and cooking. Aah, the green fairy! Absinthe is a strong alcoholic liqueur made from herbal extracts. It gains is name, distinctive bitter taste and reputation.
Food Expenditure for One Week: 22,958 yen/$214.26 **
** Total value of homegrown foods, if purchased locally: $7.25
Eating Out
Aspects to Australian cuisine that a visitor should look out for include:
BYO Restaurants – BYO stands for Bring Your Own (alcohol). In many of the urban communities of Australia you will find small low-cost restaurants that are not licenced but allow diners to bring their own bottle of wine purchased elsewhere. This is frequently much cheaper than ordering a bottle of wine in a restaurant. Beer can be taken to some BYO restaurants, others allow only wine. Expect to pay a corkage fee which can vary from $2 or $3, to $15, or may be calculated by head. BYO is not usually permitted in restaurants that are licensed to sell alcohol.
Asian Fusion refers generally to Asian-inspired dishes.
Counter lunch is the name for meals served in a pub. Traditionally served only at lunchtime in the lounge, today some pubs provide lunch and dinner. Meals of steak, chicken parmigiana, nachos are common.
The barbecue is a popular Australian pastime and many parks in Australia provide free barbecues for public use. Contrary to the stereotypical belief of foreigners, Australians rarely “Throw a shrimp on the barbie” (also, in Australia a shrimp is more commonly referred to as a prawn). Steaks, chops, chicken fillets, kebabs are popularly barbecued.
This entry was posted on Tuesday, February 1st, 2011 at 11:19 am and is filed under Restaurants. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.