If you thought Australian food hasn’t improved beyond the Vegemite sandwich or boiled, salted beef, then you haven’t had a chance to check out the Taste Festivals in Australia, featuring some of the finest cuisine local restaurants have to offer. In March, there will be a Taste of Sydney, but the most recent festival has been the one in Melbourne, and in case you missed it, here are a few words about what you might find the kinds of cuisine now offered, a look, perhaps, at what you might find next year if you decide to fly in and check into one of the luxury hotels Melbourne Australia has to offer its visitors.
Thanks to Geoff, I didn’t have to pay a thirty dollar entry, but it looked as if there were a great deal of complimentary tickets, because there was a sign that reminded folks to validate any free tickets. Still, we paid about sixty dollars in order to buy the food we wanted, so it wasn’t inexpensive; however, it was a great opportunity to get a taste of what all the restaurants in Melbourne are serving — and it’s a far cry from the aforementioned Vegemite and beef. Here’s a sampling of the cuisine we had that day:
Lamb Kustilji which is lamb ribs, crispy, with spices and roast nuts, yogurt, and lemon. Really enjoyable dish to eat while standing; we had cuttlefish, slow-cooked, with chickpeas and chorizo, which was very welcome, but I think I would have liked the braised beef, accompanied by the paprika & saffron mixed with potatoes. One of the items I was really anticipating was a black cod with miso, and that was everything I wanted it to be. Amazing food.
If you want to sample the cuisine of a particular city in Australia, these Taste Festivals are certainly a way to go. I came across so many different types of food, including a favorite of mine, a sandwich called the char siew pau — a steamed bun, spring onion with hoisin sauce and pickled carrot — which sounds odd, I know. Maybe I do have different tastes than everyone else. But I guarantee everyone might enjoy the chocolate delice, with basil, coconut and a salted caramel popcorn. You couldn’t eat a lot of it, it was so rich, but excellent anyway.
It was a terrific way to spend an evening in Melbourne.
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