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Celebrate Australia Day by Celebrating Australia's Multicultural Dining Scene

Celebrate Australia Day by Celebrating Australia's Multicultural Dining Scene

by Mireille Kilgour

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Australia Day is a day where Aussies gather on the beach or in the backyard for a game of cricket with their besties. With a tinnie in hand, prawns and snags are thrown on the BBQ and it's all washed down with a big slice of delicious pavlova. But there's more to Australia than cricket, sausages and pavlova.

Australia is a country rich in cultural diversity and modern Australian cuisine takes inspiration from countries all over the world. If you would like to try something different this Australia Day, why not celebrate this culinary heritage and swap the tucker for dukkah and the pavlova for baklava.

How Australian cuisine has evolved

Lilly pilly is becoming popular the world over.

When the first fleet arrived in Sydney in 1788, food supplies were limited. Settlers were expected to grow their own food while being topped up with basics, such as flour, sugar, butter, rice, pork and beef. The local Aborigines tried to share their knowledge of their edible country with offerings of bush tucker, but the European palate struggled to embrace it. These days, however, bush foods such as wattle seed, lemon myrtle, lilly pilly and quandong are fashionable, appearing in many restaurant menus not just here in Australia, but all over the world.

While British and Irish food dominated most food habits until the 1950s, the gold rush of the 1800s saw Asian cuisine creep in with the arrival of the Chinese. Many of the Chinese that came to pan for gold soon realised that opening a Chinese restaurant was far more profitable.

It was following World War II that saw the biggest change in Australian cuisine. The gates were opened to European migration and with it came dishes such as pizza, stamppot and spanakorizo. Coffee also became a staple, introducing a new way of cafe life.

Australia Today

Today in Australia, our restaurants, cafes, and home cooked meals are centred around a wide range of culturally diverse cuisines including British, Irish, Italian, Chinese, Thai, German, Lebanese, French, Malaysian, Japanese and Dutch. While these dishes appear on menus everywhere, there are certain areas well renowned for serving up particular cuisines. These include:

Melbourne

Lygon Street, East Brunswick: Lygon Street is synonymous with Italian restaurants and cafes, having its origins in the early immigration of Italian migrants. Melbourne's "Little Italy" buzzes with excitement all day and night. Try Bar Idda restaurant, where owners Alfredo and Lisa bring the rich Sicilian cuisine and cultural experience to life. If you're not in Lygon Street but still fancy an Italian meal, try The Grand Richmond, Melbourne's only hatted pub dining room.

Victoria Street, Richmond: Melbourne's "Little Saigon" is a must for Vietnamese food lovers, with dozens of establishments serving up pho and rice paper rolls. As well as Vietnamese, there's also and handful of Thai, Chinese, Japanese and Korean eateries, as well as gift stores selling Vietnamese lanterns and other Asian goods.

Acland Street, St Kilda: Acland Street offers a bohemian vibe and an eclectic mix of interesting eateries. You can find modern Australian, Italian, Thai, or visit Cantina for fabulous Mexican food.

Sydney

John Street, Cabramatta: Cabramatta is home to some of the best Vietnamese restaurants in Australia and none more so than on John Street. Here you will find Vietnamese food stands and at times, long queues for delicious pho.

King Street, Newtown: It seems that every third shop front in the Newtown area of King Street houses Thai food. Follow the street along to the Wharf and you'll slip into the delights of Japanese cuisine.

Cleveland Street, Surry Hills: If it's Lebanese food you're after, you can't go past Surry Hills' Cleveland Street, which features eateries full of kafta, mezza, and kebabs.

Brisbane

New Farm: The inner-Brisbane suburb of New Farm is home to a number of Indian restaurants. For a truly unique and sophisticated Indian meal, check out The Balfour Kitchen, located in the Spicers Balfour Hotel. Open breakfast, lunch and dinner, Chef Peter Van Lunn offers his impeccable techniques to deliver mouthwatering modern interpretations of some classic Indian dishes.

Ann Street, Fortitude Valley: Fortitude Valley is home to a range of different cuisines and favourite eateries include Middle Eastern restaurant, Mecca Bah, featuring tasty Turkish pizzas and spicy tagines. Another must try is Green Tea Restaurant, with it's updated version of Asian classics.

Mary Street, CBD: Mary Street offers some real treasures in the way of restaurants and is perfect for an upmarket evening out. Favourites include The Euro, which serves award-winning European-inspired food and Urbane, which focuses on the history and evolution of food.

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Mireille Kilgour

Mireille Kilgour has been an entrepreneur for 35 years in the hospitality sector. French born, she has been an accomplished business owner and operator for a number of Sydney venues. Leading the industry with high profile institutions such as Lamrock Café Bondi, she has endless passion for the industry, and now has the pleasure of supporting restaurants to fill their tables with the new Good Food Gift Card program.