Foodie Rich: Australian Foodie Adventure!

February 8, 2017 by Foodie Rich

My sole purpose here at Leigh-on-sea.com is to keep all you good people up to speed on the good food in and around Leigh. And I haven’t done a bad job so far, even if I do say so myself! For two years, I've scoffed my way around our little corner of Essex, and reported back. We are truly blessed with some fine eateries. We've even reviewed a few restaurants in London, and why not? I, like many of you, work and socialise ‘up town’ so it makes perfect sense.

However, since Christmas, and almost the whole of January I haven't been in Essex, nor the U.K, not even Europe! We’ve been in Oz! Yep, Lou and I spent Christmas and New Year with good friends down under! We've been sunning it in the land of BBQ's and boomerangs. So I thought, why not share some of my Aussie foodie highlights with you? Ok, some of you may argue why the hell do we want to read his ramblings of foodie experiences on the other side of the world? It's not Leigh, not even close? But I haven't been in Leigh or Southend for weeks, so I haven't eaten anywhere locally. I just thought my foodie travels might make good reading, and possibly inspire some of you to take an Aussie foodie adventure too?

Now, I'm not going to bore you by reciting in great detail every bbq’d prawn or vegemite sandwich I consumed, it would bore the hell out of you. Oh, Whilst we're on the subject; Vegemite! What the hell is that all about! I tried it once at breakfast on my toast, in the hope this Aussie staple would taste like my beloved Marmite; It didn't! In my view it's a cheap Marmite wannabe, I almost spat out my buttery toast there and then! But hey, a trip to Oz wouldn't be complete without giving it a go, when in Rome and all that. I’m told, It's a national treasure, but not for me I'm afraid. 

So, moving on, the first highlight of the trip was Heathrow! Yeah, we hadn't even left the country. Lou and I travelled with Cathay Pacific; Business class. Yeah I know, extravagant! But we’d saved hard for this trip all year, and if I've got to spend 23 hours on a plane I want a bit of comfort. So, in the lounge at Heathrow I found a noodle bar. The chef was busy knocking up all manner of Chinese delights. I chose some pre-flight Dan Dan noodles! Jeez these where good, considering this is airport food. I've eaten far worse noodles in established Chinese restaurants! Topped with hot chili, the noodles where served in a rich coconut sauce, absolutely delish! Even on the plane the food was ok. I loved the snack menu! My eyes lit up when I saw a burger! How can they serve a flame grilled burger with cheese at 36,000 feet? I didn’t have a clue, but they managed it, and it was a tasty burger! 

So enough about airports and planes, let’s talk Oz. Our first stop was Brisbane; the Sunshine Coast to be exact. Quite ironically, on Christmas day it rained on the Sunshine Coast! But in true British spirit I still manned the BBQ, and cooked up a classic Australian Christmas lunch. In short, there were two foodie highlights on the Sunshine Coast. Our very good friends, who managed to put up with Lou and I for a few days, are fully up to speed with my food passion. So, they arranged for a Japanese chef to spend the evening with us and cook some traditional Japanese grub. Yes, we had sushi, but also soups, fried fish and other unusual Japanese food. Absolutely wonderful, as I could chat with the chef whilst he was cooking. I probably annoyed the hell out of him, discussing strange ingredients, and his ultra-sharp knives, but I couldn't help myself! A few days later we lunched at the ‘Spirit House’. In Australia Michelin stars don't exist, they have their own culinary accolade; ‘Chefs Hats’. As with our stars, quality eateries are awarded one, two or three hats! The Spirit House boasted one hat. And a great lunch was had by all. An Asian inspired restaurant, we ate some glorious fish and slow cooked meat, I struggled to find fault with this lazy lunch.

Next up on the itinerary; Melbourne! Arguably the foodie capital of Oz. If you’re planning a trip, and you love food, PLEASE don't bypass Melbourne. It’s got everything. Lou and I spent hours getting lost through the gritty narrow lanes, decorated with uber cool street art, where some truly amazing eateries can be found. Just do as the locals do, eat little and often. Known as ‘The Melbourne Graze’ it's a marvellous way of eating! We tucked in to some absolutely amazing small plates of Asian food whilst perched on basic, bare wooden benches directly next to strangers. Don't worry though, they’ll be your new best friend by the time you leave!

From one extreme to the other, Melbourne has an abundance of premier fine dining establishments; possibly the best in Australia. Who watches Australian MasterChef? If so, you may be familiar with George Calombaris? A chef with Greek roots, he has created The Press Club. An ultra fine dining restaurant which is a must if you’re in Melbourne. This restaurant was probably the main reason we’d made the pilgrimage to this part of Oz. We enjoyed a 6 course lunch with matching wines, it was quite simply impeccable! Another superb meal was had at ‘The Atlantic’. Their strapline is ‘Ocean to Plate’! So yep, it had to be fish. it was some of the best seafood we’d had in Oz. I daren’t say anything bad about this restaurant by the way; the head chef is Donovan Cooke. That name probably doesn't mean much to most of you, but I’ve seen this guy before on TV. He is the Chuck Norris of the culinary world, quite simply he is scary. So yes Chef, the food was ‘on point!!’

All too soon it was time to head home; but not before a few nights in Hong Kong; my favourite foodie destination in the world. Think China town in London, now multiply that by 1000 and you’re nearly there! Crispy belly pork, Char Sui, Roast Goose the list goes on; in Hong Kong they know how to roast meat like nowhere else on the planet! There’s roast meat restaurants on every corner, but my favourite? ‘Kams Roast Goose’. A Michelin starred roast meat house, just order a plate of mixed meat, rice and not forgetting the obligatory chili sauce and dive in; simple but delicious. Hong Kong is also home to the cheapest Michelin Starred restaurant in the World; Tim Ho Wan. A no frills restaurant where you can chow down on Michelin quality dim sum, and have a feast at that, for less than £15! The bbq pork buns where like nothing I’ve had anywhere else, sublime.

Food courts are a big deal in Hong Kong, and rightly so, they are bloody amazing. We are fortunate enough to have friends in Hong Kong, and they speak the lingo too! They invited Lou and I out for dinner at a food court, the sort of place frequented by locals, no tourists here! We ate some wonderful shell fish, dried fish (sound gross but it was good!) The highlight was a stew. God knows what was in it, offal and all sorts weird and wonderful cuts, but it tasted good!

Well, after eating and drinking our way around Australia and Hong Kong it was time to head home. Yes, it was a sad time to head back after an epic trip to the other side of the world, but to be honest, I was ready to come back to Blighty. Id grown quite fond of three courses at lunch and dinner, not to mention beer o’clock by midday! But my waist line was rapidly expanding, so it was time to get back to some normality, and our demented cat! Oh, I don't think I’ve ever mentioned our demented cat before, I’ll save the full story for some another time! We arrived home on a Saturday night, Lou put the washing machine to work, and we climbed in to bed, in an effort to get over the expected jet lag. It didn't work, we were both wide awake at 3am checking Facebook!

I started this little foodie blog talking about Leigh, and I will end in the same vein. The following Sunday morning after returning from Hong Kong, where did we head to first; Old Leigh of course, where we received a warm welcome home in the Mayflower and The Billet. I really love travelling, but our little old fishing town just draws me back, it really is my happy place, undoubtedly my favourite place in the world. Ol Blue Eyes sums it up best, ’It’s oh so nice to go travelling, buts it’s so much nicer, yes it’s so much nicer to come home’