Sydney’s cheap eats?

After about two months of working in Sydney, I went out for my first official lunch meeting in late May. I must admit I haven’t seen much of the city or CBD as it is known, although I lived my first 40 days here. I didnt visit many restaurants either as I preferred to cook at home. So, I was looking forward to this one – some intelligent conversations around (hopefully) delicious food.

And, once again, Sydney did not disappoint.

I was the only one on the table with a vegetarian meal – Spaghetti semi-sundried tomato with cheese and chilli, while others had grilled Tasmanian salmon with tomato and strawberry sauce. The latter looked so tempting that I have promised myself to try a salmon soon. (For those interested, a kg of Salmon is for A$33 at supermarkets, probably among the more expensive varieties. I don’t know how much they cost back in India or anywhere else) I don’t know much about fish varieties either, the only one I know is probably the freshwater Rohu which holds a special place in my heart. My granny made the best ever rohu fish in rich mustard gravy and she would lovingly remove every tiny, thorny bone off it, mix with plain, steamed rice and feed me out of her hands. That used to be my favourite dish as a kid. But sometime during my growing up years I completely gave up fish and meat, although I am trying to reconcile to it now.

As soon as I returned from King 143 Restaurant I looked up the menu online. (We weren’t offered a menu there) The Spaghetti I had cost $25 while the salmons were for $28. They also served hot breads for $3 followed by the most delicious baked pear with vanilla ice cream for $13. Not very expensive for the service, ambience and taste, I say. I looked up the internet for Sydney's best cheap eats.  And boy, what did I find? Well, when in Sydney, don’t talk cheap! :P

Debut on Australian sands

So, two months after moving to the land of Kangaroos we finally decided a beach visit was overdue.  We set out one Friday afternoon for a 6-km coastal walk from the world famous Bondi beach to the not-so-famous Coogee. We were dead sure we wouldn’t cover the entire stretch so we carried along a change of clothes and towels for when we venture into the clean blue waters instead of marching ahead.

Most things around the world are over hyped. You hear so much about them but when you go to visit they surely disappoint you. But, the Bondi-Coogee coastal walk more than lived up to our expectations. While the beaches by themselves are so scenic, the walk along the ocean is even more pleasant and gets you to some of the most picturesque locations in Sydney. There is a cemetery on the way and it is apparently one of the most beautiful in the world. And, rightly so!

In hindsight, we should have left earlier for that would have given us some time to get into the waters. Sun sets early in this country and at least during this time of the year it starts getting dark by 5 pm. We should have been mindful of that. So a good idea would have been to start early, hit one of the many cafes lined along Bondi beach for a sumptuous breakfast, end the walk at Coogee around lunch. Thank god for next time!

No tips, please!

The first Wednesday in Sydney was my birthday. I wanted Prashant to do something special for me. He ran through some Sydney guide books and decided we could go ferry riding to a nearby beach – Manly, have a nice dinner out and crash back home. I couldn’t wait to leave office that evening. I took some videos on the ferry to share with folks back home, the picturesque views all through the 20-minute ride was quite enjoyable. 

Unfortunately, we got our timing completely wrong.

By the time we hit Manly it had turned dark so we couldn’t really do much but take a stroll along the ocean.  In the dark.  Soon, we hit an ice cream parlour. Ice creams, I must admit, are delicious here. I loved the ‘Ben & jerry’s’ brand in Europe and Singapore but the gourmet ice creams that Australia offers is difficult to find elsewhere. Prashant who is a gelato fan was disappointed with his ‘Gelatismo’ ice cream though. I found it so bad that I advised him to bin it!! We found out later that a certain Gelato Messina brand is the best ever gelato in Australia. We are yet to try that out. More here - Gelato Messina

I also had one “whopper vegetarian burger” at a seemingly popular chain called ‘Hungry Jacks’. MacD wont do veg burgers in Australia. Even in the more Indian and 'pure vegetarian' Gujarati suburb called Parametta the MacD didn't offer a single vegetarian burger. Rather surprising! Nevertheless, food, in this country, has never disappointed me. Cost has.  A colleague told me recently -- “There may be a hundred things wrong with this country but you will never complain about the food. The food is always great.”

 I can’t agree more with her.

And, generally, Australians do not tip. “The cost of food, and the costs generally are so high because they are paid really well. So, you don’t have to tip them on top of the exorbitant rates they already charge,” my colleague explained. Makes total sense. :P