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Posted at 10:02AM, 21 January 2008 by Andrea McGinniss - Editor, bbcgoodfood.com

It's Australia Day this Saturday, and seeing as I'm Australian, and have just returned to London from a two week trip home, thoughts - and tastebuds - turn to Aussie tucker.

The swag of Aussie treats I bought back to sweeten up the bbcgoodfood.com team almost tipped my luggage allowance over the limit. It'd be a rare London office that hasn't had a pile of Cherry Ripes , Tim Tams , Caramello Koalas or similar choccie treats with their tea following the return of the obligatory Aussie employee . Who was I to break with tradition?

Us expats should get some sort of commission from the Aussie tourism industry for introducing Poms to the great 'Tim Tam slam' , pointing out that divine Cherry Ripes are not just 'Bounty type things with cherries', and getting some die-hard Marmite fans to admit that Vegemite has its merits too.

But what I really wish I could stuff in my suitcase to bring back and show off are the real stars of Aussie cuisine - and the places and people that make them. Casual, cool little cafs serving brilliant brekkies - Eggs Benedict and proper coffee among them. Kiwi chef Peter Gordon does it at the Providores and Tapa Room, but other London examples are disappointingly thin on the ground.

I also wish I could find something like the old fashioned Melbourne pubs serving Chicken Parmigianas so big they flop over the edge of the plate. Forget your gastropub guff, in Oz it's all about the chook schnitzel. The quest for the perfect parma has become a national obsession. The self-dubbed Department of Parmology has even rated more than 200 pubs for the ultimate specimen. Washed down with an icy Aussie beer - or as an antidote after drinking too many - simple pleasures don't get more satisfying.

Unfortunately my suitcase was neither big nor insulated enough to bring back my Aussie fantasy food list. Vegemite on toast and cheap iconic chocolate will have to do. But on Saturday, when fellow expats will be flying the flag and fuelling up on Fosters, I'll be dreaming of eating a parma at the Napier or drinking coffee in Melbourne. And I'll be wishing my workmates could come too because it'd be much more authentic than any koala-shaped chocolate bar.

Pork pies? Hellman's mayonnaise? Or something less predictable? What part of your food and drink culture would you miss most if you moved overseas?

Comments

White Jeans

21 January 2008, 5:36PM
White Jeans

Mmm Caramello Koalas! Aah I love working in an office teeming with Aussies :)

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Holly

21 January 2008, 5:49PM
Holly

Having recently been to Oz for the first time I had ignored people's comments that Melbourne has the best coffee, but it is definitely true of the places I have been. That laid back cafe culture is something I wish we could recreate in the UK. (But alas, the weather!) I am also partial to a Tim Tam or two - but (and sorry to shock the die-hard traditional Aussie), I have to say the caramel ones hold poll position on my overseas biscuit list. Vegemite - the jury's still out.

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Caroline

21 January 2008, 5:59PM
Caroline

I've never been to Oz but have to say Cherry Ripes are almost worth crossing the water for...Vegemite though? I think not, my loyalty to Marmite cannot so easily be shaken...

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smartie

21 January 2008, 6:25PM
smartie

Living in Dubai gave us an opportunity to sample the delights of tim tams. At work we loved to suck our Costa hot chocolate through a tim tam.....bliss!! Move over Penguin you are dumped

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Vic

21 January 2008, 7:08PM
Vic

Tim-Tams - I remember the first time I had those. Wish I worked in your office :)

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KiwiJu

21 January 2008, 7:37PM
KiwiJu

I have just come back from 3 weeks in Sydney, and I was amazed (and very pleased) to find that gluten-free food was so widely available. We had no trouble at all finding places to eat that served suitable meals, and every supermarket and corner shop had plenty of gluten-free items. Very impressive! It's a very different story from this country - I think Aussies are much more health conscious than Pommies.

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Chris Brack

22 January 2008, 10:33AM
Chris Brack

Hi, I am from Ireland and the thing I would miss most is meat (we give good meat here in Eire). We have some amazing meat producers here, especially our lamb. Anyone else from Ireland miss anything while away and you are not allowed to mention Tayto, black pudding, red lemonade or guinness. A little note on food in Oz-the article didnt mention the asian and Italian food there-better than the countries they originate from-amazing and so reasonably priced and I loved that BYO was almost everywhere, why cant we have it here?

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Muzziebee

22 January 2008, 2:11PM
Muzziebee

i've been living in HK for a few years now and I am yet to find the equal of the cinnamon donuts from Donut King in Sydney. And I really miss salad rolls (with beetroot and cheese), baked potatoes with your choice of fillings, and great thai food. oh and caramel gaytime!

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Darragh

22 January 2008, 4:55PM
Darragh

I would say that sucking tea through a Tim Tam and letting the gloop slide down your throat is possibly Australia's greatest contribution to world cuisine. Caramello Koalas are also great - Freddo Frogs etc just can't compete!

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Tomato

22 January 2008, 10:45PM
Tomato

C'mon, Andrea To be sure chcicken parma is still the only safe thing to eat in the country but Melbourne as a city has moved on in the food stakes. Get with it.

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Andrea

23 January 2008, 9:56AM
Andrea

That's true Tomato, it has moved on, being such a multicultural city means it's got the best of many worlds, more than I could fit into one blog entry! I'm just saying that brilliant brekkies and the humble parma are what I miss most. I'd be interested to hear what you like most about Melbourne's food scene?

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Vic recipes

23 January 2008, 1:06PM
Vic recipes

Tim Tams are truly amazing.As well as sucking tea through them I would recommend Port.......bizarre but extremely good! Fosters?I don't think I've ever seen it in Oz..............was that for the benefit of us brits?

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Chris Brack

24 January 2008, 3:22PM
Chris Brack

Good god whats is this Tim Tam obsession, they are basically a Penguin bar with a hole in it, woooo you can suck drinks through them how exciting-maybe the first time yes, but after that no. So get over it people.

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Kate

25 January 2008, 3:12PM
Kate

I don't think Australians actually drink Fosters do we?

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Andrea

25 January 2008, 4:03PM
Andrea

On my one trip to the Walkabout I saw plenty of Fosters flowing, though it might have been English people trying to get in on the action!

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Holly

25 January 2008, 4:06PM
Holly

Tim Tams don't have a hole in do they?

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Dundeecooks

26 January 2008, 11:57AM
Dundeecooks

I know what an eccles cake is, and a banbury tart and a maid of honour, so I'm sure you all could cope with chocolate coconut squares being called by their original name of lamington! And nothing beats an icey cold Timtam straight from the fridge. Except maybe a frozen lamington.

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JustMe.

13 April 2008, 7:51PM
JustMe.

Australia misses out on the good Cadburys though. Honestly, having been to Australia many times I regret to say that their Cadburys falls very short of the standard of ours. I'm returning to Oz for 5 1/2 weeks this summer and will be filling my suitcase with Dairy Milk to get by.. The food I love in Australia? The fresh fish. The long, lazy breakfasts; pancakes with fruit salad. Tim Tams. Admittedly I am fond of the Triple layer Cadburys.. The little mars biscuits that I can't find in the UK. The simplicity of the meat/fish. Ok, cadburys may not be as good. But I wouldn't complain if I was living there with everything else..

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