Foreign Kitchens: Sydney, Australia
I’m extremely excited to share a special collaboration of Foreign Kitchens with one of my favorite bloggers and good friend, Ida from On Moving! Ida is an inspiring traveler, adventurous foodie and someone whole-heartedly embraces change. Ida is the creative behind her beautiful lifestyle blog, On Moving, where she shares her experiences and tips of living a life full of movement through food and travel, and recognizing the beauty in the mundane.
Ida and I met while studying abroad in Florence, Italy and her free spirit, infectious laugh and genuine kindness made me instantly love this little lady. I couldn’t be more happy for her to share a piece of her new home (well actually three years in) of Sydney, Australia! I promise you guys are in for a treat and I’m equally sure you’ll be as smitten with Ida as I am.
PS: If you'd like to join and feature one of your favorite places or the city you live in, the instructions are at the bottom of the post under 'How to Join'. Would love to feature you!
TASTING THROUGH: Sydney, Australia
Name: Ida
From: San Francisco, CA
TRAVELERS INSIGHT:
1.) Sight, sounds and taste of the local markets?
Sights: You cannot come to Australia without noticing tropical fruit everywhere. In the warmer months, you will find juicy mangoes, passionfruit, and dragonfruit in most stores. In the winter months it’s all about pumpkin and squash for comforting soup.
Sounds: Birds! Birds! Birds! The beautiful tropical birds that are as common as our humble pigeon include colorful chirpy parakeets, loud cockatoos, and one that sounds like an actual monkey, the kookaburra.
Taste: No matter what market you go to in Aus, you will always find bacon and eggs rolls, strong coffee and the local fav - banana bread toasted with fresh butter.
2.) Ingredients you can't find anywhere else?
Oddly... eggs! I've never experienced eggs as tasty as the ones in Australia. The yolk is dark orange and the most flavorful I've ever had. Every menu in Sydney will have runny poached eggs to perfection on fresh sourdough toast baked that day which they pride themselves over.
One thing you can’t miss when you’re in Sydney is seafood caught that morning from the biggest fish markets in Australia. Throw on a BBQ with lemon and open up a bottle of white wine and you’ve got yourself a quintessential Aussie meal.
3.) Eateries that do it right?
Breakfast: Lox Stock & Barrel - Best breakfast in Sydney anyone? These guys got it covered. My favorite is the Bowlarama which is a breakfast bowl with sprouted quinoa toast, poached eggs, avocado, hummus, kale, seaweed, miso dressing & homemade fermented veggies. Don't miss their homemade Chai that is made fresh to order on almond milk.
Snack: Messina and/or Coco Whip - If you are feeling decadent, I would recommend award-winning Messina icecream. Most days there is a line around the block that is definitely worth the wait. The locals favorite flavor is Salted Caramel but don't pass up their specials board where their creative team have free reign to come up with some of the most random concoctions. The specials always change and are never repeated but my favorite one was called, "Elvis During the Fat Years" which was made of peanut butter, homemade gingerbread cookies, and whip cream.
Equally delicious and a healthier ice cream option you can't miss is Coco Whip. Found in multiple cafe's in Sydney, this ice cream is 100% vegan and sugar-free, made from the whole coconut while containing probiotics. This ice cream is one you don't need to feel guilty over (I may or may not have had it for lunch today for research purposes).
Dinner: Nomad - A rustic Sydney institution. These guys pickle in house, cure their own meats and source all wine locally. Their Negroni's are made with local gin and are the best I've ever had and that is saying a lot after a year living in Italy testing a lot of Negroni’s. Be careful though, they are stronger than you think!
4.) Divy hangout?
Frankie's Pizza: When you first walk into Frankie's it just looks like a pizza place but don't be fooled. Keep walking past the diner through the secret door and you will find a booming dive bar with live bands ram packed with Sydney's loosest cannons. This late night bar’s signature drink is the whiskey and fresh green apple juice that they juice fresh to order. Don't stop there, there is another hidden bar in the venue I will leave for you to find yourself!
5.) What brought you here?
A long distance lover after a year and a half that convinced me to move to the other side of the world! Haven't looked back since.
6.) A moment to capture?
As much as the food, bars and markets are great in Sydney, nothing beats the natural beauty. The beaches here are a 15 minute drive from the city and are some of the most beautiful I have ever seen. The Aussie culture is all about beach, surf, bbq and a good time, so it's not rare to find people leaving work early for a sunset swim. The lifestyle is amazing here. If you had one day in Sydney, I would suggest walking from Bondi Beach along the coast to Coogee Beach. It isn't uncommon to spot whales and their calves migrating up and down the shores, a stunning sight.
Website links:
Sydney Fish Markets http://www.sydneyfishmarket.com.au/home
Nomad http://nomadwine.com.au/
Lox Stock & Barrel http://loxstockandbarrel.com.au/
Messina http://www.gelatomessina.com/au/
Coco Whip http://cocowhip.com.au/
Frankies http://frankiespizzabytheslice.com/
Bondi to Coogee Walk http://bonditocoogeewalk.com.au/
I hope you guys loved reading about Sydney through the eyes of the inspiring Ida! To keep up with Ida follow her on:
IG: @onmovingbyida or #onmovingbyida
Website: On Moving By Ida
HOW TO JOIN:
Want to be feature and share a tasting of your favorite place you've visited or the city you live in? All you have to do is send me (via email on my contact page) 4-6 high-quality pictures of the destination you'd like to share, answers to these same questions and thats it!
Can't wait to share more Foreign Kitchen inspiration with you guys every Wednesday!
xx Marie