Talk:Australian cuisine

Halal Snack Pack?

Are Halal snack packs well known enough as an australian dish to be listed here. As someone who has never stepped foot I've always perceived the Halal Snack Pack to be one of the most popular australian dishes but as the aussies who've created this page haven't listed it I'm unsure if my perception was correct and if I should add it. The wikipedia page makes them seem really popular. Tai123.123 (talk) 00:01, 13 October 2021 (UTC)

@Tai123.123: I'm not too sure. Maybe @DaGizza: or @The dog2: would know much more on this than me. I've never really heard of it, but maybe it's not commonly found where I live. SHB2000 (talk | contribs | meta.wikimedia) 00:09, 13 October 2021 (UTC)

Not sure. I'm not a Muslim so I never looked for them. But you most certainly won't have a problem finding halal food in the the five biggest Australian cities if you're a Muslim visitor. There were quite a number of Middle Eastern restaurants in Adelaide. The dog2 (talk) 00:16, 13 October 2021 (UTC)

I think there may be some in Newy and Canberra as well, but again I've also never looked for them as well since I'm not a Muslim either. SHB2000 (talk | contribs | meta.wikimedia) 00:17, 13 October 2021 (UTC)

Halal snack packs are a common and uniquely Australia meal in Western Sydney, where there is a large Middle Eastern community. I'm neither Muslim nor from Western Sydney but visit the west somewhat regularly, at least during non-pandemic times. Lebanese and Turkish food is very popular, e.g. kebabs after a night out is very common. Maybe not quite as popular as Chinese or Thai but close in certain areas IMO. I don't know how popular Middle Eastern food is in Melbourne and the other state capitals though. Gizza ^(roam) 00:29, 13 October 2021 (UTC)

@SHB2000 @The dog2 The wikipedia article says it's popular (though again I've never been to australia). Tai123.123 (talk) 00:30, 13 October 2021 (UTC)

Interesting. I may as well add that after doing a bit more research on this. SHB2000 (talk | contribs | meta.wikimedia) 00:31, 13 October 2021 (UTC)

Ok thank you I thought about adding it directly but thought you Australians would know better. (Also I just got my 1000th edit discussing food from a country I've never been to) Tai123.123 (talk) 00:44, 13 October 2021 (UTC)

And speaking of halal food, I don't know about Sydney, but there is also a Malay restaurant in Adelaide where you can get your fix just in case you get tired of Middle Eastern. The dog2 (talk) 00:46, 13 October 2021 (UTC)

Fish and chips

I think we should perhaps mention this as well. I know it was originally a British dish, but in the UK, it's traditionally served with vinegar and mushy peas as a condiment, while in in Australia, the most common condiments are ketchup and tartar sauce. The dog2 (talk) 00:53, 13 October 2021 (UTC)

Yeah, I'll probably add that soon under the seafood section. SHB2000 (talk | contribs | meta.wikimedia) 01:01, 13 October 2021 (UTC)

Authenticity

I'm really liking how this article is coming along. Let's discuss this loaded term, authenticity. I consider styles like Italian-American and Italian-Australian food to be authentically what they are. You can see in Downstate New York#Eat one way to avoid the word "authentic":

The New York area is also known for its Ashkenazic Jewish and Italian-American food.[...]In addition to the widespread Italian-American cuisine, there are also many "Italian Italian" restaurants. Both categories can be upscale, but regional Italian food is more likely to be at least mid-priced.

Another way to handle this, if it fits, is to describe the styles that are much closer to what's served in regions of Italy as "regional Italian cuisine". Of course, that doesn't quite fit for restaurants that serve close-to-the-originals renditions of two or more regional cuisines.

What do you think? Ikan Kekek (talk) 18:28, 14 October 2021 (UTC)

I thought it's understood that the term "authentic Italian food" means food that is basically the same as what you find in Italy. It's pretty much similar to how "authentic Chinese cuisine" refers to food prepared the same way as in China, which will exclude Thai-Chinese, Vietnamese-Chinese, Malaysian-Chinese or American-Chinese cuisine. And likewise, the term "authentic Mexican cuisine" would be understood to exclude Tex-Mex or Cal-Mex. The dog2 (talk) 20:19, 15 October 2021 (UTC)

Get the same sentiments as The dog2 with this one. SHB2000 (talk | contribs | meta.wikimedia) 22:08, 15 October 2021 (UTC)

OK, I won't continue arguing this one. Ikan Kekek (talk) 22:15, 15 October 2021 (UTC)

I do get what you're saying though, but usually (from personal experience) in the Asia-Pacific region, "authentic" means the exact kind of food you'll get from the place of origin. Definitely quite different from Europe and North America where I've heard your meaning being used.

But generally authentic restaurants is quite rare to find in Australia in the first place, at least in the eastern three states + two of the three mainland territories (although one of those two territories only has a fish and chips shop). I can't remember South Australia, but The dog2 or Vaticidalprophet would know more about that than myself given they've lived in SA before.

To the territory, authentic is non-existant. The only ethnic cuisines are often Australian Chinese cuisines, and those aren't common and only found in Darwin. No idea about WA. SHB2000 (talk | contribs | meta.wikimedia) 07:18, 16 October 2021 (UTC)

I actually went to an authentic Lazio-style pizza place in Burra, which is in rural SA, a couple of hours' drive north of Adelaide. The chef was from Rome and had to order a custom-made brick oven because those were not readily available in Australia, and he does not speak English, so his wife was the one taking all the orders and translating them to Italian for him. The reason why he ended up in Burra is because his wife was from Burra, so after they met in Italy and got married, he decided to settle in his wife's hometown. And based on the story his wife told me, it actually took a while for the Australian locals to get used to that style of pizza because most Australians have never tried it before, but he insisted on doing it the authentic Roman way, and eventually, the locals warmed up to the style. And apparently, Italians living in Adelaide would make the the long drive up from Adelaide whenever they were homesick. The dog2 (talk) 14:34, 16 October 2021 (UTC)

Nutella

According to research carried out by Roy Morgan in 2015, the most popular spread in Australia is Vegemite, followed by jams/marmalades, and then honey and peanut butter. Nutella wasn't in the top four types of spreads so I wonder if it should be included. The threshold for inclusion for uniquely Australian foods or invented in Australia can be lower in terms of popularity than foods that came from overseas but Nutella also wasn't invented here. It's originally Italian. Gizza ^(roam) 00:23, 15 October 2021 (UTC)

Interesting. I thought that the trademark of Nutella was Australian, but if it came from overseas, then it should be removed or put in the. ethnic cuisines section SHB2000 (talk | contribs | meta.wikimedia) 00:36, 15 October 2021 (UTC)

Guide?

What needs to be done for this to become a guide article? --SHB2000 (talk | contribs | meta.wikimedia) 11:33, 22 February 2022 (UTC)

I plunged forward and upgraded it to guide. Will nominate it for FTT soon. SHB2000 (talk | contribs | meta.wikimedia) 08:55, 23 February 2022 (UTC)

If you ask people to review an article and comment on its possibility of being a guide, please give people a week or two to reply. AlasdairW (talk) 22:43, 23 February 2022 (UTC)

Structure

The structure of this article is a bit disorganized: dishes, cuisines, ingredients are all mixed together without much apparent order. I'd suggest the following:

• Ingredients
  • Meat, dairy, fruit etc
• Australian dishes
  • Mains, snacks, desserts, drinks
• Cuisines
  • Mod Oz, Chinese, etc

Thoughts? Jpatokal (talk) 09:08, 17 May 2022 (UTC)

Feel free to go ahead. Happy with the proposed structure. This will also eliminate a lonely fruit and veg section, which I'm very much opposed to adding in Wikivoyage articles. SHB2000 (talk | contribs | meta.wikimedia) 10:23, 17 May 2022 (UTC)