Adelaide Cuisine

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“Forget Love, I’d Rather Fall in Chocolate.” ~ San Churro Chocolateria

Okay, I admit it. I am a hard-core chocolate lover, but I promise this post isn’t only about the amazing chocolate of San Churro – my favorite place to go for dessert in Adelaide! In fact, I’m going to take you on a little journey of many of the fun foods we’ve discovered since being in Australia. (Sorry, no dessert first today.)

Fish and Chips

Word of advice: don’t order three fish, a large fry and a burger between two people… you just won’t eat it all.

Our first stop are the beloved Fish and Chip Shops. Remember, we’re in Australia, so when I say chips, I’m referring to the American “fries”. Fish and Chip Shops are like the Starbucks of Australia; not in terms of coffee of course, but in terms of popularity, and the fact that you can find one just about on every street corner! Don’t be basic! Choose the Barramundi! ;P

KFC

Wait, what? Ha! Yes, you read that right. The Kentucky Fried Chicken is absolutely all the rage in Australia. I’m really not a huge KFC goer, but David apparently loved it back in his bachelor days, and when he saw that they sold the “Twister” here he was so excited – apparently it wasn’t popular enough to keep on the menu in America.

Do you think he liked it?

Another fun fact about the Australian KFC is that biscuits don’t exist on the menu. I only realized this when discovering that biscuits and gravy (one of the many American breakfast staples) are not a thing in Australia. I know! They’ve definitely been missing out! When you say biscuits and gravy, most Australians would picture crackers of some sort, or even a cookie – uh, no.

That’s right, Pillsbury Dough Boy has never made the great voyage across the mighty ocean.

Rather, substituting the biscuit at KFC is a regular dinner roll. Sad, but true. I wonder how much more popular KFC would be if they’d “risk it for the biscuit”.

Café de Vili’s

Meat Pies are massively popular in Australia as well. I would sum it up to be extremely similar to an American chicken pot pie, but less soupy and much more meaty.

The restaurant we were told to visit for our first Meat Pie experience was Café de Vili’s. I must admit, I don’t know what all the hype is about, and as much as I enjoyed the experience, the homemade Meat Pie we eventually had definitely topped Café de Vili’s. That being said, don’t knock Café de Vili’s off your list, because there are plenty of other tasty options, and you might just end up being more of a Meat Pie lover than I am.

Asian Food

Okay, the Asian food in Australia is… leaving me speechless. For real though, it’s INCREDIBLE and I could definitely go for a coconut curry with coconut rice right about… Mmmm …

Aaand we’re back. Sorry, didn’t mean to throw us off course there, but seriously I can’t even express! …What Australia lacks in the Mexican Food category, it definitely makes up for in the Asian Food category! Which, geographically speaking, totally makes sense.

Yeah, let me just slip this one in; GOOD Mexican Food in Australia is few and far between and definitely something we splurge on when we’re back visiting in the States!

Asian food on the other hand, has yet to disappoint! Two really good Indian places we’ve tried are Royal India in Woodville, and The Rajabar in The Bombay Bicycle Club near the city of Adelaide.

Our FAVORITE Thai/Cambodian restaurant is also in Woodville called, Angkor. It’s not hard to strike up a conversation with the owners, but we went to Angkor so much while living in Woodville, the lovely family that owns it definitely knew who we were!

Right near Angkor, but also available in multiple locations around Adelaide, is a Vietnamese restaurant called NNQ. I think we just fell in love with Angkor so much, and being that they were practically neighbors, we never could quite give up a date night at Angkor for NNQ. Still, NNQ is a solid choice!

Sushi Train

Being that I lived a wonderful 4 years of my life in Reno, Nevada – The Biggest Little City in the World – I have some high standards when it comes to sushi. Yes, as odd as it may be, Reno has a vast array of sushi restaurants – the majority being All You Can Eat for twenty to thirty bucks! I really never understood how or why, but honestly, I never really questioned it either. After being spoiled for so long, paying $8 for a roll of sushi just doesn’t sit well with my conscious, so we don’t eat sushi much unless we’re back in Reno! In Adelaide, however, everyone talks about Sushi Train, so we had to give it a try.

Of course, you can choose to sit at a table, but the whole idea of Sushi Train is the rotation sushi bar. What this means is, you sit at the bar where you can see the cooks rolling the sushi, which then gets placed on small plates that rotate right in front of you for your choice of whatever sushi you may like. The catch is that the price is dictated by the color of the plate you choose.

Sushi slowly makes its way around the bar as hungry onlookers take their pick.

Red = $3.00; Blue = $3.50; Grey = $4.00; Purple = $4.50; and Green = $5.00

It can be worth it to splurge on the green plate, but finding a red plate that you love is key to a successful Sushi Train experience!

Side note: Unlike in America, chicken sushi is a popular item in Australia, and it’s actually pretty good!

Greek Food

Another cuisine that I would never have guessed to find so authentic and delicious in Australia is Greek! In fact, someone told us that Greek food in Australia tends to be even more authentic than in Greece, because the Greek food in Greece has become a tad Americanized! I’ve never been to Greece, but that’s just what I’ve heard. There are plenty of Greek restaurants, and I’m sure you can’t go wrong, but our favorite is the beautiful Estia in Henley Beach Square.

Fun fact: Estia = “home” in Greek. I certainly felt right at home sharing the huge plate of food and digging into my ultimate favorite food of all time: the dolmas! Mmmm…

The Pickled Duck

This journey is turning out to be kind of long, and I know you’re probably getting pretty full (either that, or really hungry!) But we have to make a stop at The Pickled Duck! This is just a gem of Adelaide that I owe the gratitude of discovery to my dear ex-teammate. It’s such a classy set up, with a delicious selection of food, and, of course, the added bonus of a unique meat option: You guessed it! Duck!

It’s not our favorite kind of meat, but still; super cool! If you’re not quite sold by the duck though, the loaded shakes outta do it for ya!

Vegan/Vegetarian Options

On the opposite side of the spectrum, save the ducks; let’s go Vegan! Honestly though, the Vegan cuisine is definitely number one on my palate and it seems very conveniently available here in Australia. My top two restaurants?

Sarah’s Sister’s Sustainable Café is located on Semaphore Road, just a short walk from the beach! Welcomed by a rustic design, you walk through towards the back to an open circular area with a view to a green house, discovering the café’s partnership with the garden shop next door! If that weren’t enough fun, turn around and you’re drawn in by a variety of random pieces of decoration. Before you know it, your food has arrived! Ah, but don’t forget the coffee! It’s also a treasure!

Another rustic, but more sheik design, The Fleurieu Pantry is located in Noarlunga – just a short walk to yet another beach as well! It’s absolutely adorable inside and out, and the food is perfection!

The Original Pancake Kitchen

This is no iHop… in fact, it’s way better! A bit on the more desserty side, and breakfast 24/7, what more do you need (aside from maybe some biscuits and gravy)? The Original Pancake Kitchen is a cozy hole-in-the-wall restaurant in the city of Adelaide where you have to practically walk through an ally to get to the entrance. Too cute, and too delicious, not to check out!

San Churro

We’ve reached the end of our journey, my friend, but I hope this is just the beginning for you! I couldn’t help but save the best for last – San Churro Chocolateria! This place is my favorite dessert stop of all time! No joke. In my mind, this even beats, Cold Stone in America, and I love Cold Stone. I’m telling you though, San Churro is on a whole other level! They’ve got THE best hot chocolate I have ever had in my life, AMAZING ice cream, churros on churros on churros, and all the chocolate, chocolate, chocolate my heart desires… Plus, there are plenty of Vegan options too! Uugh, I’m drooling just thinking about it…

So, as they say at San Churro, “Treat yourself, or someone else; everyone deserves chocolate!” …or fish and chips, or KFC, or , well… you get it.

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Cheers,

Joyful Jot