During our three months in Australia, we mostly cooked our own food in the kitchens of the various campsites we stayed at. A great way to keep food costs down. Every once in a while we went out for dinner or lunch though. Most of the time it was out of convenience, but we celebrated Brecht’s birthday in New South Wales as well: perfect excuse for a splurge!
What we loved most about eating out in Australia is the free water you get in more or less every restaurant. They should start doing this in Belgium too! The B.Y.O concept is very interesting as well, but we only made use of that once. If you’re not used to it, it’s hard to remember that it’s even an option.
In this blogpost we’ll talk about our food experiences, although there weren’t many, in New South Wales. Note that all prices are in Australian Dollar.
Where to eat in New South Wales
We celebrated Brecht’s birthday with dinner at Pins on Lurline. This cute little restaurant is situated at a 15 minute walk from the Katoomba Falls Caravan Park where we stayed. We only realised on arrival they have a B.Y.O policy, too late to bring our own wine. No worries though, you can buy a bottle in the restaurant as well. We went with a nice $28 bottle of Merlot. No birthday party without wine!
The Japanese owner was very friendly and the food she serves is pretty great. All main dishes are under $20, except for the specials, so prices are decent as well. We started out by sharing a nice bruschetta ($6.50). For the main course Brecht ordered a heavenly Japanese Wagyu Beef Curry ($25, a special), I had a decent Spaghetti Basquaise ($19). It was good, but I’ve had better pastas. Our desserts were delicious: the Bread and Butter Pudding ($13.50) and the White Chocolate Crème Brûlée with Honeycomb Ice Cream ($13.50). The chocolate gives an unusual texture to the crème brûlée, but the ice cream was absolutely delicious!
The Australian Open was coming to an end while we were in Canberra (technically not New South Wales, but close enough). We decided to go watch the men’s final, Djokovic vs. Murray, at The Duxton. The place has a restaurant area where you can have a peaceful dinner, and a bar area with lots of screens where you can watch sports during dinner. We obviously opted for the bar area. The interior is pretty nice and the staff is friendly and helpful. We love it when they passionately tell us about the beers they have, helping us to make a choice between all those, for us Belgians, foreign beers. That brings us (finally) to the food they serve. Brecht had a very good Pizza Prosciutto ($25). My Vegetarian Lasagna was a bit dry and could have used some more salt. I liked it, but my homemade lasagne is better.
In Byron Bay we had the best ice cream since a long time at In The Pink. It’s not cheap, costing $6 for two scoops, but it’s oh so delicious! Can’t beat the ice cream at ‘t Kremmeke though, the ice cream parlor in our hometown.
While in Byron Bay we walked the Cape Byron Walking Track. Before starting that coastal walk, we had a small take away lunch from The Pass Café. Brecht had a Bacon, Cheese and Mushroom Toastie, which was, just like most times, a better choice than my Grilled Vegetable with Rocket Pesto Toastie. The toasties were good, not great, and cost us $9 each.
We had our downright favourite meal in New South Wales at the Thai House in Glen Innes. The couple owning this small restaurant is very friendly. The interior is simple, and they don’t have a website, but the food was heavenly! We started with some Spring Rolls ($8.90) before getting to our curries for the main dish. We had the Yellow Curry with Chicken ($15.90) and the Massaman Beef Curry ($15.90), with a bowl of steamed ($3.00) and a bowl of coconut rice ($3.90). Don’t forget to ask to leave the fresh coriander out if you hate it as much as we do. It was absolutely delicious, but way too much. The Thai cook smiled when we apologised for not having been able to finish, saying she always gives people too much food. She just likes to eat! We took the leftovers home and enjoyed them just as much the next night.
Sydney is a part of New South Wales as well, and we’ve eaten out there too. A lot. That’s why we have written a separate blogpost about our food experiences in Sydney. In short: for a great steak, go to The Meat & Wine Co (bring your wallet!), and don’t forget to try the famous Aussie pies at Harry's Cafe de Wheels.
The absolute food revelation of our round the world trip is Thai food. We’d never really had it before and simply fell in love. Granted, we always ask to go easy on the chili and leave the coriander out, but still. Thai House in Glen Innes is one of the best Thai restaurants we’ve been at since we left Thailand. Definitely a must try when you’re in the neighbourhood. Enjoy!
We’d love to hear from you! What’s your favourite restaurant in New South Wales?
Australiié lijkt me ook wel wat, om te zien en om er te eten….
Jos zal u graag zien komen, Tine! 😉
Great article! I really want to visit, so it’s good to know a few tips xx