Food and Drink

Australians refer to their home as the 'Lucky Country,' which is true when it comes to Australia's abundance and variety of food. They are blessed with many exotic fruits, a huge variety of fish, some of the best lamb and beef in the world.  Australia has almost every sort of cuisine from around the world. Apart from Italian, Greek, and Lebanese food, which is now firmly established in Australia, Asian cuisine - Thai, Japanese and Chinese food, is particularly popular.

Australia is also a serious coffee drinking nation. However, the Australian coffee drinking tradition is quite different from the US and is more Italian with most coffee being served in sidewalk cafés in china cups.

Australians are reputed to have the highest per capita beer consumption in the world after the Germans.  Australians drink an enormous range of beers, including lager, bitter, and stout. Each state has its own principal brewer. In New South Wales it's Tooheys, in Victoria it's Carlton and United Breweries (brewer of Fosters), in Queensland, it's XXXX (pronounced 4X), and so on. A new generation of boutique brewers such as Red Back, Coopers, and Hahn have also sprung up. Ordering beer at an Australian pub is complicated.  Tap beer is served in glasses called schooners, ponies, pots, handles, midis, and even glasses. If in doubt, ask for a bottle of beer from the bar fridge. Most Australians drink straight from the bottle but you can ask for a glass. The legal drinking age in Austalia is 18. Drink driving is considered a very serious offence by the Australian police and random breath testing is a common site on many Australian roads at night.

Typically Australians don't tip in cafés, restaurants and hotels. Except in first class hotels, never leave a tip.