There are pubs and restaurants of every kind in Sydney. Like Japan, you can get Asian, Italian, French, Vietnamese, Japanese—any type of food you can think of. In that sense, you never have any problems with eating out. On the other hand, once you get it in your head that you want something, it can be truly stressful trying to decide where to go to get it. Add to that the prices in Sydney, which are nearly double those in Japan—or you may even pay three times as much to eat out, depending on where you go. So, like in Japan, the key is finding a reasonably priced place that still has good food.
When I first moved to Sydney, I liked going to the most Australian places I could find—the hamburger shops, cafés, ice cream shops, and so on that were popular with the locals. There are also restaurants that serve delicious kangaroo meat, oysters, seafood, and Aussie beef, but the good places are so expensive. If I tried to go there I’d end up not being able to eat out much, so when I wanted some affordable Aussie fare, I’d default to pub food. Every pub is different, but I enjoyed my fill of fish and chips (which I’d never eaten in Japan) and had some really delicious meals in some of the pubs. Sometimes I’d even get to listen to some free live music at the same time. The food is great, and there are also all kinds of Australian craft beers to choose from—which is even more fun for people who love beer.
Still, I’d most often find myself eating at Thai, Korean, or Vietnamese places—with some pub food thrown in every once in a while. I guess there was still something comforting about eating an Asian meal.
But since I’ve become more of a resident than a tourist, I now cook my daily meals at home. Even if you buy them at the supermarket, eggs cost A$10—three times what they cost in Japan. But since I’ll never buy anything at all if I keep comparing the prices to those in Japan, I just choose what looks delicious. Some things are cheaper than they are in Japan, but I think I’ll write more about those in a later post :).
Once I’d lived abroad for a few months, I started really missing Japanese food—so I went to Japanese restaurants a lot, too. There are some great izakaya pubs and yakitori places, and ramen shops are also really popular. Japanese ramen is a huge hit overseas, with most people finding out about it from TV or social media. It’s also pricey at about three times the cost in Japan, and it’s a little frightening to realize that once you live here long enough, a ¥3,000 bowl of ramen doesn’t even seem that expensive anymore. I figure it’s better to eat an amazing ¥3,000 bowl of ramen than something that doesn’t taste very good for the same price.
The Japanese food in Sydney is good, and most people consider it to be a fancy meal. So I don’t think people really believe me when I tell them that it’s cheaper to eat in Japan than in Sydney. If you try to order Japanese beer or sake in a Sydney restaurant, you’ll be shocked at how expensive it is.
When I go back to Japan to visit, I end up stuffing my face with all the things I’d been holding off on while I was away. It makes me realize just how incredible Japanese food is and just how many delicious places there are to eat. Every part of the Japanese islands has its own specialty products, foods, restaurants, and snacks, resulting in tons of variety. Of course every place is different in terms of quality and price, so you still have to choose carefully.
When I was wandering around Asakusa in Tokyo, I caught a glimpse between the buildings of a yellow foam art installation on the Asahi Breweries headquarters. When I looked it up, I learned that there was a new sky lounge on the top floor where you could get draft beer, and I headed over immediately. The first floor looked just like a regular office building with receptionists, but the sky lounge on the 22nd floor offered splendid views, and I got to drink some fantastic beer. My biggest surprise was that I was the only Japanese person there! I guess it’s a well-known destination for foreign tourists. People from overseas are fascinated by Japanese food culture, so I guess they would know the good places to go. It would probably also be fun to seek out local cuisine in out-of-the-way places that don’t end up in the guidebooks.
