Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
HOW SYDNEYSIDERS EAT
It might be something to do with long nights of partying, but breakfast is something
Sydney cafes do particularly well. Many locals prefer to conduct business over a morning
latte instead of a power lunch or an upmarket dinner, and friends often launch the day with
scrambled eggs, carrot juice and a few laughs. The prime breakfasting 'hoods are Potts
Point, Surry Hills and the beaches, but it'd be weird not to find a decent brekky cafe in any
inner-city 'burb.
Breakfast can happen anytime from 6am to late morning, al-
though many cafes serve all-day breakfasts, especially on week-
ends. The all-day option is perfect for hardened party animals,
and is therefore more common in the inner east and west. If
you're an early riser, pull up a window seat in Darlinghurst or
Kings Cross and watch the nocturnal detritus spilling out of the
clubs - think of yourself as a seat warmer for when they wake up
in the afternoon. Yum cha in Chinatown is also a hugely popular
weekend brunch option (expect to queue).
Food
Festivals
October; city-wide.
It's in the caffeine stakes that Sydney wipes the floor with Lon-
don and Los Angeles (as do most Australasian cities). You won't
have to settle for wussy drip-filtered pap here - it's espresso all
the way. The big international chains have sprouted up, but
they're generally considered the last refuge of the unimaginative. Choose a local cafe in-
stead and order a flat white (espresso with milk that's been perfectly warmed but not
bubbled - it's an art all of its own), caffe latte (similar but milkier, often served in a glass),
a cappuccino (espresso topped with frothed milk and chocolate or cinnamon), a long or
short black (espresso without milk and with varying amounts of water), a
macchiato
(a
short black with a tiny splash of milk) or a
ristretto
(very concentrated espresso). Most
cafes also offer soy or 'skinny' (skim) milk.
For Sydney's workaday warriors, lunch means a quick sandwich or salad inhaled at their
desk or in a nearby park. Others hit the shopping-centre food courts, which offer ethnically
diverse bain-marie fodder - though many restaurants provide more atmospheric versions of
the same. Chinatown, in particular, sees corporate-casual lunchtime crowds jamming its
good-value eateries.
Dinner weighs more heavily on the social scales, but unless it's a special event, casual is
usually the go: jeans, T-shirts and trainers are usually OK in all but the most ritzy joints.
