Re: [CH] Oz--the west side
David Hanks (dhanks@frangipani.com)
Fri, 16 Nov 2001 16:59:30 +0700
Tara,
Thanks for the note.
I was just joking about the mustard and ketchup, based on the comments
of Suz and Luke a few months ago. FWIW, my friend who enjoyed Melbourne
so much actually warned me about some mustard he had in a restaurant
there. He enjoys Dijon mustard but had some English mustard in
Melbourne that he says almost took his head off. Sounds good to me. ;-)
As for the Mexican food, I've now lived in Thailand longer than I lived
in Texas and nothing could be worse than the Mexican food here. It's so
bad I've often wished we at least had a Taco Bell! Most Thais don't
like beans, find avocados too oily, and aren't familiar with the
different flavors and heats of Mexican peppers so I haven't even
bothered going to a Mexcain food place here in years. I'll probably try
Mexican food when I'm in Oz but I will remember your warning.
I'm not much of a wine drinker but I do plan on visiting Rotto and the
Fremantle Market. I'm also hoping to bring back a large chunk of fresh
tuna back to Thailand to smoke. I am very interested in finding a spice
shop but reckon the yellow pages should at least point me in some
direction.
David in Thailand who's already checked the Tricon site and sees there
are 6 Taco Bells in Oz! ;-)
> Hi David,
>
> Perth is a lovely spot, with a lot of African and British ex-pats, so a
> real infusion of cultures. Not as many Asian migrants as most of the
> rest of Australia, so you won't see as much Asian food (outside Thai) in
> Perth. It's not really known as one of the spicy capitals of the world.
>
> The few times I've been to Perth I've usually stayed with colleagues so
> I don't often eat out there. You get a lot of Italian food in Perth, and
> I've only ever been to Italian and Japanese restaurants while in Perth:
> not one chile-head colleague there, so not one hot meal!!! I do recall
> going to a very good Japanese restaurant in Nedlands within walking
> distance of CSIRO and the Uni of WA there, but I've forgotten it's name.
> There are lots of good nosh places in the trendy suburb of Subiaco.
>
> I can say to not even try to eat Mexican food while in Australia. Mex
> food here is burritos, nachos and the like (the Aussie interpretation of
> Tex-Mex) and not even close to Mexican. Rarely will you even get
> Fajitas. You are almost certain to be disapointed. There is no need so
> far as I know to bring your own mustard, as US mustard is readily
> available here. But then, I'm not a mustard expert. You can even buy
> ketchup here in the supermarkets, marketed by Heinz. Failing that, the
> Australian Tomato Sauce (not the same as what merkins call tomato sauce)
> is very like ketchup.
>
> I recommend that if you're going to be in Perth that you try to get to
> the Margaret River wine region, about 3 1/2 hours to the south of Perth.
> Lots of wonderful wines there. I can recommend Lewinn (sp?) Estates.
> Rottnest Island is near Perth and also worth a look. I second Myron's
> suggestion that you look at the Fremantle Markets. I also recall
> discussion of a good spice store in Perth, but I've forgotten where it
> is and that infirmation died in the last big hard drive crash. Perhaps
> Pat, our very own Perth chile head is still about and can add a little
> more?
>
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