Cycle 5 – Item 336

7 (Sun) December 2014

Aussie Pizza

3.5

at Topolinos

-St Kilda, Melbourne, Australia-

solo

Mission to Australia (Day 2) 

• • Day 1 (5.335 Chicken Tausi)
  • Day 2 (5.336 Aussie Pizza)
  • Day 3 (5.337 Kangaroo)
  • Day 4 (5.338 Wild Harrisa Spiced Wallaby Loin)
  • Day 5 (5.339 Roasted Squid)
  • Day 6 (5.340 Fried Cauliflower, Chilli, Coriander)
  • Day 7 (5.341 Cecina)
  • Day 8 (5.342 Crocodile Meat with XO Chili Sauce)

In Melbourne.  Here to participate in a “Training of Trainers” workshop organized by The McCabe Centre for Law & Cancer to develop capacity-building programs for government officials towards strengthening their national legal frameworks on NCD risk factors.

LUNCH

Skwidz is an Australian snack shop.  Specializes in fish & chips and burgers, as per the signage.

After checking in to my hotel at 1000, Skwidz was the only restaurant open in the vicinity.  Given the Australian penchant for Anglo-American foods, it was an appropriate choice for my first meal down under.

I ordered a chicken kebab wrap to illustrate Australia’s highly vaunted multi-culturalism.  While the photo doesn’t adequately convey scale, the wrap was absurdly enormous, mostly fresh lettuce and tomato, which is a good thing.

DINNER

Topolinos is an Italian restaurant.  Specializes in pizza: standard crust, wood-fired, from traditional to modern topping combinations.  Decent selection of pastas, steaks, seafoods.  Casual, family atmosphere.  Mid-range prices.  Founded in 1973, something of a local landmark.  Current ranking on TripAdvisor: 21 of 175 restaurants in St Kilda.

Brekkie Pizza is an Australian dish.  Consists of a standard pie with tomato sauce and cheese, topped with bacon and eggs, usually pre-boiled.  “Brekkie = breakfast,” in Aussie parlance.

Among the vast array of pizza variations available at Topolinos, I went with Aussie Pizza, just because it sounded the most local.  It was a brekkie pizza.  The squishy eggs, providing textural contrast to the crispy crust, worked quite well.

The calamari was near perfection.  Just a tad too spicy for my tastes, but otherwise perhaps the best squid dish that I’ve ever experienced.  It was the clear highlight of the meal (but I’m featuring the pizza because of the “Aussie” thing), confirming what I’ve always imagined Australian food would be like: fresh, simply prepared, primarily western in style, with international influences, tasty.  I look forward to reconfirming the theory throughout the week.

(See also BOOZE)

(See also GLOBAL FOOD GLOSSARY)

(See also RESTAURANTS IN AUSTRALIA)

(See also DUTY TRAVEL)