Article: Abigail Donelly from FAIRLADY

I've now made it as a foodie, I kept telling myself. I was off to where the East-meets-West fusion thing all happens; where quince paste and verjuice are produced; where thick slices of raisin toast are served with the best lattes ever, that are often presented in glasses with rough cubes of brown sugar.

Most of my time in Australia was spent in two cities, Perth and Adelaide, and the surrounding winelands. It didn't take long to get the feeling that Australians love food, and so they should, considering the variety and quality at their disposal. Chefs, producers and foodies are not only passionate about food but they also love to drink – and are very loyal to their local wines. They really care about where the food was grown or raised. Every dish is stacked, piled, layered and heaped. Not in a fancy way, though. Even the fine-dining restaurants have a relaxed way of combining tastes and textures and presenting food. But fusion is still the buzzword, and Australians combine flavours without being too silly about it.

Every dish was spectacular, whether it was a serving of spring lamb braised in Shiraz with Du Puy lentils or a slice of Cabernet-soaked toast topped with steamed purple asparagus. Trays of extra-large chocolate-coated lamingtons beam out at you from bakery windows, and chefs concoct sublime pavlovas. The kangaroo tail, slow-cooked in lots of red wine, became sticky and stewy, a little bit like oxtail.

The service, quality and consistency are always top class. It was quite interesting to see how seriously the restaurant staff took their jobs: A lot of respect is shown to each one, from the waitress to the sommelier. There is a widespread Mediterranean coffee and breakfast culture. The cafés are full early in the morning with people munching on piles of ricotta flapjacks, bowls of steaming porridge and fresh banana. Late at night, the restaurants filter out onto the pavements with the smell of wood-baked breads. It's quite obvious that people just love to cook, eat and drink wine. There is a food trail for you to discover around every corner.

PERTH-FECT PERTH
Perth in Western Australia has a wonderfully relaxed atmos-phere, and although it is a big city, it has a very similar feel to Cape Town. I was quite surprised at the myriad of restaurants and shops. In fact, Perth boasts more restaurants than any other city in Australia.

Northbridge, the local Chinatown, bustles with energy on a Saturday morning. I left laden with bags of noodles and packets (some of which I picked up because I liked the packaging, but still don't know what's in them). The hot spots in the CBD have A an upbeat, big-city vibe. Only a few minutes away is East Perth, where trendy, elegant eateries overlook the water.

A place for indulgence is the fabulous new David Jones Food Hall in Hay Street. It's an exciting contemporary food store stocking inspiring local as well as imported things (I spotted some of Ina Paarman's products). Centrally located in Subiaco Village is The Essential Ingredient , which carries a range of the most comprehensive, professional and domestic cookware in the world, a huge range of cookbooks, and shelves lined with all the foods I have been dying to get my hands on, such as Spanish paprika and Iranian fairy floss.

Empire is a stylish décor store and modern café-style restaurant that is definitely a place you should visit to see the latest trends in décor and have a slice of the amazing white chocolate cheesecake.

European Foods Wholesalers in Northbridge ( www.europeanfoods.com.au ) is a gigantic wholesale company that stocks all brands of Italian products. It's where you need to shop while on holiday to stock up or drool over giant wheels of provolone.

Must Winebar ( www.must.com.au ) is a casual French bistro that cooks down-to-earth food, and offers a huge variety of Australian wine. Expect to see steak béarnaise and duck confit. There is also a special rotisserie at the back of the restaurant, which is in full view of the tables. The chef prepares Cloverdene lamb, Mount Barker free-range chicken and organic Eagle Farm pork on the rotisserie. Australia also has some fantas-tic cheeses, and you find them on every menu. Must Winebar serves local cheeses with quince paste and home-made pistachio crackers.

I drooled over the peach and ricotta zabaglione pizza at seven in the morning at King Street, famous for their breakfasts. As I sipped my glass of latte, I wished I could have stayed for lunch, as you could choose a dish and match it up with a glass of wine.

New Norcia Bakery ( www.newnorciabaker.com.au ) was started at a local Benedictine monastery – where the bread was baked in the wood-fired oven – but now has a second retail outlet in the suburb Mount Hawthorn. It's famous for its breads and pastries and, in fact, supplies Quantas Air with raisin bread. The decadent nut is a treat too.

The Subiaco Hotel ( www.subiacohotel.com.au ), fondly dubbed ‘the Subi', is surrounded by the buzzing business dis-trict. Expect to be treated to dishes like grilled west Australian dhu fish, pea purée and smoked tomatoes, or a light lunch of field mushrooms on toasted olive sourdough. As most families take their kids to eat out with them, the chefs take care to make special things to keep them happy, such as big cupcakes and A cookies. I immediately eyed out The Roasting Duck in North-bridge with its windows full of glistening ducks hanging and slabs of roasted pork. For AU$5, I munched on a big bowl of sticky white rice, chopped duck and steamed greens.

At Lamont's , owner and chef Kate Lamont specialises in simple flavours. Lamont's is famous for the marron, a small freshwater crayfish that is black when fresh and changes to pink when cooked. Try the sublime Swan Valley marron with lime and chive beurre blanc, tomato jam and shaved Parmesan.

A Margaret River winelands ramble
Picture a creamy Brie cheese spread thickly on freshly baked bread, complemented by a crisp Sémillon; or a platter of tender local venison, washed down with a soft Cabernet Sauvignon-Merlot blend. Welcome to the Margaret River wine region. The region lies three-and-a-half-hours south of Perth and has over 60 of the best vineyards in Australia. (For more on this region, visit www.margaret-river-online.com.au> www.margaret-river-online.com.au ).

We were treated to a drive though the area in an open-top Bentley – you too can hire The Margaret River Lady from Wine Touring (www.thewine tourco.com.au). The vineyards lie inland to protect the vines from the winds and the salty sea air. You can easily visit two or three in a morn-ing and pop in at the Berry Farm ( www.berryfarm.com.au ) for jams, preserves, fruit liqueurs and vinegars (fermented in vats the proper way).

Sit in the pretty garden and have a big cream tea. I got stuck into the coffee jelly and brought back a few jars of peach and vanilla butter. Apart from the wineries, the area has cheese makers, jam producers, marron and olive farmers and even a chocolate factory. Some of the best eateries are to be found at the wineries, as well as down Margaret River's main street, grandly named Bussell Highway .

ADELAIDE, PARK CITY
Adelaide in South Australia is a city within a park. Laid out on a well-planned, square-mile grid with wide streets, it is really easy to get around. Just jump on a tram and head to one of the many cafés and restaurants.

Rundle Street in the East End is full of stylish and sophisti-cated bars and cafés. There are so many foods to choose from, including Asian fusion, traditional Chinese and indigenous Australian – I really enjoyed the latter. I tasted things such as wattle seed, lemon myrtle, desert lime, blood plum tamarind, emu sausage, kangaroo fillet, clove lilli pilli, warrigal greens and quandong – all prepared in delicious fusion dishes. And don't forget to pop into Haigh's Chocolates and buy a packet of their well-known chocolate frogs and fish.

The Central Market is the biggest food market in Australia and boasts more than 250 traders under one roof. There is a great buzz early in the morning as chefs are seen choosing the best scallops and quality veg. The stalls vary from butchers to traders peddling honey, flowers, cheese, sweets and nuts, alongside grocers offering plenty of fruit and vegetables. Just being there was a wonderful experience. I got to sample differ-ent things like the no-cook asparagus and first season mangoes. (Visit www.adelaide.sa.gov.au/centralmarket for more on this historic, vibrant site).

In Chinatown near the central market in Gouger Street you can pick up great bargains. There's something else you must not miss: Known as Adelaide's famous pie floater, haute cuisine it certainly is not. The dish consists of a meat pie with tomato sauce sinking down into a bowl of green pea soup – it's a genuine legend.

The Red Ochre Grill ( www.redochregrill.com.au ) is where you can get to eat all those native delicacies that I mentioned earlier. Caramelised bush tomato balsamic, Queensland blue pumpkin, pepperberry and nut houmous, and an interpretation of Malaysian satay beef with a spicy sauce of macadamia nut cooked in coconut cream, rivermint and pepperleaf and sticky date and munties pudding are all dishes prepared in a modern way but that still capture local taste.

The Grange , under consultant chef Cheong Liew's guidance, com-bines Western and Asian ingredients. His food philosophy is to cook from the heart. This is where I had a de-licious plate of shark lip and sea cucumber in carrot oil and crisp celery leaves – very different and very moreish.

For an equally refined dining experience, go to Penfolds Magill Estate Restaurant ( www.penfolds.com.au). Surrounded by prime vineyards, this is situation at the famous Penfolds winery. The restaurant was built to showcase the estate's famous Grange range of wines. The spectacular food is full of French and Italian style.

Wines to take home