We didn’t have high hopes for restaurants when we began this trip but have been pleasantly surprised. We knew that in the small country towns we probably weren’t going to find much but kept a sharp lookout in Melbourne, Sydney, and Auckland. Some of our favorites in case you visit one of these places:
Melbourne
We loved both picks here. First was Supernormal, an Asian-Australian fusion restaurant that delivered on every dish we ordered including the pumpkin seed salty snacks with drinks.
Their White Chicken dish as well as their Prawn Dumplings were revelations. Highly recommended. No reservations accepted for parties smaller than four .
Next in Melbourne was a place called Chin Chin on Flinders Lane. It is a Thai-Australian restaurant and is so hot in Melbourne that it’s sizzling. We went on a Tuesday night and it was packed with a wait for a table so we wound up eating at the bar.
Aside from an excellent menu — the Isaayan chicken was truly fiery, the setting of the restaurant was so interesting. It was located in an old building that had picture windows looking out onto the alley next to the restaurant. Most restaurants would brick up that view, but not Chin Chin! Instead they project random pictures of people and things onto the wall next door so it has the effect of being at an art gallery while you’re dining. Very cool.
Chin Chin also doesn’t take reservations but after dinner you can visit the Go-Go Bar downstairs. We had had a long day so skipped it, but it is a popular place to go after dinner at Chin Chin.
Sydney
In Sydney we had three dining opportunities. Our first was Billy Kwong.
This is a western Pacific Chinese restaurant that serves Australian grown greens and fish. We weren’t terrifically hungry when we went and so our ordering was a bit off and thus didn’t wind up loving this restaurant. We’d be willing to give it a try under different circumstances but it still wouldn’t be the first place we’d go back to in Sydney.
Next was The Bridge Room.
This was a French-Australian restaurant that served us what was quite possibly the most tender and juicy roasted chicken we’ve ever had. It was simply delicious and we’d go back here just for this.
Lastly we had Firedoor which is billed as a Modern Australian restaurant.
We loved this place. Jeff had a plate of duck hearts and I had lamb rump. The lamb was really incredible and if you’re a lamb eater Australia and New Zealand are where you want to have it! Interestingly I never saw lamb chops on a menu, only lamb rump. The rump is tender and moist and flavorful – like eating a filet. Really, really delicious, Jeff said his duck hearts were like eating little tiny duck breasts and he wouldn’t hesitate to order them again.
Definitely put this place on your list for Sydney.
Auckland
Auckland is a much, much smaller place than either Melbourne or Sydney so the restaurant scene is commensurately smaller. However we found a place called White & Wongs on the Princes Wharf that was so good we went twice.
We could not get enough of their rice cracker bites to go with drinks. Sooooo good. We also loved their Peking Duck appetizer and really enjoyed their kung pao chicken. Overall a can’t-miss place if you’re in Auckland.
So despite having some low expectations we were pleasantly surprised overall. None of these places are going to compete with Paris, Tokyo, or even Chicago for restaurants but I think we did pretty well on this trip.
Hope you have the opportunity to try one of these places should you come to Australia and/or New Zealand!
