Life

[Silent Alarm]

Breakfast at Wetherspoons isn’t a comparable breakfast though. It’s like saying their pints are cheap and ours are expensive. Yeah but...

Also I could live off Australian breakfasts forever. A full English would be a once a year treat on Grand Final day to get my stomach lined and even that is a bit guilt ridden. The stuff is here is varied, healthy, and well good.

Italy and Spain and even Portugal have really good cheap lunches and dinners but it’s really one cuisine. Sorta hard to fault that though. I mean these countries are thousands of years old. And I guess England is too except ya know the last 500 they had kings who’d eat meat inside meat for breakfast so what can you say.

Australia’s youth is its greatest food asset.


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[The Dice Man]

The variety of food available in Australia is fantastic, although often too sweet and expensive. I also agree no-one does better breakfasts than Australia. Europe just doesn't do breakfasts unless you consider dunking a croissant into your coffee, or bread and cheese as breakfast.

 

[MaddAdam]

Kids don't have enough money or desire to do that stuff anymore. Think I know one girl who moved to London at about 22. Know about two guys very loosely who did a summer playing county cricket, but that's it. I'd imagine 15 years ago you'd know heaps of people. Half the sign of the times here but also the stupidly tight laws restricting ease in the UK. The campaigners colonised us, do the righty and let us live there.

This is true, they have dramatically tightened the rules.

So go to Ireland. Or Belgium. You'd get a decent job paying good cash in Brussels simply by don't of having some form of degree and being a native English speaker.

 

[Scotland]

American food is underrated. Like the people, on average, it's nothing special. But it's a big country and there's still plenty of quality. They do Mexican a lot better than anything I've had here, which is understandable given they border the place. Their supermarkets and most of their fast food chains are utter trash, though.

I would rank UK > Aus > US for supermarkets. Going into Coles, Woolies, IGA etc and seeing what they have on offer relative to what we produce is depressing. Was in Woolies the other day and they had a big display of royal gala apples which come into season about now. Picked one up and it was still cold from being in the cool room, was soft and had a leathery texture. GTFO with this shit.

 

[Plugger35]

Meh I prefer a good appetite satisfying English or Irish brekky over some wanky St Kilda cafe attempt at the same thing.

There was a greasy spoon down the road from where I lived in London that did a bang up English breakfast for about 5 quid, the coffee was rubbish though.

You can get some great pub meals in London too if you know the right pubs to go to, there was a pub near where I worked in Belgravia that would have stuff like roasts, curries, lasagne, fish and chips all for around 10 quid and they were big servings too so you'd be stuffed by the time you made it back to work.

If you like eating salads then English cuisine probably isn't for you but I'm not a big salad eater so I didn't mind it.

 

[Silent Alarm]

The variety of food available in Australia is fantastic, although often too sweet and expensive. I also agree no-one does better breakfasts than Australia. Europe just doesn't do breakfasts unless you consider dunking a croissant into your coffee, or bread and cheese as breakfast.

I don't mind the coffee thing in Italy; old blokes strolling up the counter and having a latté is pretty cool. I've never been but apparently Greek breakfasts are something else.

Some of the worst food in the world has to be in Scandinavia. For breakfast they have a sort of rye, but it isn't toasted, and they put this thin and sweet cheese and ham on it with a sort of pate and then a few different flavoured teas. The tea was really nice and tbh the cheese and stuff was too but I felt like I was eating it because it was nice and not because it was good for breakfast. It got old fast. Then to find a simple lunch out you really struggle. Remember a food court tier thai joint was about all I found, that or sort of middle eastern kebabs. Again kebabs in Europe are all so different but ****in awesome but it gets old fast on holiday so imagine living there?

This is true, they have dramatically tightened the rules.

So go to Ireland. Or Belgium. You'd get a decent job paying good cash in Brussels simply by don't of having some form of degree and being a native English speaker.

Isn't Brussels a shithole?

Ireland sounds drab.

American food is underrated. Like the people, on average, it's nothing special. But it's a big country and there's still plenty of quality. They do Mexican a lot better than anything I've had here, which is understandable given they border the place. Their supermarkets and most of their fast food chains are utter trash, though.

I would rank UK > Aus > US for supermarkets. Going into Coles, Woolies, IGA etc and seeing what they have on offer relative to what we produce is depressing. Was in Woolies the other day and they had a big display of royal gala apples which come into season about now. Picked one up and it was still cold from being in the cool room, was soft and had a leathery texture. GTFO with this shit.

American food is pretty bad.

I expected Brooklyn to be like Super Melbourne but it isn't that trendy and like all of New York you're walking around for 45 minutes to get to another shop. It's not like here where every high street has 3-4 cafés even in country towns. Bagels are good but they too aren't very good for you and you feel like shit after one. American stuff is all super sugary, even the sauces in a sandwich. I love fried chicken and stuff but that's not where you want your diet to revolve around.

British supermarkets are tiny or massive out in the country, so it's hard to compare. American supermarkets are cool because 'wow super hot cheetos, mixed cheetos... look at that ****in salsa!' but when there's 30 aisles a good 80 metres long and there's one basket full of fruit... yeah... cheap piss is sick though. And free wifi. The rest is shit. Then again it's a conglomerate selling you sugary, fatty, cheaply produced packaged shite so they're going to suck anywhere. You also get that fake shitty sort of customer service in the states where they're told to pause exactly 10 seconds after 'hello sir, how are you?' and can't deviate off a script.

 

[Plugger35]

European continental breakfasts are shit compared to English breakfasts but they are healthier, you can't eat a good old fry up every morning unless you want a heart attack before you hit 50.

I do like croissants though, I could happily eat them every day for breakfast rather than eating boring old toast.

 

[Silent Alarm]

Toast is shit. Pointless carbs.

Life is better when you mix up your diet and drop the shit that's cheap and easy... there's a reason it is and there's a reason The Man likes you to eat it.

 

[ioppolo]

I haven't eaten breakfast properly since I was about 18. I guess having my mum nag me to eat Breakfast really turned me off it (more likely I became more health conscious and realized cereal and milk isn't always that healthy anyway)

 

[edgie]

I drink a couple of eggs

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[Scotland]

Isn't Brussels a shithole?

That's Brugges.

I expected Brooklyn to be like Super Melbourne but it isn't that trendy and like all of New York you're walking around for 45 minutes to get to another shop. It's not like here where every high street has 3-4 cafés even in country towns. Bagels are good but they too aren't very good for you and you feel like shit after one. American stuff is all super sugary, even the sauces in a sandwich. I love fried chicken and stuff but that's not where you want your diet to revolve around.

British supermarkets are tiny or massive out in the country, so it's hard to compare. American supermarkets are cool because 'wow super hot cheetos, mixed cheetos... look at that ****in salsa!' but when there's 30 aisles a good 80 metres long and there's one basket full of fruit... yeah... cheap piss is sick though. And free wifi. The rest is shit. Then again it's a conglomerate selling you sugary, fatty, cheaply produced packaged shite so they're going to suck anywhere. You also get that fake shitty sort of customer service in the states where they're told to pause exactly 10 seconds after 'hello sir, how are you?' and can't deviate off a script.

Brooklyn is like super Fitzroy or super Mt Lawley or something. Minus the good bits. That pretty painful show Two Broke Girls had it pegged. It's all about the newest and coolest thing/trend that no one knows about. One cafe or bakery with a line for 5 blocks rather than a strip of great cafes and bakeries. Go back 6 months later and the only customers are those who are slow on the uptake.

My mate bought us dinner from M&S. The idea of getting a supermarket meal from Coles or Woolies sounds like complete arse, but M&S actually sell decent stuff. The produce in the English shops surprised me given the climate and limitations on what they can produce year round. Cheap booze is great but you can get that in Europe and the UK and their supermarkets sell proper food. I remember wandering down the cereal aisle at Wal-Mart and there were enormous bags of shit equivalent to Froot Loops for a couple of bucks. Much bigger than the biggest boxes we have here. A small bag of museli/granola was $5-10. People who complain about eating healthy here being expensive need to try out America.

But I still had a lot of good meals in the US. You just have to go to w***er shops like Whole Foods and avoid the chains when looking for a restaurant. Biggest issue was portion size and endless refills. I ordered the smallest soft drink available because I didn't want 48 ounces of the shit, then every sip some ****er living off tips fills it up again. For the week I was in LA I was going out for breakfast of eggs, toast, bacon etc (and a mound of potatoes for some reason) and skipping lunch without feeling hungry at any stage. That never happens her even after the greasiest of fry ups.

 

[Silent Alarm]

Whole Foods is actually pretty good. I don't know if it's all with added sugar or it's packed with additives or what, it probably is, but the idea of something like that in Australia is good. Then again it feels a bit weird buying relatively expensive health foods from a big mega mart... better off going to your local Asian, Italian sort of places and sourcing your cheap fruit and veggies from there and nabbing your replacement stuff from specialty stores.

 

[The Passenger]

Ireland sounds drab.

Ireland is a great country to live (aside from the weather).

Beautiful countryside, particularly on the west coast. Pub life is second to none and the Aussie accent doesn't pop up as regularly as it does in the UK (particularly London) so your own novelty value is high - this can be put to great use with the females.

Also the music scene is brilliant in Dublin - very few bands touring the UK will miss out on a Dublin show as well.

Mind you when I was living there the celtic tiger was still roaring so pubs were full just about every night of the week. It took a pretty big hit and in 2010 the difference in atmosphere was noticeable, but over 2015 and 2016 it had largely recovered back into its vibrant self, albeit maybe 5-10% short of the glory days (or maybe that's because I was 10 years older). Looking forward to getting back over there this year.

Most places become better once you ingrain yourself into society and get a group of friends but I found this particularly true of Dublin. It doesn't have great architecture or tourist attractions like other European cities/countries so it needs to have great people and experiences.

 

[Scotland]

Whole Foods has good stuff, but it's full of fart sniffers.

Supermarkets here have lost their way. When you have a big store with plenty of turnover of stock you should have the freshest produce, but they don't. The local place selling a couple of kilos of apples a day shouldn't really be better, but they are. The chains are just focused on supplier deals with the big brands and multi-buy specials.

 

[Silent Alarm]

I remember this down and out classic Irish lad I met in Chicago was craving a coke after a big night out and was absolutely galled to have to drink La Croix mineral water as a substitute. Americans could barely understand me and don't call it 'coke' so he might as well have asked them for heroin, would've been the same confused look. We walked out and he goes 'I tort tey eat like shite here and the campaigners don't even do a cold can o coke? Thought the coke's supposed to be bigger den me ead!'

 

[Catfish Alley]

I think we have a good mix with supermarkets. We have Safeway, No Frills, Whole Foods, IGA but also local ones like Save On and Thriftys. Some specialty health stores like Pomme. Then you have the big guys like Superstore and Costco. Seems to be lots of options and always a good mix of fresh local stuff.

 

[MaddAdam]

Isn't Brussels a shithole?

Ireland sounds drab.

Parts of Brussels are indeed a shithole - Molenbeek being the prime example. At the same time, I used to walk through Molenbeek all the time and never had any hassle.

Brussels is also a magnificent party town, one of the best, Great food, great bars, great clubs. Its also massively international due to all the institutions there, and so many companies having their Euro HQs there.

It has a young often transient population of professionals.

For a single man, it is amazing, there's babes from all around Europe away from home, living life. It is relatively cheap, but you can get good wages. It also has tremendous transport all around Europe so doing weekends anywhere is a piece of piss.

There's also very few Aussies, and we have a good reputation there.

Seriously, if I were in my 20s again, and I knew how much fun can be had there, I'd have gone in a heartbeat.

 

[perthblue]

Not sure if 1984 qualifies as millennial

If you're born in the 80's then you're a millenial

Toast is shit. Pointless carbs.

Life is better when you mix up your diet and drop the shit that's cheap and easy... there's a reason it is and there's a reason The Man likes you to eat it.

did you just say 'The Man' unironically?

 

[Cuzz09]

Whats born in the 70s? GenY? GenX?

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[Catfish Alley]

I was born in 1980 and always thought of myself as Generation X. I think it ranges from 1965 to 1984.

 

[perthblue]

Whats born in the 70s? GenY? GenX?

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Boomers - 1955 - 1965
Gen X 1966 - 1976
Gen Y/Millenials 1977 - 1994
Gen Z 1995-2012

 

[Gough]

Dabbling in heroin in the 90s self identifies as GenX.

 

[perthblue]

Dabbling in heroin in the 90s self identifies as GenX.

you are firmly in Gen X (u old bastard )

 

[iluvparis]

I agree with a lot of what he said.

Having spent a good 6.5 months in Europe recently (not working at all, purely a holiday), as a big foodie myself, and at a relatively cashed up time in my life, compared to my early 20's when I spent 4 separate trips in Europe backpacking

I went to 20 of the top 40 restaurants in Europe based on the 17' Michellin guide, as well as another 200 of the highest rated medium and low cost restaurants all throughout Europe and particularly the UK.

I can say without a doubt, Australia, pound for pound has just about the best food in the world (irregardless of value for money, im talking purely quality of the food).

It absolute kicks the ass of the UK for the most part, including Italy and Spain. The top top restaurants between these countries are all similar, but your average restaurant in a Richmond/South Yarra/Malvern/Elsternwick vs South/North London etc etc consistently beats the hell out of even the best culinary areas of most of these countries.

France is the only place that holds a candle to Australian major cities when it comes to consistently good restaurants.

I think you underestimate how good quality even outer suburban suburbs of Australian cities have it (let alone blue chip restaurants and cafes in CBD's) particularly the cafe scene.

Australia is the undisputed king of breakfast food, I mean it's not even close, kind of embarrassing how Europe is compared to the quality of breakfast cafes in Melbourne and Sydney especially. Melbourne is one of the coffee capitals of the world as well. I'm not even a huge breakfast person either.

It's just a cultural thing that has developed over here in the last 30 years and it's noticeable compared to most of the rest of the world.

And I've travelled ALOT.

Agree that Australia is basically the king of breakfast food (well maybe the states) but that is because the Europeans realize breakfast is just a pathetic meal to tide you over until the real meals of the day arrive (lunch/dinner).

And I will repeat - anyone who thinks that outside of Asian food Australian suburbia has better food options than London truly has no clue.

As I said - which Aussie suburbs are doing quality French food at a reasonable cost?

Australian's truly think they are a foodie nation but compared to true global cities they have nothing special going for them. The QUANTITY of QUALITY restaurants that the likes of London Paris and NY have compared to Australia is incomparable.

 

[iluvparis]

I don't mind the coffee thing in Italy; old blokes strolling up the counter and having a latté is pretty cool. I've never been but apparently Greek breakfasts are something else.

Not sure if you've ever been to Italy if you think the old timers are drinking lattes.