Decoding the Australian menu lingo

Understanding what the menu means is another entertaining aspect of traveling in Australia for me. Many of the food choices are rather self evident– it’s not too difficult to figure out that a hamburger “with the lot” is a hamburger with everything on it, for instance. But what “the works” means is a bit different here than what it would be in the US or Sweden. Typically, “the lot “will include a fried egg and beetroot (beets) in addition to lettuce, pineapple, tomato and onion.

Continuing on the fast food roll, a chicka roll is an egg roll type thing filled not with chicken but rather with veggies. A salad roll is actually a sandwich—it’s often a ham and cheese sandwich with lettuce and tomato, not just vegetables as I assumed the first time I ordered one. Pies are not of the dessert/fruit variety, but rather filled with different meats and maybe a few veggies, much as they would be in the UK. The condiment that you might want to put on your pie or roll is tomato sauce, otherwise known as ketchup in my part of the world. And the Lammington that I had today with tea is a biccie or what I would call a cookie made of coconut with a soft sponge cake like filling.

BYO means that you can bring your own bottle of wine in to the restaurant. While your server will charge you a small corking fee, you still will pay considerably less than you would in the restaurant itself. Meanwhile, where you buy your wine would be at a bottle shop, which is also where you can get beer and other types of alcohol.

It’s all rather interesting, isn’t it? And you thought the language was the same.

Tagged as: an American traveling in Australia, An American traveller, Australia, bottle shop, chicka roll, hamburger with the lot, Lammington, salad roll