Fusion, global travel of food

Nov 27th, 2022 Sunday Sunny

During my trip to Sydney, I had the fortune of dining in many interesting restaurants, but I did not find any “Australian” restaurant.

This is not surprising – after all, Australia is an immigrant country with a relatively short history (compared to more ancient countries like Japan), and its population makeup has shifted a few times even within this history of about five centuries. No cuisine is born out of blue. Instead, when immigrants arrive in a new country, they may try to continue cooking the same type of food that they are used to eat back in their home country, sometimes with adaptation (e.g. replacing hard-to-find ingredients with local substitutes, incorporating novel but abundant ingredients into familiar dishes). As a result, we often see restaurants that are reminiscent of a different ethnic cuisine, even if it may not be one hundred percent “authentic”.

Walking in the streets in Sydney, I could make out the featured cuisine of every restaurant, from a quick peek of their menu (sometimes even from the name). Chinese, Korean, Italian, Spanish, Japanese, Malaysian…you name it. None of them could be considered as “Australian”, because I can imagine (without trying hard) the same restaurant on a plaza in China, Korea, in an alley in Italy or Spain, etc.

Until I saw this one. Nepalese dumplings and poke bowls. What?!

To be fair, I have had both momo (Nepalese/Tibetan dumplings) and poke bowls before, and I liked both. Nevertheless, it was shocking to see them served in the same restaurant, next to each other. Momo is a traditional food from the Himalayan region, featuring easy-to-store ingredients that could last a long time in the landlocked area with limited supplies; whereas poke bowls originate from Hawaii, showcasing the freshness of seafood and lightly flavored vegetables. Momo is like a stout gnome, imbibed with wisdom but mellow; whereas poke is like a slim and muscular surfer, full of sunshine and vitality. The two foods that should never have met each other somehow came together in Sydney, a highly globalized multicultural center.

What is more intriguing was the fact that guests of this restaurant often order both side by side! In one meal, one could travel from the highest mountain in the world standing in the middle of the Eurasia continent to the tropical beach kissed by the Pacific ocean and far away from any land mass. What an experience!

Maybe this IS the essence of Australian cuisine. Rather than attempting to create something that is unique from all the heritage cultures that immigrants brought with them, Australians simply accept what comes in without judgment, and enjoy all with pleasure. That it tastes good is all that matters.

I remember the first meal we had in Sydney after getting off the plane, at an extremely packed Malaysian laksa diner in CBD. Most diners were locals and few of them seemed to have a Malaysian ethnic background. Still, by their logic, laksa is tasty, relatively healthy, quick (to serve and to eat), and the diner is conveniently located. Who cares how exotic it might be?

I guess this is one kind of fusion food, one that can only be encountered in a global village like Sydney. Two foods with drastically different cultural roots and characteristics co-exist under the same roof. Without the migration of billions of people from all over the world and a safe, welcoming haven, we would never dream of seeing them together.

But it happened. Isn’t it a miracle?

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