Nowadays no weekend is considered complete without a trip to a local trendy café or a meal at home for everyone’s favourite time of day: brunch. According to a recent survey conducted by Beacon, Britons spend a staggering £76m a day on going out for breakfast and brunch, whereas Americans are spending nearly $1 billion a month on avocado toast alone according to research by Square. Here at IAG Cargo, we’ve seen an uptake in shipments of Aussie brunch staple halloumi – a world leader in brunch inventions, we take a look at some of the best brunch dishes from Australia making waves across the world.
Avocado on toast
An international phenomenon, no one really knows who came up with the genius idea of spreading avocado on toast, occasionally adding chili, feta or lime to elevate the dish. Heralded as the reason millennials can’t afford to buy houses, ‘smashed’ avocado on toast undeniably has the most notorious reputation of all the brunch foods.
Halloumi and chilli jam
A popular stomping ground for vegetarians, vegans and lovers of healthy eating, Australian restaurants have been reinterpreting traditional Western pairings to make them lighter and more interesting since the Sydney ‘brunch boom’ in the 1990s. Perfect on top of a salad or in a burger, this Cypriot, slightly rubbery cheese has won the hearts of the world over, most recently China. If ever in doubt of Australians’ dedication to halloumi, IAG Cargo recently transported 12 tonnes of the cheese from Cyprus to Sydney with ‘Constant Fresh’ ready for those weekend treats. Or if that doesn’t convince you, just take a visit to Melbourne during the annual halloumi festival.
Ricotta pancakes with honeycomb butter
Fluffy pancakes and mouth-watering honeycomb butter top the majority of menus in Australia and of course, America – homeland of the short stack. The main difference? The Aussie version leans to Eastern Europe for inspiration – the Russian ‘syrniki’ and honey reimagined to appeal to a Western audience. Brought to global fame by Aussie restauranteur Bill Granger, ricotta pancakes are now a bestseller across his successful chain of restaurants worldwide.
Bowls – veggie, acai, smoothie, poke
Bowls are no longer just for cereal and porridge – grains have become a bed for grilled veggies, salmon sashimi, zesty dressings, avocados and eggs galore. For lovers of fruit, smoothie and acai bowls offer a sweet but still light and healthy alternative.
Flat White
Although not technically a food, this cross between a latte and a cappuccino is a mid-1980s Sydney invention that made the switch from an artisan coffee item to a mainstream favourite, available in most high street coffee chains and even fast food restaurants worldwide.
Eggs on eggs with eggs on the side
Scrambled, poached, fried, coddled, soft-boiled, hard-boiled – the options are endless. What’s the adage? Everything is better with an egg on it, or in some cases – in it (avocados of course).