Things you miss about Oz?

[Red Rose]

Besides the weather (it is hard to top Sydney's weather IMO) for me it's got to be breakfasts and coffee. It's only when you get back to the UK do you realise that breakfasts and coffee down under are levels above the UK. 

[Cup Final 1973]

Certainly coffee.  You might be able to get good coffee in London but here in Yorkshire it’s dreadful.  They insist on serving latte in a huge glass which reminds me of what you used to get ice cream sundaes in.  Even if you ask for double or treble shot it doesn’t compare to coffees in Oz.

[HappyHeart]

Isn't there a few coffee chains in UK now? Are they any good? Love my coffee. 

[Red Rose]

26 minutes ago, HappyHeart said:

Isn't there a few coffee chains in UK now? Are they any good? Love my coffee. 

Costa coffee just taste like hot milk to me. I miss the real bite of Australian coffee. My flat whites in the UK just don't seem as consistently good or punchy as they were down under. 

[HappyHeart]

1 minute ago, Red Rose said:

Costa coffee just taste like hot milk to me. I miss the real bite of Australian coffee. My flat whites in the UK just don't seem as consistently good or punchy as they were down under. 

That's a shame....I know what you mean though. Strong yet smooth. I've had some amazing coffee in Perth and the South West but also some absolute rubbish. Long mac topped up with almond milk is my go to. Apparently LMTU is a WA 'thing' and gets laughed at in Melb. It's the bomb. Served in a small glass and packs a fabulously caffeinated punch. 

[Marisawright]

43 minutes ago, HappyHeart said:

Isn't there a few coffee chains in UK now? Are they any good? Love my coffee. 

When we were there, Caffe Nero was the only chain capable of serving a drinkable coffee.

[Tulip1]

5 hours ago, Marisawright said:

When we were there, Caffe Nero was the only chain capable of serving a drinkable coffee.

We have one near my workplace, they serve some nice things in there.

[Rallyman]

I remember getting one on a trip back to uk at local shopping Center I think from costa , one sip and down the plug hole absolutely disgusting . 

[rammygirl]

Yes I love the fact you can turn up at a servo in the middle of nowhere and still get a good coffee.  I do not like the trend towards the lighter hazelnutty roasts in some of the trendier spots though. 
Costa was very patchy, some franchises obviously not following the rules! I did like Nero though, always a good robust roast.

 

[Quoll]

I really dislike strong coffee - I like it light and I like cream with it, and that's generally quite hard to find in Australia.  

What I missed about Australia when I lived in UK were the wide parking spaces - now, them, I really appreciate but I note that the current trend for the Toorak tractors is making even those look a little miserly these days.  The other thing I missed was my shower - I love my shower, it's good and powerful and the temperature regulation is perfect.

[Marisawright]

1 hour ago, rammygirl said:

Yes I love the fact you can turn up at a servo in the middle of nowhere and still get a good coffee.  I do not like the trend towards the lighter hazelnutty roasts ...

It all comes down to your definition of a "good coffee" .   Most urban Australians are used to an intense Arabica, so that's what we'd call a good coffee.  We'd classify 90% of British and American coffee as dishwater.  But equally, many Brits and Americans would find our coffee undrinkable.

When I was in the UK, I often lamented missing good coffee, so people would recommend me to their favourite cafés which supposedly had great coffee.  Mostly they were putrid by my (Austrailan) standard.

[rammygirl]

The public BBQ facilities. Public toilets here are much cleaner and better than in the UK too.

[Marisawright]

When I was in the UK, I missed the "Cheap Eats" of Sydney - inner-city restaurants and cafés offering high quality meals at very good prices.  Now I'm in Melbourne, I realise that was a Sydney phenomenon rather than an Australian one. 

[Parley]

The $1 Coffee at 7-11 is a bargain and a nice coffee for the price.

The McCafe coffee is very nice too.

don't know if either are available in the UK. McCafe should be. It started in Australia and went worldwide.

Edited May 29, 2021 by Parley

[HappyHeart]

24 minutes ago, Parley said:

The $1 Coffee at 7-11 is a bargain and a nice coffee for the price.

The McCafe coffee is very nice too.

don't know if either are available in the UK. McCafe should be. It started in Australia and went worldwide.

My husband is obsessed with 7-11 coffee. It doesn't quite hit the spot for me. Just getting my morning take away from a small local drive through. The small independent usually do the best coffee. Dome isn't bad though. 

[Toots]

1 hour ago, Marisawright said:

It all comes down to your definition of a "good coffee" .   Most urban Australians are used to an intense Arabica, so that's what we'd call a good coffee.  We'd classify 90% of British and American coffee as dishwater.  But equally, many Brits and Americans would find our coffee undrinkable.

When I was in the UK, I often lamented missing good coffee, so people would recommend me to their favourite cafés which supposedly had great coffee.  Mostly they were putrid by my (Austrailan) standard.

Yes, on the whole the coffee in the USA is dishwater - horrible stuff. I had good coffee in London - independent coffee shop - and  preferred a pot of tea in Scotland as the coffee was too weak and milky for me.  It took a wee while to find a nice coffee shop here in Devonport but found one I like    ..................  not that I go that often   -  usually when meeting with friends.  I can go days without a cup of coffee.  Don't need to have a daily coffee fix.  

[ramot]

4 hours ago, Marisawright said:

It all comes down to your definition of a "good coffee" .   Most urban Australians are used to an intense Arabica, so that's what we'd call a good coffee.  We'd classify 90% of British and American coffee as dishwater.  But equally, many Brits and Americans would find our coffee undrinkable.

When I was in the UK, I often lamented missing good coffee, so people would recommend me to their favourite cafés which supposedly had great coffee.  Mostly they were putrid by my (Austrailan) standard.

I only drink decaf coffee, yes I know it’s not real coffee!, but i drink it for health reasons and it was undrinkable in England. 

[newjez]

22 minutes ago, ramot said:

I only drink decaf coffee, yes I know it’s not real coffee!, but i drink it for health reasons and it was undrinkable in England. 

I like decaff. I find after three of four cups of super in the morning I'm buzzing and I need a non caffeine drink.

[SoniaG]

I am not a coffee addict but i enjoy it with my breakfasts if am dining out otherwise am a tea kinda gal. But the thing i miss the most are the Aussie meat pies :(

[Tulip1]

6 hours ago, Quoll said:

I really dislike strong coffee - I like it light and I like cream with it, and that's generally quite hard to find in Australia.  

What I missed about Australia when I lived in UK were the wide parking spaces - now, them, I really appreciate but I note that the current trend for the Toorak tractors is making even those look a little miserly these days.  The other thing I missed was my shower - I love my shower, it's good and powerful and the temperature regulation is perfect.

They do have nice wide parking bays in Australia.  Some here are so small.  I drive a Fiesta and find them small, big cars must really struggle in many car parks. 

[Tulip1]

5 hours ago, Parley said:

The $1 Coffee at 7-11 is a bargain and a nice coffee for the price.

The McCafe coffee is very nice too.

don't know if either are available in the UK. McCafe should be. It started in Australia and went worldwide.

I’ve never heard of McCafe coffee but maybe it’s available in the big cities.  

[Red Rose]

I went through a phase where I thought 7/11 coffee was the future, tasted really good and a quarter of the price of my $4 barista coffee, until one day I bought one and the milk they were using had gone off. It turned my stomach and I never bought another one again. As much as I love coffee, I spent far too much on it, probably close to $2k a year on barista coffee. 

 

[Wanderer Returns]

22 hours ago, Red Rose said:

Besides the weather (it is hard to top Sydney's weather IMO) for me it's got to be breakfasts and coffee. It's only when you get back to the UK do you realise that breakfasts and coffee down under are levels above the UK. 

I don't know why but for some reason I thought you were over here, not in the UK.

I know you said 'besides the weather' but for me that's such a huge factor. I probably wouldn't have returned here if it wasn't for the weather. I'd be living in Spain or Portugal instead. I'd definitely miss the coffee too. In the UK I'd only drink my own from one of those Italian stove-top expresso makers, but over here I buy it when I'm working because the quality is so good. Breakfasts here are overpriced and pretentious IMHO. This morning I saw a sign $15 for smashed avocado on sourdough toast, but you could add a poached egg for only an extra $5 - give me strength! The No.1 thing I'd miss (if I wasn't here) would be the pleasantness you get from most people when you walk into a shop, restaurant, or just in casual conversation. Even normally-surly teenagers give you the time of day. Always being able to park the car, and for the most part it being free is another luxury that's never taken for granted. Enjoying a swim in the sea for most months of the year. The list goes on. For the most part, bureaucracy here is a lot more straightforward too. We're in the process of buying a house, and I can't believe how easy it's been - although I shouldn't tempt fate because we're not quite there yet!

[Toots]

1 hour ago, Tulip1 said:

They do have nice wide parking bays in Australia.  Some here are so small.  I drive a Fiesta and find them small, big cars must really struggle in many car parks. 

I drive an old Toyota Corolla so usually not a problem to park here.  I walk to the shops but if I do need to drive, I prefer to go first thing in the morning as later on the car parks at the supermarkets are full of stonking bluddy duel cabin utes.  They seem to be the transport of choice here and the drivers are usually pretty shocking.  They all seem to struggle to park up properly then fling their door open - they don't care who is parked nearby or walking close to them.  A touch of I'm alright Jack and bugger everyone else.  

 

[Dusty Plains]

46 minutes ago, Toots said:

I drive an old Toyota Corolla so usually not a problem to park here.  I walk to the shops but if I do need to drive, I prefer to go first thing in the morning as later on the car parks at the supermarkets are full of stonking bluddy duel cabin utes.  They seem to be the transport of choice here and the drivers are usually pretty shocking.  They all seem to struggle to park up properly then fling their door open - they don't care who is parked nearby or walking close to them.  A touch of I'm alright Jack and bugger everyone else.  

 

A very nice Ford Ranger there, the same model as mine in fact.

Yep... us Ranger ute types are fairly bombastic when it comes to parking but only because the FR would have to be the worst car to park, ever. Rangers are long and for some reason the view in the side mirrors ( especially when reverse parking) is more the parallax view rather than the actual view. I went to Bunnings this afternoon and parked in the usual spacious parking bays. Sitting the drivers seat, you cannot see the lines on the parking bay (I have to open the door and look down onto the tarmac in hope of spotting a white line that delineates the actual parking bay).  And those mirrors..