Make sure you pick up a meat pie. They're delicious!

I had some black colored ice cream just outside of Cairns, and it was amazing. We just always ordered things we didn't recognize, and were frequently rewarded with wonderful new tastes. Have fun!

Had my honeymoon there in 2008. An interesting bar food found in Melbourne and Sydney is potato wedges with chili sauce and sour cream. It's great, especially with some Aussie beer. Barramundi, a local fish, is also very tasty. There are interesting fruits around too. Kangaroo is available in a lot of places, but we didn't try it. I was willing, wife was not.

Due to the close proximity to Asia, there are lots of Asian foods especially Malaysian.

When you're in Cairns, see if you can get up to the Daintree Rainforest. It's awesome. Two interesting places are the Tropical Fruit Winery http://www.shannonvalewine.com.au/ and the Daintree Ice Cream Company http://www.australiablog.com/places-to-go/the-daintree-ice-cream-company.html

Enjoy.

Kangaroo - tasty and very lean. Rock buns (not dissimilar to a scone but less manicured in shape) and of course saltbush lamb - so delicious. My Oz experiences were mainly in South Australia.

My Australian MIL always gets Tim Tams, jams and jellies from native fruits, and local lamb when she's there.

The honeycomb Tim Tams! They're the BEST. Also eat at Grill'd- they have DELICIOUS burgers and sandwiches- including my favorite- the chickpea burger with a roasted red pepper and tzatziki sauce. Yum!

TIM TAM SLAM!

You must try the local Asian especially the Malaysian like @ PBELARDO said, you will see how mislead we are here in the US, but be prepared for the sushi to be different- fewer fried items and more lighter rolls.

A great way to meet and chat up locals besides a pub is at their many local cafes. It seems everyone there starts their morning right with incredible coffee and protein heavy breakfasts.

Have a wonderful trip!

You can get Tim Tams in the US now via Pepperidge Farm, but I believe the recipe is ever-so-slightly different, but equally delicious.

Oh yes - order a hamburger "with the lot" - it comes with an egg and a slice of beet!

Meat pies! Local seafood of course--if you're in Sydney, visit the big fish market at lunchtime where you can get stuff cooked to order. Oh, and go to Bill's in Sydney--there are a few locations, the food is wonderful (esp. the ricotta pancakes at brunch). Ooh, and at cafes order banana bread--they usually fry it up in a pan with butter. Yum. At cafes I also had a lot of fantastic breakfasts of simply poached eggs on toast with arugula ("rocket"). Some of the best arugula I've ever had, go figure.

We were in Australia for our honeymoon a few years ago, and honestly the food was just GREAT across the board, even in the simplest little cafes and sandwich shops and in tiny little country towns. Just good fresh ingredients prepared simply but well. And very good coffee everywhere too.

My favorite thing was my morning breakfast roll. Eggs and tasty cheese. I'm not sure if it was so good because I was starving or if it was really just good.

Eatopcracy has an Australia Day article today:
http://eatocracy.cnn.com/2012/01/26/55-australia-day-delights/
= Burger / meat pie / crab bake / sticky date pud / pavlova

Tim Tams! And Gloria Jean's coffee is delish.

Try to get some sparkling wine, not champagne, but sparkling red wines. They're delicious. My husband's manager is Australian and whenever he goes to Oz for a visit with the family, he always brings back 2 cases of sparkling shiraz. We had some at one of his dinner parties and it's really good.

meat pies!

Kebabs!!!!! I looooove Australian kebabs more than anything (I like chicken with sweet chili sauce). Lamingtons are definitely necessary too. Tim Tams you can get at Cost Plus World Market here, but they have so many different kinds in Australia. Sausage Rolls are really good too. OH! And pavlovas (although they are less Australian anymore, they have such good ones there!). Finally - try to get fresh passion fruits. They are amazing, and I can't ever get them fresh in the US!!!!

My list is mostly duplicates...definitely honeycomb Tim Tams. I think I've tried every kind and they're by far the best. Forbidden Fruit gummies are quite tasty. I found them once in NYC but they're just not the same. Potato wedges with sweet chili and sour cream are a must.

If you like beer, I love Toohey's New. Don't drink Foster's. Gross. And you absolutely must try a Cherry Ripe bar.

And lamingtons, as pictured above. They remind me of the cafeteria at my uni during my semester abroad.

the seafood in Sydney is some of the best I've ever had in my life - oysters and sushi, especially! And there are some fabulous ethnic cuisines throughout Australia that are not so readily available in the states, like Balinese, Laotian, Indonesian, etc.

Definitely go for the lamingtons, too. And Bundaberg ginger beer.

Yum Cha! It's similar to American dim sum, but the Sunday brunches have the most fantastic and fresh offerings.

Also, eat your weight in Pavlova and Lilli Pilli jam.

Double-dipped Cherry Ripe candy bars are a must and I really like the fish and chips. Flat whites from the coffee bar are a lovely afternoon treat.

OMG, I could make you a list that would take weeks just for Melbourne! Be sure to grab some flake & chips, lots of cappuccinos dusted with cocoa powder, and a fresh, hot waffle from the cart in DeGraves. If you hop the train out to Yarraville (just past the showgrounds), Bopha Devi has the best Cambodian food in town, and you can finish the evening with a choc top (chocolate dipped ice cream cone) and a movie at the Sun Theater! Pretty much any random cafe will give you a great brekkie (breakfast), but I always recommend getting one that comes with roasted tomatoes and sauteed mushrooms... :)

Side note: I wouldn't bother with pizza or Mexican restaurants in Melbourne. The pizzas always tasted like saltines with ketchup and ham, and speaking as a Southern California transplant, the Mexican seasonings were way off...

Not one mention of Vegemite on toast yet? Pavlova is also a must as well as any BQQ you can find.

I spent 10 days in Sydney last year for vacation and enjoyed the very good Thai food, kangaroo (hopefully not overcooked), and Australian wine. A friend had me bring back all varieties of Tim Tams I could find at the time (seven different ones) as well... The lamington in the pic for this post is nice, if you like pound cake with jam covered in chocolate and coconut.

Meat pies, pavlova, and mangosteens!

I became a vegemite convert-- on toast with avocado or cheddar cheese (they call it tasty there) it's delicious. We also enjoyed all the Thai food we had there. Our Aussie friends said it was the most reliably good ethnic food there.

tim tams - they only come in like 2 flavors in the USA - in australia they come in 48237482743 flavors. also vegemite and paplovas!!! YUM!

Kangaroo and Barramundi! And Moreton Bay Bugs (a local type of slipper lobster). Soooo delicious! Also, local fruits, so fresh and so ripe, we woke up every morning while we were in Port Douglas and picked mangoes from the tree outside our room... best breakfast ever.

OH! And while you're in Cairns, try some of the local cane sugar juice. A lovely treat.

Kealoha is right, don't waste your time on Mexican food in Aus, we're closer to Asia so you are more likely to find good Thai and Chinese. Our Pizza can be pretty good though, depends where you go and what you expect a Pizza to taste like.
Don't be frightened to try Roo or Emu, they are pretty tasty. But I wouldn't order either of them rare, even though you can get Kangaroo in the supermarket now, they are still game meats and should be well cooked.
In Sydney try Harry's Cafe de Wheels, go to a Yum Cha (Marigold is my favourite, but you have to get there around 11 for lunch if you want a good spot on the weekend) and have a good pub meal.

I remember watching a food travel show where whoever the host was went to a fruit market to try various tropical fruits. That would probably be the only absolutely-cannot-miss item on my Australia check list. Since a lot of tropical fruits simply cannot be transported very far without losing all of their original deliciousness, being that close to the source makes for some of the best fruit in the world, much of which you will never see in America.

Australians are really serious about their food. There's all kinds of multicultural influences, especially Asian, all over Australia. This is really what you need to try and experience.

Pretty much every area has some kind of farmers market at least monthly. There you will find indigenous ingredients like macadamia nut and lemon myrtle, local seafood, salt-bush lamb and more.

I'm still working my way to try Marmite.

There are lots of great asian restaurants as well as good cafes that are worth visiting. The variety of fresh ingredients means that there is a huge range of cuisines that you can choose from. You also must try Australian wines, especially if you like big flavoursome reds like Shiraz or Cabernet. Being from South Australia, I recommend South Australian wines especially from the Coonawarra, McLaren Vale or Clare.

It's been said already, but I can recommend the tim tam slam too. It's more of a ritual, but it's fun, tastes pretty cool, and is super for conversation-starting with locals!!

violet crumble chocolate!

Thanks everyone! I'm actually heading out today and am sooo excited to try everything you've mentioned!!!

TimTam cookies all over the country, Barramundi fish in Cairns, Burger with "the lot" (grilled onions, bacon, lettuce, tomato, fried egg, grilled pineapple, beets, and ketchup and/or sweet chile sauce) which can be had all over, vegemite or marmite on buttered toast for breakfast (be careful with this. it's not meant to be spread on thick like jam. a paper thin layer is all that's needed), one of the most common pizzas ordered in Australia is bacon and egg, Victoria Bitter beer in Melbourne, and Thai restaurant is going to be great, pub food is a must too (can't beat bangers and mash or a good meat pie)

Chicken Parmigiana or simply "Parma" seems to be a national pub food obsession. As others have mentioned in Melbourne it's hard to find bad independent coffee, or food.
There's food blogging a plenty all around Australia so not hard to find good tips.

breakfast at bills in sydney!
sticky date pudding!
king island dairy creme desserts (near the yoghurts, also delicious) & ki brie!

Check out the blog Melbourne Gastronome for a great write up on Melbourne restaurants: http://www.melbournegastronome.com/

Enjoy eating your way through my home town! You're sure to love it! And if you get a chance get down to Tasmania for some beautiful idyllic scenery and great fresh produce - oysters, wines, cheeses! xx

I'll second @brookynnina on bills for breakfast - it's usually our first stop. Be sure to try some Yarra Valley feta and these sweet chilli and sour cream chips: http://www.smiths.com.au/brands/red-rock-deli.htm. If you find you like wattleseeds, try to bring some home. Impossible to find in the States.

Go to "Harry's Cafe de Wheels" in Woolloomooloo in Sydney - the best pies in Sydney :-)

After 10 months in Sydney, below are a few selected highlights in my culinary adventure:
- Beef Rolls at Billy Kwong's
- Secret Tacos at El Loco (they won't tell you until you've had it)
- Polenta and the Crab Pasta at North Bondi Italian
- 8hr cooked Lamb at Porteno
- Any coffee at Single Origin roasters

Following 4 years in Geneva/Switerland, it's clear these guys take food very seriously -just as seriously as London and Paris. You'll have a great time!

Vegemite, obviously! (Prepared properly - this means buttered bread and a THIN scraping of Vegemite. Do not spread it like peanut butter, you will regret it.)

Barramundi is delicious. Being a country where most of the population is around the coast, our seafood is world class - try visiting the Sydney Fish Markets, they're an attraction unto themselves. Try as much as possible! Sydney oysters are really, really good.

The sweet stuff - you have to try Tim Tams. Unfortunately, the best mangoes (Kensington Pride!) are at the end of their season, but you can possibly get Calypsos. Way better than Mexican mangoes, in my opinion. Try chocolate bars just for the variety! And we have things like Violet Crumbles, Malteasers, Picnic bars, et cetera, that you just cannot get in the States. (Seriously. When I was there for six months, I requested a care package just of chocolates!)

And pavlova! You cannot leave the country without trying pavlova!

You have to try a meat pie or a sausage roll with tomato sauce. (Note - what we call tomato sauce is more like your ketchup, but not as sweet.)

In Cairns, as much fresh fruit as humanely possible. You're in the tropics up there - take advantage of it! Get fresh macadamias, too - I've had them in the States and they just don't compare to 'practically straight off the tree'.

As mentioned elsewhere - arugula here is called rocket. There's also other differences in names, keep an eye out.

Unfortunately, I'm going to have to disagree with tuttidolci - please don't buy coffee at Gloria Jean's. They support some very unethical programs. Try the wealth of independent coffee shops instead, we have a lot of them! (Especially in Melbourne. There's a joke there that there's one for everyone. Literally.)

Seconding the suggestion to never drink Foster's XD Actually, most places don't even sell it...

Anyway. Have fun!

I second RYTTU3K: Do not support Gloria Jean's. For one, they are financially involved with Hillsong, a batshit-crazy Christian megachurch. They're also financially involved with an anti-choice, anti-gay women's mental "health" organisation. For another, they're basically like a smaller-scale Starbucks, i.e. the coffee is shit and comes with flavoured syrups. Every proper city in Australia has excellent coffee as long as you go to an independent cafe.

I also second the prompt to *not* drink Fosters, but need to add that contrary to AGREEN10's advice you SHOULD NOT try Victoria Bitter. VB is disgusting, weak, ultra-chemically piss. Try Coopers, Little Creatures, Boag's or Cascade. Also, I have never in my life seen a bacon and egg pizza.

If you're going to Melbourne or Sydney, buy a copy of either The Age/Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide, or The Age/SMH Cheap Eats Guide, from a newsagent or bookshop. And if you're in Melbourne, buy the Tuesday edition of The Age to get Epicure, a really great food lift-out.

But anyway, just to reiterate what others have said, absolute Aussie classics are:
meat pie or sausage roll with sauce
lamingtons
pav
seafood local to where ever you are
a smear of Vegemite on hot buttered toast
mangos, passionfruit, paw paw, etc
nobody's mentioned Milo – isn't this just an Australian thing?

And don't go to Canberra.

Enjoy a Flat White at St. Ali in South Melbourne and brunch at Servery and Spoon near Caulfield North. Also brunch at Brown Sugar in Bondi and dinner at Bootleg Bar and Italian Food in Kings Cross. Order heaps of avocado always because it's just perfect down-under. Also fresh fish and fruits.

It's always interesting to see how our food is regarded by other countries. A few things I'd like to add.

Fosters isn't readily available in Australia. Kind of an inside joke for us when it's 'Australia's Favorite Beer' overseas. I'm not very big on beer so I won't make suggestions, but Bunaberg Rum is very distinct in flavour against most other Rum varieties. When i drank it while living in the UK memories of home came flooding back ^^. also, mount gay rum is worth trying to if you come across a pub that has it (more likely in Cairns as it is a QLD rum).

If you like seafood, Moreton Bay bug is a must. Also Kangaroo is fantastic. As for how it is cooked it should be treated like lamb and be blushing or it gets quite tough as it is a very lean meat (And healthy). these days in Australia we have Kangoroo sections in Supermarkets that rival the pork and lamb sections for choice.

As has been pointed out most Australia food is fusion styles with Asian influences.

Likely the most 'Australian' dish is the Meat Pie Floater. (Google image it :p)

Anyway some things not mentioned yet are Caramello Koalas, small little chocolates filled with caramel. Crocodile which should be available in Cairns. Breaka Chocolate milk (I missed that sooo much when I was overseas)

but yeah. Enjoy ^^

Amy,
Short history (but with purpose) - First Australians are the Aboriginals, then British convict years, Chinese came 1850's during the gold rush years, Afghani, Turkish and Pakistani brought over camels to explore the inner country, the early Japanese for fishing and pearl diving, Islanders in the top half, heaps of Europeans came over after WWII, but in particular a massive wave of immigrants came over in the 50's and 60's to build 'modern Australia' which was the big Italian and Greek influx. People fleeing war torn or political unrest include Hungarian, Czech, Chilean, Vietnamese, and Polish. Latest arrivals are African, Middle Eastern, anyone I have missed? Everyone came and shared their food culture, it is something that foodie Aussies love and are proud of. If you scout around you will be able to find great food from any of those countries and some.
But, specifically Melbourne has a massive Greek population (actually the biggest outside Greece) so great Greek food there. Look for 'Mod Oz'. They also have an amazing coffee and laneway culture.
Sydney is a different melting pot and also has great clusters of foodie heaven dotted around the suburbs. Some amazing Vietnamese and Thai restaurants in Inner West of Sydney. Chinatown full of wonderful restaurants, actually there are suburbs for specific regional Chinese.. but that's another story. Sydney fish markets is a must.
QLD - eat as much tropical fruit and seafood as you can.
Due to proximity to Asia we have some truly amazing Asian food, our Southern American food is relatively new so if you are already spoilt perhaps stay away. Check out www.eatability.com.au or urbanspoon, they are pretty good reference points.
Finally we love our beer, and have an amazing wine industry. You are in for an absolute treat.
Hope you have a truly wonderful holiday
Cheers

If you're up in the area, try and get to a place called the Daintree Ice Cream Company. They have a huge orchard where they grow all sorts of off-the-wall, not seen in the states fruit, and then they make them into ice cream! I went there as part of a day tour through the Daintree Rainforest out of Port Douglas (north of Cairns). Otherwise I heartily recommend ANY meat pies you can get your hands on, as well as Kangaroo (pairs well with a local Shiraz), Barramundi and Tim Tams. The David Jones department store in Sydney has the most amazing food court in the basement worth a visit. Pick up some yum Aussie olive oil and pink Murray River salt!