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Breakfast – Longevity Bowl at Bondi Wholefoods or Savoury Rolls at Bourke St Bakery

Lunch – Daily Meal at Lentil As Anything

Post-Lunch Snack – Pork Square at Singapore Famous BBQ Pork

Dinner – Somewhere in Spice Alley

Desert – Cream Puffs at Emperor’s Garden Restaurant

Sydney is the city that has it all. Between the beach, the weather and the endless activities, it seems like there’s always something going on. What people who aren’t native to Australia talk about, it the food culture in this sprawling city.

As soon as I arrived, it seemed as though my friends and I would go from restaurant to restaurant, eating our way through heavenly portion of healthy (albeit expensive) food. With a fresh take on an acai bowl on every block, Sydney has more than enough eateries to keep you occupied during your time here. In fact, I had over 100 places on my list to go to, and sadly only managed to hit around a third of them!

While Sydney boasts an impressive array of Australian restaurants to get your fix of smashed avo or fresh fish, I was impressed by the magnificent variety of Asian cultures and foods that were represented.

Having never been to Asia prior to coming here, Sydney was my introduction to aromatic laksas, flavourful mi gorengs and tongue-burning-but-oh-so-good cream puffs.

With only 24 hours and so much to eat, you’ll need to make sure you spend your treasured meals in all the right places!

Breakfast – Longevity Bowl at Bondi Wholefoods or Savoury Rolls at Bourke St Bakery

It’s important to note that Sydney’s brunch game has got ‘it’. Now I don’t mean that they do brunch alright. I mean that they kill their brunch game. There are endless restaurants here that can supply you with instragram worthy deliciousness whether you’re looking for a potato skin tower (Mad Spuds Café) or green pea pancakes (Porch & Parlour). Both of which I tried. Both of which were amazing.

While it’s important to note that none of this food comes particularly cheap (around $20 a meal), you’re usually looking at great sized portions and really, really good food.

One of my go-to spots to start off the day was Bondi Wholefoods. If you’re a health nut, then welcome to your happy place. Filled with gluten free, vegan, or whatever-the-latest-thing-is options, this place has your fix.

When here, I would usually go for the longevity bowl, that’s filled with all sorts of healthy bits (kale, avocado, quinoa, fermented veggies, etc. etc.) baked and sauced in delicious ways. It’s absolutely pricey at $24, but an amazing way to start your day and carry you through to lunch.

Also of note is the famous Bourke St Bakery in Surry Hills. Pumping out some of Sydney’s best bread by the oven load, this spot will almost always have a line. Not only that, but you can smell the goods wafting through the air before you can see it.

While this was my go to spot for fancy breads, their lamb and pork rolls really can’t be beat. They’re fresh, they’re hot, and they’ll have the neighbourhood pigeons eyeing you down, swooping in as a soon as you inevitably create a crumby mess in your lap and onto the ground.

Lunch – Daily Meal at Lentil as Anything

Although a lot of the good eats in Sydney can feel like they cost you as much as your (astronomically high) rent, there’s one spot that is known for exactly the opposite.

Lentil as Anything is a community and volunteer run organization, that let’s you pay as much as you want for a filling and tasty vegetarian meal. The suggested donation is $10 – $15, but if your wallets feeling tight, there’s no judgement if you can’t leave some cash.

Very consistent with the Newtown suburb it sits in, you feel a bit as though you’re in a hippy commune, being served by tattoo sporting, friendly folk wearing tie dye t shirts and making chai tea. I remember going one time when I was crazy hungry, and I nervously asked if it’d be possible to have a second portion. I got an “absolutely!”, with the food coming out within minutes. It felt like I was a host in someone’s cozy home.

While there’s almost always a line up here (I mean, it is ‘free’ food), Lentil as Anything is a great stopping point for you to take some time to explore Newtown, one of my favourite Sydney suburbs.   

Post-Lunch Snack – Pork Square at Singapore Famous BBQ Pork

One of my all time favourite snacks that I stumbled upon was this tiny Chinatown hole in the wall called Singapore Famous BBQ Pork. There’s a guy standing in there serving up these incredible squares of pork all day, in mild and spicy variants. While eating squares of meat is hilarious, the snack itself is crazy tasty.

I have no idea what he puts on it or what it’s made actually of, but damn that’s some good pork.

As a side note, while you’re in Chinatown be sure to check out the famous Paddy’s Markets! This huge market has a food section and what I like to call a ‘chachka’ section, where you can buy all your souvenirs, sunglasses, phone cases, etc. on the cheap. 

Dinner – Somewhere at Spice Alley

After roaming Newtown and Chinatown, you’re probably getting ready for the final feed of the day. Well, any trip to Sydney wouldn’t be complete without stumbling upon the awesome cozy laneway that is Spice Alley.

Hidden in Chippendale and near Central Station, Spice Alley has your fix for Asian food – it’s like a outside food court filled with hawking vendors and fantastic smells.

With everything from Japanese okonomiyaki at Kyo-To, to Malaysian noodles at Old Jim Kee, to dumplings at Hong Kong Diner, this tucked away laneway can have you eating at a different spot for every day of the week. 

Desert – Cream Puffs at Emperor’s Garden Restaurant

The best way to end any night out in Sydney is always with a cream puff from the counter at Emperor’s Garden Restaurant. This little window churns out thousands of these steaming hot cream puffs a night, and at only a few dimes for each one, are a steal for a tasty desert. You can seriously impress a date by coming here, as this is a spot that the locals are always lining up to get a bite at.

Although your 24 hours in Sydney might be done, you can be happy that you ate absolutely everything necessary. Unfortunately, with new restaurants opening up what seems like everyday, you’re going to need to come back sometime soon to eat some more!