Great Australian Bites
Adam & Poh’s Great Australian Bites asks the question: what is Australia’s national dish?
The brand-new series follows the dynamic duo across the country to discover the cuisine behind our culture
Wide open roads, big blue skies, wind in our hair and classic tunes on the car stereo – a good old road trip is hard-wired into Australian’s DNA, and who better to journey with than two of our best and most beloved cooks, besties Adam Liaw and Poh Ling Yeow. In the brand-new series Adam & Poh’s Great Australian Bites, join the dynamic duo as they cover our sweeping plains, epic coastlines, and sparkling cities in search of Australia’s national dish. Stream first from Tuesday 8 August on SBS On Demand and at 8pm on SBS Food to discover the cuisine that’s helped build our history, creativity, and culture.
Adam and Poh start their travels in the heart of Australia at Uluru, moving on to Darwin and Kakadu where they explore Australia’s original First Nations cuisine and subsequent multiculturalism. Then travelling through regional Victoria, the pair gains further insight into the three culinary pillars of any Australian town; a pub, a bakery, and a Chinese restaurant. They head to Tasmania to investigate the great Aussie meat pie, and in South Australia they discover how Australia’s love of café culture took Australian brunch to the world stage. In Sydney surrounded by the icons of Australia, they look at the icons of Australian food and create a truly spectacular cake, before ending up in Canberra – our national capital – to answer once and for all what our national dish might be.
Along the way, Adam and Poh catch up with a stellar list of friends who have shaped both the culinary and cultural fabric of Australia, including Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, iconic artist Ken Done, South Australia’s favourite Maggie Beer, Australian politician and former Wallabies captain David Pocock, the Australian Women’s Weekly’s renowned queen of cookery Pamela Clark, celebrity chef and food icon Elizabeth Chong, TV personality Peter Everett, Australia’s preeminent providore of seafood John Susman, and Executive chef and owner at Pilu At Freshwater Giovanni Pilu.
Get ready to be inspired, whether it be to head to the shops to get ready for dinner, or to a far-reaching town to try the local’s speciality. Australian cuisine isn’t just defined by the latest chef or hottest restaurant, but by what we cook and create ourselves. Afterall, to get to know a country, you must first know its food.
Presenter, Adam Liaw, said: “There’s so much to love about Australian food, but we tend to focus too much on the fancy, cheffy stuff. The heart of Australian food is in the vanilla slice, pub schnitzel and mum’s spag bol. We’re a country where everyone has their favourite laksa place, fights over where makes the best banh mi and has a strong opinion on whether tomato sauce or barbecue goes on a bacon and egg roll. It’s about time we celebrated the food that we all know and love, and I’ve loved getting out on the road with Poh to do just that!”
Presenter, Poh Ling Yeow said: “Travelling across the vast Australian landscape and experiencing myriad food traditions reawakens stories of belonging and migration. From old Chinese restaurants in Ballarat with untouched decades old menus to mind blowing Bahn mi in Canberra. It’s been wonderful to learn of the stuff we’re made of and why I think Australia has one of the most tenacious food cultures in the world. Then to properly hang with some of my trailblazing childhood heroes like Elizabeth Chong and Ken Done was the cherry on the cake.”
Emily Griggs, SBS Head of Food, said: “This road trip is a celebration of Australian food and friendship, with classic takes on some of our favourite dishes. From nostalgic treats like Vanilla Slice to native ingredients, to curried pies and laksa, Tune in to find out why Australia is truly the most exciting culinary destination on the planet.”
Adam & Poh’s Great Australian Bites is an i8 Studio production for SBS and airs Tuesdays from 8 August, stream first on SBS On Demand, followed by 8pm on SBS Food.
SBS and i8 Studios would like to thank the following program partners for their support on this series: Visit Canberra, Tourism NT, Visit VIC, The Ghan, The Spirit of Tasmania, Jeep and Cape Grim Beef.
The series will be available to stream on SBS On Demand with subtitles in Arabic, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Korean, and Vietnamese.
Get the recipes that are cooked along the way at sbs.com.au/food.
