My parents came to visit me while they were on holiday in and around NSW and the ACT a month ago. Much of their itinerary covered the multitudes of gastronomic options available in the region. One aspect of the food culture they had not counted on when arriving here, but that which my fiancé and I agreed should be part of their experience was the combined cafe, restaurant, sport bar. Especially, when the Bledisloe cup was at stake.
Dinner is a great time to get together and hang out, but more so when the rugby is on. The first match of the Bledisloe cup especially so. This circumstance is not uncommon for a New Zealand family, in New Zealand. But, I thought it would be interesting to see how things went down when completely surrounded by Australian rugby fans.
There had been a lot of build up in the press: Wallabies likely to win. There were many reasons brought forward to suggest why the Australians might be able to grasp the Bledisloe once more. None of those reasons were seemingly based in reality.
The new haka, Kapa O Pango certainly got the adrenaline pumping and no doubt was intimidating (a fact the Australian press whined about for days after in particular the throat slitting gesture which is 'too aggressive' but actually represents the cutting edge of sport, but other reasons have been suggested.)
Of Course the All Blacks won. But while the match was being decided there was something deliciously cheeky about cheering for the ABs tries and yelling 'Go Black!' in the middle of all the those Australians.
It turned out there was one other person in the bar also supporting NZ. She said she was asked to leave last time she saw an ABs match at the bar, and they won, being the only Kiwi supporter in the place that time.
As for the food and drinks, the beer selection was superb, varied, and interesting. (albeit expensive). The food was pleasant with Tapas (mostly beer battered chips but also chorizo making an apperance) and a pizza being sufficient over the course of a match to be satiating.
A highly recommended experience.
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