Australian Meat Pie

We arrived in Sydney on a very beautiful day with temperatures around 7C. The city seemed too quiet and most of the stores were closed until the driver told us that it was a national holiday, the Queen's Birthday! How easy it was to arrive at the hotel in Circular Quay, a big center. By the end of the day we decided to walk around and see the Harbour, the Opera House and the Botanical Gardens. I was so excited to look at the actual Opera House in front of me and the Harbour Bridge... Breathtaking! The Harbour was crowded with families and tourists enjoying the holiday and I thought to myself: "What kind of food makes them happy?"

Since my friend Ana told me about the meat pies everywhere in Australia, I decided to write down on my list of "must try". The traditional meat pie is prepared with gravy and chunks of meat and topped with tomato sauce if desired. I decided to try my first pie at Pie Face, a tiny franchise store located almost in front of our hotel. The franchise itself was founded in Sydney in 2003 by two fashion celebrities. They have different choices that are differentiated by the various faces drawn on top. I chose the traditional meat pie! I liked it but I thought that if it had less gravy it would be better. The day after I decided to try the meat pie with cheese and I think it tasted smoother, the gravy was not so strong.

The meat pie is one of the most popular consumed food items during a game. The popular brand Four'N'Twenty produces 50.000 pies per hour.

Now I have something to reproduce when I get back home. This is sure a comfort food comparing with the chicken pie in the US and the "empadas" in Brazil.

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Chegamos em Sydney num dia maravilhoso com temperatura media de 7C. A cidade estava muito tranquila e a maioria das lojas estavam fechadas ate que o motorista disse que era um feriado nacional, o "Aniversario da Rainha"! Foi facil chegar ate o hotel em Circular Quay, grande centro. No fim do dia decidimos explorar a regiao, o porto, a opera e o jardim botanico. Estava muito feliz em ver a opera de verdade na minha frente e a ponte... Maravilha! O porto estava cheio de familias e turistas curtindo o feriado e pensei: "Que tipo de comida deixa essa gente feliz?"

Desde que minha amiga Ana me falou sobre as tortas de carne em todos os cantos na Australia eu decidi colocar na minha lista. A torta de carne tradicional e feita com gravy (molho de carne) e pedacos de carne e o opcional molho de tomate por cima. Decidi experimentar a minha primeira torta na Pie Face, uma pequena loja franchise quase em frente ao hotel. A franchise foi criada em Sydney em 2003 por duas celebridades fashion. Eles tem varias opcoes que sao diferenciadas pelas carinhas desenhadas em cima da torta. Escolhi a tradicional de carne! Gostei mas acho que seria melhor se tivesse menos gravy. No dia seguinte decidi experimentar a de carne com queijo e achei mais suave, o gravy nao estava tao forte.

A torta de carne e uma das comidas populares mais consumidas durante jogos. A marca popular Four'N'Twenty produz 50.000 tortas por hora.

Agora ja tenho algo para reproduzir quando voltar para casa. Com certeza esta e uma "comfort food" comparada com a torta de frango nos EUA e a empada no Brasil.