Sydney’s most Instagram friendly foods revealed
They are the little known and affordable Sydney foods that have the X-factor on Instagram. They’re also a saving grace for businesses. Here’s our edit of the best dishes in town.
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Savvy food retailers are cashing in on Australia’s hunger for unique experiences at home by creating foods that not only taste and look good in real life, but also attract eyeballs online.
Marketing experts say while coronavirus has shut down the physical hospitality industry multiple times throughout the year – social media never sleeps and could be the saving grace for businesses.
Macquarie University consumer marketing expert Associate Professor Jana Bowden said travel-hungry consumers were eager to experience the unique food options in Sydney and also snap them to share online.
“Consumers haven’t been able to splash out on big ticket items like travel because of COVID-19. They have cash to burn and they are looking for ways to spend it. Savvy food retailers have a great opportunity now to cash-in and offer consumers a unique food experience,” Prof Bowden said.
“A huge 84 per cent of Gen Z engage in ‘foodie travel’ (where) they look to the recommendations of friends, experts and the media to choose the places they go to. They are big on documenting their food experiences in photos, and like to encourage others to go to the places that they do and that has a domino effect on sales.”
And clever retailers like The Burwood Hotel are catering to this hunger perfectly with foods that rate highly on the “Instagrammable” scale.
Among them is their post-lockdown creation: Dalgona Bobamisu, a deconstructed tiramisu with boba pearls and a coffee foam called “dalgona”.
The Dalgona trend had gone viral on social media platforms during lockdown where people made the foamy coffee at home and the Burwood pub has now paid their own tribute to the fad.
“This dish always appears on social media because they look good and taste really good so customers come back to eat it over and over. I analyse our social media reach and out videos of some of our dishes have a lot of reach in America as well, so it’s quite global,” Burwood Hotel social media marketing specialist Shirley Li said.
But among their top sellers is their Nuclear Fire Noodles – a combination of spicy instant ramen, shoestring fries, crispy seaweed and their nuclear fire hot sauce that has foodies going wild.
“Customers come in and see our posters about them and get curious and want to try it. It’s one of our biggest sellers and we have both the extreme version and the regular version.”
The pub also offers bubble tea inspired cocktails for those craving something sweet after the firey noodles.
“It’s all about photos these days and since COVID means we can’t travel, people still want to see what’s happening in Sydney and what they can share online,” Ms Li said.
“People expect us to only have steaks and burgers and schnitzels, which we do have. But our East meets West menu is a huge point of attraction.”
And with border closures in place and a hunger to explore locally on the rise, Sydneysiders are gravitating to unique and lesser known foods to eat and share.
Among them are Haymarket’s Toastie Smith – a sandwich stand which gives the humble toastie a makeover by “loading” them with delicious toppings.
Another hit on social media is Bubble Nini tea which combines the ever popular bubble tea with a florist shop to create beverages that look as good as the bouquets they are surrounded by.
Social media users are also proving that the most shareable foods don’t have to be expensive with affordable foods like Bengong’s Tea and Bakery’s brightly coloured melon and strawberry bread and Mr Hot Dog’s delicious fried Korean corn cakes being a hit with Instagram.
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