When I arrived in Australia, I noticed that rather than hotdogs, people here have meatpies at every corner. I haven’t tasted a meatpie at all so I was curious what kind of mystery meat concoction this was.
Now, I remember my Bourdain episodes well. I particularly remember that every time he visited Sydney, he always visited Harry’s. Harry’s has been around Sydney since 1945 and possibly the most notable ‘food truck’ Sydney has. ‘Food Truck’ because Harry’s doesn’t exactly move around as it used to, but it’s still physically truck-ish in nature. Harry’s has a pop-up diner feel to it. In fact, apart from the meat pies, they have the usual fare of hotdogs and rolls. But I suppose meat pies is much more loved in Australia hence it’s the specialty of Harry’s. In this case, their specialty was Harry’s Tiger.
Harry’s Tiger is a meat pie topped with mashed potatoes and peas. On top of this, they create a well where they pour in some gravy so that you can have a bit of everything in a mouthful. If Bourdain would feature this on every Sydney show, then it must be something awesome, if not, at least something interesting. I love mystery meats and fast food so I gave this Sydney institution a shot and ordered myself a Tiger.
It is surprisingly large than what I had expected. In fact, I didn’t expect to even finish it but it was so good that it did. I don’t bloody know what meat I ate but I love the flavors of the peas and potatoes sucking the juices from the gravy and the mystery meat pie. At the very least, I can say it’s a beefy flavor and is probably close to a stew. It wasn’t a completely awesome experience but it was a filling and enjoyable meal that I don’t mind eating this again should I be in Sydney. Next time, I’ll probably try the curry meat pie!
