Eating abroad is one of the most invigorating experiences a food lover can have and when you eat in some of the best restaurants a country has to offer the experience can become surreal in a way that only your taste buds will fully appreciate.

Anthony Bourdain has said that when we travel we acquire scars…that we are marked for life because travel changes us forever. Though I believe he was referring to much more than food (culture, history, people, etc.) my 16 days in Australia has deeply scarred my taste buds. I fear recovery, assuming I make one, will take some time.

A minor digression: I take eating seriously and nothing makes me crankier than a bad meal abroad. Each bite of a sketchy meal represents a poke in the eye; every bad meal is a missed opportunity that my stomach does not forgive easily. Having been lucky enough to travel around the world I have had some great meals, but my second trip to Australia was my "great white whale" of dining experiences.

Gourmands know about Tetsuya’s in Sydney. Much has been written about the man and this restaurant is considered to be one of the best dining experiences in the world…but what about "other" fine dining spots in Australia? There are "other" chefs in the food scene down under and they were the focus of my shark-like feeding frenzy.

Part 1 features the best of my dinners in Sydney. Part 2 features the best of Adelaide (coming soon).

The Summit features renowned Chef Michael Moore…and is 47 floors up and rotates 1 metre every minute. It took me a while to gain my bearings and keep my sparkling wine from coming up. Revolving restaurants scare the hell out of me. Aside from the usual gimmicky approach to food I have a fear of heights so looking down on an urban landscape does nothing for my appetite. Thankfully the food distracted me, but the booze didn’t hurt either.

$65 buys a 2 course meal though you can pay more and add extras…side dishes or dessert or maybe lobster? I started with the shaved black leg pig air dried ham with poached white balsamic pears, Spanish olive oil bread and crushed pear paste. This is the creamiest ham I have tasted. The flesh and fat melted in my mouth with salty goodiness that was perfectly complimented by the pears (shaped into little balls) and smear of the pear paste. If I ever find this divine ham in Calgary I will eat myself to death like a grain elevator mouse. Why we don’t eat more pork here is beyond me.

For mains we ordered 2 items; we had Riverina lamb "2 ways" and Michael Moore’s signature dish, the twice cooked pork belly.

The lamb plate was served as claypot shoulder in ravioli and as a roasted short rack with poached, then roasted cherries, black cherry treacle and a sweet onion paste. It is no surprise how tasty the lamb in this part of the world is and while it was the star of the plate, the cherries were…erotically unctuous. They paired with lamb wonderfully. The pasta used for the ravioli’s was a tad tougher than I like but that’s a matter of taste as some prefer more chewiness to fresh pasta. Either way, this was a really good, well presented dish.

The signature pork belly is described as glass crackling with royal gala apple and Madagascan vanilla marmalade. Apple balsamic toffee finishes the plate. This was the largest portion of pork belly I have been served and the crackling had been removed so the fat and meat could be covered in the vanilla marmalade. It was like a giant pork belly sandwich invented by some evil anti-heartsmart dietician hopped up on fat and pigskin plotting…how can pork fat be more artery clogging…?

The crackling was quite hard to cut…which is the point…ergo I had to break it with my knife to get it to fracture…like glass….ahhhaaa! Once in my mouth it was incredible. So good, so porky and sweet and fatty and anything that tastes this great must shave 5 years off the lifespan of anyone who eats it…but I ate it anyway! The vanilla flavor went surprisingly well with the skin and pork fat. There must have been meat in there too but I was too distracted to notice.

The Summit was very good. Solid on the value equation and the spinning dining room was like a Stanley Kubrick movie set…which somehow made sense, even if I could not look down. Our dining tour had begun nicely!

ARIA defined…a self-contained piece for one voice usually with orchestral accompaniment…and…an upscale restaurant right beside the iconic Sydney Opera House. A gorgeous dining room with an even better view is what you get here. Even before the food you’re awe struck. The food of Matt Moran does nothing to detract from the grandeur of this space. The tasting menu paired with wine was the only way to go…7 courses for about $210 per person. And away we go...

1. Swordfish sashimi with yuzu fruit purée, pickled radish and soy sauce. Tengumai Junmai Sake, Ishikawa Japan. One of the best food and sake pairings I’ve ever had. As good a sashimi dish as I’ve had. The yuzu purée and radish were perfect compliments.

2. Cigar of goat curd with a salad of fig, asparagus, Serrano ham and pistachio. 2008 Casa Freschi 'La Signorina' Adelaide Hills, Australia. Gorgeous presentation and tangy, fresh goat curd! Loved it…though the wine pairing did not do it for me.

3. Peking duck consommé with dumplings, shaved abalone and mushrooms. 2007 Tapanappa 'Foggy Hill Vineyard' Pinot Noir, Fleurieu Peninsula. Perfection. The consommé would have been awesome alone. Again the pairing was not spot on as the broth over powered the subtle pinot noir.

4. Roasted spiced scallops with prawn crisps, shaved fennel and a tamarind and date dressing. 2007 Pyramid Valley 'Kerner Estate' Pinot Blanc, Marlborough, NZ. I could have eaten a bag of the crisps with a side of the dressing. Fresh tamarind and date are a stunning combination. Good wine pairing.

5. Kurobuta sweet pork belly with pork croquette, paradise pears and pear chutney. 2003 Tyrrell's HVD 'Single Vineyard' Semillon, Hunter Valley. The croquette had great texture, damn tasty. Hard to miss with pork! The wine was fantastic on it’s own but the pairing again seemed off when tasted with this dish.

6. Roasted lamb loin with a lamb pastia, fennel and red capsicum. Paired with 2006 Chateauneuf-du-Pape Font de Michelle, Rhone Valley, France. Great lamb loin, tender and cooked perfectly but the pastia was not my cup of tea. Very good wine pairing, lovely texture to the CNP.

7. Chilled peach soup with raspberry ice cream cannelloni and ginger jelly. Paired with 2007 Josef Chromy 'Botrytis' Riesling, Tasmania. OMG…I’ve never had anything like this. So fresh and bright and full of flavors! The wine paring was spot on.

ARIA was an exquisite introduction to the Australia degustation phenomenon. As we would soon learn, a tasting menu is the best way to expose the full repertoire a chef has to offer. It is pricey, but worth the expense. The multitude of fresh ingredients and complexity of execution was unlike anything I have seen. Chef Moore has definitely got some chops, well done!

In its 20th year of existence, Rockpool is the brainchild of legendary chef Neil Perry. He has rocketed to fame with his food and is a godfather of modern Australian cuisine. With a line of food products, cookbooks, multiple television programs and consulting for Qantas airlines, his influence is wide and deep.

It seems trite to say that a meal was “the best” but in the case of Rockpool there has not been any single dining experience so complete in variation and sophistication for my palate. This was an unblemished series of 9 courses with wines to match. Out of this world…but at about $250 per person it needed to be…it became 10 courses after our waiter asked if we’d like to add the day’s feature of perigod truffled omelette with wine to match…umm…yes please!

1. Sterling caviar on prawn toast, Ortiz “family reserve” salted anchovy with tomato confit on toast, Yellowfin tuna with ginger, soy and yuzu jelly. NV Le Brun Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs, Champagne, France. The caviar on prawn toast paired with the champagne was so good my eyes rolled around my head like Linda Blair in the Exorcist. If we all could eat Ortiz anchovies the world would be a happier place.

2. Mussel and saffron broth with garlic cream. NV Emilio Lustau Jarana Fino, Jerez, Spain. Gorgeous mussel and silky smooth broth, crisp wine...but my head was still spinning from the first course.

3. Salad of lobster and various tomato flavors inspired by Heston Blumenthal. 2005 Schloss Vollrads Halbtrocken Riesling. One of the prettiest and most creative dishes. It included liquid nitrogen frozen gazpacho balls, tomatoes full of sweet acidity, texture variances and oh yeah, faultless lobster…wonderful Riesling pairing.

4. Seared scallop with stir fried southern calamari, smoked bacon and squid ink noodles. 2008 Paradigm Hill Pinot Gris, Victoria, Aus. This was something out of an Iron Chef episode and no, not the US version. I am talking "Michiba san". Amazing texture and color to the noodles, more faultless seafood preparation and another bang on wine.

5. Pan fried bar rockcod fillet with intense tomato, eggplant caviar, zucchini sauce, basil oil and back tomato cream. Paired with Beni di Batasiolo Gavi di Gavi Granée, Piemonte, Italy. Rockpool only uses line-caught wild fish with stress-free brain spiking and the fish is immediately chilled preserving texture and flavor. Only the best, freshest ingredients hit your plate here.

6. Perigord truffled omelette. 2003 Castello di Volpaia Chianti Classico Reserva. The truffles had arrived that week. The omelette was superb...stuffed and topped with black truffle slices. This dish was a toe curler…and again the wine a perfect compliment.

7. Seared quail with 60 degree quail egg, pork and prawn pie with red curry sauce. 2004 The Cups Estate Raimondo Reserve Pinot Noir, Victoria, Australia. BANG! The textures, colors and flavors smack all your senses. Pork and prawn pie should be a daily breakfast requirement.

8. Confit of suckling pig with yam and ginger purée, mustard fruits and banda rossa aged balsamic vinegar. 2004 Cobaw Ridge Lagrein, Victoria, Australia. Maybe I’d had enough pork but…this sucking pig and ginger combo blew my doors off. Lagrein is a new varietal in Australia, lovely.

9. Vanilla cream cup with cherries and rosewater granita. 2007 Vietti Cascinetta Moscato D’Asti, Piemonte, Italy. An amazing blend but the rosewater granite stood out. If 7-11 served this I’d hoover the tap all summer long. Gorgeous cherries with a nice tartness that went well with the moscato.

10. Poached cherries with broken cheesecake and pistachio. NV Michel Torino Don David Torrontes. Why stop at a single dessert course? At this point I am done but wow, the cherries in Australia are really something.

This dinner was a perfect "10". Not a single miss among these dishes. Not a single wine pairing was off. Everything, and I mean everything, was fresh, cooked to order, and without flaw. It was the most complete dining experience of my life. They didn’t even charge us for the 10th course or the wine.

Rockpool’s dining room is quaint, cozy, and features clean lines. It is an awesome place to spend 3 hours having dinner. The service was the best I experienced in a long time. It was attentive and courteous at all times and everyone knew the products and the Rockpool "story". Clearly, they are very well educated before they hit the restaurant floor.

While in Australia I was not overly impressed with wine service but our sommelier, Matthew, knew the wines intimately. There was a story with every wine and he was excellent at explaining why they had been paired with each course. My only criticism was that his pours were too generous! If you’re ever in Sydney, Rockpool is a must-have dining experience.

After returning from Adelaide there was a final night in Sydney. We headed to Bécasse which features the modern French cuisine of New Zealand born chef Justin North. Recognized locally and internationally as one of the finest dining experiences this room is another star of the Australian food scene.

By this point there was no way I could stomach another 10 course meal…after first set of dinners in Sydney and then Adelaide (coming soon) I was ready to tap out of the food octagon…but then I saw an appetizer that had to be sampled and yes…pork was involved. I began with a pork belly dish and while it was crispy and good and everything I knew it would be, what topped it was what took my breath away.

Imagine if you will…fresh shrimp dipped in a light tempura batter and cooked until just right, go it? Good. Now imagine that battered bit of perfection rolled in…crackling! This was stupidly good and when it came out on top of the piece of pork belly I was a happy man, if not a fat one. My wife looked at me as if to say…honey you’re going down and that wine cellar you’ve built will be mine if you keep eating pork fat and skin. I loved this appetizer and will do everything I can to find a chef in Calgary to replicate this dish. It’s too good for us not to have here and all the ingredients are available so there’s no excuse not to make it.

For the main I ordered milk fed veal baked in coffee and clay with cepe potato puree and caramelized endive. Not only was this one of the prettiest dishes but every piece of veal was pink, tender, juicy, and full of flavor. The veggies surrounded the meat as almost sang in their support of the main ingredient. Ever had a caramelized endive? Make them sometime and you’ll be amazed. This was one of the greatest veal dishes I have tasted and judging by the number of people around us who ordered it I’d suggest the secret was out!

The lamb shoulder my wife ordered was equally tender and had the same sort of veggie presentation but her plate contained the most lovely grilled tomatoes. We don’t get tomatoes like these. It’s astounding to me how such a simple ingredient can leap off a plate and jump-start your taste buds. Nothing against the fine folks at Hotchkiss but I don’t think there’s a comparison and it’s a shame for all of us. Bécasse was a great way to end our Australian dining adventure.

There were bad meals in Sydney too but the good far outweighed the bad and I don’t have the desire to taint my memory of the good by reliving the bad. I’ll dream of pork belly, caviar, wine, tomatoes, truffles, etc. and go to sleep one happy hedonistic traveler. Cheers!