* A Chiko Roll (no-one said this was going to be a gourmet list)
* Sausage Roll
* Chocolate Paddle Pop
* KFC Zinger Burger with cheese & bacon (I know they have KFC in America but it is different – really it is!)
* Fish & Chips – eaten out of newspaper on the beach.
* Cadbury chocolate (in America it is made under License by Hershey's and just doesn't taste "right")
* Hamburger with The Lot – from a small town cafe! (not the same as a trendy cafe believe me!)
Things I would LIKE to have while home (mostly unlikely):
* Balmain Bugs
* Tasmanian scallops
* King Island Brie (probable)
* Dinner at Tetsuya's (if I win a lottery)
Things I look forward to:
* Renting a car – because we don't own one in America
* Driving on the left hand side of the road and it being okay!
* Saying I am going to buy "petrol"
* Having people in shops call me "love" not because I particularly like it, but because it makes me feel at home.
* Having colourful money in my wallet. (the green $100 note is missing …..)
Now before you think you can print, photocopy & counterfeit our money……
Australia's money is made of a non-porous polymer with a specially developed protective coating – so they are basically plastic. The notes stay cleaner, they don't absorb moisture and they last on average 4-5 times longer in circulation, with the plastic $5 note lasting for around 40 months, compared to 6 months for the paper $5. (my $5 must be nearing the end of its circulation I think!). The polymer substrate has properties similar to paper so that conventional printing techniques are used to apply ink to the surface. The major security measure of our notes is the see-through window which makes the plastic money difficult to reproduce on scanners and copiers.
And ….. our money is green in the environmental sense ….. once it does wear out, polymer money is recycled into plastic products such as compost bins and plumbing fittings. Now isn't that a cool thing?
Aussie Emjay's Blog 
chocolate paddle pop is always good \m/ !!!
I've never had a chocolate paddle pop, but it sounds like chocolatety fun. Home and food are entwined. Food you can't get anywhere else. Like, I would gladly work out extra for a plate of Tex-Mex Enchiladas…
Non-porous polymer money — brilliant — just like the colors.
Well, there you go. I didn't know any of that stuff about our money. Live and learn, as they say.
The money is beautiful. I am not sure about the 6 months for US money. Mine always has dates from years and years ago.
BTW – love the new banner and coloring on your avatar!
GO THE CHOCOLATE PADDLE POP!!!!!!!!! (I work for Streets)
In America, you can buy authentic Cadbury chocolates imported from England at World Market (at least, you used to be able to), as well as possibly some other places.
A nice lesson in money. 🙂 and food.
Wow !! I enjoyed reading your blog,and seeing all the photos. Thanks Love !!!
What is a chocolate Paddle Pop? Sounds yummy.
That's a great list! Hope you get a chance to knock out most of it. There's about 10 things on there that I have no idea what they are LOL!
They certainly are!
It is a frozen chocolate ice cream on a stick (a paddle pop stick!) – one of the few things I have been eating since I was a child. I forgot to put Aussie Lamb on my list – my mother always makes me a roast lamb dinner when I come home.
Aha – Vox is educational! Australia's CSIRO developed the "plastic" money. We were the first country to use it for all our notes and I think it was in the late 1990's that they issued the first note.
Yeah – I've had some pretty crappy American notes – the sort that are all soft and floppy and get rejected by vending machines or the metro ticket machine! :-)Thank you – it took me a while to figure out the banner! Nothing is ever as easy as pointing and clicking!
LOL Do you get the rejects for free?
I have bought the English version at World Market – but you know, I think each country has their own "secret" recipe – just one ingredient percentage changed slightly – because they don't taste the same as ours here either (though better than the Hershey's variety).
Thank you. Not the "best" food but good comfort stuff!
LOL! thank you Grandma!
It is a chocolate ice cream on a stick. It was developed here in 1953 and now they sell millions a year. They have just changed the formula to 97% fat free to make it "healthier"…..
LOL!! After 8 years in America I still don't know what a lot of foods are. Also, we get Peapod (Giant supermarket home delivery) because we don't have a car so I don't get to see what is actually out there on the shelves – probably keeps me away from a lot of junk food! 😉
you are hungry for a bug?
Love the new look, and the colorful notes!I miss Cadbury..a LOT. Nothing that I've eaten here comes close to Cadbury dark silk chocolate. Ohh…
Not the rejects, good, real ones… I have a freezer right near my desk…And to everyone missing Cadbury.. I'm eating it right now.. mmmmm……
Oooh! That's just mean!! :-)Real ones? I once knew someone who worked for a chocolate company and they were told when they started that they could eat as many as they wanted, straight off the production line. The general theory was that people would eat so many in the first few days that they would get sick of them and stop eating into the profits.
The plastic money thing is really brilliant!
that theory hasn't worked on me.. i've been here for over a year, and am still as eager for an ice cream as the day i started…
What – no Tim Tams! King Island Bried is a fave here though…
I especially like that they recycle old notes into useful things.
LOL! It is a type of lobster related to a rock lobster – it doesn't have pincers.
LOL! They sell Tim Tams at World Market in DC now though they are made in Singapore!! I really like the caramel ones – I was never a fan of the original ones.
There are so many different flavours of Tim Tam now, it is hard not to find a couple one likes!
I really loved the Tia Maria and Kahlua ones but they discontinued them. So sad! 😦
Ah! I didn't know that Cadbury = Hershey's! Thanks for the info 🙂
Hi Connie – only the Cadbury's which is produced in America is made by Hersheys. Is yours made in Singapore?
Oh I see! Our Cadbury is made in Indonesia.