How to Eat Your Way Around the World Without Leaving Your City

You know when aunties are in the kitchen that you certainly won’t be leaving hungry. This Marrickville joint is serving up some top Vietnamese food right now, thanks to chef Cuong Nguyen and his mum, Linda. An eating holiday travelling around Vietnam is something many of us think about regularly, but if you’re not getting on a plane any time soon, Hello Auntie will tide you over. It offers some of the most beloved traditional Viet recipes, like the bánh xèo (a moreish coconut and turmeric pancake filled with bean sprouts, onion and meat or seafood) and the truly phenomenal pho, which is Linda’s own recipe topped with house-made wagyu meatballs, black angus beef, braised brisket and a torched beef short rib. If you’re craving the rich, herby, sumptuous tastes of Vietnam, we’d highly recommend you go say hi to Auntie. There’s even a free Parlez Vouz rosé or Partisan Trenchcoat GSM blend waiting for you, thanks to Citi.

This joint used to be known for its lobster rolls, so it’s pretty damn incredible that the team here have also turned out to be total connoisseurs when it comes to fried chicken. Johnny Bird specialises in all the fried chicken you dream about when you’re on a flight heading for the United States, complete with sauces like ‘Nashville Hot’, ‘Detroit Smoky BBQ’ and the quintessential sidekick condiment — blue cheese sauce. Along with the chook, there’s also a burger list and sides like mac and cheese, fried pickles and corn on the cob smothered with cheese and sauce. Pay for your meal with your Citi card and you can grab a bottle of either the Parlez Vouz rosé or McW 660 Reserve Tumbarumba pinot noir on the house.

This eastern Mediterranean venue serves up contemporary versions of the absolute best dishes from Cyprus, Greece, Lebanon and Turkey, while still honouring the age-old recipes from across the seaboard that time will never, and should never, forget. Bazaari is a cosy spot for a meal with friends; the brick fit-out, large tables, and variety of banquet menus veritably screams ‘group dinners’. Plus, you can get the party started with a complimentary bottle of McW Alternis petite sirah or Mount Pleasant Eight Acres semillon thanks to Citi. The menu is designed to order a lot of different plates to share, from huge offerings of duck or pork neck that have been slowly, mouthwateringly wood-fire roasted, to pickled octopus and raw kingfish, to pillowy pita breads cooked on the spot. Don’t get us wrong — this slice of mediterranean heaven in Marrickville could certainly be a date spot too, as long as you’re both really, extremely hungry.

There’s nothing quite like tucking into an enormous Mexican feast, and Mejico delivers in spades. This buzzy CBD spot offers authentic dishes with the lively flavours of Mexico and Central America as well as plenty of delicious wine and an enormous collection of tequila. Don’t worry if the wall of more than 200 different bottles of the spirit is overwhelming — the folk at Mejico will guide you through their collection with the use of a flavour wheel. For wine, you have the choice of a free bottle of McW Alternis vermentino or petite sirah thanks to Citi. As for the food, the guacamole is smashed together at your table, and the plantain chips are a lovely option instead of the regular corn-based alternative. Any memory of the soggy, lifeless Tex-Mex you ate last weekend will quickly disappear after a night here.

The efforts of former Nomad head chef Nathan Sasi, Mercado’s modern spin on Spanish and Moorish cuisines is a thing of historical fusion beauty (have a read about the Moorish for a fascinating lesson on North African Arabs’ incredible influence on Spanish food as we know it). The underground space is beautiful and the menu shows off the nose-to-tail methods that Sasi was known for at Nomad. Plus, the restaurant does as much of its pickling, curing, preserving, smoking, cheese making and bread baking on-site as possible. Mercado is the place you go if you want Spanish cuisine done elegantly and you want it done right, with a glass of rioja in hand all the while. Nab a bottle of Mount Pleasant pinot noir or semillon on the house thanks to Citi, too.

This Angel Place eatery is another underground CBD joint that you may not have noticed while traipsing up George Street. Indu’s atmosphere is electric, the soundtrack is all Beatles and Velvet Underground, and the cuisine takes its cues from a bunch of southern coastal regions of India as well as Sri Lanka. Indu’s entire menu is much lighter and fresher than that late-night chicken tikka roll you had last weekend. Eat your way through a little bit of everything on the menu, from dosa and hoppers to fragrant salads, curries and grilled meats. Pair your meal with a free bottle of McW Alternis vermentino or petite sirah if you’re a Citi cardholder, then tuck in.

One word: laksa. Ho Jiak’s laksa is one of the absolute best in Sydney. But if you’re in the mood for other Malay favourites like chilli crab, mie goreng (try it with lobster and you’ll never look back) or Ipoh hor fun, then you’re in luck because Ho Jiak does it all flawlessly. For the most part, the eatery makes you feel as though you’re in Penang, devouring street eats — but with a few modern twists here and there (and sturdier chairs). So, if you’re craving that essential street food travel experience, a visit to Ho Jiak to eat traditional recipes handed down within the family of chef Junda Khoo is worth your time. Plus, you’ll nab a complimentary bottle of Coombe Farm pinot noir or Framingham Marlborough sauvignon blanc if you pay with a Citi card. Just be sure to make a reservation because this spot has a line out the door most days.