Hello, I’m Claire and I’m a fourth year engineering/commerce student studying at ANU. 

I’ve been sharing my experience at ANU via my blog posts and for the next three weeks I’m going to share my secrets about why I love living in Canberra.

If you haven’t been lucky enough to meet a Canberra local who passionately defends Canberra, I know you probably think it’s a boring place. And, I get it. I really do. However, please hear me out when I say there’s more to Canberra than what you might think. In my opinion, Canberra is utopia and the perfect place to study whether you’re from the city or the country.

I’ve done a bit of market research and thanks to feedback from my own friends as well as some young Canberrans I think I’ve covered all bases.

So, first in this series is something that is front and centre for any student – the food!
 

Top 10 foodie reasons why you’ll love living in Canberra

1. Coffee. According to my very ‘Melbourne’ friend, the coffee and café culture is as good (or better!) than in Melbourne. Make sure to head to Braddon or New Acton for great coffee and inner city vibes, or in true Canberra style, you can head to a café at a suburb’s local shops.
2. And if I haven’t convinced you that we have good coffee, you should know that we are home to the 2015 World Barista Champion, who owns a few cafes around Canberra (four in total to try under the name ONA coffee), and roasts his own beans.
3. If you’re a foodie, you’ll find plenty of fresh, local produce at the farmers’ markets. You can check out the Capital Region Farmers Market every Saturday at the Exhibition Park, or the Southside Farmers Market on Sundays in Philip
4. Pialligo Farm Traditional Smokehouse was given the award of “Australia’s Best Artisan Bacon” in 2014, so our cafés make some seriously good bacon and egg rolls.
5. There are also multiple wineries just a short drive away - 30 within a 35 minute drive – as well as a couple of breweries much closer to home.
6. Canberra greatest achievement might be that we are the birthplace of the almighty Freakshake. Don’t know what it is? You definitely have to google this one.
7.  We are also the home of Frugii ice cream in Braddon where, in addition to standard ice cream flavours, you can come across ones like seafood laksa and butter chicken…be brave and try something different!
8. There are also some awesome doughnut shops (who could live without doughnuts), such as Bombolini and Krofne, which can be found at various weekend markets.
9. Brodburger! These burgers are some of the best I’ve ever had and we even have a van at the ANU PopUp Village.
10. Don’t know what you’re craving? Then check out The Hamlet in Braddon for your choice of street food from all over. Pho? Pizza? American hotdogs? They’ve got you covered. (Update! 8/02/2018 - Apparently the Hamlet is closing in a few weeks, so you better get there quick!)

Claire