Are the Australians fanatical about pies? British Pie Week special investigation!

Here at Pierate we had an inkling that the Australians might be a little crazy about pies, simply because there is an Australian shop called Jumbucks (review 1,2,3) in Shepherds Bush, London, devoted entirely to selling pies. So, in the recent spirit of foreign pie sampling, we really we had to visit Australia to confirm this phenomenon, and the results came as no surprise...

What's this? It's Pieface! This photo is of just one of many Pieface shops in Sydney. This chain of shops seems to be substantial indeed, as the Pierateers sometimes spotted multiple Piefaces on some high streets in Sydney (rather akin to the urban coffee shop chain culture in the UK). It seems that Pieface's unique selling point is drawing weird faces on their pies. The faces don't look particularly happy to me (perhaps that's because they know they are destined to be eaten), but the pies certainly taste fantastic. I had a minced beef and tomato chutney pie.

But the main story of this British Pie Week post is this spiced tuna pie from Rhumbas, in the Crown Food Court in Melbourne. The gentleman behind the counter must have known that he was serving a Pierateer, because he specially selected the largest slice from the communal pie, and even commented "Wow I've given you a very large slice there". Ah, the fame gained from pierate.co.uk is finally paying off! Soon these pies will start paying for themselves (we can dream). I have never had a tuna pie before (correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe it to be a first for Pierate). As you can see from the photo, the pie is dense and filled to capacity. I can feel the pie weighing down my plate, it is heavy. This really is a slab of deliciousness. The pie is not remotely cheap, however, weighing in at $9 (£6), but that's Australia for you. I am pleased to have a decent portion, and perhaps £6 isn't too bad from a food court. The pie tastes of excellent quality though, and the spiciness of the tuna reverbs excitedly in my mouth. The pastry is also a success, with the right crunchiness and a perfect thickness for this pie. I am pleased that the ratio of crust to content lies favourably with the content.

And that concludes our pie tour of Australia. The Australians seem to be fanatical about their pies too, with numerous pie shops (not just Pieface). Pie did always seem to be on the menu somewhere. This was very pleasing to see. The obsession over pies was still no match for the UK, however, but keep it up Australia!

Spicy tuna pie score: 5.8/7

TJP

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