Ipoh, Malaysia: Tortoises, rojak and yong tau fu

You can take the boy out of Ipoh...
There's a palpable sense of excitement as we descend the winding roads of the Cameron Highlands and head towards the town of Ipoh. This is Billy's hometown and since the start of the trip, Billy has not stopped raving about the food of his childhood.
The increase in temperature is apparent as soon as we leave the mountains. Less than ninety minutes later, we

Abhi's Indian Restaurant, North Strathfield

Pappadums $2.80 per serve with side dish platter of mango chutney, raita and kachumber $6.80The joy of the pappadum.There's a happy sense of joy about snapping the thin crisp disc of pappadum into jagged shards, surveying the little pots of cucumber and yoghurt raita,mango chutney and tomato and onion kachumber set in front of you. The biggest decision is which one to eat first, and next, and

Cameron Highlands, Malaysia: Caterpillar fungus, Brinchang Markets and assam laksa

"They're worms!" we cry out to Billy as we lean in closer to inspect.
Billy laughs. They're actually caterpillar fungus, a parasite that attacks hibernating caterpillar larvae and taps into its circulatory system. The fungus starves the larvae, enveloping the insect and taking on its shape until it is effectively mummified.
The Chinese call it dong chong chao. With a long list of reputed

Aki's Indian Restaurant, Woolloomooloo

Palak patta chaat $13Who knew spinach could taste so good?The secret, of course, is it's deep-fried. To create palak patta chaat, single leaves of spinach are dipped in a thick besan (chickpea) batter and then fried to a crisp golden brown. Piled into a steep and craggy mountain, the entire mass is drizzled with a rainbow of sauces: snow white yoghurt, pale green mint and chilli sauce, and daubs

Brasserie Bread, Banksmeadow: Baking with Brioche Workshop

You know that sound? The crackle of a knife making that first cut into a loaf of crusty bread?It reminds me of footsteps crunching on a pile of autumn leaves. The splintering of the outer shell, the tumble of crust shards onto the chopping board and then the gentle sawing through soft and fluffy pillows of dense sourdough.This must be one of my favourite sounds in the world.Brasserie BreadIt's

Win a 12-month subscription to one of four food magazines

Hungry? I know I always am.Feed your imagination with this week's Freebie Friday prize, a subscription to one of four fabulous food magazines from mag nation. For twelve months, one lucky winner will find new and delicious reading material in their mail box for breakfast, lounging and bedtime reading. You'll never be short of cooking ideas again!THE PRIZE:A 12-month subscription to one of the

Cameron Highlands, Malaysia: Strawberries, tea plantations and charcoal steamboat

Food bloggers go wild
One should always be adventurous when it comes to eating overseas.
We found a bounty of food to savour on our Malaysia trip. Luckily for us, millipedes were not one of them, even if Billy did appear keen.

On the fourth day of our trip we found ourselves departing Kuala Lumpur and heading 214km north to the Cameron Highlands.
At 1500m (5,000 feet) above sea level, the

Enoteca Restaurant, Adelaide with Antonio Carluccio

So it's not every day you find yourself having dinner with Antonio Carluccio.In fact dinner had started ordinarily enough. On our second night in Adelaide for Tasting Australia, Billy and I find ourselves dispatched with six other journalists for dinner at Enoteca, a modern Italian restaurant. We'd been transported by coach to our destination, the assembly of media in town dropped off at various

Competition: Win a $50 dining voucher at Helm Bar, Darling Harbour

It's Freebie Friday time!What better way to kick off a long weekend than the promise of a free meal. Grab Your Fork readers have the chance to win a $50 dining voucher at Helm Bar, Darling Harbour. Can't wait that long to try their $10 bbq beef ribs? Get down there this weekend for the start of the World Cup - Helm Bar will be broadcasting all of Australia's games as well as all 9.30pm and

Helm Bar, Darling Harbour, Sydney

Wagyu beef burger $9.50180g wagyu beef, red onion jam, marinated tomato,cheese, bacon, mayonnaise and lettuceFood always tastes better with a harbour view. We're no strangers to the venue at Helm Bar, a space that used to play host to our lunchtime favourite Pier 26. Over the past 18 months, renovations have been afoot. In addition to the name change, the central bar on the upper balcony has been

Chicken rice balls, Nyonya cendol and 1m roti tisu, Melaka, Malaysia

Malacca.
One of the oldest cities in Malaysia, Malacca - also known as Melaka in Malay - was conquered by the Portuguese in 1511. Its capital city is Malacca Town, preserved as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2008.
We made a day trip to Malacca on day three of our recent trip to Malaysia.
Now a road trip requires one essential thing. Snacks. We had plenty of them.
Twisties in flavours of "

Iron Chef Chen Kenichi and Iron Chef Hiroyuki Sakai serve up dinner in Sydney

It's no secret. There are Iron Chefs in town.At the press conference on Friday at the Sydney Hilton, event hosts Simon Thomsen and Joanna Savill welcomed Iron Chef French, Hiroyuki Sakai and Iron Chef Chinese, Kenichi Chen to Sydney.Simon Thomsen and Joanna SavillRelaxed and jocular, Chen and Sakai were dressed in their signature outfits, and happy to answer questions from the assembled crowd

Aspirational eaters

An interesting article in today's Sydney Morning Herald with a surprising but welcome endorsement of Grab Your Fork. I wouldn't say that I try to emulate Matt Preston - only he can pull off candy pink trousers and a cravat, I say!"Like the Tea Party movement, then, aspirational eaters love to upset the status quo. They're a paradox unto themselves: awestruck observers of time-honoured culinary

ATL Maranatha, Kensington

Ayam goreng tulang lunak $8
Deep-fried soft bone chicken

If fried chicken makes your heart skip a beat, have a defibrillator on stand-by for soft bone chicken. The Indonesian favourite, ayam goreng or fried chicken, is lifted to new levels of crunch at ATL Maranatha, a family-run restaurant on a quiet suburban street corner in Kensington.


THE SPECIALTY

Ayam goreng tulang lunak ($8) is fried