121 BC and PIzza e Birra, Surry Hills

Even when your best-laid plans go awry, sometimes you can end up with the most brilliant night anyway.

We hadn't meant to eat dinner at Pizza e Birra. Our sights (and stomachs) had been set on Vini and we'd arrived early to secure a table. Too early, we soon discover, and we're directed across the road for a quick drink while they finish setting up.


121 BC, Surry Hills

Arancini $3 each

We

Fooding from Penang and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia to Phuket, Thailand

Oh Malaysia photos. I haven't forgotten about you. A five-day weekend (how great was the break?!) was the perfect opportunity to delve into the archives. Sure none of us want to be back at work at our desks today, but here's a photo-rich post to get you back into the swing of things...

My last Malaysia post left you in Penang, Malaysia. We woke up early the next morning to make the 350km drive

The Eight, Haymarket

The Eight is the latest restaurant to take up residence on the third floor of Market City, undergoing a complete overhaul in interior design to match its modern Chinese fusion menu. A re-positioning of the entrance is the first thing that you'll notice on approach, no longer opposite the movie foyer but shifting around the corner to a more glamorous setting.

The restaurant name is no

Rowda Ya Habibi, Newtown

My favourite topic of conversation at breakfast? Lunch. I'm not a morning person at the best of times, but the promise of lunch - and the eating opportunities it brings - is usually enough to put a sparkle in my eyes.

Talk turned to fafafel and the fresh zing of tabbouleh, and by the time the clock strikes twelve, we find ourselves heading to Rowda Ya Habibi, Newtown for a much-needed Lebanese

Cafecito, Sydney

You will have walked past Cafecito hundreds of times. This busy cafe in Town Hall Arcade looks like any other sandwich shop until you step in a little closer and notice the Brazilian flag on the ceiling.



A handwritten menu behind the counter lists the usual sandwiches and salads, but buried on the far right is a listing of Brazilian options, most of it written in Portuguese. It can be a

To blog or not to blog

Recently I was approached to write an article for the second issue of Gourmet Rabbit, a boutique magazine with an emphasis on content from food industry professionals.

I remember when editor Denea Buckinghamfirst told a group of food bloggers about her plans to set up, produce and print a new food-focused publication. It sounded like the stuff of pipe dreams, but to her credit (and the stellar

Home Thai Restaurant, Sydney

"Honestly I'd just love to go somewhere with something like papaya salad...  and then put all energy into dessert, dessert, dessert."

Sydney's bustling food scene beckoned, but Hannah - in town for just one night from Canberra - knew exactly what she wanted. And I liked her way of thinking.

We head to Home on Sussex Street. Arriving at 5.45pm means we are able to waltz right in, but within

La Banette, Glebe

It's the smell of butter and sugar that hits me first. The heady aroma of caramelised sugar, chocolate, freshly baked bread and buttery pastries soaks its way into every pore as I stand at the doorway, on the brink of dessert delirium.


La Banette

La Banette is easy to miss if you're walking down the other side of Glebe Point Road. Once you know it's there, however, it's hard to resist a

Durban Dish, Baulkham Hills

Bunny chow

There were two things I knew I had to have on the menu at Durban Dish: bunny chow and chakalaka. How could anyone resist dishes with names like these?

It was the promise of South African food that led me to Baulkham Hills. This cosy family-run restaurant has been running for six years, but it's received minimal press or exposure. It was the perfect candidate for my monthly food and

Stitch Bar, Sydney

Stitch Bar is all about fun. It's there at the entrance, from the spools of thread in the window to the Singer sewing machine propping open the door.

The basement bar is one of the city's smallest, and it feels like half of Sydney is already here, cocktails in hand and chattering up a storm.


Stitch Bar

All the action is happening around the bar, a vision of gleaming bottles framed by

Quay Restaurant, Sydney

Peter Gilmore, Executive Chef, Quay

The whole point of restaurants, says Peter Gilmore, is to eat things you wouldn't bother making at home. He gestures at his mise en place, components of which take several hours, and says he would never make the dishes he makes at Quay at home. "Not unless I had a full kitchen team!" he says with a laugh.



It's my first time dining at Quay, and as I stride