Becasse Chef's Table, Sydney

If there's one thing you notice about Justin North's kitchen, it's how quiet it is. Forget the stereotyped image of a raging head chef barking orders at his brigade; the Becasse kitchen sounds more like a library, with a young team working steadily and efficiently under the guidance of head chef Monty Koludrovic.

Last night I had the pleasure of dining at the Chef's Table at Becasse, ahead of

Taste Food Tour in Bankstown - Freebie Friday Winner

Congratulations to JasmyneTea who has won two tickets to a Taste Food Tour in Bankstown worth $160.

Missed out this time? You can still enter to win a 12-month subscription to the Stonesoup Virtual Cookery School. Enter now!

King Valley Prosecco Road

Where is King Valley? It's a wine-growing region in north-eastern Victoria, not far from Albury and the border of New South Wales. Recently it's been marketed as Prosecco Road, one of the few places in Australia to be growing prosecco, a grape variety used to produce the popular Italian sparkling wine - a key ingredient in the famous peach bellini.

I was recently asked by Tourism Victoria to

Akash Pacific Cuisine, Liverpool

There's more to Liverpool than first meets the eye, and this south-western suburb in Sydney is impressively diverse. According to the 2006 census, more than half of the population was born overseas. You'll find sari shops, African hair braiding salons and Croatian delis before you eventually end up at the mammoth Westfield shopping centre, looming over the pedestrianised mall.

For this month's

Updated response to "Everyone's a Critic"

The ensuing discussion after my post on the Weekend Australian article on food blogs has only illustrated the fervent passion by everyone involved in this topic: food bloggers, food blog readers, journalists, public relations consultants, chefs and restaurateurs.

I've added some extra comment to my original post which I think was necessary after reading some of the questions raised in the

Everyone's a Critic

"With more than 800 food blogs in Australia, traditional restaurant reviewers are under challenge. But is this really a triumph for democracy?"
Eagle-eyed readers would have noticed the article, Everyone's a Critic, written by Elizabeth Meryment in The Weekend Australian magazine.

Even after reading the final piece several times, I'm still not sure what my final thoughts are. There are a

Melaka Central Market and cooking with Florence Tan and Adam Liaw

You haven't really visited a city until you've seen its market. On our second day in Melaka, we woke early for a morning visit to Melaka Central Wet Market, hosted by the bright and bubbly Malaysian chef, Florence Tan.


Melaka Central Market


Florence Tan with Adam Liaw

The markets are lively with activity, vendors cajoling their wares, and locals patiently inspecting each item of produce.

Sabbaba, Newtown

"Get some balls!" Sabbaba, the long-time Israeli falafel favourite in Bondi, is one of the newest additions to King Street, opening in Newtown late last year.

Graffiti-scrawled walls (by professional graffiti artist Jeremy Hession) and mismatched furniture lend it some urban charm.



The menu is on a clipboard, with a dizzying selection of options that could easily leave you dazed and

Narooma Oyster Festival

How much do I love oysters? I once ate 60. In one sitting. Plump, briny and full of minerals, surely oysters are the perfect ready-to-eat meal.

We headed to the annual Narooma Oyster Festival earlier this month after an invite by NSW Tourism. The weather was perfect - clear blue skies and an easy five-hour drive down the south coast.




Great Southern Hotel


Great Southern Hotel

We made a

Freebie Friday: Win a 12 month subscription to the Stonesoup Virtual Cookery School

So everyone's been watching MasterChef Australia (go #teambilly!) but are we really heading back into the kitchen to cook?

You'll be able to solve your dinner dilemma with this week's Freebie Friday: a 12-month subscription to the Stonesoup Virtual Cookery School.

Jules Clancy is a qualified food scientist who threw in her job as a chocolate biscuit designer (yes, really) and turned her food

Amy Heritage Nyonya Cuisine, Melaka

Malacca or Melaka? The official name for Malaysia's third smallest state should be Melaka, we're told by our friendly guide. The traditional Malay spelling was reinstated after the city centre was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2008. Malacca is the British spelling - still used for the Malacca Straits that run between the Malay Peninsula and the island of Sumatra in Indonesia.

Our

Omerta, Darlinghurst

Omerta means 'union of families' says the Omerta restaurant website, even though Wikipedia maintains it refers to the code of silence used by the Mafia.

A long communal table runs down the middle of the room, lined with bentwood chairs and ready for a family feast. Above the doorway to the kitchen hang bunches of herbs and heavy industrial grade whisk and beater attachments. You could easily

Freebie Friday: Win two tickets to a Taste Food Tour in Bankstown

Always looking for your next food adventure? Then this week's Freebie Friday is for you!


THE PRIZE
Two tickets to a Taste Food Tour in Bankstown. Vouchers can be used for a food walking tour of your choice including:
Arabic Adventure
Cafe Crawl
European Explorer
Middle Eastern Treats
Out of Africa
Sugar & Spice
Tastes of Asia
World Fare
Prize value: $160 (six-month expiry)
Current tour