Restaurant Arras, Sydney

It's back. The Restaurant Arras petits fours platter has always created a frisson of excitement.

Back too are newly weds Adam and Lovaine Humphrey, relocating Restaurant Arras from Walsh Bay to Clarence Street in the city, opening in the former digs of Becasse (and before that, Edna's Table).


Restaurant Arras decor
The interior has undergone a complete makeover. Gone are the Swarovski

Steersons King Street Wharf, Sydney

Let's face it. Sydney can be a bit of a meat market. But hey, if we're talking about steak, then who's complaining? The menu at Steersons Steakhouse reads like a matchmaking site for carnivores, providing detail on the origin of each candidate, its breeding credentials, prior diet and minimum weight. Oh if only it was always this easy...


Inside Steersons at King St Wharf

We arrive at

The Abercrombie, Broadway, Chippendale

Is there such a thing as too much fried? Nay, I say. If it can be dipped in batter, then go ahead and deep-fry that baby.

And that's just the way the folk behind the Abercrombie Hotel feel, too. First they gave us the deep-fried Gaytime. Now they've unleashed the joys of deep-fried pizza and Twinkies to the Sydney masses.


Fries with mayo and gravy $7

We make the mistake of presuming 

Sepia, Sydney

It really did look like a shard of glass, sinking in on itself  as though it had buckled from the heat of an inferno. We didn't know what it was as we snapped off pieces to eat, admiring its sleek surface, its amber brilliance and the bubbles trapped within.

Salt. And vinegar. And hints of chilli that was later revealed to be sansho pepper. The edible artwork prompts conversation around the

Tommy's Beer Cafe, Glebe

It's the stuff that dreams are made of. A whole bowl of pork crackling for only $4.20. It's a tangle of pork skin strips, deep-fried until bubbled and blistered, the long shoe string strips helplessly intertwined with each other in a porcine and cholesterol lovefest.


Inside Tommy's Beer Cafe

Tommy's Beer Cafe is one of a slew of newcomers to open up on Glebe Point Road, trading for at least

Spiedo, Xanthi and Chat Thai, Westfield Sydney

EDIT: Spiedo and Xanthi have both closed

The best type of shopping trip, I say, is one that involves feeding my stomach. The new Westfield Sydney may well be littered with stores, but I tend to bypass the bottom levels and head straight to the top - the dining levels.

Level six plays home to the newest set of culinary tenants: Spiedo, Xanthi, Chat Thai and Chinta Ria... Mood for Love. We were

Mohr Fish, Surry Hills

Has the humble fish and chip shop become a dying breed? Apart from the beach and coastal towns, they're few and far between in the suburbs, and even harder to find in the city. Nostalgia lives on at Mohr Fish, a humble Surry Hills corner takeaway tiled in white and powder blue.


Mohr Fish shopfront


Mohr Fish menu

There's a distinct price difference between eating in and takeaway, and we

Chinta Ria... Mood for Love, Sydney

It's easy to guess the inspiration behind Simon Goh's newest restaurant.  The concept behind Chinta Ria... Mood for Love draws heavily on the 2000 movie In the Mood for Love, written and directed by Kar Wai Wong. It's an idea that has been brewing for the past ten years, Simon says, finally coming to fruition this week when the restaurant opened its doors to the public on level six at Westfield

Crave SIFF: BBQ Madness and World Chef Showcase with Mauro Colagreco, Mark Best and David Lebowitz

You couldn't miss them. Two whole lambs spinning slowly over a charcoal, the skin slowly blistering to a deep golden hue. They'd been on the barbecue since 5am, we were told, tended carefully by chef David Tsireka of Xanthi. By the time they were carved for eating, they would have been slow-cooked for six glorious hours.

The Crave Sydney International Food Festival started off with a bang last