Steel Bar & Grill, Sydney

It quickly becomes obvious why Damien Head's latest retaurant is called Steel. It's everywhere.The open kitchen dominates the room, the chefs penned in by a floor-to-ceiling steel framework. There's a futuristic feel to the decor, with a molten mercury-look light fitting hanging over several tables. An illuminated all-glass elevator behind our table slowly and ominously descends back and forth

Hippopotamus Restaurant at the Museum Hotel, Wellington, New Zealand

Have you ever dined alone at dinner?It always feels a little disarming dining without company, and often the biggest barrier is the self-conscious worry about what other people will think about you, the Nigel No Mates in the corner.Presumably this is why room service exists, so business travellers (and yes, cooped-in couples) can order food to be eaten in bed in front of a flickering television.

Schoc Chocolates at Ciocco Chocolaterie, Wellington, New Zealand

"I'm going to Wellington!" I told Divemummy."So you're going to Schoc?" she'd replied at once.The last time I'd visited Wellington, my Schoc Chocolate tablet souvenirs had been a huge hit. It's not just the pleasant bitter cocoa of the dark chocolate, or the smooth sweetness of the milk, but the fact that the tablets comes in 60 different flavour varieties sends the mind boggling and excites the

The Weta Cave and Cafe Polo, Miramar, Wellington, New Zealand

Precioussss...... my precioussssIt's hard to think about New Zealand without remembering the dramatic scenery from The Lord of the Rings. And whilst downtown Wellington is perfectly compact and flat for the tourist on foot, you will need wheels to take in the more dramatic ocean views and ascend the steep hills around the city.The Plate-mobileEnter the Plate-mobile. After completing the

Floriditas, Wellington, New Zealand

Rolling out chocolate pastry"See, it's really easy."Emily Keshav, head baker at Floriditas Bakery, is rolling out chocolate pastry with the casual confidence of a kid with play-doh."The trick is to make sure you always work with it when its cold," she says, folding over her perfect circle onto the rolling pin and transferring it to the waiting fluted tin.We cluster around the stainless steel work

Dixon St Deli, Wellington, New Zealand

You had me at bacon.Because my trip to Wellington was organised so quickly, I didn't have much time to do research. Yes, food research. I usually like to spend days or weeks looking online for recommendations, checking out restaurant websites, food blogs and reviews for the best eats in the area.As I'd walked past Dixon St Deli on my first afternoon in Wellington, I doubled back once I realised

The Ambeli, Wellington, New Zealand

Pan-fried haloumi $17.00with roasted choggia beet salad and mint dressingDo you have anything on the menu that's local?It's a question I often ask when travelling overseas, a chance to sample fresh fare from the area in which it was caught or grown.Co-owner and maitre'd of The Ambeli, Shaebodine Moleta, can only smile. He then launches into a detailed description of almost every item on the menu

Wellington on a Plate food festival 2009

Have stomach. Will travel.This is the descriptor on my current blogger profile. Those two sentences could not have been apt for my weekend adventure.How so? I was hosted over the weekend for the first ever Wellington on a Plate food festival.That's right. Positively Wellington Tourism flew me across the ditch to eat my around their beautiful city. Oh yes, even my jaw dropped a little at the

Adora Handmade Chocolates, Earlwood

Gia truffles - soft hazelnut centre with a milk waferIt's the last place you'd look for a chocolate shop.Sitting on the side of the road, a lone retailer in a sprawl of suburbia, Adora Handmade Chocolates looks like a fish out of water.And water isn't too far away. The sloping hill leads down to the Illawarra Road bridge over Cooks River, with Mahony Memorial Reserve on one side of the bridge,