Sydney New Year's Eve Fireworks

Welcome to 2011! It's hard to believe that another year has come has gone. Writing Grab Your Fork has been a huge part of it, and I'm grateful for the friendships I've made, the comments I've received, the opportunities I've been given, and the readers (yes you!) who stop by everyday.In 2010 I published a total of 224 posts, all written after I've clocked off from my day job - I've yet to find a

Easy canapes: Seared scallops

Can you believe it's the end of another decade? It seems like only yesterday we were welcoming in the noughties.Tonight you'll find me around Sydney Harbour with 1.5 million of my closest friends. I've spent New Years Eve in New York Times Square and on London's Westminster Bridge beneath Big Ben, but I still rate the fireworks spectacular around Sydney Harbour as the best NYE party in the

The Flute Bakery, Fyshwick Canberra

The Flute Bakery is in the last possible place you'd expect to find it. Tucked down a barren street lined with industrial estates in Fyshwick, it appears like a shimmering mirage of gustatory salvation.

Even then, the canvas awnings and outdoor seating reveal little of what lays within. We push open the door to find an elegant French patisserie, pies and quiches in the warmer, a gleaming glass

Silo Bakery, Kingston, Canberra

I'm not a morning person, but if there's one thing that I will wake up early for, it's food. Work took me Canberra a couple of months ago (hello backlog), and if there was one place I was determined to visit it was Silo Bakery. It was surprisingly easy to convince my office colleagues to join me on post-work eating adventures - 'so where are we eating tonight, Helen?' they'd ask.It was even

Hugos Bar Pizza, Kings Cross

"Pizza?" Peter Evans asks, as he wends his way through the crowd at the launch of the Hugos Bar Pizza new private dining room."It's potato and lardo," he says, gesturing toward the thin crust pizza in his hand. "Basically it's potato and fat," he explains to those with blank expressions on their faces.Potato and fat? Potato and fat? I would have called it potato and deliciousness. Potato and

Easy entertaining: Holiday wreath bread

How was your Christmas? Mine was filled with ham, turkey, gravlax, pavlova, fruit cake and more. It was a weekend of feasting, but as Master Six intoned to me solemnly on Christmas morning, "Christmas is not about presents. It's about spending time with your family."And so there was eating and drinking, and then jumping on the trampoline and playing Snap with the kids. Everyone brought a dish for

Stomachs Eleven: Christmas dinner

Christmas? It's about the three F's - food, family and friends. What's even better is when you are able to combine all three.Over the past two years, our dinner party group Stomachs Eleven has taken turns to host a homemade meal, and these days our circle of friends has become more like a family. Someone's usually running late, the early birds will pitch in with last minute prep, and there's

Charlie & Co Burgers, Westfield Sydney

Parmesan and truffle fries $8Everybody's talking about them. The parmesan and truffle fries at Justin North's burger joint Charlie & Co. have created a new obsession for hungry Sydneysiders.The frantic crowds that swarmed Westfield Sydney when it first opened have now thankfully dissipated. We found no crowds when we visited midweek at 6pm, although the last-minute Christmas rush and Boxing Day

Bodalla, Tuross Head and The Big Cheese: South Coast NSW

Who doesn't love a country fair?After a leisurely morning at the Moruya Markets on the South Coast, we pulled into Bodalla (population 308 according to the 2006 census) just after midday.Bodalla police stationThe town of Bodalla began when Thomas Sutcliffe Mort purchased 13,000 acres of land in the area in 1860. Mort was determined to create a dairy estate, eventually supplying fresh milk,

Duke Bistro, Darlinghurst

The only bore you'll find at Duke Bistro is propped up at the bar, a boar's head sitting on a stool with a bottle of sriracha chilli sauce gripped in his teeth.It's an odd sight at first, but one that underlines the devil-may-care cheekiness of this cosy bistro perched on top of the Flinders Hotel.Duke Bistro dining roomYoung guns Thomas Lim (ex-Tetsuya's) and Mitch Orr (ex-Sepia) head up the

Malacca Straits, Broadway Ultimo

I like cereal for breakfast, for supper, and as a snack, but the best kind of cereal is served on prawns - Singapore style.

Cereal prawns is a dish not often found in Sydney, and it is only as we exit Malacca Straits that I notice this dish on the specials menu taped to the wall. Here too I find salted egg yolk prawn. I vow immediately to return. On my next visit I see the sign for assam

Daruma Japanese Restaurant, Haymarket Chinatown

Teriyaki chicken udon set $9.50I have to admit it. Japanese food is my weakness. Steaming bowls of ramen, quivering fresh sashimi, the sticky sweetness of sushi rice and fat chewy strands of udon. Japanese cuisine is all about simplicity and satisfaction, presented with the visual beauty of an inspired artist.Age gyoza $4.50Daruma Japanese Restaurant in the Prince Centre is busy with students and

Happy Lemon, Broadway

Green tea with rock salt and cheese. Who could refuse?Happy Lemon is the latest drinks chain to hit Australian shores, a Hong Kong company that started in 2006 and has since spread to over 100 stores across Hong Kong and China.It's easy to get swept up in the cartoon chirpiness of the place, a dizzying entrapment of winking characters, video game-like footage on the TV screen and walls that

On The Pier, Batemans Bay and Moruya Markets

Our South Coast mini-break was a happy mix of sights, from Wollongong's Nan Tien Temple to Berry's Famous Donut Van. We continued down the Princes Highway to Batemans Bay, a four hours journey if travelling straight from Sydney.It's amazing how fast one can metabolise donuts and meat pies and parfait and passionfruit slice. We were booked in for dinner at On The Pier, tucked away on the side of

Sydney Food Bloggers Christmas Picnic

Strawberry Santas by Ayana from Absolutely AyanaIt was a spectacular day for a picnic on Saturday, a backdrop of clear blue skies and dappled sunshine for the second annual Sydney Food Bloggers Christmas Picnic co-hosted by Chocolatesuze and I.Over sixty food bloggers descended on Centennial Park, a chance for everyone to meet new faces, mingle and, most importantly, eat.Christmas puddings by

Bavarian Bier Cafe O'Connell, Sydney

So what are you having?I have a confession to make. If I happen to ask you this question, there are usually hidden agendas at stake.Sometimes the planets will align and Suze will look at me and say "I can't decide between the pork belly and the pork knuckle", and I will reply with those three magic words "Should we share?"And happiness and relief will blanket us both.Freshly baked Bavarian

Freebie Friday: Win a $100 gift voucher from Audrey & Marco online delicatessen

Do you tend to go Christmas shopping but then find yourself only buying presents for yourself?

Hey, I agree. You're worth it! And this week's Freebie Friday is the perfect prize for you!

You'll be able to shop to your heart's (and stomach's!) content with a $100 gift voucher from Audrey & Marco, the newly launched Australian online delicatessen with products from all over Europe. There are

Kazbah, Balmain - Breakfast Banquet

Pace yourself.These are the two key words you must hold onto when you sit down to the breakfast feast at Kazbah.Kazbah on DarlingThe breakfast feast is not to be bandied about lightly. This is a meal of such epic proportions you should plan at least a week ahead, stretching your stomach with water as though you were a competitor in a Major League Eating competition.A set minimum of six people for

The Famous Berry Donut Van and a food tour of Berry

Mention the quaint town of Berry and I think of donuts.Not just any donut, but the Famous Berry Donut Van.The Famous Berry Donut VanThe Famous Berry Donut Van has been trading in Berry for sixty years, the old van recently given a new lick of paint and fancy colour scheme in mocha and chocolate browns.What hasn't changed is the donuts. Cooked to order and cooked by hand, they claim to have "never

Hijazi's Falafel, Arncliffe

Eating out for breakfast doesn't have to be expensive. I followed up a tip from Grab Your Fork reader Yvette and headed to Hijazi's in Arncliffe for this month's Time Out Sydney column. You could eat yourself into a stupor here and find yourself only paying about $10 for the privilege.


Hijazi's, Arncliffe

WHAT IS HIJAZI'S?
A Lebanese takeaway and restaurant that is famous for its crunchy

Nan Tien Temple and a food tour of Wollongong

Sometimes a little peace and quiet is just what the mind and body needs.Last weekend I took off for a famil of the South Coast, hosted by Tourism Wollongong and Eurobodalla Coast Tourism. It had been ages since I'd headed down the coast, nothing but distant memories of family holidays from childhood - fish and chips at the beach, digging sandcastles and peeling sticky limbs from the melting

Roll Plus, Haymarket Chinatown Sydney

I can always eat.Is it Asian genetics that enables, nay, insists my gullet to seek out substantial meals three times a day? Forget the flimsy sandwich for lunch, or insipid salad for dinner. When I pay for a meal, I want carbs! And protein! And vegetables! And carbs!Gyoza $7The Extra and I find ourselves at Roll Plus for lunch, a small Japanese eatery tucked in along the northern end of Dixon

Black chicken soup, turtle stew and a wedding

"I ordered a few special things for dinner," our host in the Philippines said with a knowing wink.He wasn't kidding. A farewell meal to mark the end of our visit to Manila was a banquet like no other. My penchant for food blogging had not gone unnoticed, and our kind hosts seemed to take great pleasure in creating a menu I was unlikely to forget in a hurry.Live prawns marinating in rice wineWe'd