And no, it’s not MSG.

Seeing Anason’s Burak Cebi in action, effortlessly breezing around the restaurant’s buzzing dining space, laughing and joking with diners, and looking after his team - it's easy to assume that Burak is a career hospitality professional. However, he’s anything but.

It might be a green papaya's throw away from another four Thai restaurants dishing up pad thai and choo chee curries, but there are some standout dishes at this local favourite on Willoughby Road that make it worth a visit.

Having been open since 1993, North Sydney’s Rengaya was the first authentic Japanese BBQ restaurant to open in Australia, and has since been an iconic destination for meat and seafood lovers alike.

If you’ve eaten your way along Dotonbori, Osaka’s pedestrian-only thoroughfare for street food, you’ll want to reminisce at Osaka Bar with its impressive renditions of takoyaki, kushikatsu and okonomiyaki.

“So what kind of food do you like?” Yes, you’re in luck - you've got front row seats to a real live first date. And for the rest of your meal, it's impossible not to have your ears pricked for questions around work, travel, play and family; let alone keep an intelligible, flowing conversation going with your poor dining partner.

A visit to the Oiden 'bowl bar' - a Japanese self-serve restaurant where you fill up your tray with whatever takes your fancy - brings back fond memories of my favourite uni cafeteria in Copenhagen.

A hidden Elizabeth Bay restaurant where the ‘chef’s table’ experience doesn’t set you back a paycheck or involve a flaming onion volcano.

If you’re going to be hungover, you may as well do it in the company of comforting Taiwanese food at Mother Chu’s.

Chef O-san is constantly tinkering with his recipes to suit the Australian palate - and his collagen-rich ramen is one of the delicious products of his experimentation.

Sushi train... sushi-go-round... kaiten-zushi... whatever you like to call it, we're all familiar with the wonderful concept of sitting in front of a conveyer belt, watching plates of sushi pass before our hungry eyes, and picking off the ones that look the best before someone else down the line gets a chance.

A mundane discussion about Zomato’s scoring system, followed by badly-worded descriptions of delicious Malaysian food. You’re welcome.

While visiting Sydney last weekend, Miss T and I found ourselves on the western side of the CBD around lunchtime (or rather, late lunchtime as it was already 2pm). We knew that there was nothing that would satisfy our near-‘hangriness’ better than a big, juicy, burger. However, that’s where we were faced with a difficult decision – Mary’s CBD or Burger Project?

It's not often I get a chance to wander around Sydney's CBD with no time constraints and no plans other than to keep my eyes peeled for interesting photo ops. But when my fiance organised half a day's worth of bridal-related activities, it presented the perfect opportunity to take my Fuji X100S out for a spin!

the Ampersand Cafe sits along a busy stretch of Oxford Street in Paddington, opposite the Victoria Barracks. it's a 'cafe bookstore' - which means a multi-story library towards the back of the cafe boasting 30,000 second-hand books, an invitation to lounge around or chat at the communal tables while you sip on a coffee, and a range of $1 books for sale (which one young passerby astutely noticed and managed to convince his mum to buy him four books about dragons). 

it's a popular venue among the locals, without any sign of being pretentious. the decor has retained much of its vintage charm, the menu is full of old favourites, and the staff are warm and inviting. perfect for a rainy day!

2012 was the first year i got to see the Vivid festival, and man, was it cool. an animated town projected onto customs house, a chandelier hologram in front of the harbour bridge, illuminated games of noughts and crosses near the MCA. and somehow, the organisers of Vivid put on an even better show in 2013.   

for one, the Opera House projection this year (done by The Spinifex Group) was a huge improvement - lively and engaging. the addition of Darling Harbour and Walsh Bay as event 'precincts' also provided a chance to explore something a bit different, and escape from the army of prams, strollers, double prams, and 'baby joggers' down in Circular Quay/The Rocks (i know... an army of (D)SLRs and tripods isn't much fun to contend with either). and the ferry service between the precincts, while we didn't use it, seemed to be a great idea and was evidently wildly popular with young families.