Australian dining traditionally evokes images of charred sausages on questionably blackened barbeque grills, buckets of prawns, and fingers sticky with mango juice.

​While there’s nothing wrong with each of these gourmet experiences, there is also a more nuanced way to appreciate Australiana on a dish- by making the most of native ingredients that otherwise grow, bloom and are forgotten on the vine. 

Harvest at Newrybar has taken the second approach to Australian dining, creating an ever-changing menu that makes the most of its own native garden, and other produce local to the region. Where exactly is the region you may well wonder? The tiny town of Newrybar is a 15 minute drive from Byron Bay, so while dining here you are in basically sniffing distance of a Hemsworth. 

Let’s take a stroll through the wilderness to find out what could end up on your plate when you venture out this way. 

For someone who enjoys creating things in the kitchen, I don’t have an array of fancy gadgets. Three pots, a couple of fry pans and a whisk seems to have done me fine so far. 

When I had the chance to review the new multi-cooker from Crockpot, I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect. While I’ve heard from people who rave about one-button cooking, the luddite in me still seemingly hasn’t progressed far from the stove. 

The Crock-Pot Express Crock Multi Cooker has an individual sauté button, stew button and there’s even a dessert button. That’s my kind of button . 

How did I go with unleashing a new piece of technology in the kitchen? Read on to find out. 

​What do you get when you cross an 80s playground staple with a favourite winter warmer dessert? 

Redskin Brownies. You get Redskin Brownies.

And a sugar rush that will push you through your next gym session, even if that’s three days away. 

If you too want a hit of nostalgia with your next serve of cake, read on. 

It’s no secret that there is many a Thai restaurant Brisbane town. No matter which suburb you enter into, chances are there will be a Tom Yum on offer somewhere. 

With competition this high, to be classified as a good Thai restaurant is serious kudos indeed.

West End's Gala Thai is a good Thai restaurant. 

So what makes their massaman a massa-have?

Lets find out.

Degustation dinners are usually a fancy affair.

A candelabra would not be entirely out of place in the middle of a linen-decked table, as a black and white cuff artfully arranges a diminutive plate of food at a 45 degree angle to it.

At New Farm’s Allium though, there is not one white tablecloth in sight leaving the food to stand on its merit alone.

So how does the dressed-down degustation experience compare to its starched-up counterparts?

Let’s take a look.

​Where can you find Yorkshire pudding, a Tardis, a pint of London Pride, the Queen and a couple of corgis? 

If you said Mt Tamborine, you’d be right. 

The Fox and Hounds Country Inn is a British pub that was dismantled bit-by-bit from Tunbridge Wells, and rebuilt bit-by-bit in the Gold Coast Hinterland. 

It’s not a british-theme pub; it’s a right old British pub. 

But does it hold a candle to The Three-Legged Mare, or The Bull and Spectacles back in Blighty?

Let’s find out. 

There’s something ridiculously satisfying about burgers and craft beer.

And also cutting off rogue threads on the shirt you’re currently wearing, but we’ll stick to the burgers and beer for now.

It’s strange to call DA’Burger the new kid on the block seeing as it has become something of a New Farm institution for the last five years.

​For cutlery-haters on the northside though, DA’Burger has just opened up a new restaurant in Ascot, bringing with it an upgraded menu that includes house-smoked wings. Winner, winner.

So has the new DA’Burger taken off in full flight compared to the old? Let’s find out.

What does Ziggy Stardust, tea smoked duck and the Brisbane 'burbs have in common?

Good question. Bear with me. 

New on the Brisbane dining scene, Lodger Kitchen and Bar takes its name from a David Bowie album. In particular, the album Lodger is where Bowie really shunned the expectations of popular music and struck out in his own unique way.

In a similar vein, Brisbane dining scene veterans Blaire Gillespie and Daniel Collins have ventured out on their own from the likes of Bacchus and Stokehouse Q, creating their own restaurant that combines the likes of fine dining with a casual atmosphere. 

So is there a starman waiting in the sky for this new venture? What does that even mean? Let’s find out. 

​The term “whole foods” traditionally speaks to an unprocessed, unrefined plant-based food item. Like a raw carrot. 

Healthy? Yes. Mouth-watering? Not exactly in its current form. 

I really do enjoy eating healthy, but I have to admit that I need my healthy foods to be zhooshed-up a little. 

Enter Miss Bliss and her Whole Foods Kitchen in West End. 

Using the concept of whole foods and healthy eating as a basis for the menu, I was hoping for some creativity for getting my five-a-day, within the one meal sitting.

How did I go? Let’s take a look. 

Date night at our house lately has taken on a whole new meaning.

Gone are the candle-lit dinners, boxes of chocolates and flowers, and in are… just dates. Literally. 

This year I decided to enter the Ekka Fine Arts Cookery competition in the highly coveted Date Loaf category. Ok I have no idea if it’s highly coveted or not, but it looked easy enough to have a crack at and was open to novices only.

​Enter me.

So how did I go? Read on to find out.