Petition Kitchen, Perth, Western Australia (Alissa and Don Eat Australia)

A few years ago Alissa assisted friends as a set designer for an immersive theatre piece called Pollyanna. Staged in the Treasury Building during 2012's Fringe World Festival, it was great to see these long empty spaces reactivated for use. As we watched the works to restore the building to its former glory take place in the ensuing years, Alissa and I often wondered how the spaces would look once the restoration was complete. With the multi-concept bar and restaurant Petition taking up most of the space used for Pollyanna, we were particularly interested to dine at Petition Kitchen - especially after hearing that chef Jesse Blake was an acolyte of Andrew McConnell (of Cumulus Inc. and Cutler & Co fame). Excited by the promise of a new restaurant and keen to see how it stacked up after our meal at Petition Beer Corner just days earlier, we booked a table for four as a catch up with our friends Justin and Sarah.

No Mafia, Northbridge, Western Australia (Alissa and Don Eat Australia)

As much as Alissa and I love degustation dining, such meals are often the most draining of all when it comes to writing about them - and its all the worse when there are multiple back to back. Such was the case in August this year; with the month spent writing about epic degustations in Sydney at Cafe Paci and Sepia as well as Nomad's Shared 9-course menu, I just had no energy left in me to write about any of the meals we'd had in Perth over that month, and when September came around I mainly just wanted to write about, well, burgers. A Sauma post is still on the back-burner from then, and an incredible Il Capo meal at Lalla Rookh accompanied by a marvellous bottle of Barolo will sadly go undocumented as we were so busy over the month that we forgot to take down notes!

One place we visited during that time was No Mafia in Northbridge, and for that meal we had made extensive enough notes to be able to come back to months afterwards. A spur of the moment decision driven by the better than expected tax return we would be getting, Alissa and I drove into the city to finally dine at this pasta-free Southern Italian restaurant we'd been wanting to try for months.

Chicken Hof & Soju (AKA Lee Family Chicken), Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong (Alissa and Don Eat Asia)

Who doesn't love Fried Chicken? It's such a simple dish in a lot of ways, but there is something immensely satisfying about well breaded and fried poultry, with a crispy exterior encasing perfectly juicy meat inside. For many people growing up in most places with a strong American influence on their fast food, the Colonel's Southern-style secret recipe would have been their first taste of Fried Chicken but in the hipster-driven shift away from fast food conglomerates, smaller restaurants serving more idiosyncratic takes on Fried Chicken have come to the fore. Although the ascendency of independent American-style food establishments has seen many a 'craft' take on the Southern Fried style, it is Korean Fried Chicken that I find particularly interesting given the Asian influences on the Fried Chicken format. Having tried versions of Korean Fried Chicken in Australia, Alissa and I were keen to visit a specialist while in Hong Kong, and we decided to check out Chicken Hof & Soju (AKA Lee Family Chicken), a restaurant credited as having started Hong Kong's love for this other KFC.

Oddies Foodies, Wan Chai, Hong Kong (Alissa and Don Eat Asia)

Along with Dim Sum, Wanton Noodles and Roast Goose, the Egg Waffle must rank amongst Hong Kong's most iconic must-try dishes. Shaped as rounded bubbles rather than the gridded waffle shape more common in the west, Alissa and I ran out of time to try them during our last Hong Kong trip in 2013, and as such Alissa wanted to ensure a dessert of Egg Waffles was added to our dining itinerary this time around. Scouring blogs and Instagram feeds, Alissa came upon Oddies Foodies, a Wan Chai hole in the wall serving a particularly food porny take on the Egg Waffle.  Little more than 500m away from our ramen dinner at Kamitora, we decided to pop into Oddies afterwards for dessert.

Mango Tango @ Siam Square Soi 3, Bangkok, Thailand (Alissa and Don Eat Asia)

After our meal at Thip Samai, Alissa and I wandered down the street in search of one of her all-time favourite desserts - Mango Sticky Rice. Eating this classic Thai dessert at a street food stall was a fun experience, and it was a well made example of the dish. While doing research on Bangkok's best Mango Sticky Rice stalls and stops, I stumbled upon a post by friend of the blog WenY, recommending a very deluxe take featuring Mango Ice Cream and Mango Pudding from a small chain called Mango Tango. Given the heat and humidity of Bangkok's climate the ice cream sounded like a winning addition, and with a Mango Tango outlet just across the road from Siam Centre, it was very conveniently located for a cooling afternoon snack.

Som Tum Nua @ Siam Centre, Bangkok, Thailand (Alissa and Don Eat Asia)

In Australia, we tend to think of food courts as being greatly inferior to 'real' restaurants. This is not an unfair point of view given that every shopping centre food court seems to feature the same selection of generic brands selling the same unexciting chain store products, there is a certain low quality homogeneity to Australian shopping centre food. This presumption does not follow in many Asian countries, with the food courts in Bangkok's shopping malls featuring a plethora of genuinely excellent places to eat. Having decided to ease our way into Bangkok with a stroll through the main shopping malls of Siam Square and Siam Centre, Alissa and I popped into Som Tum Nua for lunch after hearing good things about the quality of their namesake dish - Som Tum, better known in the English speaking world as Papaya Salad.

Sarawak Hawker Cuisine, Willetton, Western Australia (Alissa and Don Eat Australia)

As much as we love trying new restaurants and visiting unexplored areas in unassuming suburbs, Alissa and I also keep a selection of local restaurants on rotation as regulars for the nights we can't be bothered to cook or drive any great distance away from home. Kai has always been our most visited go-to, however our restaurant of choice for the Singapore/Malaysian Hawker niche has been in a state of flux over the two years. Initially, we used to go to Bull Creek Hawker until we discovered Kitchen Inn, however we felt that the standard of food and service dropped significantly after Kitchen Inn moved to a bigger premises. Thankfully, a tip off lead us to Ah Mei Cafe, which became a fortnightly favourite for their handmade Bakmie Special noodles. Unfortunately, we found that Ah Mei was recently sold and the new owners no longer offer the handmade noodles we used to know and love. Having recently picked up the Gourmet Traveller Restaurant Guide, I read about a recently opened Hawker restaurant in Willetton that specialised in Kolo Mee and Chicken Rice. Both amongst our personal favourite dishes, Alissa and I decided we had to given this new restaurant a try. What started as a single visit has ended up being more than a few occasions, even bringing my parents along to get their opinion last weekend.

Eat No Evil (Pop-Up Restaurant), Mosman Park, Western Australia (Alissa and Don Eat Australia)

Regardless of best intentions and levels of gluttony, the chances of trying every single truck of the annual Food Truck Rumble in the Perth Cultural Centre is near impossible. Alissa and I had to make our choices, and inevitably some food envy set in when we heard of great dishes from some of the less busy trucks while the half hour wait for a Mac and Cheese Toasted Sandwich proved to be far from worth the absurd wait. One of the trucks that we kept hearing praise for was Eat No Evil, a truck with a mission 'to create a food experience that brings people together, breaks down barriers and gives an interaction with local ingredients and dishes that will inspire you to try something new and really think about what your eating.' Although we had considered trying to find the truck in the ensuing months after the Rumble, a meal from the Eat No Evil truck never eventuated. So when our friends Jarrad and Lexi invited us to a dinner at Eat No Evil's Pop-Up Restaurant at Good Things Mosman Park, we immediately jumped at the chance - what better way to try their food than to order the entire menu in a tasting format for $45 per person, with BYO for a very reasonable $5 a head?

La Sosta, Fremantle, Western Australia (Alissa and Don Eat Australia)

In spite of (or perhaps because of) Fremantle's Cappuccino Strip's long association with Italian food and culture, its surprising how hard it is to find an impressive Italian restaurant in the Port City. Being an Eat Street that predated Perth's recent leap forward in terms of food quality and authenticity, The Cappuccino Strip has fallen victim to the very thing that made it a success in the first place - its relative safeness and catering for Australian tastes may have made the street, but with increasingly discerning and demanding tastes the term 'Fremantle Italian' is often said with an underlying tone of derision.

Having recently enjoyed some excellent meals in Fremantle at The Modern Eatery and The Raw Kitchen, I became increasingly curious to find out if there actually was an Italian restaurant along the main strip worth trying out. Consulting the Index of the 2015 Good Food Guide, I was surprised to find in this year's guide that a Fremantle Cappuccino Strip restaurant actually made the cut - La Sosta. With some expensive dinners planned for our July trip to Sydney, Alissa and I decided to forego what would have been my birthday degustation in May, and instead made a reservation at La Sosta for a decidedly more low key celebration.

The Brisbane Hotel, Perth, Western Australia (Alissa and Don Eat Australia)

Although I'm obviously a very active supporter of the culinary arts in Perth, my early to mid-20s were more focused on the performing arts. Studying Fine Arts at university, working on music projects and knowing a lot of performers meant I went out a lot to shows, happenings and exhibitions around town, and one of those semi-regular haunts was the Brisbane Hotel. Having friends in comedy and friends who had friends in comedy saw many a Tuesday night at the Hotel's Lazy Susan's Comedy Den for Shapiro Tuesdays, seeing new comedians performing for the first time or experienced comedians testing out new material all for an affordable door fee. Its been quite a few years since last seeing a show, so when Alissa and I were invited for a dinner and show at The Brisbane, we immediately jumped at the chance to take a nostalgic trip as well as try out dishes that we had heard good things about.

Kanta Japanese Kitchen, Langford, Western Australia (Alissa and Don Eat Australia)

When it comes to dining out, its probably safe to say most meals are either eaten or taken away from conveniently located local restaurants within 10 minutes from a diner's home, or at places in a major dining precinct and/or eat street. These two options would probably be sufficient to cover most meals - from a dinner when you can't be bothered to a cook to a special occasion meal - however it doesn't cover every possibility. For every legitimately excellent restaurants in a Northbridge or along Beaufort St, there are just as many hidden gems known only to those lucky enough to living in the area and/or the most ardent of foodies willing to venture out to often far flung suburbs in sometimes dodgy neighbourhoods just to have a great meal. Well known in foodie circles while otherwise relatively unknown, Kanta Japanese Kitchen in Langford is one such restaurant.

The Modern Eatery - House of Aburi Sushi, Fremantle, Western Australia (Alissa and Don Eat Australia)

With a seemingly endless stream of notable restaurant openings in Perth and Northbridge, its nice to see my old stomping grounds of Fremantle finally getting in on the action as it slowly but surely works its way out of its early 21st century funk to reclaim its rightful place as our state's Second City. During recent visits to the Port City, Alissa and I have been impressed by the concerted effort being made to make Fremantle vibrant again, whether it be the innovative activation of the old Myer Building as the cutting edge retail/new business incubator MANY 6160 or the work being done to bring vibrant life back to the High St Mall. With many new if somewhat underrecognised restaurants around, Alissa and I were particularly excited to hear about the opening of a new sushi restaurant called The Modern Eatery. Being massive fans of Japanese food, we bumped The Modern Eatery high up our never-ending wishlist and found ourselves there for an early Thursday night dinner last week.

Low Key Chow House, Leederville, Western Australia (Alissa and Don Eat Australia)

If you ever want to see me irrational and highly frustrated, then hop into the car with me while driving on the freeway during peak times - especially on a Friday night. There have been so many occasions when Alissa and I have wanted to head into Perth or Leederville for the evening and decided against it, as even going against the flow by trying to drive north can be met with sometimes inexplicably slow moving traffic and the lose-lose choice of either getting off at Canning Hwy and going through the suburban rat run or committing to the Freeway with no hope of escaping a traffic jam between there and South Perth.

Every time Alissa and I have had a free night to visit Low Key Chow House in Leederville, its been a Friday night and the thought of the drive has been enough for me to not want to go - especially since Leederville is only 15 minutes away from home if we have a clear run. With Alissa dying to try their food, I eventually gave in, and after a race against the clock we found ourselves in on the Oxford St main strip in time for our 6pm reservation.

The Raw Kitchen, Fremantle, Western Australia (Alissa and Don Eat Australia)

Keen followers of the Ministry will note something of trend in introductory paragraphs when it comes to our visits to restaurants in the Port City of Fremantle - namely, that our meals are few and far between and that the city's lack of vibrancy has led it to be a distant second city when compared to the exciting developments happening throughout Perth and Northbridge. While I still contend that Fremantle has a long way to go to catch up to Perth and the sight of the horribly boring and dead High Street Mall fills me with great sadness for a city I grew up in, there are signs that change is slowly finding its way into a city that is strangely conservative when it comes to progress considering it renowned progressiveness when it comes to social change.

Petite Villaine, Denmark, Western Australia (Alissa and Don Eat Australia)

Two years ago, Alissa and I visited Rockcliffe Winery for lunch. Back then, their cellar door restaurant was Silas Masih's Pepper & Salt - arguably the best and most interesting restaurant in Denmark - and Masih's spice-driven fusion cuisine combined with the ambiance of Rockcliffe's idyllic vineyards and gardens made for a very satisfying, lazy afternoon in the South West. By the end of that year, Pepper & Salt had moved out of Rockcliffe to take up residence at Forest Hill. I understood the move - Forest Hill's grand dining room is one of the best you're likely to find at any of WA's best cellar door restaurants, but I felt a bit sorry for Rockcliffe in a way, and hoped that the restaurant space would once again house a restaurant worthy of its setting.

Gourmandise & Co, Albany, Western Australia (Alissa and Don Eat Australia)

One of my favourite things to do in the lead up to a holiday is to scour the internet for tips and leads on interesting dining experiences, and then getting all the leads together and creating a schedule of places to check out. For the Busselton to Margaret River leg of our holiday through the South West, many of our meals were planned and booked months ahead, however as Alissa and I were staying with her parents for a whole week in Denmark, we decided to keep our schedule a bit more loose and adaptable. Using Denmark as our base, Alissa and I headed out to Albany for a day trip to visit the National Anzac Centre, have dinner at Joop Thai and try out Gourmandise and Co - a 'place for a good coffee and a simple lunch' recommended to us by Chris Zalokar after our excellent dinner at Foragers in Pemberton.

Swings Taphouse & Kitchen, Margaret River, Western Australia (Alissa and Don Eat Australia)

I've said it before and I'll say it again - pizza is an easy dish to make at a mediocre level (hence its ubiquity), but one that is very difficult to truly master. The dough, the thickness of the base, the type of oven, the temperature, the amount of toppings on top - all these variables greatly influence the final result, and while exotic and clever pizza topping combinations are obvious ways to make a pizza appear better, if the fundamentals of a great base are not achieved first then half the battle is already lost. Its for this reason I seldom seek out pizza, but when our friends Cam and Nadia said the Swings Taphouse & Kitchen made the best pizza they'd eaten since they lived in Italy, I knew it was something worth trying. We initially thought of saving it for future Down South holiday, however after a car breakdown meant another three nights in Margaret River, Alissa and I decided to pop into Swings for a late lunch.

Morries Anytime (Lunch and Breakfast), Margaret River, Western Australia (Alissa and Don Eat Australia)

In spite of only having been established less than 3 years ago, Morries Anytime has become something of a Margaret River institution. It so well known and popular - the most blogged about restaurant in the region - that it feels like its always been there, and yet for all the regular visits Alissa and I have made over those same 3 years, we've never tried the food at Morries. With two nights set aside staying with our friends Cam and Nadia in Margaret River, Alissa and I were keen to rectify this oversight by trying the lunch and breakfast menus of 'Margaret Rivers first all day, anytime hospitality venue'.

Laundry 43, Busselton, Western Australia (Alissa and Don Eat Australia)

My Father's previous job had him travelling to Bunbury and Busselton fairly regularly. My Mother would tag along and spend the day exploring the many shops and cafes before meeting up with my Father after work for dinner. One of their favourite places to eat was Laundry 43, a restaurant they would often rave about long before we picked up a copy of the Good Food Guide and discovered it to be the best rated restaurant in Busselton. While Alissa and I travel down south at least twice a year we are never in Busselton for dinner, so when planning our January 2015 trip we decided to stay the night in Busselton partly (but let's be honest, largely) for a chance to finally try this much celebrated local favourite. 

Darlings Supper Club, Northbridge, Western Australia (Alissa and Don Eat Australia)

A few months ago, Alissa and I tried the original menu of Darling Supper Club, a new Asian Fusion themed restaurant and sake bar in Northbridge from the Andy Freeman and Sam Astbury-led creative team behind the incredible Varnish on King, as well as the recently opened Flour Factory. A surprising appearance in the Good Food Guide notwithstanding, the early reviews for Darlings were mixed to say the least, and we sadly had to agree that while the drinks list was characteristically commendable, the food was clumsy in its execution with a seemingly poor understanding about what makes good Asian Fusion food work. This was a real shame as what made Varnish on King's food so impressive was how it over delivered for a place that is ostensibly a whiskey bar, whereas Darlings paradoxically under delivered in spite of being more food focused.

That was in early September. A little over a week ago in mid-November, we received an email inviting us to a bloggers' Sunday lunch at Darlings to try their new menu. Realising that things were not working, Darlings had gone through some major changes; we would learn this included the firing of 5 chefs in three months(!) and the hiring of a trio of new talent in the form of Joel Robert as the new head chef,  an Iron Chef Thailand alum nicknamed 'The Chopper' and Youngwoo from South Korea bringing his sashimi skills and knowledge to the Darlings kitchen. Seeing how seriously the creative team wanted this place to work, Alissa and I immediately said yes. Coincidentally, the event's date - Sunday 23rd of November - marked our first wedding anniversary, providing a lovely opportunity for a celebratory Sunday lunch.