Miki's Open Kitchen, Margaret River, Western Australia (Alissa and Don Eat Australia)

With the weather warming up over the Summer months in Perth, the cooler climes of the South West beckon - even more than they usually do. Alissa and I had already spent Christmas and New Year's in the Great Southern, and a weekend away with friends in Margaret River was another chance to escape January's run of high 30°C days. While we were down for a belated edition of our annual Christmas Cookoff competition, Alissa and I took the opportunity to tick another Margaret River restaurant off our list of places to try - Miki's Open Kitchen, a Japanese restaurant that came highly recommended.

Mott 32, Central, Hong Kong (Alissa and Don Eat Asia)

In the lead up to our 2015 trip to Hong Kong, I happened to be walking through the local supermarket when I noticed the latest issue of Gourmet Traveller fortuitously featured an article about new restaurants in Hong Kong. The informative article featured a number of restaurants we had heard of and were considering booking tables for, with one in particular catching our eye. Named Mott 32 after the location of New York's first Chinese convenience store, the restaurant's eye popping interior design and the promise of unusual and luxe Dim Sum was enough to convince us to reserve a table for our visit, and it served as our last meal in Hong Kong before catching our flight back home to Australia.

Butao Ramen, Central, Hong Kong (Alissa and Don Eat Asia)

When making our initial plans for our 2015 Hong Kong trip, our dining options were significantly more fanciful and upmarket, including an ambitious plan to dine at no less than three separate restaurants with 3 Michelin Stars. The serious decline of the Australian dollar over the year really put a damper on those plans, and we realigned our meals to better reflect the changed economic situation. Thankfully, Hong Kong has many excellent restaurants at the more affordable end of the spectrum and we refocused our energies on trying many of the city's best bowls of Tonkotsu Ramen. Having tried Ichiran in 2013 (and revisited it as part of this trip) as well as the equally excellent Kamitora Ramen, Alissa and I decided to visit Butao - the noodle shop often credited as having started Hong Kong's Ramen Craze.

Kamitora Ramen, Wan Chai, Hong Kong (Alissa and Don Eat Asia)

During our last trip to Hong Kong in 2013, Alissa and I had the great pleasure of dining at Ichiran Ramen. A branch of a well regarded Japanese chain, their Tonkotsu Ramen was the most refined we had ever tried, and it remains our benchmark for the Hakata-style. The only problem with Ichiran is that a bowl of porky goodness comes at a price - you have to earn your bowl by queuing up outside the restaurant for quite a significant amount of time, only to then have to wait in another line inside the building! During our 2013 trip, the wait was made acceptable due to the mild December weather, however we were greeted with uncomfortable humidity during our recent return visit, making the wait not very fun at all. Given Hong Kong's well known addiction to Ramen, Alissa and I were keen to try a few of the city's other Ramen joints of repute to see if we could find a bowl as good as Ichiran without the queues. We decided to check out two places - Butao Ramen (the shop often credited as started Hong Kong's Ramen Craze) and the lesser known Kamitora Ramen in Wan Chai.

Little Bao, Central, Hong Kong (Alissa and Don Eat Asia)

Although a long time favourite order at Dim Sum restaurants and as a snack throughout Asia, the humble steamed bun or Bao has reached even greater heights of ubiquity in the post-Momofuku culinary world. The Momofuku Pork Bun must be one of the most heavily copied and replicated dishes of modern times, with entire restaurants and menus almost obsessively based around variations on the steamed bun theme, such as Wonderbao in Melbourne. Given its almost viral spread and continuing influence over a decade since the opening of Noodle Bar, it begs the question - have we reached Peak Bao? Not yet, if Little Bao in Hong Kong is anything to go by.

Le Du, Bangkok, Thailand (Alissa and Don Eat Asia)

Although long highly regarded for its national cuisine, its only been in the last few years that Bangkok's fine dining scene has come into its own in terms of international recognition. With both Nahm and Gaggan having topped Asia's 50 Best Restaurants lists in 2014 and 2015 respectively and reservations made at both, Alissa and I were interested to try one of the more up and coming restaurants as well. Having seen Chef Ton in David Thompson's Thai Street Food series and receiving some solid recommendations for his restaurant, we decided to try Le Du,  a restaurant serving thoroughly modern food that builds on ideas and flavours from Thailand's rich culinary tradition.

Thip Samai, Bangkok, Thailand (Alissa and Don Eat Asia)

After a wonderful five week honeymoon eating our way through Asia in 2013, Alissa and I were excited to head off for the continuing adventures of Alissa and Don Eat Asia in 2015. What started as a Japan trip with stopovers in Bangkok and Hong Kong ended up focusing on our stopovers to the point that we decided to drop Japan altogether - especially with the considerable rise of Bangkok restaurants like Nahm and Gaggan making a convincing case for Thailand as a truly great candidate for destination dining. With the risk of flight delays and missing our reservations meaning Gaggan and Nahm would have to wait until later in the week, Alissa and I headed out for our first meal in Bangkok at Thip Samai - a restaurant said by many to serve the best Pad Thai in Bangkok.

Short Order Burger Co, Fremantle, Western Australia (Alissa and Don Eat Australia

Friends who know my deep love and almost religious fervour for Ramen Noodles are often surprised by my lack of regard for the western fast food equivalent - the Burger. It's not that I don't like Burgers of course, its just that I'm so often let down by how ordinary even supposedly gourmet burgers are; the amount of times I've asked myself 'is this that much better than McDonald's?' and answered in the negative vastly outweighs the times I've said 'yes'. My image of the Platonic Form of a Perfect Burger is not particularly unreasonable or unusual either - soft brioche style bun, a flavoursome and tender patty cooked rare to medium rare, cheese and pickles, not overly sauced or sloppy and not so big that its hard to take a bite of. And yet, that perfect combo is a real rarity, with the Merrywell Burger the only burger I've written about on the blog that fits the bill. That is, until now.

Momofuku Seiobo (Bar Menu), Pyrmont, New South Wales (Alissa and Don eat Australia)

When creating the shortlist of places to check out during our trip to Sydney, Momofuku Seiobo was one of the places that I knew was non-negotiable. As long time fan of David Chang (I even cooked a dinner of Momofuku Ko dishes late last year), a visit to a Momofuku restaurant has been on my restaurant bucket list for many years, and I was not going to let the opportunity to cross one off the list pass me by. The only problem? We had already reserved degustation dinners at LuMi, Cafe Paci and Sepia months in advance, and with other banquet/chef's choice menus at Ms. G's and Nomad also planned, Seiobo's reservation window of 20 days before the requested date came a bit too late to an already crowded and expensive party, and I didn't want to cut any of those other meals out of our plans either. Thankfully, Seiobo had a perfect compromise; their small 5 seat bar offers a limited bar menu for walk-ins, and features that most famous of Momofuku dishes - the Pork Bun. With the promise of Pork Buns and other dishes in the more casual Momofuku style of Noodle Bar and Ssam, Alissa and I set off early for dinner in Pyrmont to avoid any potential queues for the bar.

Gumshara Ramen, Haymarket, New South Wales (Alissa and Don Eat Australia)

While in Sydney for work a few years ago, I was fortunate enough to try a bowl of ramen so intensely porky and delicious that it was life changing. After sitting over a giant bowl of literally Pork, Pork, Pork and more Pork, I called Alissa and my parents up to tell them I'd just eaten the greatest bowl of Ramen in my life, and jokingly (but also half seriously) added that I was also about to have a heart attack due its rich unctuousness. Along with the more refined (and possibly even better) Hakata Ramen of Ichiran in Hong Kong, that bowl has been a high watermark for Tonkotsu - and Ramen in general. Called Super Mega Ramen and the most deluxe and impressive bowl sold at Gumshara Ramen in Sydney's Chinatown, Gumshara was the top priority of places to check out again while we were over from Perth for a week. Having eaten a lot of Ramen in the years since - and even written a guide to the different Ramen Joints in Perth - I was interested to found out if Gumshara was as amazing as I'd remembered it being.

Mary's, Highgate, Western Australia (Alissa and Don Eat Australia)

While Degustations and Noodle Shops are clearly food genres for which we have high levels of enthusiasm, Alissa and I rarely go out for breakfast. Being more a fan of the kinds of food available at lunch and dinner and somewhat bored of the conventions that define breakfast foods, I'm usually a bit utilitarian in my approach to breaking the fast to save more room for the lunch foods I really want to eat. Plus, with long weekend queues at the places that do serve interesting breakfasts, I'm more likely to end up grabbing an early Banh Mi or heading out nice and early for Dim Sum just as they open than stand around for an hour at all the breakfast hot spots.

For this reason, breakfast at Mary St Bakery has long eluded me. Alissa has been and raved about how good the food was, and blogger friends continually spruiked its greatness in conversation. So when I received an invite to attend a blogger's dinner at Mary St Bakery's nighttime alter-ego Mary's, I jumped at the chance - even when it turned out it was a night Alissa was unable to make it to.

Marumo, Nedlands, Western Australia (Alissa and Don Eat Australia)

Almost 2 years ago (sadly, in pre-blog days), Alissa and I had the great privilege of booking a table at Marumo in Leeming. At the time, we were still fairly new Bateman residents and the $39 omakase-only restaurant was the best rated restaurant in the area. Bewildered by its seemingly crazy low asking price for a degustation, I tried in January 2013 to book a table for Alissa's birthday in March, only to discover that the next available month was July. Thankfully I got in when I did, as by March the restaurant was booked out for the entire year! Dining with our friends Justin, Sarah, Trevor and Annaliese, we were all blown away by the quality of the food we were getting for such a low asking price, as well as how disparate the clearly converted fish and chips shop's Ikea level furnishings were compared to the refined quality of the food. Thoroughly impressed, Justin tried to book a table straight away only to be informed that the restaurant was not accepting any further bookings as they were deciding whether to move or renovate.

Juniper & Bay, Como, Western Australia (Alissa and Don Eat Australia)

Over the last few years, Perth has really seen a massive improvement in the quality and quantity of its middle-upper price bracket eateries. Most of this growth has been concentrated in the booming Small Bar and Share Plates restaurant model typified by places like Varnish on King and The Standard, however if you're looking for something a bit quieter for a date or a special dinner without jumping into the $100+ price range of truly high end restaurants like Restaurant Amusé, the $50-$85/head price bracket has a lot less impressive options than major eastern states cities like Sydney and Melbourne. While Share Plate food is very much the flavour of the month these days, its nice to see some restaurants stepping up to fill this niche.

Foragers, Pemberton, Western Australia (Alissa and Don Eat Australia)

Sometimes the storm clouds of misfortune have a silver lining. On the way to Pemberton from Margaret River the airflow sensor in our car failed, leading to our car being towed to Augusta, another three days in Margaret River and delaying the Pemberton leg of our journey. At the time, stuck out in the searing hot sun, worried that we'd lose our deposit for our accommodation at Karri Valley Resort and then having to pay for unexpected repairs, it felt like a pretty hopeless situation. However, with a very understanding Karri Valley changing our booking, Alissa and I found ourselves in Pemberton on a Thursday and Friday night instead of the planned Monday and Tuesday. As luck would have it, the change of days meant our trip to Pemberton lined up with a dinner at Foragers, a unique cooking school, farm, restaurant and accommodation hybrid run by chef and food writer Sophie Zalokar and her husband Chris.

La Scarpetta, Margaret River, Western Australia (Alissa and Don Eat Australia)

Local knowledge can make all the difference. Talk to most Perth residents about places to dine on the Margaret River main strip, and you'll get the same standard answers - Morries, Muster Bar and Grill and Settlers Tavern will be the mainstay answers, while those keeping up with more recent openings will probably recommend Swings Taphouse (which replaced the much loved Wino's) and Miki's Open Kitchen in Margaret River. When planning our 2015 trip through the South West, I wanted to try out places that are perhaps a little less well known, and our friends in Margaret River thoroughly recommended a place they frequent called La Scarpetta, an Italian Trattoria located on the north end of the main strip run by Italian trained Italian chefs, with a strong focus on the food of Sardinia.

The Standard, Northbridge, Western Australia (Alissa and Don Eat Australia)

With a seemingly one a week rate of notable restaurant openings, its been interesting to see a common framework emerging as a model for success in Perth's burgeoning dining scene. Conceptually, its fairly straightforward: put together a great drinks list, combine it with a kitchen headed up by a chef with fine dining bonafides cooking technically proficient but accessible share plate food and serve it all up in a room with a hip and inviting mise en scene. The underlying formula may be predictable but the specifics are so open-ended that the permutations are seemingly endless - a whiskey bar with an ex-Vue de Monde chef (Varnish on King), Asian/American inspired 'dude food' from a guy who used to serve up fine dining food at Harvest in Fremantle (Pleased to Meet You) and a fortified wines specialist and artisanal bakery/charcuterie also staffed by Vue de Monde alumni (The Flour Factory) are but a few examples scattered around the future Perth City Link. Located next door to the Bonsai on Roe St and conveniently located facing the future Queen's Square precinct of the City Link, the recently opened Standard is quite possibly one of the best yet.

Maya Indian Restaurant, Fremantle, Western Australia (Alissa and Don Eat Australia)

Revisiting a restaurant after many years can be like catching up with an old friend. With all the incredible openings in Perth over the last few years, dinner in Fremantle is a somewhat uncommon practice for Alissa and I. Combined with my general reluctance to go out and eat Indian food whenever I come back from a trip to India, its been at least 4 or 5 years since I last dined at Maya, a much lauded Indian restaurant and small bar located on Market St, just off the main drag of the Cappuccino Strip. When I dined here last it was between my first and second trips to India, and I recall thinking the food was some of the better Indian I've had in Australia. After a stalled attempt to book the Winter Dego advertised on their website in July (they weren't offering it at the time), I received an email informing me that they would be served their 'Winter Banquet' every Wednesday of August. At an extremely reasonable 10 dishes for $38, this is quite likely one of the cheapest tasting menus in town (albeit seasonal), and after conferring with a few friends eager to get in on the bargain, we made a booking for six for the first Wednesday of the month.

St Michael 6003, Highgate, Western Australia (Alissa and Don Eat Australia)

In March this year, Alissa and I attended one of the 'Limited Edition Degos' at Jackson's before eponymous chef Neal Jackson closed his iconic Highgate restaurant after 15 years as a trailblazer in Perth's fine dining scene. Given the huge shadow its cast, I'd wondered what could possibly be bold enough to take its place; would it become another fine diner that would have to forever battle with the reputation of its predecessor, or would the new tenants go in the opposite direction with another casual and hipster-ready restaurant to add to the vibrant Beaufort St dining scene?

The Old Crow, Northbridge, Western Australia (Alissa and Don Eat Australia)

The Old Crow has been on our wishlist for, well, almost as long as we've had an actual written wishlist of places to try. In spite of being open for little over a year, this Northbridge restaurant has built up an enviable reputation for delicious, crowd-pleasing American-inspired Soul Food, and has been a consistent fixture on Urbanspoon's 'Talk of the Town' list (sitting at #1 at the time of writing). With glowing reviews from friends, other bloggers and professionals alike, Alissa and I were pleased a catch up with our friends Justin and Sarah (who joined us previously for a meal at Pleased To Meet You) served as a good opportunity to see for ourselves if The Old Crow lived up to all the hype.

Noodle Forum, Perth, Western Australia (Alissa and Don Eat Australia)

Though I'm glad I don't have to face the stress of peak hour traffic, there are times I wish I worked in the Perth CBD. With Alissa usually working on Saturdays and many restaurants closed on Sundays, many of the more casual eateries on our Perth CBD wishlist are a real challenge to get to. For this reason, Alissa having a Saturday off from work was an opportunity we just had to make the most of, and we went straight to the top of our list with a long awaited lunch at Noodle Forum.