Mr M and I love trying new food and experiencing fabulous restaurants. Our personal ‘rating system’ is based on the right balance of food, ambiance and service.

Here are some of my restaurant recommendations, I’ll add to it regularly so keep an eye on this page if you’re feeling hungry.

South Australia:

Name: Seed Kitchen + Winehouse. Location: Clare, South Australia. Go here for: Fresh, hand-made dishes inspired by local produce and regional Italian flavours. What I ate: Venison bresaola, squid-ink linguine with crab, pork 3 ways, lemon semifreddo. Check it out here. [I dined here…many times! What can I say, Mr M and I are regulars!]

Name: Hently Farm. Location: Seppeltsfield, Barossa Valley, South Australia. Go here for: A special occasion. What I ate: 14 courses of pure aesthetic and gastronomic bliss. Wow! Check it out here. [I dined with Mr M in October, 2015, to celebrate our 5th-anniversary-of-meeting. Naww, romantic!]

Name: Ruby Red Flamingo. Location: North Adelaide, South Australia. Go here for: A fun night with friends – good friends who don’t mind sharing their food! What I ate: So many delicious things, handmade pasta, beef Carpaccio, pork cutlet. Check it out here. [I dined with Mr M and friends in July, 2015. They don’t take reservations, but it’s definitely worth lining up for.]

Name: Kang Kong. Location: 44 Waymouth Street, Adelaide. Go here for: Fresh Asian-fusion dishes and a wine list featuring SA drops. What I ate: SA kingfish sashimi with black mussels, steamed chicken dumplings with laksa-inspired emulsion, chilli pork salad, drunken pork steamed buns. Check it out here. [I dined here in February 2016 with Mr M and our good friends, Mr & Mrs S]

Queensland:

Name: Pony Dining. Location: Eagle Street Pier, Brisbane. Go here for: Shared plates with an amazing view of the river. What I ate: Chargrilled king prawns and Gruyère soufflé. Check it out here. [I dined with Mr M in November 2015.]

New South Wales:

Name: The Apollo. Location: Potts Point, NSW. Go here for: Cheese. Seriously, the saganaki would be enough to keep me coming back. What I ate: Saganaki with honey and oregano, pulled lamb shoulder (ah-mazing), taramasalata roe dip, incredible potatoes. Yes, this is the kind of place where even the potatoes are incredible. Check it out here. [I dined with a fabulous group of friends, who were not so polite as to not fight over the last piece of saganaki, in December 2015.]

International:

Name: Blue Kanu. Location: Queenstown, New Zealand (South Island). Go here for: Islander-Asian fusion. Trust me, it works. What I ate: a whole wok-fried fish…crispy skin, coriander, chilli…. Check it out here. [I dined with Mr M in July, 2015, during a ski holiday.]

Name: Trattori Da Carlo. Location: Orvieto, Tuscany, Italy. Go here for: Authentic Italian food, fresh and simple, hand prepared by Carlo himself, away from the tourist strip. If you’re lucky, his mum might be hanging around, sneaking the limoncello. What I ate: We trusted Carlo and he delivered – a simple salad made decadent with truffle oil, chilli mussels, handmade pasta, finished off with limencollo (a little too much, we couldn’t find our car!) [I dined with Mr M in March 2014, during our honeymoon in Italy.]

 Japanese spotlight: read Mr and Mrs M’s dining guide to Niseko, Kyoto and Tokyo.