Le Fare ~ Meridian Resort ~ Noumea, New Caledonia

Over our many trips to Noumea we've been avoiding resort restaurants, but the Meridian's beach-side location and the non-hotel vibe made it worth a stab. plus there were rumours of good food and pussycats.

Le Bout du Monde ~ French/New Caledonian pub grub - Noumea

We decide upon a dining rule for future trips to Noumea - if in doubt, then Le Bout du Monde.

Gone but not forgotten 2017 - our annual round up of departed eating spaces

Was 2017 a better year to be in the food business than 2016, and who made it through? Our annual round up of places gone but not forgotten this year seems bigger than ever.

Don Don ~ Japanese - Darlinghurst

Don Don - the perfect pre-gig feed buddy to the Oxford Arts Factory.

Hammoud 1 ~ Lebanese - Liverpool

We hook hard left into Liverpool on our way back from Canberra, a stop we'll be making more often. We score an easy park on the edge of town, right across the road from Hammoud 1, a joint we sniffed out on an earlier recon mission.

Campsie Hotel ~ Vietnamese / Australian - Campsie

 Campsie Hotel has a large and popular bistro tucked away out the back, filled with big families sharing dishes or couples having a quiet beer and lunch.

La Marmite ~ French - Noumea, New Caledonia

La Marmite could very well sum up everything you need for a typical Noumea fancy pants lunch - good food, great view.

Xi'an Biang Biang ~ Xian Chinese - Chinatown

The north bit of Chinatown's Dixon Street has an interesting strip of inside-out joints that are always fun to eat in, we've never had anything we'd call a bad meal along here. Xi'an Biang Biang fits in spicely nicely.

Shiraz ~ Persian - Surfers Paradise

A Persian restaurant on the Gold Coast, right in the middle of Surfers Paradise.

Bo 7 Mon Thanh Tam - Vietnamese ~ Haymarket

Bo 7 Mon Thanh Tam, the most famous seven delights of beef, is back in Haymarket inside the Mountbatten Hotel. I'll have a schooner of New with me pho, thanks.

L'Agora ~ French - Baie des Citrons, Noumea

Our 2017 Noumea feeding frenzy starts at L'Agora in Baie des Citrons.

Nam Viet and Bakersville Hot Bread Shops - Vietnamese ~ Five Dock

Our obsessive hunt for banh mi across Sydney takes us to some very original hot bread stores in Five Dock, Nam Viet and Bakersville.

New Island Cafe ~ Tsim Sha Tsui - Hong Kong

If you've ever got the airport bus or taxi into Kowloon you may have seen this lovely old sign for New Island Cafe on Canton Road, opposite all the new fandangle hotels and shopping centres.

Supermarkets of mystery - Ibumie Penang White Curry Mee

Instant noodles take on the classic Penang white curry mee.

Sichuan Street Food Pilgrimage - Chengdu Part 2, Departure

A couple of days in Chengdu before heading home...

Dera-Uma ~ Japanese - Sydney CDB

Japanese food choices abound in the Skyview Shopping Plaza. Dera-Uma is an alternative if the queues at Menya are long and the tables scarce.

Kaedama Ramen Bar ~ Japanese - Market City Food Court

One of the last stalls to open in the new Market City Level 1 Food Court is Kaedama Ramen Bar, complete with Japanese style wrap around eat in counter.

Sichuan Street Food Pilgrimage - Chongqing

Our China trip hits peak spicy in Chongqing. A mega post for a mega city.

Minh Hai ~ Chinese \ Vietnamese - Sussex Centre Food Court

Why are we so excited that Minh-Hai has opened a stall in Sussex Centre Food Court, when their mothership restaurant, a long running and much loved local institution, is a minute's walk away on George Street?

Weng Xiao Chu ~ Chinese - Dixon House Food Court

The toughest spot to run a stall in Dixon House Food Court is  hidden away up in the far corner. This spot has had the shortest lived but most interesting stalls over the years, and Weng Xiao Chu is the most popular and most accessible in a long time (sadly we never got to the Vietnamese guy here before, it looked good).

Destination Roll ~ Vietnamese - Broadway, Ultimo

Bacon and egg banh mi? Steak? Or traditional? Destination Roll have opened up in a number of places across Sydney, specialising in banh mi and some unique rolls in Vietnamese pork roll style and flavours.

Miam Patisserie ~ French & Indonesian Inspired Bakery - Pyrmont

 A French style cakery with a twist of Indo food, Miam Patisserie puts a bit of ooh-la-la yummy and enak into Pyrmont.

Lao Dong Beef Noodles - Taiwanese ~ Market City, Haymarket

The move downstairs for Market City's new food court has introduced some new stalls. Lao Dong Beef Noodles is one of the new tenants, a Taiwanese chain with a few interesting variations on just beef and noodles.

New Market City Level 1 Food Court - Chinatown

Market City have completed the renovation of their food court in Chinatown, moving it down to Level 1. A makeover brings it up to date and there's a few things lost and gained in the new location.

Charlie Phi - Vietnamese ~ Petersham

There's some fine pork roll stuff happening in Petersham. Charlie Phi Pork Rolls & Cafe is a neat Vietnamese banh mi shop serving up sandwiches with a crunch.

Polo at White Eagle Club ~ Polish - Canberra

 A Polish community club in Canberra with a restaurant either borderline hipster styled or time capsule perfect. Dumplings, schnitzels, schnapps and ponies.

Sichuan Street Food Pilgrimage - Zigong

Our next stop on our Sichuan feeding frenzy is Zigong, another buzzing little one horse Chinese town of 1.3 million people, or 2.7 million outer boondocks inclusive.

Lestari - Indonesian ~ Ultimo

Lestari has moved from its smaller digs to just a few doors along. The new space is food hall cavernous, with large hunger busting plates and bowls of Indo favourites.

Won Ton Noodle House ~ Dixon House Food Court - Chinatown

We've been revisiting the older school Cantonese stalls in Chinatown's food courts, because you just never know how long they will be around. This time we visit Won Ton Noodle House in Dixon House Food Court.

Pies Plus ~ Bakery - Kogarah

Is there anything happier in that world than a pink iced cupcake?

Chinese Dumpling Master ~ Enmore

We've been waiting twenty years for a really, really good Chinese resto in our Enmore\Newtown neighbourhood. Then Chinese Dumpling Master appears on Enmore Road, complete with handmade noodles, plastic grapes on the ceiling and even beers in the fridge. It's a dream come true.

Singapura Eating House ~ Singaporean / Malaysian - Darlinghurst

Last time we dipped into Singapura Eating House it was awash with body builders fueling up on chicken rice. While the newer Darlo location is still just around the corner from the gym, we do our best to avoid the barbells and instead carb load as many noodles as we can and waddle home.

Waroeng NY Soedarto ~ Indonesian - Bankstown

Bankstown is so quiet on a Sunday, it feels like the Zombie apocalypse has been and gone, a few small restaurants have opened their doors to hungry survivors, one such restaurant being Waroeng NY Soedarto.

The Burman Kitchen ~ Burmese, Granville

We've eaten out a lot this year, everywhere from Doonside to Paris, but nowhere excited us quite like The Burman Kitchen in Granville.

Tasty Eating House ~ Chinese, Kingsford

Tasty Eating House in Kingsford dishes out big serves of Chinese braised goodness. Feel virtuous with a veg choice then blow your points counting with sticky sweet n sour pork ribs.

Lazar's Butchery ~ Hungarian - Petersham

One of Sydney's many overlooked food treasures is Lazar's Butchery on Stanmore Road, Petersham- think Hungarian cured meats and old school jollies.

Xin Ding Lan Zhou Beef Noodle Soup ~ Chinese - Dixon House Food Court, Chinatown

We haven't found a good Lan Zhou beef noodle soup in Chinatown since Kung Fu ramen closed (or kicked) it's doors, so we are stoked to see Xin Ding Lan Zhou Beef Noodle Soup appear in Dixon House Food Court.

Face2Face Noodles ~ Chinese - Dixon House Food Court, Chinatown [CLOSED]

Face2Face Noodles in Dixon  House changed hands quite some time ago. We find the food is just as good, though make sure you ask for extra spicy.

[We think this place closed pretty much the day we published this post, the B-Kyu kiss of death...]

Wai Kee Noodle Cafe - Sham Shui Po - Hong Kong

We follow up a tip (thanks Henry!) on Wai Kee pork liver noodles in Sham Shui Po, Hong Kong.

A Few Days in London, Ingalund

We barely have a spare full day in London (dang work) but we do manage to squeeze in most the stuff on our gimme-eat-list.

Sichuan Street Food Pilgrimage - Leshan

After Chengdu, Leshan is our second stop on our food nerd edumucational tour of Sichuan, the extra yummy bit of China.

Ayam Bakar 7 Saudara ~ Indonesian - Penshurst

We're suckers for novelty so an Indonesian joint in a fish'n'chip shop with a Star Wars Lego display is easily enough to lure us out to Penshurst. That and the fact that it's named after Mr Shawn's favourite Indo dish - ayam bakar, grilled chicken.

Ramen O-San Bar ~ Japanese - Sussex Centre Food Court, Chinatown

We have a fine excuse to give the wonderful Ramen O-San Bar another plug after moving to Chinatown's most glorious Sussex Centre Food Court.

Lavie & Belle French Bakery ~ Surry Hills

There's lots of places in Sydney calling themselves French bakeries but only Lavie & Belle takes us back to Paris.

Bonolota ~ Bangladeshi & Indian - Rockdale

We train it out to Rockdale to visit Fuska House, only to find it is no  more, all that is left is a cranky note from the landlord taped to the door. So we sniff around for something similar, ie Bangladeshi and awesome. We find Bonolota in the magic block of shops on the west side of Rockdale Station, where Banoful once lived.

Thai soups at Cheng Kitchen - Thai

Cheng Kitchen has one of the largest ranges of Thai noodle soups in Sydney, so we take ourselves on a Thai soup boot camp to explore them.

Chulin Chinese Cuisine & Deli - Ultimo / Broadway

The stretch of restos along Broadway in the dip between the hills of UTS and Sydney Uni is a B-Kyu wonderland of top notch little Asian restos. We refer to this area lots so we need a name for shorthand, how about Happy Valley? Let's see if it sticks.

Pinoy Kitchen ~ Filipino & Doonside Festival

We don't usually go in for neighbourhood festivals but somehow the idea of a Doonside festival struck a chord, a fine excuse to sniff around a suburb we've never snifftered before.

24 Hours in Paris - B-Kyu Style

Mr Shawn's dream birthday 24 hours in Paris - walking lots, a Laetitia Sadier gig and foie gras.

Sichuan Street Food Pilgrimage - Chengdu Part 1, Arrival

We make it to Sichuan for a couple of weeks of eating, starting in Chengdu, which has always been a food dream city of ours, and ending with big fat panda bottoms.