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Sally, and her husband Gordon, operate the Australian Regional Food Guide Web site. This comprehensive directory has been recently rebuilt and is now a great resource for everything that is happening in the regional food scene in Australia. Make sure you visit and bookmark this site. Let Sally know if you would like to receive the ARFG Newsletter too

VENETIAN CLASS

Venice should never have made it. It really should have sunk centuries ago. Hardly even a city in the accepted sense – it is more a collection of over a hundreds islands in a lagoon, tied together haphazardly by around four hundred arched stone bridges. Break those and you could almost imagine the whole place bobbing off in various directions into the Adriatic.

And yet, it is magic. Rising out of the misty waters, Venice is a mythic kingdom, unlike any other. Once there it is easy to daydream yourself back to the time when it all came about, to picture the  frantic desperation than drove its founders to annex what was little more than a marshy swamp, daring their attackers to come after them and risk a watery defeat.

Venice has had its ups and downs over the centuries. Acknowledged as the 'Gateway to the Orient', Venice became an independent Byzantine province in the tenth century, and the 1204 Crusade brought it into prominence as a trading link, bestowing wealth and power on its merchants. During the Middle Ages a succession of doges, or feudal dukes, ruled the watery suburbia, but finally it fell to Napoleon in 1797, joining the Kingdom of Italy in 1866.

Today's Venice is more staid. More steady. And that's not just a feeling. It actually is more secure. A few years ago when the buildings began to sway a little, they shored up many of the foundations, ramming down beside the wooden tree-sized pylons that have held the city's head above water so well, for so long.

Everyone knows about Venetian glass, and yet to find the best you need to catch a boat for a ten-minute ride to the nearby island of Murano, although any shop in town has masses of it too.

Yet not all Venice is gleaming and perfect. Any gondola or vaporetto (waterbus) ride through the canals puts you at eye-level with crumbling stucco and rotting woodwork.

If Venice was a relative, she would be a dowager aunt, her wardrobe a little musty, her petticoat showing occasionally, with  some of the lace coming adrift. Her favourite bonnet is slightly askew, and she forgets where she is occasionally. But there is a gleam in her eye, and when she sets the table for a party, such as the annual carnival, the masks come out, covering the worst of the wear and she is young and beautiful and elegant – and desirable – all over again.

Venice may be known for her glass, but she has class too.

INSTANT SEA-CHANGE

A place in the country – aaah, your friends go, picturing crisp frosty mornings and open fires at night. What’s the address, they ask next, and you know what they’re thinking. They’ll be down for a visit. Soon.

But a sea-change (or tree-change, or whatever other change you call it) is not for everyone. Many of us have city jobs and commitments.

What’s more while that place in the country – or at the beach, or in the mountains – may sound romantic and restful, the chances are if it’s a weekender, you are likely to spend those weekends away fixing things, cleaning up, and working harder than you would at home. Suddenly you have two houses to maintain.

If that’s the case it’s time for a ‘mini-change’.

Why work hard when all you really want is a place to stay and play? Why not choose your hideaway spot, then book into somewhere glamorous and gracious where the hosts will spoil you rotten?

Here are a few places in New South Wales which I can highly recommend, having stayed there recently:

I could hardly believe it when my hosts told us their property was just five minutes from the sprawling tablelands town of Armidale with its schools and churches. It was. But then sitting on a cane chair on the wide verandah and looking at the expanse of lawns it still seemed impossible.

Inside, a side table in the lofty great hall stood ready with port and chocolates. What luxury. I felt truly ‘to the manor born’.

'Palmerston' was built in 1911 and painstakingly restored. Our room, one of seven, turned out to be immense, with snowy covers on the bed, and a five-star ensuite. But if we thought that was good, the healthy home-cooked breakfast the next morning in the sunny drawing room was even better.

Only thing left to do was to wander to the winery and taste the Peterson’s wines.

Peterson’s Armidale Winery & Guesthouse, 345 Dangarsleigh Road, Armidale, NSW. petersons_armidale@bigpond.com  www.petersonsguesthouse.com.au Phone 02 6772 0422.

The views from these aptly named stone cottages really do seem to go on forever. Owner and builder Kyle Wallace has poured his talent and creativity into crafting these exquisite places – several cottages along the ridge, with another to come, as well as a pool

Nothing has been missed in making these truly exceptional places – ours had an inviting spa bath, a deep and comfortable lounge, and a kitchen as well-equipped as any city apartment, and laundry. I could have moved right in and felt totally at home

The Canowindra region is often called Australia’s ‘hot air ballooning capital’ and you can see why floating over the patchwork of paddocks, vines and hillsides would be such an uplifting experience. Although, given the comfort of these cottages, I reckon you could be forgiven for simply kicking back on the deck with a chilled drink and watching them drift over.

Everview Retreat, 72 Cultowa Lane, ‘The Vines’, Canowindra, NSW. Phone 02 6344 3116, www.everview.com.au

Let’s clear up one thing. The name has nothing to do with eggs. My rudimentary high-school German made me translate this as ‘beautiful egg’, which seemed a little strange. But feasible, I thought, as the logo is a goose (or is it a duck?) wearing a bow-tie.

However when we arrived, owner-chef Richard Everson put me right. Richard with his wife Evelyn have spent much of their working lives in Europe, and worked together in Switzerland. Schonegg simply means, in Swiss, ‘pretty corner’

If the visitor’s book is anything to go by, the Eversons who established Schonegg six years ago, have the perfect formula. People repeatedly remark on the tranquillity, the comfort of the rooms, the hospitality …. and oh yes, of course, the food!

Using the best local produce and created and delivered with great style, the dinners and breakfasts are something always talked about  – and undoubtedly what many people return for again and again. I know I would, too.

Country Guesthouse Schonegg, 381 Hillview Drive, Murrumbateman, NSW, Phone 02 6227 0344, info@schonegg.com.au  www.schonegg.com.au.

As a child, growing up in the country, I spent quite a lot of time around shearing sheds. I found them interesting – but smelly and dirty. I never in a million years considered spending the night in one!
That was until I was invited to this place near Orange in the Central West of the state.

Here, the hundred-year-old corrugated iron shearing shed has had a makeover that has uncovered its best features and retained them, while gently smoothing out the damage of years of use. So you have pieces of shearing equipment still in place and lanolin-soaked original floorboards in the central part of the shed forming a sort of great hall and dining area, alongside the latest in creature comforts.

The five guest suites are country-comfortable with enough rustic charm – think, more galvanised iron in the bathroom – to make them interesting.

Despite the stunning views and this unique accommodation, I remember most my host, Helen Napier’s stunning breakfast: a homestead breakfast you won’t believe, with dishes I wish I could find in a suburban café near me.

Black Sheep Inn, 91 Heifer Station Lane (off Forbes Road), Borenore, NSW, 02 6369 0662. http://blacksheepinn.com.au

GETTING HAPPIER, JUAN

"I still have that one peso menu," says my guide, Maria, as we pass a McDonalds in downtown Buenos Aires.

We had been commenting that the burgers should be especially good here as Argentina is noted for its fine beef. Already we had seen in other parts of the city, whole shopfronts taken up with a roasting carcass, twirling slowly on a spit in front of kiln-hot coals. Parrilladas in Argentina - aka barbecued meat restaurants - are some of the best you'll find anywhere.

"It was the day after the banks closed," continued Maria, "They should have charged three pesos, as that is how far our money had dropped, but instead they kept it at the old price - a burger for a peso - just for that one day. I still keep that menu."

That was in 2003, just a couple of years after the crash.

Today there are 3.7 pesos to the US dollar, but while the exchange rate is still low, the mood is rising.

Visitors to this ever-gracious city of eleven million, its street facades an intriguing mixture of Rome and Paris, with a splash of Madrid, are instantly beguiled by its Europe-in-the-antipodes style and dignity.

So much so that at the annual Australian Gourmet Traveller Travel Awards, held recently on May 27th, 2009, the award of Hottest International City (as decided by the votes of the Expert Panel of judges) went to (drumroll)…….you guessed it: Buenos Aires.

I was fortunate to be at the glittering dinner, held in the Guillaume at Bennelong restaurant (www.guillaumeatbennelong.com.au) in the Sydney Opera House, and I clapped long and hard after the announcement.

After all I have been lucky enough to go there and I love this city and want others to know and appreciate it as well.

Take a look for yourself and perhaps you’ll understand:

Buenos Aires (the names means beautiful air) was carefully planned and designed four hundred-plus years ago by the sixty Patrician families that settled there. Now, their gracious homes have become apartments, or prestigious homes for soapie stars and footballers. For these are the new ruling classes. Soccer is the national religion.

The opulent Alvear Palace Hotel attracts wealthy guests and no wonder. Located in a part of town flanked by parks and with boutiques and fine restaurants within walking distance, its palatial grandeur is everyone's fairytale dream. If you dine in its restaurant, La Bourgogne, headed up by chef Jean Paul Bondoux - the only Relais Gourmand chef in South America - then be very glad. There is not better food in France.

It was Madonna who sang Eva Peron's song 'Don't cry for me - Argentina'. Argentina is turning itself around. Don’t cry. Visit. And soon.

Leather is the inevitable by-product of Argentina's cattle industry. Shoes, jackets, handbags, belts - they're all here, and the price (despite the fine workmanship) seems to be about a third of what you would expect.

Dining is inexpensive, and the cost of accommodation (often in very elegant surroundings) is moderate compared to Europe. The cuisine? Think Spanish-French-Italian overlaid on barbecue and you get the drift.

Those gracious buildings and leafy streets, the dog-walkers deftly handing seven or eight large hounds in one group, the generous parks, the European buzz, the style - this, sprinkled with empanada shops, and 'whiskerias' - this is what  draws you in.

Highly charged La Boca at the waterfront - think, Montmartre on acid - pulsates with life. Here, you can almost slice those bold colours that don't just brighten the amazing cartoon-like statues which hang from first floor windows or lounge on street corners, but spread over walls, balconies, roofs and windows. These few streets really rock.

Aerolineas Argentinas is the national carrier for Argentina.

LEASE – AND THANK YOU

Everyone dreams of owning a house in France. But how many of us realise that even if that is impossible, we can at least still own a French car? Well, for a little while, anyway.

That’s what we did on a recent trip to France, after we discovered a clever scheme – one that helps everyone. Just a few minutes of paperwork and we had become the proud owners of an ultra-sophisticated tax-free Renault Megane.

There we were, dangling the keys from our fingers – well, not exactly. This vehicle was so advanced it came equipped with a credit card-sized piece of black plastic that, even if it was in our pockets or bags, unlocked the car and allowed us to turn on the ignition. Either of us was allowed to  drive it too and if we had brought any ‘direct descendents’ along with us, they could have as well.

On this trip to France we had planned to stay for several weeks and to travel extensively around the country. We’d heard of special schemes for visitors to France who stay more  than 21 days, and so we contacted Renault Eurodrive.

Paul Hodges, the company’s Managing Director has been matching up Renaults and tourists for 15 years. Taxably, the scheme is attractive to the car company, which offers brand-new vehicles available direct from the assembly line.

“They are actually registered to the customer’s name then shipped to the pickup point,” says Hodges. “No one else will drive them before you do.”

Because of this, one of the very few downsides of leasing is that clients cannot alter the dates for which they have booked. “You can’t go – Oh, I think I’ll stay another few days in London and pick the car up then,” he adds.

CHOCOLAT

It’s Mother’s Day and because mothers and chocolate are synonymous (well, have you bought a box of chocolates for your Mum this year? I thought so!) here is a little chocolate indulgence from my recent book Pardon My French!

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The car is pointed south. In a few days we will be in Provence.

I am on a mission this morning, though. I want to visit Valrhona, the famous chocolate manufacturer. I’m also relieved that never again will I have to agonise over the spelling. Is it ‘h’ before ‘r’, or the other way, round? Now I know its location at Tain-l’Hermitage an hour or so south of here on the eastern side of the Rhône river, I’ll never forget.

Actually I am also continuing a sub-theme – a personal self-indulgent thread, seeking out the finest chocolate makers in France. Since Paris we have been meting out the chocolates we acquired from Rochoux, but these have dwindled. Reinforcements are needed, urgently.

Which reminds me of yesterday afternoon in Lyon, persevering with our map, fighting against what seemed like an endless tide of peak hour traffic, to locate Bernachon, a third-generation fixture on true chocoholics’ radars, on the far bank of the Rhône. This superior chocolatier, much revered in this city, has acquired quite a following, particularly in the well-heeled precinct where he set up business over half a century ago.

This is especially apparent as we slip into Bernachon Passion to sample their famous hot chocolat. Towards the back of the tea salon a dozen or so elderly ladies on a kilojoule-rich little outing are seated at a long table, and the room holds plenty of couples as well. It’s Lyon’s answer to Paris’s Ladurée.

CIAO BELLA CUCINA!

I am passing the deli counter which is laden with prosciutto and pancetta, imported Italian cheeses and various delicacies made from them, and I catch a phrase which I recognise, and decode rustily.

“Sì – facciamo!” says the Italian man behind the counter. Proudly. Ah, yes! That means  ‘Yes, we make’. This should really be the catch-cry of every fine deli, but so few do. And only those  who have a kitchen the size and industrial strength of Cucina Viscontini could carry it off at this level.

This has to be one of my most exciting finds in a long time. Recently I was to meet a friend who lives on the other side of Sydney from me. We usually compromise and meet at a bakery at Homebush halfway. Tired of this, last time we planned lunch, I searched for other options and came up with Cucina Viscontini at Homebush Bay.

It must be over 20 years since I last ventured into this area. To say it has changed is an enormous understatement. I had expected a corner cafe, half-empty. When I arrived, the staff asked if I had a booking. Mid-week lunch? A booking?

But looking around at the enormous almost packed  corner cafe, I realised we were lucky there was a spare table for two.

Let’s explain.

HOW TO AGE 57 YEARS IN 30 MINUTES

Well of course I knew I could fly to Nepal from Sydney Airport, but I didn’t realise I could find myself immersed in Nepalese culture on the edge of the airport without even using my passport.

Nor did I imagine I could age 57 years while doing it. This is how it happened.

Last night we attended an event in which the Nepalese community celebrated Navavarsha (Nepalese New Year). Held at the Stamford Plaza Sydney Airport hotel, it was also the launch of a twelve-day Nepalese Food Festival in the hotel restaurant, The Grove.

I must say I stopped listening after ‘Nepalese food’ when I was issued the invitation. I had to try this! Was it like Tibetan food which I had tried on the other side of the Himalayas? Was it more Indian? Or was it completely different?

On arrival at the hotel, though, we realised that this was not just a dining experience. It seemed that every Nepalese in Sydney including the Ambassador of Nepal, Mr Yogendra Dhakal, and many other important people from that community were in attendance.

Sometime during the wealth of speeches someone mentioned ‘Happy 2066’ a phrase which took my attention from the food and festivities. Wow! That went fast!! How had I missed a few decades? Was I now well over 100 without noticing it?

No, the Nepalese use another calendar, well ahead of ours, and the time warp was soon forgotten when the simple lamp-lighting ceremony was performed, a moving and ancient rite of passage from one year into the next.

But, the food……..

In the restaurant we met the Stamford’s Nepalese chef, Sher, who has been in Australia for three years. He explained the menu to us and passed around packets of Nepalese herbs from his kitchen for us to sniff and sample. I tasted one dark aromatic one and it made my tongue numb. Uh-oh!

‘That’s OK,’ he told me quickly, ‘when we had stings as children, our mother would rub this spice on the spot and it would numb it.’ In his cooking it appears in slow-simmered dishes which allow its tongue-numbing properties to be turned to other uses.

The awesome line-up of dishes on the hot buffet included male goat meat curry (why male, we asked? Because the females are more important, he told us simply), steamed momos (which I remembered from Tibet) with a spicy curry sauce, a stir-fry of pork belly, which, for authenticity, he would have used wild boar if he could have found any, and a half dozen other dishes with unpronounceable names and truly delicious flavours.

Dessert was an especial winner with comfort foods of lightly spiced rice pudding and a creamy vermicelli dish with sultanas. But the real hit at our table was Gajar Halwa – carrot halva, rich, thick, cardamom scented and addictive.

Nepal is planning a special tourism year in 2011. Maybe then I’ll go even further than the Stamford Plaza, and check-in at the airport to see for myself what this fascinating high-altitude country is all about. I just need to remember that by then it will really be 2068.

+++++++

Nepalese Food Festival April 14-April 26 from 6.30pm to 10.30pm, Sunday-Thursday, adults $55, children $20; Friday and Saturday, adults $65, children $20.

The Grove Restaurant at Stamford Plaza Sydney Airport, corner O’Riordan & Robey Streets, Mascot, 02 9317 2200, www.stamford.com.au

L’AQUILA’S DEVASTATION

Travel changes you. By visiting other countries and cultures, we seem to return with a fragment of that place within us. It’s carried in our memories and our senses. Deep within ourselves.

So when a tragedy hits a place we have visited however briefly it becomes even more alive and more poignant.

Our time in L’Aquila in Italy’s Abbruzzo region, was only an hour or two, yet my memories are vivid. I am flooded with pictures of a vibrant marketplace, people working hard, noise, colour, and one of the best and most simple meals we had on our month-long trip self-driving around the south of Italy.

In my book, Just a Little Italian, written about that magical month in Italy’s mezzogiorno,here is what I said about L’Aquila, which it now seems lies almost entirely in ruins due to Sunday’s terrible earthquake.

Our thoughts and prayers are with those struggling to compehend this event, and also with those who must deal with the aftermath.

Singapore’s A – Z guide for fun, frivolity and festivities during 2009

(courtesy of Anne Wild & Associates Pty Ltd and Singapore Tourism Board)

The New Year started off with a bang in the Lion City and the action is set to continue right throughout 2009. Whether you are planning to stay for seven hours or seven days, use the following A-Z guide to help you discover the very best Singapore has to offer.

Ann Siang Road – A shopper’s paradise housing a variety of niche and cutting edge stores in historic shophouses including Asylum (22 Ann Siang Rd), an art space and store rolled into one and Front Row (5 Ann Siang Rd), where you can mix shopping with a deli and a cup of tea.

Bars – Whether you are after a classic beer, or the latest cocktail doing the rounds, Singapore has a venue for you. Archipelago CraftBeer (Clarke Quay) houses Asian flavoured beer with ingredients like tamarind and palm sugar; enjoy a tipple at Tasting Notes (Robertson Quay) for the latest in wine with 200 plus choices; or to end the night, visit the Butter Factory (Robertson Quay) which offers arty types the latest in art exhibitions and hip cocktails while enjoying the groovy beats.

Coffee and Tea Singapore style – Singaporeans refer to tea as ‘teh’ and coffee as ‘kopi’. Served in no frills cups, the local method of brewing tea and coffee features the use of a muslin bag through which tea leaves and coffee powder are strained. Drop by a local hawker centre for a sample.

Deepavali – Singapore’s Hindu celebration takes place during November. The streets of Little India are lit up with thousands of fairy lights and market stalls line the streets as Singapore’s Indian community celebrate the Festival of Lights and good over evil.