The Smelly Cheese Shop Cheese Appreciation Class

On one of the first nights of my recent trip to Adelaide, where I attended the University of Adelaides Food Writing program, we were asked to attend the Smelly Cheese Shop Cheese 101 Appreciation Class. I can't say I was thrilled. Actually, I can't say I was happy about it at all.

Attending and then writing about the cheese class was a major assignment for the course, and as an avid avoider of smelly cheese, going within 50 feet of somewhere called the Smelly Cheese Shop was not my idea of a good night out.

But, it was part of the course, and as a food writer I have learned that you always need to say yes. At home I eat organic, local, and mainly vegetarian. I was raised drinking soy milk and eating Sanitarium canned 'nut' meats. But my new life means I often get asked to try things such as unidentified meat in South East Asia. My answer, is of course, yes. An offal course cooked by a famous Argentinian chef? Why not. An evening learning about, smelling, and tasting some of the most intense blue cheeses imaginable? ... Bring it on.

How much I actually enjoyed the evening was a testament to how amazing the course was, and how knowledgeable and entertaining our two 'cheese guides' were (Valerie and Lulu). I can't say I loved all the 'smelly' cheeses (I think they are perhaps an acquired taste - but one which I can now see myself acquiring some time in the future), but to my utter surprise I did enjoy some of them. Caught up by the passion Valerie and Lulu display toward cheese, I did myself the great service of tasting everything placed in front of me - multiple times.

N2 Extreme Gelato, Sydney

Liquid Nitrogen Gelato! It sounds like a middle school science project, and I am sure somewhere it probably is. However, I do NOT recommend trying this at home, school, or anywhere else. Leave it to the professionals. Liquid nitrogen needs to be completely evaporated before ingesting the food created with it, and in the hands of people who aren't fully trained in what they are doing, there has been a few 'mishaps' that have had horrendous consequences for the diner. So, leave it to chefs such as Heston Blumenthal, or for a more affordable experience, the ice-cream makers in labcoats found at N2 Extreme Gelato.

If you are after dessert and a show, this is certainly the place to go. Stand mixers, beakers, test tubes and servers in lab coats and safety glasses take orders for their daily special flavours such as Black-Salted Caramel; Avocado, Coffee and Vanilla; Oreo Cheesecake; Buttered Popcorn; Thai Basil; Nanna's Scones; Earl Grey Caramel; Lemon Lime and Bitters; Caramel-Bourbon; Guacamole; Rose with cocoa nibs and pistachios; Apple Pie; Passionfruit Pavlova; Red Currant & Ginger; Mooncake; Reverse Maple Walnut; Gin + Tonic; Truffled Popcorn; Salt + Pepper Calamari; Pandan; Sour Thyme.... I could go on, but the most amazing thing is that they are all made with real ingredients. N2 states 'we don't believe in Choc-Mint that looks Evil Green or Orange that resembles Hi-Vis jackets. Only REAL ingredients will do!'

Have you ever heard of more exciting gelato flavours? Even if you just walk past to watch the show, you have to grab a small cup to try - it is an experience not to be missed. The only thing to be wary of is that snap-frozen gelato melts at a breakneck pace. So eat up - there is always other flavours to try if you want the experience to last longer!

We went for the Thai Basil, sweet and creamy, it tasted exactly like the herb itself. Unfortunately some of the more eclectic flavours such as Salt + Pepper Calamari were not available when we were in town, but I can only imagine they would also taste as authentic. The Chinatown location is right around the corner from the Chinese Friendship Garden, a beautiful spot to sit and eat your Gelato (if it lasts that long!)

Yo-Chi Frozen Yogurt, Balaclava, Melbourne

Frozen yogurt you say - didn't we already pass by that fad? Well, I assure you, that fad is alive and well down here in Melbourne town. Thanks to my friend the impeccable Mr Oliver Blaker, I had the privilege of visiting Balaclava's newest hotspot, Yo-Chi. Frozen yogurt, primarily marketed to young health-conscious twenty/thirty-something, is common these days but Yo-Chi does it a little differently. Yes, it still sports claims such as 'gluten-free' (isn't all yogurt?), 98% fat-free, and some flavours even sport a sugar-free claim. Be wary however, as this one is sweetened by honey, which is largely the same thing.

But where Yo-Chi excels is in three specific ways: decor. add-ons. flavours.

With the widest range of yogurt flavours I have come across, I took it upon myself to try as many as possible. Highlights were the ridiculously sweet but delicious Chai, and the dairy-free honey-soybean. Their flavours are freshly made daily and on rotation, meaning you will have to visit a few times to try all their offerings. Along with the ubiquitous original, chocolate, and strawberry, you can find Peanut Butter, Apple Pie, Pomegranate, Green Tea, Coconut, Passionfruit and Hazelnut.

Their add-ons bar has a huge variety of fresh fruits, cookies, chocolate, shortbread crumble, caramelized bananas, honey cashews, halva, fruit pearls, candy, stewed apples, syrups, coulis... you could make any combination you could think of. Unlike other ice-cream or frozen yogurt bars everything looked and tasted very fresh and there were no canned or packaged fruits to be seen.

That brings me to their decor: polished wood, spotlights, and an excellently simple logo create a familiar vibe that is echoed around the city at many popular cafes and some more upmarket fast food establishments. Where Yo-Chi really stands out however is their simple yet eye-catching artwork of a serene bay, beach and mountains by Gaku Nakagawa, a Japanese artist whose work has appeared in Monocle and Illustration Now, and the Yo-Chi mascot, around 8 feet high and waving his colourful spoon over his subjects, bidding them to self-serve themselves some damn yogurt. And we all obeyed, like the good Yo-Chi citizens we were.

The prices are easy - grab a tub, Small, Medium or Large, and fill up with whatever you want. Get all 8 yogurt flavours. Fill your cup with caramelized bananas. Or just chocolate syrup. Make a maple syrup soup mixed with Apple Pie froyo and lychees. They don't judge here - make your mix, plop it on the scales up the front, and pay by weight. Whatever you put it in the cup, 100 grams costs $2.80.

Have some fun with your (relatively) healthy dessert. Catch up with friends under the Yo-Chi guardian. Or join the hordes of St Kilda hipsters who rush in for a large cup of late-night Green Tea frozen yogurt. As Yo-Chi says; 'You are the creator of your own yogurt destiny'.

Chingón Cantina y Taqueria, Richmond, Melbourne

Chingón Cantina y Taqueria is worth visiting just for the decor. Cast iron chandeliers and sconces, Colombian coffee sacks, fairy-lit beer garden, exposed beams, possibly some of the coolest bathrooms in Melbourne, a truckload of candles, oh, and a vintage car that sits in the middle of the dining room. Cool right?

The ambience alone transports you away from the relatively isolated and dingy stretch of Swan st that the cantina occupies, to a warmer clime where you can ply foreign women with copious tequila shots under the stars.

A foodie trip to Seattle, Washington, USA

We have a penchant for seeking out extraordinary amounts of food when we are visiting a new place. Ok, we have a penchant for seeking out extraordinary amounts of food full stop. But when we visited Seattle I had our dining itinerary planned months beforehand. Home of Starbucks (yep, I care, even though I am coming from the coffee capital of Melbourne. I LOVE gingerbread lattes. I love them. Enough to make me drink Starbucks coffee), Pike Place Market on the waterfront, excellent seafood chowder, and some of the best milkshakes I have had.

We got into SeaTac just before midnight, and along with a variety of homeless people, travellers with layovers, and people with no good reason to be there except they are cheapskates, slept on a small pocket of carpet in the arrivals hall. We figured by the time we got to the airport hotel, checked in, showered, and got into bed we would have 1-2 hours before we had to get up and leave to go to the ferry (we were heading directly up to Victoria, Canada for an overnight sojourn before starting our 4 day Seattle eating adventure.) So we slept on the floor. It was horrible. I said I'd never do it again, but I just did it again in Kuala Lumpur with around 800 other people. What can I say - I don't like wasting money. Stick in my ear plugs, chain my bag to a chair, roll up all the clothes in my suitcase to make some semblance of a pillow - it's an adventure. I'll probably do it again.

After what was probably one of the worst nights sleep I have ever had due to the security announcements broadcast at 5 minutes intervals all night, at 4AM we donned our backpacks and headed into the city on the train. Luckily I had my bear hat - it sure doesn't get that cold down here in AUS!

We then trekked from the station to the ferry terminal, checked in our bags, and bought a small carton of milk. Here we were, being cheapskates again - we then retrieved plastic packets of cereal that we, well I won't say stole, but graciously accepted from our New Orleans hotel and proceeded to have breakfast at 5AM on an icy Seattle wharf, in the dark. I promise - the rest of our eating was way more exciting.

Quaint, crisp, yet one of the most temperate places in Canada, Victoria, Vancouver Island is studded with a number of delightful tea stores, chocolate shops and restaurants, and the friendliest people I have ever met in my life.

We ate breakfast at the amazing Rebar Modern Food reviewed here. We bought maple teas and Maple girl scout cookies on the main street, and stayed at the gorgeous Empress Hotel.