Would you make a reservation at a restaurant that started dinner with a southern French classic, ended it with a Palestinian dessert that’s been certified triple-platinum the world over, then spent the rest of the meal zig-zagging between Asia and Mediterranean Europe? I thought as much.

Of course, such an establishment would be pure fantasy of the I-double-double-dare-you variety. I think. Or at least as far as commercial viability goes, anyway. But as a means to capture the vitality powering our best eateries and eating experiences? I reckon a restaurant like the above would be a wonderful, wonderful thing.

While more-is-more seems to be all the rage in food circles (see also, viral foods) the dishes that most impressed me this year were things that demonstrated clear-eyed thinking, were prepared with care and, most crucially, tasted great. In many ways, these dishes celebrated the transformative power of cooking and how good ideas, good ingredients and good technique can turn a bunch of seemingly disparate components into something memorable: hold the truffle, caviar, edible gold leaf and any other frou-frou accoutrements that don’t necessarily add anything to your night other than extra dollars to the bill. (Having said that, the thoughtful use of these luxury items can, like any ingredient, really lift the right dish).

To everyone that’s tagged along throughout 2024, thanks for reading. It’s been a privilege to write for you and I hope you and yours stay safe over the holiday period. Let’s catch up in the New Year. I reckon I know a few places worth checking out.

The pre-dinner drink

Gibney’s Gibson

True, the signature cocktail at Perth’s newest two-hatted restaurant is more of a drink than dish, but what a drink. (Then again, one could argue that the drink’s choose-your-own-garnish component contains enough pickled onions and cherry tomatoes to count as one of your five daily serves of veg.)

The pre-dinner snack

Wines of While’s panisse

Jack Short clearly enjoyed his August residency at Wines of While. So much so that the former head chef of Melbourne’s Bar Romantica is now back as full-time head chef. Based on his early menus, Short’s big-hitting, European-inspired dishes are a perfect match for the pioneering natural wine bar, none more so than these utterly addictive fried chickpea fritters showered with shaved pecorino: a luscious, just-set love letter to the south of France.

The entree

Yip’s deep-fried dumplings

It’s hard to compete with Yip’s famous bamboo-pole noodles, yet Erich Wong’s dumplings are up to the challenge. Supple, barely-there and a real bargain – you’ll get six pork-and-prawn-filled wonders for just $8.80 – these dumplings are reason enough to set course for Vic Park.

The bread course

Maestro Pizza’s double-cooked pizza

“This is a perfect pizza,” muttered my friend after he finished his first slice of doppia cottura (“double-cooked”) pizza. He was right. Because as featherweight as Maestro’s 48-hour sourdough pizza bases are, frying and baking them transforms these bases into the crispest, most ethereal frisbees of flour ever. (Topping this crunchy, pock-marked dough with San Danielle prosciutto and fior di latte while holding the traditional tomato sugo base layer, I feel, also accentuates the dough’s lightness.) Although this sugo-less, pizza is only available as part of Maestro’s new pizza degustation offering, the regular menu includes the Margherita 2.0 which applies the twice-cooked treatment to Italy’s famous tri-colori pizza.

The soup course

Dahl Daddy’s dahl

Although Dahl Daddy’s namesake resides at the chunkier end of the soup spectrum – shout out, too, to the thinner, “soupier” dahls found at Indian and other southern Asian restaurants around Perth – it remains one of WA’s most compelling arguments for increased soup consumption. Cooked, ripened and reheated over two days, this liquid hug is as much about the earthy nourishment of spiced red lentils as it is the thrust of the precious housemade condiments made and deployed by Dahl Daddy’s founders Imogen Mitchell and Corey Rozario.

The pasta course

Lulu La Delizia’s orecchiette with prawns, chilli and garlic

I had the pleasure of sticking my fork into a a lot of brilliant handmade pasta this year. The most brilliant of these was this summer hit from Perth’s high-water mark for pasta that cleverly combined dainty nubbins of sweet prawn meat with lookalike curls of orecchiette.

Add some pennies of baby zucchini, powdered dried chilli, the planet’s favourite allium and a glass of something skinsy off Lulu’s Northern Italian-fuelled drinks list and all seems right in the world.

The meat course

Busselton Pavillion’s beef skewers

From the same rotisserie that brought you Busselton Pavillon’s roast chickens come these wondrous beef skewers, the meat finely shaved into silky, charry-edged ruffles and anointed with a magic-making XO sauce, then served with flaky roti for mopping and impromptu kebab-making purposes. And did I mention the beef isn’t ribeye, tenderloin or some other premium cut, but beef tongue that’s been shown real TLC by Brendan Pratt and his team? Consider this your yearly reminder to eat more offal.

The seafood course

Madalena’s mussel escabeche

In the hands of a thoughtful cook, more is more when it comes to cooking and enjoying seafood. Presenting exhibit A: this glorious arrangement of plump mussels (simply steamed to preserve their oceanic savour) and pickled shallots that have been electrified with a bright chardonnay vinegar.

The vegan course

Miki’s Open Kitchen’s tempura water chestnut with hatcho miso
For one month a year, Mikihito Nagai has access to fresh, Margaret River-grown water chestnut. A rare, seasonal delicacy, the crunchy tuber – after getting the thoughtful deep-frying treatment Nagai accords to so many of his ingredients – needs nothing more than a dab of thrilling hatcho miso from chef’s hometown near Nagoya to dazzle. A pleasing case of right time, right place and right Japanese-Australian restaurant.

The dessert course

Knafeh by Omar’s knafeh

“You have to eat it hot,” insists Omar Saadeh, founder of this pop-up serving the baked cheese pies of Saadeh’s Palestinian hometown, Nablus. He makes a good point. The self-taught baker has gone to a lot of trouble to replicate the ooze, crunch and eye-rolling pleasure of the knafehs he ate throughout his youth. The least eaters can do is commit to enjoying this Nabusli icon the way it’s meant to be eaten.