While caught up in the grind of writing a weekly restaurant review, it’s easy to be overwhelmed by what’s new, what’s next, what bookings are coming up. Once I see the final edited version of a story, especially after it’s been published, my mind immediately turns to the story coming up, and it isn’t easy to savour the sweetness (or saltiness) of the work already completed, the meals already eaten.

Which is why it’s such a pleasure, at the end of every year, to look back at the most delicious things that have crossed my plate over the past 12 months. Here are the dishes that stand out in a crowded field.

Chicken ballotine at Malin

What an utter surprise Malin was. It was a restaurant I almost didn’t visit, given its being undersold as another Carlton North wine bar (another crowded field). With young French chef Clement Pilatre in the kitchen and a stellar front-of-house team, the place has much to recommend it. But the standout for me was this chicken ballotine, a perfect balance between old-school technique and modern sensibilities. So much about the dish is classic – the chicken jus glaze, the tender rolled meat. But then Pilatre adds a base of black garlic and burnt eggplant, and infuses the ballotine with subtle Middle Eastern spicing. My dining companion and I just kept staring at one another and saying, “This is so good.”

687 Rathdowne Street, Carlton North, malinmelbourne.com

Leniwe at Eat Pierogi Make Love

Another wonderful surprise this year was Eat Pierogi Make Love, the airy Brunswick East restaurant that grew from a food truck and catering business. The name of the game here is taking classic Polish comfort food and giving it a fresh makeover, and nothing exemplifies this better than the leniwe, a Polish-style gnocchi that could be leaden and bland. But here, sauced in brown butter, tossed with spinach and peas, and showered in julienned pickled beetroot, it’s the opposite: bracing, zesty and satisfying.

161 Lygon Street, Brunswick East, pierogipierogi.com

Macadamia and caviar at Vue de Monde

After nabbing the highest score in the state in the recently released Good Food Guide, there’s little doubt that Vue de Monde is operating at an exceedingly high level on all fronts: service, setting, and food. And of all the impressive plates that crossed my table during my visits there, the one that has seared itself into my sense memory is a bowl of silky smooth macadamia – tasting almost like tahini, but with macadamia’s more subtle nuttiness – topped with a generous dollop of oscietra caviar and sitting in a pool of liquid kelp. It’s a deceptively simple dish, made with only three ingredients, but the sum of their parts is nothing short of brilliant.

Level 55, Rialto Towers, 525 Collins Street, Melbourne, vuedemonde.com.au

Chilli parfait at Etta

Chef Lorcan Kan, who replaced Rosheen Kaul at Etta in May, is making quite the name for himself, and no dish offers stronger proof of his talents than the chilli oil parfait, a dessert that practically redefines what a dessert can be. Made from egg yolks, cream, sugar, and an oil combining Korean chilli flakes and Sichuan peppercorns, the semi-frozen parfait tastes like a kaleidoscope of heat, sweetness and spice, given fruity foil with orange candy sugar melon and a lychee and lime leaf sorbet. The brilliance of this dessert isn’t just in its creativity, but also its utter deliciousness.

60 Lygon Street, Brunswick East, ettadining.com.au

Tacos at El Columpio

I can’t tell you how much the arrival of Mexican restaurant El Columpio on Johnston Street in Fitzroy has improved the quality of my eating life. In particular, the lamb barbacoa tacos, served at weekends, scratch an itch that has plagued me for years – the one that demands spicy, meaty, simple taco goodness. Served with a side of rich consomme for dipping, it is perfect hangover food, perfect comfort food, and a wonderful addition to Melbourne’s dining landscape.

52 Johnston Street, Fitzroy

Burnt feta cheesecake at Tzaki

I can’t stop gushing to anyone who will listen about my massive crush on Tzaki, the tiny Athenian bar and restaurant in Yarraville that cooks dishes to order in a wood-fired stove behind the counter. Everything here is good: the drinks, the vibe, and the food. But the thing I keep coming back to is a burnt feta cheesecake, which is given a slight burnt glaze in that oven before being delivered. The feta gives the dish a beguiling saltiness, which, paired with that singed top and creamy interior, is pure brilliance.

31 Ballarat Street, Yarraville, tzaki.com.au

Stuffed pappardelle at Bar Olo

There are so many things to love about our New Restaurant of the Year, but the thing that put me over the line from “this place is fun” to “holy hell, this is a good restaurant” was the pappardelle ripiene. The stuffed version of the pasta, with its smooth Jerusalem artichoke filling, began as a special, but was so beloved by customers that it’s now a menu fixture – lucky us, who get to eat it over and over.

165 Nicholson Street, Carlton, barolocarlton.com.au