where's the best, 5 years on?

It's been the best part of a year since we've updated our where's the best? guide. There's much to add!

Our 2010 trip to Malaysia has brought dishes like nasi lemak and char koay teow to our kitchen. We've discovered Ottolenghi - mango and coconut rice salad, green couscous, eggplant dressed in buttermilk, gado gado, legume noodle soup... even this non-Ottolenghi quinoa avocado salad reminds us of him. We've also remained devoted to Viva Vegan, learning how to make our own tortillas and stuffing them with tofu chicharrones or chimichurri baked tofu. There's been a bit of a tofu resurgence all round, including basic braising and this pomegranate version. A comic taught us how to cook asparagus! And we've been eating a bit of pasta. I've embarked on a quest for more varied breakfasts, and it has peaked with tahini granola. Of course I can always find an excuse for dessert, more of them vegan than ever - salted caramel icecream, home-made ice magic, apple peanut butter crumble slice, and chocolate pecan pie.

We've added a few new northside cafes to our rotation, including Cibi, Grigons & Orr, Jackson Dodds, The Mercy Seat, Proud Mary and Three Bags Full. Our new favourite south of the river is Monk Bodhi Dharma, and Mister Close is offering nice weekend breakfasts in the city. For dinner we've been digging Discobeans, Izakaya Den, Naked for Satan and The Tramway Hotel. Visits to Easy Tiger, Warung Agus and the Royal Mail Hotel were pretty special, and I've had lovely desserts at Coco Loco and LuxBite.

There've been a few favourites closing too: Court Jester, Plush Pizza, Penang Affair and Bande A Part. Though we'll miss them, we know we're still spoiled for choice. We're adding restaurants and recipes to our to-try and confirmed-favourites list far faster than we ever need to take them off! There's enough out there for another five years' blogging, no doubt.

What noteworthy new discoveries have you made in 2011 so far?