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Good Food Guide 2016: Sydney food trends for the year ahead

Myffy Rigby
Myffy Rigby

Phumplings - pho-filled dumplings.
Phumplings - pho-filled dumplings.Cole Bennetts

Sure, it's only September, but if we see one more wooden board, Mason jar or deep-fried quesadilla we're going to implode. We don't have to wait until the end of the year to say their time is done. Forget the Nutella craze, forget the freakshake and leave those ramen burgers at the door. Here's what and how to eat in the year to come.

The Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide awards, presented by Vittoria Coffee and Citi, are on Monday, September 7. Follow the #goodfoodguide hashtag or @goodfoodAU on Twitter from 7pm for the live results as they happen.

Spaghetti goes back to Asia
Thanks to chef Mitch Orr (he puts the "M" in Acme), Sydney's been introduced to the best Filipino-style braised pig's head mixed with macaroni. The idea here is Chinatown noodle shop sensibilities applied with his flavour and finesse.

Instagram baking star Katherine Sabbath.
Instagram baking star Katherine Sabbath.Supplied
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Where there's smoke, there's occasionally fire
Our love affair with smoke and flames just keeps growing with the addition of Lennox Hastie's Firedoor and the epic smoked wagyu brisket sandwich at Vic's Meat Market, let alone the newly reopened Porteño – firing up bigger and better than ever before.

Restaurateurs flex some serious mussels
It's all about the pure unbridled joy of Italian newcomer LuMi's stinging nettle pasta enriched with mussel cream. We'd love to see more chefs using ingredients like this as a highlight. It's smart cooking.

The future is baked, not fried
With all the respect in the world to Brickfields and Iggy's, serious props go to the chefs out there baking their own. Here's looking at you, Ester, Marque, Cafe Paci and Ormeggio at The Spit. Good work.

Pasta master: ACME chef Mitch Orr.
Pasta master: ACME chef Mitch Orr.Christopher Pearce

All hail the ridiculous cake
Between celeb baker Katherine Sabbath and her crazy fluorescent creations (just imagine the Care Bears and My Little Pony took to baking) and pastry chef Andy Bowden's outrageous layer cakes, delicious ridiculousness is on the rise.

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It's alive! Frankenfood is here to stay, whether we like it or not (we don't like it)
The ramen burger kicked it off. And ever since, we've seen cronut burgers, phumplings and lasagne jaffles. Then the mass market decided to jump on board with a meat pie-stuffed pizza, a zinger taco and Vegemite chocolate. What's next – a pad Thai panino?

Wake up and smell the cold coffee
While still highly caffeinated, the cold drip, batched-up brews making their way around town are a little more gentle on the palate than an espresso. And so cooling! Check out Coffee Alchemy and Edition – both big advocates.

The Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide 2016.
The Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide 2016.Supplied

Sorry, cupcakes and macarons, it's the dawn of the doughnut
If there was ever a forum for showing off sweet little doughnuts, Instagram is it. Check out the work of Woah Nelly Bakes, Grumpy Donuts and Glazed for salted caramel, popcorn and Simpsons-perfect creations galore.

Kale: still a thing
That dark leafy iron-filled green isn't going anywhere fast. And you know what? We're glad.

Flax: not quite a thing, but probably will be
The crew at Three Blue Ducks love a flax crisp. And you can bet if they're doing it now, everyone else will be doing it later.

The Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide 2016 will be available from participating newsagents, 7-Elevens and supermarkets for $10 with the newspaper on September 12 and 13, while stocks last.

Myffy RigbyMyffy Rigby is the former editor of the Good Food Guide.

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