By Eryk Bagshaw
From pop-ups to Bibimbap, restaurants transforming into bars and vice versa: the 2015 Good Food Guide has pinpointed some of Sydney's hottest food trends.
The smorgasbord includes an explosion of Korean food along with cheaper, better eats from established restaurants and hot pop-ups.
"Korean is the go-to cuisine of the year," said Good Food Guide editor Joanna Savill.
"It's a generational change, we've had cool chinese with Ms G's and Mr Wong's," she said.
"Now Korean-Australians are using obscure ingredients to produce far more interesting and high-quality meals than the grungy BBQ Korean of the past."
Leading the charge are Moon Park and Seoul of Sydney with delicate, textured adventures through traditional Korean feasts.
The 2015 Good Food Guide, now in its 30th year, also has more one-hatted restaurants than ever.
It is indicative of the trend towards casual dining, said Savill.
"Nobody seems to be opening up serious fine-dining restaurants very much," she said.
"At the same time, a lot of great restaurants wouldn't freak out if you just had a couple of things and left."
Good Food Guide critic Terry Durack agreed.
"Even the term 'fine dining' feels like it's coming from another time and place."
Ester, a share-plate-driven restaurant in Chippendale, is riding high on this trend. It's been singled out as a contender for the best new restaurant.
Chef Matt Lindsay opened the restaurant last year and knew that people were looking for a more relaxed atmosphere.
"They want a day-to-day approach," he said.
Part of this approach is the blurring of the lines between restaurant and bar, where the bartender-turned-mixologist becomes just as important as the chef.
"You not only see your negroni being made or beer being pulled, you see your fish being cooked and your Asian slaw assembled," said Durack.
"It's the Japanese sushi bar model, only now it crosses all borders."
"It's not nearly as defined any more," said Savill. "You can go to a bar-restaurant, have a couple of snacks and before you know it you end up having dinner."
While pop-ups have been hot for a while, nothing could stop them re-producing in 2014, with seven rating a mention in this year's guide.
Cafe Paci in Darlinghurst is starting to stretch the definition of pop-up with its 12-month tenure
But it continues to win plaudits for its blank canvas approach.
The Finish-Mexican-rest-of-the-world hybrid meals are the most vibrant items in the grey venue. Think sardine, spray-painted in raspberry and liquorice dust.
Finnish born chef, Pasi Petanen, took the site of the former Mexican eatery, Cafe Pacifico, and turned it on its head.
Another venue, Studio Neon in Waterloo, takes a photographic studio and raises it a restaurant, hosting unearthed dinners every couple of weeks form locally foraged ingredients.
Highlights include wallaby pastrami with beetroot and Davidson plum.
"The great thing about pop-ups is that they are totally unpredictable," said Durack.
"It's this sense that anything can happen that makes them so appealing. Increasingly, pop-ups are turning into permies."
Overall, editor Joanna Savill said that the trend was towards unpretentious and approachable food.
"It signals a move towards that middle-range eating-out space, no frills or flourishes. They are great convivial places where the food is good and the drinks, too"
"We are thrilled that, 30 years on, the Guide can celebrate such a dynamic restaurant scene."
The Good Food Guide goes on sale for $10 on Saturday September 6.