Pig bits, fish bits, stretched cheese and ridiculous ice-cream cones. More trends than you can chuck a blue algae coffee at...
No toast the town
Dear chefs (we're looking at you in particular, Melbourne's Bar Liberty and Sydney's Monopole), is there something you're trying to say when denying us a nice stack of hot toast along with our tartare? The rest of Australia may be on the paleo bandwagon, but we'll never turn our noses up at a dose of carbs with our hand-chopped raw meat.
Ice-cream cones: the final, ridiculous fatty frontier
It's official. Ice-cream has reached peak ridiculousness. Whether it's blue swirls and fairy floss at Aqua S, wafer fish filled with soft serve at Sydney's Zero Degrees or the doughnut cones at South Yarra's Zumbo Cafe, cool treats have become hot property. We wait with bated breath for Christina Tosi's ice-cream pies to hit our shores.
Blue: not just an after-hours treat for consenting adults
It's a trend that comes and goes, but this time it looks like it's here to stay. Blue wine may be staining the teeth of Spanish debutantes but here you can try a blue algae coffee at St Kilda's Matcha Mylkbar. Or throw caution to the wind with a Corpse Reviver Mali-blu at Big Poppa's in Darlinghurst. All the gin-soaked goodness of a Corpse Reviver, stained azure.
Game, set, matcha
Who knew This Year In Flavours would turn out to be all the colours of the fruit rainbow? Seemingly, the crew at Potts Point izakaya Cho Cho San when they stuck a green tea soft-serve on the menu last year. Melbourne was so sure of itself it opened a whole cafe devoted to the stuff.
Stretch out
Say cheese. Actually, don't bother. Just say stracciatella. The word, confusingly, also applies to chocolate chip gelato and egg drop soup. Anyway, the creamy fresh cheese has stretched its way across the country, turning up with slices of plum and a soft roll at Melbourne's Anchovy or covered in a verdant herbed oil at Automata.
More guts, more glory
Well, that accelerated. We've gone from tiptoeing around crackling and puffed tendons straight to tripe and brisket for breakfast at Lawyers, Guns and Money and thymus nugget wine snacks at Sydney's Dolphin. Staunch up, eaters.
Dirty French
Dip us in butter and throw on a hat. If anyone's complaining about the mighty rise of French from the deliciously old school (we're looking at your oeufs en gelee, Hubert) to the prog-French party at Melbourne's Oter they can ferme la damn porte on their way out.
So, everything's a chicken
Ah, sweet hens. Remember when chicken was the safety jacket for those who panicked when faced with a menu? It's suddenly so much of a thing that Momofuku Seiobo's chef quit to cook it at the Paddo and Melbourne's Embla, Marion and Philippe are duking it out for the poultry crown.
Congee, it's what's for breakfast
So while LA is currently losing its mind over our avocado toast we've been casually flipping our green friend the bird and hitting up congees, kaya toast and spicy omelettes instead. Behold Boon Cafe, Rumour and Magic Mountain Saloon: the future of breakfast.
Fish bits
Forget nose to tail, here's fin to gill. We're talking Dan Hunter's fish crackling cups with nut butter and roe from Brae going toe-to-toe with the flower-dressed skeleton from Sydney's Silvereye (RIP) for 2016's most Instagrammed fish dish. (Well, beside the fish waffle, but read into that what you will).