From chicken shawarma in the far-flung suburbs to Patagonian toothfish and mud crab claypot in the heart of the CBD, here are the dishes we’re still thinking about.

December 29, 2025

Of all my years as a food journalist, I don’t think I’ve ever eaten quite as well as I did in 2025.

That might be because our reporting took us to a greater variety of eateries in far-flung corners of the city, whether it was charcoal chicken shops in Upper Mount Gravatt or shawarma spots in Underwood.

Shane Delia’s Layla in West End.Courtesy of Delia Group

So compiling a list of the best dishes of 2025 would be almost impossible. Instead, think of this simply as what still sticks in my mind as we head into the new year.

These aren’t my absolute favourite things to eat around town, regardless of age. That’s another story for another time. And they’re not all from new venues, either.

My only rule of thumb when selecting these dishes? That it had to be the first time I’d eaten them.

Queensland mud crab claypot at The Fifty Six

I ate a lot of things at The Fifty Six this year and all of them were excellent – chef Gerald Ong is the real deal when it comes to Cantonese food. Still, it’s something off his new(ish) menu that stuck with me: a Queensland mud crab claypot with vermicelli noodles and finished with chicken fat and aged shaoxing.

Mud crab claypot at The Fifty Six.

Vermicelli cooked in the claypot has a long history in China. Perhaps the best-known version is served with prawns, the vermicelli slowly soaking up the richness of the stock and other ingredients.

Ong, though, has given it an upgrade with a cloudy fish stock made with fishbones, ginger and spring onions – “think of it like a fish version of a tonkotsu,” he says – topping it with the rich sweetness of the mud crab and umami of the shaoxing. The result is a dish as sophisticated as it is soul warming.

Habibi butter chicken at Layla

Much was made of Layla’s habibi butter chicken on the restaurant’s opening in late March. When I first tried it, it was a touch disappointing, but I suspect a line chef maybe chucked the wrong herbs on top. Something wasn’t right.

Habibi butter chicken with ras el hanout butter chicken gravy.Courtesy of Delia Group

The second time, I got what everyone was raving about – tender chicken set in a rich, deeply flavoured sauce given a brilliant kick with ras el hanout. It’s fabulous, clever cooking, and captures on a plate Layla’s intent to illustrate the subcontinent’s long influence on Middle Eastern cuisine.

Quail cotoletta at Summit Restaurant

I have a thing for cotoletta, and the best I ate in 2025 was at the rebooted Summit Restaurant atop Mount Coot-tha.