The Oyster Trail

Full article: The Oyster Trail  in Australian Traveller

By Lee Atkinson. Source: Australian Traveller

This article depicts a holy trail for oyster lovers – a string of oyster farms in NSW mid-north coast that is now opened to public.

Without a doubt, the article is targeted to oyster lovers in NSW that also like a bit of travelling.

To start the article, Lee Atkinson intrigues readers by telling them myths about oysters - Greek goddess of love, Aphrodite, emerged from the sea on an oyster shell; Roman emperors cherished them like they did with gold; Casanova was rumoured to have eaten dozens of them off the breasts of his mistress.

These stories arouse readers’ interest and put oysters on a pedestal for worship.  Atkinson also starts by joking, “oysters are one of the world’s ugliest foods”, making the bivalve all more interesting.

However, Atkinson fails to weave these elements into the article and to resonate the end with the mythical beginning, making the article seem incomplete.

The writer also provides readers with some distinctive features of each farm, such as what readers can do there apart from eating oysters.  But again, there are not enough significant details to distinguish one farm from the other. After reading the whole article, only two farms stand out in my mind – whose owners are mentioned or quoted in the article.

This brings us to an element that would have greatly enhanced the value of the article if it had been emphasised – the people. Why not bring the people who work there, travel there, slurp oysters there, to life? What are they like? What do they say about the farms and the oysters? Is there any anecdote?

Even though the article is lacking some sensory details, the pictures that go with it help readers to image themselves slurping the silky, creamy oysters and sipping a glass of white wine, while floating in the sound of ocean.

The article is informative but it’s short of being exceptional. I love oysters, so I’m interested in the content of the article. But the article lacks some elements that I’ve mentioned in this critique.

MoVida Aqui, Melbourne restaurant review

Full article: MoVida Aqui, Melbourne restaurant review in Gourmet Traveller

By Marcel Aucar

The author, Michael Harden, starts the article with an interesting question to engage the readers - “What’s your favourite MoVida?” Even for a reader that has never heard of the restaurant, he will understand that there must be more than one MoVida.

Harden then smoothly proceeds to give a brief yet concise background of the different restaurants in this modern Spanish food brand in Melbourne.

The article is a review on MoVida Aqui, the latest addition of the MoVida brand. Harden successfully differentiates Aqui from other MoVida, in terms of food served, location, decor and ambience, while preserving its inheritance from the brand – all these signify the distinctive character of Aqui.

The human side of Aqui – the staff, injected by Harden into the article, adds depth and colour to the place. Through knowing more about the people that work there, reader can fully feel the vibe and style of the place. And the picture of the staff that goes with the article complements the story.

Harden helps reader to visualize the place with detailed description of taste and visuals. He also uses these details to show what’s so special about the place, such as the size and decor of the kitchen and all the mouth-watering signature dishes. 

Nonetheless, I do hope he would have provided more sensory details as in smell and sound, to arouse readers’ senses even more.

Another slight drawback of the review is that it is not critical enough. The review is clearly positive but why should I trust the writer? And how does it compare with other Spanish restaurants in the town (apart from other MoVidas)? But all in all, this is still an informative and objective review.

I presume this article is targeted at young (aged 25-40) Melbourne’s city dwellers or professionals who have probably known the MoVida brand.  Nevertheless, for a foodie like me who has never heard of it, the article still attracts me with Harden’s tantalizing descriptions.

Tetsuya's Tokyo

by Tom Bonaventure 

Full article: Tetsuya's Tokyo in Gourmet Traveller


This is an excellent Tokyo food map by one of the world’s renowned Japanese chefs in recent years - Tetsuya Wakuda. In the article, the writer, Pat Nourse, takes us to all of Wakuda’s favourite eateries in Tokyo, Japan.

Nourse introduces Wakuda at the onset to make sure readers know who and how important he is in the culinary world and hence, set the authoritative voice in the article.

Since this is a feature article, it’s rather long. But the length let Nourse cover a wide range of Japanese dining styles in great details.

The immense amount of details in the article drags readers immediately to the dining table: seeing a master of Japanese fancy ice cutting cubes from block ice to prepare for your drinks at Star Bar; enjoying a flood of flavour while chewing a slice of unctuous tuna belly that has just been cut by the sushi master; watching a seasoned fugu fillet sizzling over bincho in front of you.


Gourmet dining in Tokyo is not a new topic. However, Nourse has still managed to provide surprises and wonders (grilled foie gras with miso and turnips, anyone?). This is mainly because Wakuda is such an authority in Japanese cuisine and his analysis on his favourite eateries is unique and persuasive. Who’s better than Wakuda to show you where to eat in Tokyo if you’re willing to splurge?

The article not only accurately portrays different styles of Japanese cuisine (including a couple of western cuisines with a Japanese twist), but it also depicts the Japanese’s adherence to excellence. For example, when explaining why most of his favourite eateries are in Ginza, Wakuda said “Tokyo is Ginza” because for any business, simply being in Ginza is an assurance of excellence. Also, many restaurants in Japan specialize in a single style of dining, because specialization ensures perfection.

I presume this article is targeting affluent Australian readers who are interested in travelling and Japanese cuisine.  Given the high quality of food in these eateries, one has to be prepared to splurge.