The thing I love most about Maggie O’Farrell’s writing is the way she colours in her characters.

Set in Japan and on an island off the Pacific coast of Canada following the Japanese tsunami, A Tale For The Time Being has two narrators, Japanese Nao and American/Japanese Ruth, who are worlds apart yet eerily connected.

Kingsland's latest eatery aims to offer something for everyone

It was Andrew who ordered the crisps. He remembered having tried some nice Irish ones at this Irish pub and he asked the waitress for some brand names.

Nicky Pellegrino finds she wants 'something else' from a writer she admires.

The Whiskey is dead, long live the Whiskey.

The reaction was understandable. You’re in grey, dismal London in winter, the weather is vile, but you are keeping your spirits up with a little glass of Villa Maria wine.

Fresh and zesty dishes lie in wait for those worn down by less authentic, gravy-laden imitations

Fresh, hearty and local food, prepared with care.

An ortolan is a bird. It weighs a mere 25g, but eating it is regarded as a peak experience for gastronomes and gourmands.

It says it is situated "at the unholy crossroads of Ponsonby and Richmond Rd" and takes pains to distance itself from the Greek neo-Nazi party of the same name.

British author Deborah Moggach returns to the rickety hotel setting that earned her big box-office success, writes Stephen Jewell

An innovative garden-to-table menu and great wines turn dinner at Ortolana into a culinary adventure

There are a few countries whose wines I’ve yet to try. Now, thanks to La Cantina importer Ben Naden, I can tick Malta off the list.

There's something very "Downunder" about the service in Queenstown. Waiters, bartenders, receptionists and shopkeepers take that relaxed, "she'll be right", Kiwi attitude to a new high.

We came here because we'd never been to Browns Bay - quelle horreur - but had heard it was the place to brunch beachside.

There's nothing like a crisis to bring people together. It was the Depression of the 1930s that made growers in Europe join forces and form the co-operative wineries that still make a significant proportion of the continent's wines today.

Boom. I'm excited. At last Auckland has its own Basque-style tapas bar complete with a counter laden with just-prepared, ready to eat pintxos, the name given to traditional tapas in northern Spain.

Salty, succulent and totally addictive - all Kiwi oyster-lovers look forward to the start of March when "Bluffies", the creme de la creme of the shellfish world, come into season.