The latest addition is Wildflour, which has taken over the spot where Remy's used to be on Townsville Street, a bakery and cafe that is already setting very high standards.

Romain Remy is still on board working his magic with breads. Don't miss the Danish rugbrd, a dense rye bread packed with grain that has a good shelf life and lasts a week or more without going stale.

"In fact we're not allowed to sell it on the day it is made," says manager Aaron Desa, formerly of Pialligo Estate.

"You have to let this dough settle for a day or two and then it's just delicious."

Espresso Room founder Michael Rose saw potential in the space, and Fyshwick as a whole, and put together a team to rival many others in town.

As well as Desa, Matt Henry (Verve, Ricardo's) is in the kitchen and head barista Mark Bursell has come over from Green House to serve up Ona coffee.

There are cabinets full of pies and sausage rolls and pasties, as well as a dessert cabinet with an array of colourful tarts and pastries. There's also a fridge full of takeaway sandwiches and salads.

There's an all-day menu. From housemade granola, with a coconut yogurt panna cotta with watermelon rose gel and almond milk, to eggs benedict with eight-hour beer braised ham, to sweet potato and fava bean fritters with a quinoa tabbouleh.

There is an emphasis on the food and most things are made on site, including a range of sauces and jams which are also available for sale.

Desa says there's a big push to make the cafe family friendly. There's a children's playground out the front, and the kids' menu offers banana bread, poached eggs, ham and cheese croissants, buttermilk fried chicken and mini French toast with ice cream.

"We recognise more and more people are working in Fyshwick, but a lot of families spend time out here on the weekends shopping. We wanted to put a venue on their to-do list," he said.

Join Tim the Yowie man and indulge in a three-course fireside dinner matched by award-winning wines at Lerida Estate, one of the Canberra region's most spectacularly-positioned wineries overlooking Lake George. Marvel at the mysteries, myths and legends of this enigmatic lake with a special audio-visual presentation by Tim the Yowie Man, Canberra Times columnist and self-confessed Lake George aficionado. A fun way to spend the winter solstice. June 22, from 530pm, $129pp.

Award-winning winemaker Kerri Thompson is heading to Canberra for a special four-course plus canapes wine matching dinner at Temporada. She established wines by KT in 2006, based in the Watervale district of the Clare Valley in South Australia, specialising in riesling and also creating shiraz, cabernet sauvignon, grenache and tempranillo. $130pp, June 13, from 6.30pm.

I'll be the first to admit that Orange in winter is not a particularly nice place, having spent the first 20 odd years of my life there. But it's events such as the Winter Fire Festival that showcases the best the region has to offer. On August 2-4, there'll be bonfire events, char-grilled feasts, campfire cooking, wine, arts, craft and the Readers and Writers Festival featuring Meg Keneally. There's so much on you'll forget it's cold.