Quotes from Melissa Leong

Milkbars were not only a crucial part of Australian food culture for nearly half a century, but also influenced the way many of us connected with neighbours.

Our favourite restaurant, cafe, noodle joint or eating house is always there for us when we need them, from morning coffee to major milestone, hump day or Fri-yay.

Mental health is not a novelty; it's part of who we are and we need to treat it as if it were a broken arm or any other kind of medical consideration.

Dad was a draughtsman; he's now retired. Mum was a nurse who spent a lot of her time in ER and oncology. She's such a compassionate, generous person. If I was meeting her on the worst day of my life, I'd be very grateful to have met her.

Fast casual is a wonderful way to eat. The casualisation of fine dining has allowed everyone to feel comfortable, but at the same time you do sacrifice a sense of occasion.

Elevating baked eggs to exotic, spice-laden heights, Australians have come a long way since the days of only knowing Middle Eastern cuisine to be dried-out pucks of falafel, or the occasional late-night kebab.

It seems like our first food memories, no matter how unpleasant, often end up making their way into our hearts anyway.

There's no sugar coating it: drought isn't sexy. Nobody wants to hear about it, and many of us who live an urban existence don't know much about it, if we're honest.

A key feature of Macedonia's protein dishes is the mix of meat, so you'll often find a stew of pork and chicken, for example, rather than a singular beast.

For the most part, we've moved past the awkward-for-everyone period of food bloggers toting giant DSLR cameras and flash kits in restaurants, but that's been replaced by almost everyone armed with a phone stopping to immortalise their breakfast.

For the most part, Australian diners are familiar with kimchi, Korean fried chicken and even bimbimbap - those deliciously nourishing bowls of rice topped with a rainbow of veggies and grilled meat - but that's where some folks' awareness stops.

I always set out to be open-minded and open-hearted in everything I do.

The idea of eating one kind of food day in and day out, for some, is sometimes the only option.

Have you ever booked multiple restaurants so you could decide on the night where to go? Complained about the price of a dish that you loved? Ordered a coffee to use a cafe's wi-fi for half a day? If you said 'yes' to any of those, chances are there's a restaurateur out there who's hurting a little because of it.

As Australian palates continue to be curious and enquiring, so does the variety and regional specificity of cuisine options.

Country town to the city heart, in every corner of the globe you'll find a Chinatown, a Chinese restaurant or an Asian grocer. From this vast and ancient culture, we credit noodles, dumplings, rice, countless spices and cooking techniques to have enriched every culture that they've landed in.

Given that southern Italian pasta-making doesn't incorporate the richness of egg yolks like they do in the north, even the basic hero of Italian cuisine - pasta - is vegan.

If the experiences in my childhood have helped me become strong, then I can articulate those experiences and perhaps tell people out there that have gone through the same thing that they're not alone.

Chinese dumpling and noodle trainspotters know that the best versions usually come from obscure hole-in-the-wall joints where personal space and flattering lighting isn't a consideration and splatter-proof menus are customary.

My job involves sharing food and the stories behind the plate, in part, via social media.

Laos is considered by many as the dark horse of Southeast Asian cuisine, a culmination of the rich food heritage of neighbouring countries China, Myanmar, Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand.