Yat Lok, Hong Kong

This is it, this is the holy grail, a roast goose restaurant owned by the son of a Cantonese opera singer. For 60 years Yat Lok has been churning out the good geese with secret family recipes.

This restaurant was closed almost every day of this holiday. Five days prior I had turned up, walked in pointless, hungry circles at Google Maps, only to arrive at the devastating realisation that the shopfront I was looking for was the one with the shutters drawn, salivating. On my last day I returned off-peak at 3pm – they were open, surely a mirage – there was no line, no waiting, just pure unadulterated roast meat hours before my flight home. Bless this Bird bestowed upon me at the eleventh hour. This was the most perfect meat I’d ever eaten – sweet, succulent, crisp roast goose and char siu. The plate, a chalice; my face, not worthy.

The above is an excerpt from my book Holiday Notes: Six Nights in Hong Kong.

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Sometimes you just gotta celebrate the little things, like your very paltry number of instagram followers, for example.

Fujisaki

The guys at Fujisaki let me roam around for a day in their impossibly beautiful restaurant. What I'm about to say may not be so good for business, but, it's difficult to take a bad photo here. Shout outs to perfect truffle ice cream quenelles.

Mister Percy

Mister Percy's perfect pinchos by Justin North, at Ovolo 1888 in Darling Harbour – shot prior to the opening, even existence, of this new wine bar.

Brownies

These are the most expensive brownies I've ever made. No gold leaf, no kopi luwak. When reaching for my phone to reach deep into the internet to fetch a recipe I once published, my phone fell and smashed on the kitchen floor. Tragic. Chewy.

Brunch at Paper Bird

My last job before taking some time off to get married (lol) was the new brunch menu at Paper Bird in Potts Point. After a couple of months of living on low-calorie microwavable fish for that photogenic bride bod, a mouthful of XO dumpling felt like a magnificent resurrection.

Smoke, Barangaroo House

Sea urchin on toast and kangaroo sangas – Smoke, the rooftop bar of Barangaroo House, shot for Condé Nast Traveler.

Mode Kitchen and Bar's Festival of Truffle

I was about to describe myself as a truffle dessert convert here, except I was never actually anti-truffle dessert – I'd not yet experienced the majesty of the prized dirt clump alongside sugar until now. That's alchemy. So good.

Studio Visit: Bea Bellingham

Bea Bellingham makes and paints things from her Marrickville studio. A vase painted like a watermelon I acquired from Bea years ago is sitting on the shelf above my desk as I type this.

Quince Jam

The quince demands respect and hard work, which is why it's my favourite fruit.

From Hobart honesty box, hire car, home and finally to my teaspoon (supplemented with some extra fruit my Yiayia gave me), I'm a modern woman who makes a mean quince jam.