Everyday Delicious: Food Writer, Melissa Leong

What started with being called ‘the girl with the weird lunches’, has turned into a full time, successful career in food writing, photographing, and eating for Melissa Leong. Far from the days of school lunches, Leong’s relationship to food now fills the pages of Time Out Sydney, the Australian Gourmet Traveller Restaurant Guide 2010, and New Matilda. And because – as she says – she’s ‘not a fan of sleep’, Leong also doubles as a food marketing consultant and host of The Friday Delicious on FBI radio in Sydney. So, as long as she wasn’t sleeping, The Urban Grocer caught up with Leong to see what her work is all about.

TUG: Was there a particular moment that pushed you towards food writing?

Melissa Leong: Singaporean families really love food. So growing up, my Australian friends would pick my brains about the weird things I’d bring to school for lunch – a bento box or a dumplings from yum cha would often incite interesting reactions, but I’d encourage them to try it and pretty soon they’d ask to come to yum cha with my family.

After university when I started working in advertising, my friends would ask me where they should go out to dinner and I’d respond with seriously involved emails, detailing exactly what kind of a night they’d be in for if they went here, or specific instructions on what to order if they went there.

My blog started as a way to share these emails with other people, so if anyone else got some from it, then fabulous. I wasn’t writing long before I was approached to write for a few street press publications, and then I started writing for Time Out Sydney and restaurant guides like the Australian Gourmet Traveller Restaurant Guide. Recently, it’s even turned into a radio segment, called The Friday Delicious on FBI Radio, here in Sydney.

TUG: What’s the most unexpected restaurant reviewing experience you’ve had?

ML: There have been pleasant and not-so-pleasant experiences when it comes to food reviewing. But the reviews I enjoy the most are the ones where an editor sends me on assignment somewhere I wouldn’t normally go. I was sent to review a (predominantly) backpacker bar recently and ended up having a fantastic time – the atmosphere was carefree and the cocktails were pretty good!

TUG: What’s your favorite place to eat right now?

ML: I always have such a difficult time answering these kinds of question because there’s always more than one. I love going to Flinders Inn in Paddington for bang-up French bistro fare – the grilled wagyu beef tongue with celeriac purée and pickled red cabbage never fails to please. The charred, smokey flavour of the tongue and the creamy richness of the purée is cut by the vinegary red cabbage, creating a really balanced dish. Morgan (McGlone, chef and owner) has created a relaxed, comfortable dining space.

For the bonus point round, Chairman Mao in Kensington is brilliant for authentic Hunanese food – though not for those who fear ‘the burn’. If you can take the heat, the braised beef with preserved duck eggs and the crunchy, marinated pigs ear salad are winners.

TUG: What is your favorite urban grocery or farmers market?

ML: I’m a big fan of Borough Market in London – the sheer breadth of available fresh produce is amazing..and it’s almost worth visiting for the cheese alone: Neal’s Yard Dairy and the numerous other fromageries can have my money any day. Artisanal cheese in Australia has come a long way in past years, but I really do miss eating cheese in Europe.

Details
Flinders Inn
160a Flinders St Paddington 2021. NSW Australia
+61.(02).9331.0208

Chairman Mao
189 Anzac Parade, Kensington, NSW Australia
+61.(02).9697.9189

[Chairman Mao photo via A Table for Two]