Lee Tran Lam

Lee Tran Lam is one of Australia's leading food journalists. She's also the host of the Culinary Archive podcast and Should You Really Eat That?

The latest

First Look: Taiwanese Coffee Culture Finds a Home in Ashfield

First Look: Taiwanese Coffee Culture Finds a Home in Ashfield

At Festive Coffee, find iced batch brew sweetened with longan honey, oolongs that change flavour with every steeping, and baked goods from a top Sydney bakery.

Some of Sydney’s Best Bagels Are Cute Matcha Turtles and Coffee-Flavoured Cats

Some of Sydney’s Best Bagels Are Cute Matcha Turtles and Coffee-Flavoured Cats

Yuki Bagel’s creations are stretched into animal shapes and flavoured with Japanese ingredients like hojicha tea and kuri chestnut paste – and made by a self-taught baker who’s been practising for 20 years.

Australian Cocktail Bars Have Japanese Flair

Australian Cocktail Bars Have Japanese Flair

From precise ice to the vinyl revival, we owe more to Japanese bars than you might expect. And a century-old cocktail manual is partly responsible.

Huh, There’s a Secret Soft-Serve Joint Behind Tokyo Lamington?

Huh, There’s a Secret Soft-Serve Joint Behind Tokyo Lamington?

Newtown’s Everyday Creamery is the tamer follow-up to an extreme Sydney gelateria of the 2010s. Find the back lane spot for classic flavours attracting schoolkids and nostalgia-seeking adults.

Get Ready for Hot Offal Summer

Get Ready for Hot Offal Summer

Tripe, sweetbreads, brains and tongue are having a moment at some of the country’s best new restaurants. At countless others, the moment never ends.

First Look: Yeodongsik’s Hangover Soups and Perilla Noodles Arrive in Eastwood

First Look: Yeodongsik’s Hangover Soups and Perilla Noodles Arrive in Eastwood

The restaurant’s bigger digs feature Korean artefacts, kimchi pancakes and bibimbap you’ve likely never seen before.

I Can’t Stop Thinking About: Firepop’s Olive-Oil-Splashed Panna Cotta

I Can’t Stop Thinking About: Firepop’s Olive-Oil-Splashed Panna Cotta

Whether you’re a panna cotta sceptic or swear you’re truly too full to consider dessert, this restorative meal-ender will emphatically change your mind, writes Lee Tran Lam.

Local Knowledge: Soonhi Banchan’s Korean Dishes Are Shopping Cart Essentials

Local Knowledge: Soonhi Banchan’s Korean Dishes Are Shopping Cart Essentials

Knockout kimbap, pickled wild garlic, pork braised in rich master stock and kimchi with long-running family heritage: this store deals in take-home dishes – and is much loved by Sydney chefs.

Hitang Has It All: Noodle Robots, Bottomless Korean Hotpot and ... Shark-Shaped Shoes

Hitang Has It All: Noodle Robots, Bottomless Korean Hotpot and ... Shark-Shaped Shoes

An Auburn warehouse is the spot for slices of Wagyu, dumplings and more, cooked in bubbling broth. Request fresh-pressed noodles and, if you like, a Korean charcoal barbeque table (or fish-shaped slippers!) to take home.

First Look: Papi’s Birria Tacos Finds a Permanent Home for Its “Holy Trinity of Beef”

First Look: Papi’s Birria Tacos Finds a Permanent Home for Its “Holy Trinity of Beef”

The response for the opening of the third Papi’s location, and first bricks-and-mortar space, has been “ballistic”. Head in for bronzed, cheesy tacos straight off the grill, Tijuana-style al pastor, Tajin-topped fruit cups and more – sometimes till 4am.

What Comes After Matcha?

What Comes After Matcha?

As the global shortage of Japanese matcha drags on, Australian cafes are having to get creative with their supplies. Punters can’t get enough – but how much longer can we go on like this?

“Deeply Personal”: The Aussie Chocolatiers Going Beyond Milk and Dark Chocolate

“Deeply Personal”: The Aussie Chocolatiers Going Beyond Milk and Dark Chocolate

From a Wiradjuri woman using native ingredients to a former Bibelot chef’s Japanese and Filipino creations, these artisans make blocks and bars that tell a story about their heritage.