The foie gras raspberry lollipop was my first impression of Amber. Rich, silken foie gras melted on the tongue like chocolate, while the sweetness of raspberry unfurled slowly in the finish, brightening the overall richness of the dish. The two melded together in the mouth and turned impossibly light.

One evening in Tokyo, I found myself seated at the counter of a three-Michelin-starred kaiseki restaurant. Across from me was a 63-year-old chef effortlessly filleting fish for sashimi while switching seamlessly between Japanese, English, and French.

On the day I walked into Hangzhou Botanical Garden, the leaves at Taoyuan Ridge had already turned a lush, overwhelming green. The plum rains had not yet begun, and the summer heat had not fully set in. In Jiangnan, these are the most comfortable days of the year.

For a food lover, describing Asador Etxebarri is extraordinarily difficult.Over the years, I have dined at countless restaurants, but only a handful make me look forward to my next visit the moment I leave. Hidden away in the Atxondo Valley of Spain’s Basque Country, Asador Etxebarri has always been one of them.

I had the opportunity this time, invited by City of Dreams, to attend the collaboration dinner between Jade Dragon and Chao Shang Chao. Jade Dragon, eight consecutive years of three Michelin stars, three Black Pearl diamonds, the only Cantonese restaurant in Greater China holding both top ratings at once. 

It had been over half a year since my last visit to Shanghai, and Rambu — Chef Jun's newly opened Southeast Asian restaurant — was one of the meals I'd been looking forward to most on this trip.

It was spring when I returned to Suzhou's the House of Xiding.I walked through that familiar wooden door, and once again came the greeting: “Welcome home.” Last time, I took it as nothing more than a heartfelt pleasantry. But hearing it now, I realized I trulyhadcome back.