My Life In Food: Abby Lee, Mambow

The restaurant from my childhood that will always stay me is Lei Garden in Singapore. We used to go for dim sum on a Sunday, which was the only day my parents were free to spend time with us, so they were particularly memorable times.

The first dish I learned to cook was my granny’s tau yew bak (braised pork belly in soy sauce). It’s a relatively simple dish, but for me there’s probably nothing more comforting than this dish. Nailing the simplest dishes first was what my aunt would teach me – it was essential for her to show me how to balance the sweet, salty, spices and fat.

The restaurant I probably revisit most often is Planque in Haggerston. It serves the kind of food I want to eat on my days off and be inspired by. I love peering into the open kitchen. The menu has been different every time I’ve been, but the razor clam tartlets and head chef Seb Myers’ desserts are a must-try. He’s probably my favourite chef at the moment.

A recent opening I loved was Kolae. It’s so nice to see more southern Thai-focused cooking, that’s also bordering Malaysian, in London. I love the familiarity and comfort of those dishes. When I went, we pretty much ordered the whole menu. My favourite dishes were the grilled mussel skewers, crispy prawn heads, venison black pepper curry and the sour mango salad with dried fish.

My most memorable meal has to be the river prawn noodles I had in Sibu, Sarawak. They came with the most incredible spicy prawn broth that had such a distinct flavour, and they were paired with bouncy yellow noodles specific to that region too.

On the rare occasions I get a Sunday off, it’s important that I spend time with my partner and housemates. We usually go for a very long walk. We’ll start by getting a late breakfast at Bake Street for the Nashville hot chicken sandwich and crème brulêe cookies or Papo’s Bagels for the salmon lox bagel. We’ll then do something cultural, like head to an exhibition at the Barbican, before heading into Chinatown to get snacks from Chinatown Bakery and settling into the Prince Charles Cinema to watch a Wong Kar Wai movie. I’m not really into roasts – I’d much rather eat dim sum. Some of my favourite spots are Saikei, Yi-Ban and Dim Sum Duck.

For date night, I love Yuki Bar. It’s low key, yet refined, with good music and it just has a good energy about it. You can have an amazing glass of wine from its curated list or some very comforting Japanese snacks like the pan-fried onigiri. A perfect place to get to know someone.