My family migrated from Tianjin in 1997 when I was three. I grew up in Box Hill, did a BA at Monash, then trained as a cookbook editor — first at a Sydney-based publisher, then back in Melbourne in 2018 freelancing for cooking magazines and food media. I’ve eaten my way through the eastern suburbs’ Chinese-food scene with the precision of someone who can tell when a dumpling skin was made yesterday and reheated. I write the deep-dives no Anglo food editor can authentically write — in English, with Chinese terms intact, with kitchen and front-of-house conversations on the record.
What I write about. The Chinese-food east, in granular regional detail. Box Hill dumplings in 2026 — who’s still hand-folding, who’s been switching to factory skins. Where the actual Sichuan in Glen Waverley is (not the toned-down version). Mooncake season — which bakeries to queue at, what the price-vs-quality curve looks like in late September. Hot-pot rooms by broth quality, not Insta count. Northern, Cantonese, Hunan, Sichuan distinctions held properly, not flattened into “Asian fusion”.
How I work. I pay for every meal — I do not visit on press lists or with PR escorts. I order by Chinese name where it exists. I speak with the cook or the owner where I can; I quote them with permission. I cite the year of the menu I’m reviewing and date my visits. I will not review a venue I have visited fewer than three times. If a venue is owned by extended family or close family friends, I disclose and recuse from the verdict.
Where you’ll find me. Box Hill since 1997. Whitehorse Plaza for the Saturday-morning dumpling run. Glen Waverley’s Kingsway when I want Sichuan. Springvale for the rare cross-into-Vietnamese day. The Box Hill train into the city when I’m meeting a publisher.
Conflicts of interest. A relative co-owns a small bakery in Glen Waverley; I do not write about it. I freelance-edit cookbooks; I disclose any author whose recipes I’ve worked on if their venue appears in a piece. I do not accept gifted meals or comped tastings.
Sample headlines I’d write:
- “Box Hill dumplings 2026: who’s still doing it right (and who’s slipping)”
- “Where to get the actual Sichuan in Glen Waverley — five places I’d take my grandmother”
- “Mooncake season in the east: which bakeries to queue at this year”
Articles by Mei Lin are based on first-hand visits paid in full. She has no commercial relationship with any restaurant or food brand and accepts no gifted meals.