Shayna made Vietnamese Mint. It was a mint, lemon, vodka drink. I liked that it only had a touch of sweetness, and had a bit of carbonation from soda water.

Robert made Barbecued Duck Broth with Crab and Tapioca. Actually I think he just did the duck broth, but even without the crab and tapioca this dish was incredible. The broth had a deep flavor that was really like essence of barbecue duck. I bet with crab and tapioca it would have been insane.

I made Fresh Fruit with Chilli Sugar and Lime. I liked the spice and tang that the chili and lime added to offset the sugar and natural sweetness of the mangoes I used. The moisture from dipping the mango into the sugar mixture caused a lot of clumps – I’d suggest spooning it over the fruit rather than dipping. Also the recipe makes enough sugar for a lot of fruit!

Melanie made DIY Spring Rolls. The recipe included a gluten-free variation where the tofu was grilled instead of fried in batter and the pancakes were replaced with lettuce wraps. I mostly felt the tofu and lettuce were vehicles to get as much of the delicious peanut sauce into my face as possible, but I love Peking duck pancakes and fried things are never bad, so I imagine I would have really liked the gluten-full version.

Halina made Asian Mushroom Stir-Fry. I adore all different kinds of mushrooms, so was really looking forward to this mixed mushroom dish. It was tasty, but perhaps I had built my expectations too high, as it didn’t blow me away the way I’d hoped. I felt it needed a bit of acidity.

Kieran made Yellow Curry of Roast Pumpkin with Grilled Tofu and Cherry Tomatoes. I always enjoy a Thai curry, but I’ve never had one with pumpkin before. It provided good heartiness to what was a completely vegetarian dish. I’ll be using squash in my curries in the future.

Erin made Gapi Fried Rice with Candied Prawns and Sweet Pork. This was a great dish. It sounded like a lot of work, so I thank Erin for putting in the time to grill the pork belly, candy the prawns, make the omelette, and fry the rice. There was crunch and chew and crispness, all coming together to make a rich flavor that didn’t shy away from spice and funk.

John made Beef Pad Seuw. He used wagyu beef, which was amazing. It really made the dish. I thought the rice noodles could have used a bit more seasoning – I like the salty sweet flavors of pad seuw and wanted them to come through a bit stronger.

Brian made Larb Gai. I’m a fan of larb in general, and this was a tasty one. It was acidic and funky, just the way I like it. The flavor-packed chicken with the herbs and veg make a salad that feels both fresh and meaty at the same time.

Cindy made Chicken Dumplings with Vinegar Dressing. These were some yummy dumplings… and I must not have been the only one who thought so, because I went back to get a second one and they were all gone! The filling was already flavorful, and the dressing made them even better.

Sheana made Chilli-Salt Chicken Wings. This was one of my favorite dishes. Sheana had tasted the sauce on its own and worried it was too spicy, but spooned onto the fried chicken in combination with the Szechuan salt, it was absolutely fantastic. I don’t have a fryer, so I want to try making the alternative baked version that the recipe provides.

Anthony made Chilli Vinegar. I have to admit I didn’t know what to use it on and then forgot it was there. So I never tried it and therefore can’t comment, but it’s chili-infused vinegar, so I’m sure it would have been tasty!

Anthony also made strawberry cake with lemon curd and whipped cream topping. This wasn’t from the cookbook, but as always we are delighted to have an Anthony cake. He actually blended the strawberries into the cake batter, which gave the cake a flavor and density I was very partial to. It went great with the lemon curd.

Jeff made Grilled Banana Roti with Cinnamon Sugar. The flavor of this dessert was really nice. The creamy, buttery banana filling tasted a bit caramelized, and you can’t go wrong with a topping of cinnamon sugar and sweetened condensed milk. I thought the roti was a bit thick though, and would have preferred something a little more delicate.

Riley made Rhubarb Palm Sugar Chilli Crisp. She had a minor incident with the topping catching fire in Sheana’s (apparently super-powered) oven, but managed to scrape off the burnt bits and still have a good dessert. I would have loved to have some vanilla ice cream with this.