It's the end of 2025, and Sam and Jean wrap a bow on the silly season by talking about the year we've had through food. What are the best bites we've had? The best food experiences? What do we think about the biggest food trends of the year (think: matcha, steakhouses, "ethnic" food in wine bars).

And, a special end-of-year treat for you all: we talk to Janice Leung Hayes, a food writer whose work has appeared in Eater, The New York Times, Conde Nast Traveler, The Wall Street Journal and more. Currently based in Hong Kong, we discuss the Hong Kong food scene, the value of food criticism, how food writing has evolved, what goes into trying to represent a city for an overseas audience and, yes, Michelin! Janice also lives between Hong Kong and Dunedin (where she fell in love with its infamous farmers market).

This is the last episode for the year (obviously) and may also be the last episode for awhile, so we hope you enjoy and digest. We'll see you soon.