A whiff of Thai green curry or steamy jasmine rice is enough to send Thai-Australian cook, TV presenter and entrepreneur Marion Grasby on a nostalgia trip.

Grasby, who worked as an ABC reporter before competing on the second series of television cooking show MasterChef in 2010, says her family mostly lived outside Thailand when she was small so her Thai-born mother, Noi, a chef by training, made curry pastes from scratch out of necessity.

“I would always hear the sounds of Mum’s Thai mortar and pestle and watching her speed-roll hundreds of spring rolls,” she recalls.

“Helping and watching her make those pastes taught me the most about Thai cooking because you’re handling the ingredients and smelling them as they’re being chopped or pounded. To this day, the scent of a simmering Thai green curry or the smell of jasmine rice makes me think fondly of my childhood.”

These days, Grasby lives in Noosa with husband Tim Althaus, and their two children. She runs her own Thai-inspired food company, Marion’s Kitchen, and recently launched CookDineHost, a one-stop online shop for her cookbooks, kitchen kit and homewares.

“To this day, the scent of a simmering Thai green curry or the smell of jasmine rice makes me think fondly of my childhood.”

Marion Grasby

Noosa is the perfect spot for outdoor entertaining. “We live on the riverfront and most of our weekends are spent on our back deck with a glass of wine in hand and something delicious like a lamb shoulder slowly smoking away on the outdoor charcoal grill. For someone who loves food as much as I do, I couldn’t ask for a dreamier situation.”

Grasby also has a work base in Bangkok, and a media studio in Melbourne, and when on the move she’s always on the lookout for memorable flavours, whether that’s a noodle soup eaten on the pavements of Bangkok, or a panini at Laikon Deli in Melbourne’s Richmond.

Eating in

Signature dish

When I’m at home cooking for family and friends I love using fresh produce and top-notch ingredients. Lamb is our protein of choice. My Mum has put her Asian twist on “Aussie lamb” for as long as I can remember, and we both like to make Panang lamb chops and crying tiger lamb steak at home.

Guilty pleasure

My list of food guilty pleasures is very long. If I had to choose it would be cold pizza on a Monday morning straight out of the fridge as I make the kids’ lunchboxes – we make home-made pizzas as a family on Sunday nights so there are always leftovers to munch on. Another is eating the kids’ chocolates after dinner when they’re in bed, even though I just told them hours ago they were not allowed any. You snooze, you lose!

Best kitchen wisdom

Never wash someone else’s wok. A well-seasoned wok’s patina is a work of art and a labour of love. Scrub too hard or use harsh detergents and all that love gets washed away. Do the dishes but leave the wok, please.

Eating out

Favourite hometown restaurant

If I’m in Bangkok, it’s Khua Kling Pak Sod for excellent southern Thai food, and if I’m in Noosa it’s Sum Yung Guys, because I’m always missing Asian food when I’m not in Asia, and they always knock it out of the park.

Favourite hometown bar

I love the negronis and Cantabrian anchovies at Lucio’s Marina overlooking the Noosa River. Matteo, the owner, always takes special care of us.

Favourite place to eat in Australia

We lived in McLaren Vale for a number of years and it’s also where my husband and I returned to get married. Restaurants like d’Arry’s Verandah, The Salopian Inn and The Victory Hotel in Sellicks Hill are all very nostalgic places we love to go to whenever we visit friends there.

On the road

Favourite food city

I’ve always said Singapore is one of the world’s greatest eating cities because of the sheer cultural diversity of the food. You can be eating amazing dosa and biryani at the Tekka Centre hawker centre or moonlight hor fun noodles at Keng Eng Kee Seafood one minute, and then doing an incredible Michelin-starred degustation at Marguerite the next. Every time I’m there, I discover something new.

Favourite places to dine and drink there

Atlas Bar in Singapore for the 1920s Martini – made with gin from the actual 1920s. And The Oyster Bank in Duxton Hill. They source their oysters from Japan and they are always the freshest and so delicious. Get the oyster tasting plate.

Where to stay

The Mondrian Singapore. They’re great hosts and their shophouse suites are something else. Also, they’re right in Duxton Hill, next to some of my favourite bars and restaurants.

Favourite places to eat in Sydney

I love a really rowdy late-night dinner at XOPP in Haymarket with good friends. We order all the classics – sang choy bao, salt-and-pepper squid and my favourite, the wok-fried pipis with crispy vermicelli.

I recently went back to Sean’s Bondi – I hadn’t been in way too long. The dining room was just as warm and eclectic as ever. Such a classic restaurant.

Favourite place to eat in Melbourne

When I’m working from my Richmond office in Melbourne, I am always booking a table at Lene. It just happens to be around the corner but I would travel halfway across Melbourne for Cameron Williams’ house-made sourdough bread and cultured butter.