there’s TOO MANY to choose from but, dare i say, the night market ayam geprek (when i’d first bought it). fresh fried chicken, long beans, and a sambal that stung my fingers while eating XD super delish!
3 Likes
Best bite was probably our most recent trip to Harry’s Seafood Grill, a New Orleans style seafood chain in Florida. Started with the fried green tomatoes appetizer, then I had the chicken Jolie Blonde and my parents had the eggplant Napoleon. Ended with the butter pecan cheesecake and pumpkin martinis.
☜(ˆ▿ˆc)
Chicken Jolie Blond is sauteed chicken with parmesan basil cream sauce, served over a fried grit cake. Yummy! The eggplant Napoleon was fried eggplant with crabmeat on top and the same parmesan basil cream sauce drizzled on top of that. The cheesecake had salted whiskey caramel sauce, pralines and whipped cream. Also yummy! Wasn’t crazy about the martinis, but they weren’t the worst I’ve ever had. Flavored martinis aren’t really my thing. ¯\_(ﭢ)_/¯
2 Likes
Honestly felt 
I wasn’t much of a food photographer myself until my piano club’s Discord server created a channel just for food. Then people started posting pictures and I went, might as well join in! I’ve also been taking more pictures thanks to the Beli app, which I use to rate and review restaurants 
I really only take pics of food if I’m eating somewhere new, trying a new dish at a place I’ve been to, taking someone else to a restaurant, or made something I think is somewhat photogenic. Otherwise the phone stays on the table and I munch right away
WAIT
AYAM GEPREK
ARE YOU INDONESIAN? I haven’t had anything like that in ages! There’s only one Indonesian restaurant in the entire city and they have a small menu that specializes in rendang. If I wanted to grab some I’d have to drive for nearly four hours to Indianapolis 
Or try to cook it myself but it takes ages. I made ayam goreng kuning a couple times and it took me about 3 hours from prep to frying 
They all sound so good! Especially the chicken and the cheesecake 
and salted caramel is just a great flavor for anything dessert in general! One of the best hot chocolates in town is a mug of salted caramel hot chocolate from Katherine Anne’s, and two of my friends can confirm 
As for my favorite bite of 2025, there are just too many to choose from! So have a “shortlist” of my favorite bites
This might seem obvious to those who’ve been in this thread a while, but the first mention goes to YooYee! Specifically for their twice-cooked pork and Chongqing dry chili chicken 
Up next would have to be the skirt steak taco from Taqueria Chingón! Pricey, but also just amazingly juicy and flavorful. (Their al pastor taco, on the other hand, can be skipped.)
This is from much earlier in the year: peanut and sesame mochi from Ningxia night market in Taipei! I was genuinely blown away by how good it was, and it was less than USD 2! 
Also gotta give a shout out to Hainanese chicken rice from 3 Sauces Hainam Rice, tucked away in a secluded basement food court in Chinatown!
And Akahoshi Ramen’s November special last year, yuzu shio ramen! Definitely one of the most unique bowls I’ve had around here
Would it be egotistical to include something I cooked myself? Here’s a pic of me grilling some sate babi (pork belly skewers marinated in soy sauce and citrus) at a beach trip with friends!
I know it’s more like a long list than a short list, but there’s just too many I couldn’t leave out 
3 Likes
i know right!!! like i’ll be grabbing for the food already and my friends have to smack me away so they can take their photo first. even when it’s photogenic, the only thought in my head is ‘EAT EAT EAT’ XD
malaysian! but we do get indonesian dishes around too XD the place i’m in now is a sleepy, small town that is mostly chinese-orientated, so cuisine skews chinese, mamak, and indian, but the night market (pasar malam) have all these! i don’t really eat indon food much since it’s difficult to get and i eat based on cravings when i’m buying out lmao T_T the supermarket does stock a ton of pastes and all (indon, malay), which is what i use whenever i wanna make something! couldn’t be bothered for the prep between classes rn lol
2 Likes
Felt! That was me and my bro when we’d go to a restaurant and my mom would tell us not to touch the food until she’s taken a pic. We’d just groan, “I just wanna eat!”
That’s why sometimes I tell people not to bother about me taking the photo and to grab it if they want, I know how it feels. Hence why one of the pictures above has a dirty plate and a nearly empty bowl of rice ¯_(ツ)_/¯
AH, MY NEIGHBOR! That makes a lot of sense. You’re much closer to home than I am ;-;
And oooh I’m wondering which Chinese regional cuisine is popular/common where you are? One thing I noticed is that the Chinese food in Indonesia tends to be specifically Cantonese. I didn’t taste Sichuan food until I went to America for college, and now it’s my favorite regional Chinese cuisine! (if the many pictures of Chongqing dry chili chicken and twice-cooked pork haven’t made that obvious already )
Not Malaysian, but one of my friends is from Hong Kong and moved to Singapore when he was about 7 or 8 years old. He was so excited to eat Hainanese chicken rice again when he visited me in Chicago last month, and we both freaked out when we found out the same stall that sold chicken rice also sold Milo! I got the Milo Dinosaur 
1 Like
so real XD like hellooo my stomach is crying here lmao
unforch that does not work for us XD if it isn’t taken at the beginning, it won’t be taken at all! and my friends esp. take the pics to post, so aesthetics matter a lot to them.
ya i haven’t left yet XD maybe during my internship, but that’s only around 2027/2028
sichuan is great for sure! there was a backstreet stall in my hometown my family went to a few months back and we had chongqing dry chilli chicken too! not as spicy as i’d expected, but it’s a pleasant kick! pricy for sure but well worth it once in a while.
as for the typical cuisine, i’m not too sure O.o it changes by the area. i daresay it’s cantonese chinese too! there is though one mala shop i frequent, their noodles and spice are to die for! but it changes on the basis XD if you’re lucky, the ‘extra spicy’ you order burns your mouth off, and otherwise it’s a mild heat at the back of your mouth.
oh that’s so cool! it’s always nice to know there’s something like the taste of home wherever you travel XD milo dinosaur sounds so good! recently though i’ve been moving past the milo to chai more XD there was this whole tiktok thing about ‘cold-brew’, and i tried it with fresh milk and masala chai (loose-leaf), it’s so good!
2 Likes
Man, we’re already one week into 2026! Hope y’all have had a great start to the new year 
I also just realized that I haven’t shared certain pics from the times I hung out last month, so I’ve added them below to share with y’all 
click here to see what my friends and I ate to close out 2025 :3
First, some AYCE hot pot from Shabu Plus Rotary and matcha taiyaki from Matcha En, both in Chinatown!
I went to both places with two of my friends, one of whom apparently wasn’t into hot pot, but still went along just to spend more time hanging out with people. I may or may not have changed his mind when I told him to dip a cooked slice of beef in ponzu sauce mixed with minced garlic :3 if you haven’t done that yet, try it the next time you have the chance!
Next, we have twice-cooked garlic with rice crackers, pork belly yakisoba, tofu okonomiyaki, and black sesame ice cream from Gaijin!
This was after we went to our first Chicago Bulls game (we lost to the Pelicans 
). It was supposed to be a dinner of four, but two of my other friends decided after the game to head home instead of joining us. It was still a good meal, though! I’ll have to take more people here sometime when we have the chance 
Oh, and behold: house special dry chili chicken from Sichuan Bistro, served in a huge metal pot 
and with a paper bowl of rice on the side
Yes, it is as huge as it looks. I was not prepared. I also was not prepared for the French fries they added to the dish, but they were so crispy and went really well with the chicken! (If you look at the very top of the pic, you’ll see a familiar-looking tray: the same Hainanese chicken rice from last time, except it was my Hongkongnese friend who ordered it instead of me XD)
And of course, I can’t mention December in Chicago without some treats from the annual Christkindlmarkt. Got some hot chocolate, warm apple cider, and an apple strudel this year!
I went here twice with two different friends. I wasn’t able to grab any currywurst this time, but maybe next time. Actually, @alcoholandcaffeine what are the most popular treats typically sold in Christmas markets in Europe? the popular things to get over here are apple strudels, stuffed pretzels, nuts, and currywurst, as well as this spiced wine I can’t quite remember the name of. I’m probably missing some
Oh, and speaking of hot chocolate, guess who made a trip to Katherine Anne’s got a flight of three mini hot chocolates: semi-sweet, salted caramel, and Mexican.
The salted caramel was the favorite of the two friends who were with me. I personally liked the semi-sweet and salted caramel equally ¯_(ツ)_/¯
That hot chocolate outing also happened on a rather long day out. In the early afternoon, one of my write night friends and I went to check out this Italian restaurant called Tortello. In the evening, one of my piano club friends dropped by a used bookstore near Katherine Anne’s, watched The Nutcracker ballet, and then had a very filling dinner at Au Cheval 
Yes, that was half of a single tortelli also don’t get three scoops of gelato when eating a huge meal 
Oh, and wrapping up the December special with some Japanese food I had with one of my write night friends: tempura and katsu from Mikami!
And now that we’ve got 2025 out of the way, lemme showcase my first meal of 2026—and the funny story behind it
For context, I have an online friend whose profile picture is a bowl of rice. I don’t quite remember how we ended up being as close as we are, but we’re close enough to have several (cursed) inside jokes. The latest additions to those jokes involve my friend’s mom.
One day, I was craving Sichuan food, so I browsed Google Maps for restaurants in the area that were open late. Lo and behold:
And to make things better, since his profile pic was of a bowl of rice…
I checked out the photos and they looked good enough. They also have a lunch special for twice-cooked pork that’s only $13, and it includes an egg roll! But I haven’t been able to take advantage of that yet.
Anyway, I decided to eat my first proper meal of 2026 there. Have some chicken with peppercorn (Chongqing dry chili chicken)
It was… not bad. The chicken had a good amount of heat and was very crispy and juicy, but seasoning-wise there were tastier options just a short walk away. It was still enjoyable though ¯_(ツ)_/¯
And so was the accompanying conversation
And it did make for a very nice Beli review
So there you have it, my first meal of 2026. What did y’all eat to start the new year?
3 Likes
your first meal looks good! my New Year meal was home-made; spiced dry-cooked mutton! i went out with a friend yesterday though for a catch-up and got Thai food from a place called Bangkok Bangkok. cue the one (poor quality) image i took of the food XD
we got everything to share: fried mixed mushrooms, fried chicken fragrant rice, pad thai, mango sticky rice (towards the end, it’s not in the pic) and coffees. the rice dish was delicious, chicken a bit dry but still good. the pad thai was … a chore to get through. XD it was horrendously sweet and eggy, so that was a no-go. the coffees were okay, and so were the mushrooms (nothing will beat the drink and mushrooms i’d had at the Hatyai floating market back in 2024). the mangoes served with the mango sticky rice were delicious, but the santan itself was a bit too thin for my liking, especially considering the rice texture.
i think if i ever come back here i’ll only order their rice dishes.
3 Likes
thank u! spiced dry-cooked mutton sounds good and so does cooking at home! I would be cooking way more often but unfortunately I’m currently living with a relative who’s lowkey a hoarder, so the kitchen is practically unusable
looks delish!
and sorry to hear about the pad Thai. Actually, now that I think about it, when my family and I would eat Thai food we’d almost never order pad Thai. Meanwhile it’s one of the most popular Thai dishes in America I think I remember reading about how pad thai was created rather recently in Thailand’s history, and that it was also used as a “marketing tool” for Thai cuisine abroad? I can’t quite remember.
I personally am a bigger fan of their pineapple fried rice (bonus points if it’s served in a pineapple!) and chicken wrapped in pandan leaves but both are so hard to find here in America, especially the latter 
they’re a staple in Thai restaurants in Indonesia, though
Glad you got to catch up with ur friend!
1 Like
home-cooking is definitely nice, but it’s such a chore T_T i live alone when i’m in uni (still on sem break for now) so i don’t have that issue, but buying and actively cooking stuff is a whole thing. plus, i’ve been with gas stoves all my life and the place i’m in only allows induction, which i loathe. though it sucks that you can’t cook because of your roommate! honestly, i would throw hands lol
ohhh really? my friend is super-keen on pad thai. when we went to Hatyai together, we got pad thai there too and it sucked (she was so disappointed, i personally don’t have an opinion since i don’t have a point of comparison to have any expectations lmao), so she’s hopeful wherever we go to grab thai food for it! really, my personal favourites of thai cuisine are definitely tomyum and green curry! anytime and anywhere, as long as it’s good XD the versions my mom make really hits the spot.
tbh i’ve never tried pineapple fried rice, and i don’t think i will. i’ve got this thing about sweetness in savoury dishes, so i tend to avoid it. i know it looks really good, though, and it smells so good too, but i won’t have it. XD it’s the same concept as pineapples on pizza to me.
2 Likes
also just came back from an outing to a little pop-up market. i didn’t take a picture of the things we bought, unforch (typical) but i have poster cuts and the insta photos.
got the sea salt chocolate chip cookie. i love soft cookies, and the texture of these were nice, but they were a bit too sweet for my taste, the more you eat.
also pork dumplings! usually i get chicken and chives, but the stall only had pork. they were good, though, even cold, not a hint of couchiness to them. chilli oil with these would’ve been great, but they only had black vinegar; too sharp for the dumplings, though, as they weren’t heavily seasoned so the vinegar overpowered them. great on their own, nevertheless!
we got two other things; a loaded potato bowl and green tea + chocolate. the drink tasted like cough syrup to me, and the potato bowl was cold, kind of sourish with stringy chicken, so that was a no-go, too. anyways, in the end we went to a little stall and had thosai + chai. chai was good, thosai was also good, just thickish.
you know looking back on these i realise i’m quite the picky eater. XD
4 Likes
Oh my family and I are the opposite, we prefer induction over gas! maybe it’s just an Indonesian thing, but growing up I remember people wanting to stay away from gas because of its dangerous reputation. It didn’t help that there were some horrible accidents related to gas lines that made people more wary. I didn’t grow up with induction stoves, but we had electric ones! Not the coil-type ones though—they were completely flat disks.
When we relocated to another apartment in the same building, we switched to induction and had to change our pots and pans. We liked it a lot because it was easy to clean and safer compared to other stoves. One of my aunts in the Philippines also installed induction stoves when she got her new house built
It really does, except I can’t throw hands because it’s my aunt’s apartment—which she’s been living in since the 90s—and well, I have no income and she’s not charging me rent. I’ve offered to help clean her fridge and stuff multiple times but she never accepts my help. I was annoyed the times she entered my room and told me to clean it up… when the overwhelming majority of the stuff in that room was hers
This is another reason why I can’t wait to finally get a full-time job. As much as I appreciate living here for free, the piles of junk everywhere is taking a toll on my well-being I’m somewhat surprised that none of her friends or relatives have intervened to clear out the apartment!
This is gonna sound so bad but I can’t remember eating green curry in Thailand I was a much pickier eater back then. I do remember eating this nice stir-fried chicken dish with cashews in it, though!
OMG I completely get it! I also tend to not like sweetness in main courses, but I have a few exceptions 
I first tried the pineapple fried rice in Bangkok and it honestly tastes really good. The versions I’ve had in America tend to be lacking, not enough pineapple or flavor
And I also agree that pineapple does not belong on pizza. Filipinos love it though. I remember seeing it in the Philippines for the first time as a kid, and I was so confused when I bit into it
ur making me drool over here glad to see u enjoyed it! (and glad to see that I’m not the only one posting pics here )
High five! 
although u don’t sound like a super picky eater to me!
I used to think I was a picky eater until my American friends told me that I wasn’t picky at all (just a weirdo for hating seafood). My family would disagree, however, they’d call me extremely picky 
my dad even said I would deservedly lose all my friends because they’d hate me for not eating seafood and ditch me because they’d despise choosing restaurants when I’m involved
1 Like
Mulled wine? That’s probably the most popular one, which I think is a constant across countries. Food tends to differ. I’ve been a Grinch this year and kinda avoided the Christmas markets, they get super crowded, so I’m not sure what the latest trends are lol. Other than mulled wine, I saw lots of doughnut stalls. And langos which is technically Hungarian, but very popular with Romanians too. It’s like a savoury flat doughnut (deep fried dough served usually with sour cream and cheese).
Personally I prefer the street food trucks if there are any. There’s usually lots of sausage dishes (German ones too) and traditional Romanian cuisine.
2 Likes
Churro left the house (
) on Friday Night for his Mom’s birthday dinner! 
We went to this recently opened fancy place in town and I decided to order a coffee, starter, main and a desert. It was delicious
This was the coffee, it was delicious. Just an Americano
The starter was squid with a vegetable salad and Shichimi coating. Delicious and quite filling too…
… But the duck was the real showstopper. Blueberry Jus, seared cabbage, crispy potatoes and a grilled carrot I’m not a big fan of dinners like this but this was AMAZING
And I finished it off with this work of art. A deconstructed cheesecake with Miso Caramel sauce.
It was delicious. I’d definitely go back, with or without my parents and try more food.
5 Likes
Yooo, (belated) happy birthday to your mom! the duck looks so good. Honestly, as someone who loves chicken, it’s pretty hard to beat a very well-cooked duck 
but visually I’m more drawn to the deconstructed cheesecake! Maybe it’s just the shape of it, but the cream(???) reminds me of meringue
3 Likes
ohhhhh i see T_T well, my prayers for you to be able to move into your own place asap!!!
i’m trying now XD just got back from vacation too and i had so many things! i’ll need to pull those pics and see what i can talk about here heh
oh believe me this is nothing XD i’ve actually got a whole thing about the type of seafood i’ll eat, the type of meat i’ll eat, esp. in the way it’s cooked and what it’s put into, a lot of texture stuff as well as general mood things lmao oh, also if the meat has that ‘meat’ smell, i wouldn’t touch it with a ten-metre pole.
PLEASE T_T my brother actually also despises seafood, so don’t worry, you’re not weird XD i think it’s pretty normal lol
2 Likes
quick overview of the things i’d had on vacation below! i’m still looking through the pictures, so if there’s more i’ll attach them here.
drinks:
- pina colada — my second try of this cocktail! this one was alright, the coconut taste was a little rancid unforch.
- house merlot — a 2024 bottle that was horrible, i barely managed to get through it and was constantly regretting my choice. T_T
- daiquiri — my brother got this, and i tasted it, it’s SO GOOD. it’s surprising that it has essentially the same composition of a margarita, just rum instead of tequila, but was so much nicer.
- tequila sunrise — alright, not much to say about this. i keep forgetting the flavour lmao, but it looks really pretty! the second picture.
these drinks were all served with tea bites in these birdcage-like contraptions (a bit like English tea-style). fixings were cakes (butter, chocolate), fresh fruit (watermelon, honeydew), some series of mini open sandwiches, some fried things. the second day they served us smoked salmon on baguette slices and i couldn’t even swallow lmao. i love salmon but definitely not in this way. they had a tuna salad spread and cheese salad spread that i loved. the first day also had pandan chicken (glorious) and tomato bruschetta. the reception area had a little pantry where they had assorted cookies. i tried the gula melaka chocolate chip and that was really good, too!
food:
- biryani — got it from a beachside stall. it was a mess by the time we got it back to the hotel room, but the flavour was good! i just didn’t like the ‘kachumber’, it was watery and the cucumber itself wasn’t too crunchy/fresh. plus, it’s sweet and only sweet, so while yeah it cut through the heat nicely, it’s just not for me.
- tomyum — malay-style, quite good but they gave way too much rice with it and too little soup T_T the omelette was good too, though!
- roadside cendol + rojak + ayam gunting — rojak i just nicked some tofu from my mom’s plate, loved the cendol! i’ve had better ayam gunting, but it was fresh-fried, so it’s alright.
5 Likes
Thanks (Her birthday is actually tomorrow but we went last week because all my family were together, so we went out last Friday) but yes, the duck was generally A M A Z I N G! Yeah, it is an unusual shape. I like experimentation, to be honest. I wasn’t expecting it, but it was worth it. I need to go out to more fancy places more often. I am looking to go to a Nepalese/Indian fusion restaurant. Been twice and it’s lovely.
4 Likes
Sorry for the late reply y’all! I’ve been rather busy lately
Thank u! :')
Oooooh I hope u had a nice vacation!
hmmm I wonder what ur thoughts on KBBQ and yakiniku (Japanese BBQ) are? idk if they have the “meat smell” but they involve cooking raw meat urself
THANK YOU
I was treated as a burden by my family for so long because of this, that moving to America where people don’t think I’m (as) picky feels so refreshing it’s nice being asked to pick a restaurant because they think I give good recs (my friends) vs being asked to pick a restaurant because they think it’s a huge hassle to think of where to eat that will include options for me (my family)
Ooooh looks good! and funnily enough, smoked salmon is one of the very rare cases of seafood I like I only like raw salmon or cold smoked salmon with a raw texture. if it’s cooked, I can’t eat it (I’ve tried)
I had to look up what ayam gunting is my first thought was “what does scissor chicken look like??”
it looks good! def something I wouldn’t mind trying
oooh, you’d like molecular gastronomy and tasting menus I think! obviously there are some restaurants that are pretentious about it, but the more “legit” establishments are worth it. I’ve only had a couple tasting menus in my life and am too broke to afford another one but I love how they turn food into art! and the first time I had a tasting menu, I was so full
fusion is pretty good for experimentation too! or contemporary/modernized restaurants.
it is a good way to treat yourself 
1 Like
I am back with more food pics and a story to accompany them!
So I’ve been a fan of The Phantom of the Opera since I first saw the movie in fourth grade. I’ve since read the novel by Gaston Leroux, listened to the soundtrack multiple times, and watched clips of the West End production. I saw online that the Broadway production was in town until February 1st, and I knew I had to get tickets!
Except the cheapest tickets started at $100+ per person with partially obstructed views the only options to get cheap tickets were to enter a near-daily lottery, which I’ve never won, or queue outside the box office for rush tickets on the day of the show.
Fast forward to Wednesday. I got up earlier than usual and got off at Washington/Wells, the closest stop to the Cadillac Palace Theater (where the show would be). I decided to grab a quick lunch at Cafecito before heading to the theater.
The steak chimichurri sandwich was pretty good! The meat could’ve been warmer, but it was otherwise perfect. Especially the bread. It was really crispy on the outside without being rock hard? Oh, and the hot chocolate was also surprisingly good! They added some spices to it that made the taste unique (and, if you’re familiar with my hot chocolate tier list, I’ve placed it in “mid-top tier”).
After that, I walked to the Cadillac Palace Theater to score a rush ticket. Unfortunately, they were sold out the guy at the box office said that the first person in line showed up four hours early 
I could never.
So I spent the day going around shopping instead. I dropped by the library afterward to chill while charging my phone, and for dinner, I decided to try a ramen spot that’s been on my to-try list for a while: Monster Ramen.
It’s a beef-based ramen restaurant (unlike most joints around), so it’s great for those who can’t eat pork! (and meat too because they have vegetarian/vegan options.) I had the fried beef gyoza and shio tokusei ramen. Both were pretty good, though not the best bowls I’ve had.
Then fast forward to the following day, Thursday. I decided to show up to the box office an hour early. I stood outside in the cold for an hour, where I made small talk with a few others who were all talking about how excited they were for the show. They were all rooting for me to get a ticket after I told them that I’ve never been to a Broadway production before!
And guess what? YOUR GIRL GOT A TICKET AFTER STANDING IN -5 DEGREES C FOR AN HOUR (with only 2.5 layers on)
And right after that, I grabbed lunch at Curry Blah Blah (yes, that’s the actual restaurant name) because I hadn’t eaten that day yet
Got the $13-ish satay chicken and panang chicken lunch special. They asked me to select between four spice levels: mild, medium, American spicy, and Thai spicy I went for American spicy because I knew I wasn’t tough enough to handle Thai spicy, which is on a similar level to the Indonesian spicy I grew up fearing
And before the show, I grabbed dinner at The Dearborn, a nice upscale American restaurant that’s a few blocks east of the theater. Got a Parmesan gnocchi with mushrooms that was very excellent, an okay-ish raspberry sorbet for dessert, and an unfortunately overpriced $12 hot chocolate that wasn’t hot enough to melt their house-made marshmallow
And here’s a pic of the ticket I snagged while seated in the theater, as a bonus 
Had some pretty good meals and witnessed an OUTSTANDING production! If you haven’t seen The Phantom of the Opera live, I can’t recommend it enough! Stand outside the theater for an hour if you have to like I did
4 Likes