Food Pics Represents Identity

February 22, 2025 – I love taking food pics

Here is a photo of a food pic that I have not yet posted onto social media. This blog post seems like a good place to share this image. I went out for dinner this weekend on “be a person day” and we went to a restaurant that serves green curry. Now that my gall bladder is out, I can return to this kind of food without fear of having a gall bladder attack. Damn. This dish was delicious and comforting. It was not too spicy, but rather tangy with bits of mango in random bites. I approached this beautiful meal by mixing it all up so that every grain of rice was covered in green curry. I ate the whole bowl and ended the meal with a dessert. Best of all, this place had diet coke. It was a meal that I really enjoyed and really wanted. Yes, the meal brought me lots of JOY. I LOVE eating a great meal. I was HAPPY to know that I can get a meal like this, but also pad Thai, if I was in the mood, in Prince George. I loved a place in Vancouver where their chicken green curry dish had eggplant in it. Green curry just hit the spot.

When i was in Vancouver, I went out to dinner with family. We went to a place that I wanted to go to. It’s family-style eating where you order a bunch of dishes to share. It was not a Chinese food place, but rather western, and I love the vibe and food of this place. To make a long story short, one person did not want me take pictures of the food. I normally do, but this person was trying to convince me, or shame me, into not taking food pics. I replied by saying I did not care about what other people in the restaurant thought of me. In the end, this person did not want me to take pictures. I complied and did not make a big deal out of this situation but what disappointed me was the fact that the person could not tell me that me taking photos embarrassed them. Nonetheless, the meal was good and I ended up paying for the meal. I enjoyed the experience and I wanted to express my gratitude for the evening. Anyway, what the evening taught me is, I like taking food pics because food is part of my identity.

I took a bunch of food pics of the congee, turnip cake, and tea from The Boss when I went to Burnaby/Metrotown and of the Chinese food I brought home from Vancouver to Prince George. I took pictures of the soup dumpling lunch and hot pot dinner with the teacher candidates in Burnaby (before and after the WestCAST conference) and I generally like taking pictures of food. You never know when you are going to use these images, just like the one above, but also I love sharing pictures of food I love and food that reminds me of my mom (which I also love). I was teased by my siblings by going to the same places when I come to Vancouver. Of course I do… I love going to the ocean and I love going to Chinese restaurants… and Thai too. Anyway, the food reminds me of my mom, but also I can’t get this food in Prince George (nor am I close to the ocean in Prince George). The food connects me to my ethnic identity, just as being by the ocean. Last year, I was focused on doing things that make me happy… but now, I will do things that LOVE. Food pics is one of those things. It’s who I am. 🙂