Ultimate Foodies

You like to eat, I like to eat, we all like to eat. Based on my personal observation, eating out is becoming a culture in today's society. With many varieties of cuisines and artsy food out there, we appreciate food so much more today than before. We love and appreciate food so much that we created the term Foodie.

So what is Foodie? Google has it that a foodie is a person with a particular interest in food; a gourmet. Do you have a foodie friend? Well, I do and today I would like to share with you my foodie friends' thought about food and good food around the area where we live.

Welcoming my foodie friends: Connie Sundjojo and Mr. Anonymous (with initial of F.S.) !
Both of them really love eating out  eating 'good food' out. Occasionally I would see my Line chat and I would see them conversing and sharing information about food and restaurants. Ultimate Foodies seem to fit their title, isn't it? So, now let's hear what they know about food, appreciation towards good food, and how you can find good food!

Q: Connie and Mr. Anonymous, so first of all - what is your favorite cuisine? 

Connie - I am an eater. I love all sorts of kinds of food from all over the world, from Ethiopian, Indian, Mexican, Japanese, French, Spanish, to Italian. But from this year, I have had food that I crave more often than others. For example during my college years, I love love love sushi. Nothing can beat the simplicity and goodness of a good sushi. Before that it was Indonesian food (since I'm from Indonesia and I've lived all my life in Indonesia before college), this vary from region to region through out the year. A few months ago, when I just moved to Chicago, it was modern american. All the molecular gastronomy kept me in amazement of how such thing is made and how it gives you a whole new sensation of flavor and texture. Currently, I love love love good tacos, so is now Mexican.


F.S. - Honestly this is a tough one to answer. I have always loved every kind of food, different types of cuisine; and I like trying out new stuff, and food is certainly one of them.
But being an Asian (* now you know Mr. Anonymous is an Asian!), I think Asian food in general always has a special place in my heart—Korean, Japanese, Thai, Vietnamese, Indonesian, Malaysian/Singaporean, Chinese food—you name it. Oh and I love SPICY food. And yes, I do have a very high spiciness tolerance level.



Q: Now we know what favorite cuisines are; what is your favorite dish/food?

Connie - I can never get bored of  Indonesian food, since I grew up with it. But I will never say no to a good nigiri sushi.

F.S. - I wish, again, I could name you one! I don't have one single favorite food; I mean, c'mon, there
are literally tons of great foods out there!
Though, I can name you a few which I really like in the Chicagoland area: Bak Kut Teh (this one is from Asian Noodle House), Japanese Ramen (this one is the one I recently tried and it's amazing! It's the Miso Bold & Spicy from Ramen Takeya), Korean BBQ - Cho Sun Ok is my favorite go-to Korean BBQ restaurant in Chicago. And again, these are just a few of them. My list can go on and on and on...



Q: So after you've experienced eating out in many restaurants around the area, what do you think is the best/most memorable food you have had?

Sweetbread

Connie - This month I went to 42 grams. I had the best sweetbread I have ever tasted throughout my whole life. The veal sweetbread is coated with ash eggplant, which gives it a hint of bitterness. It is then topped with frozen foi gras powder that slowly melts because of the heat from the sweetbread, and it all sits on top of a sweet and tangy golden berry puree. Nothing is better, one of the most memorable dish ever! Before that on March I went to Fat Rice, there I had the best pork belly I have ever tasted in my whole life. The pork belly is cooked like Indonesian pork sweet soy sauce but with a touch of tamarind. This dish blew my mind because it was done better than the ones I had in Indonesia. A touch of acidity from the tamarind is simply genius. It brightens up the fatty goodness of the pork belly just enough.

Battered Fried Shrimp in Sweet and Spicy Sauce

F.S. - In the past year, I think the Battered Fried Shrimp in Sweet & Spicy Sauce from Peking Mandarin Restaurant would make it into my list. I remember the taste still lingered in my mouth and mind even hours after eating it!






Q: What do you think is the best restaurant in the US? What about in Chicago? Why? Which dish? 


Connie -  In the US. Boston: Oya and Neptune Oyster. I will have to say that Oya is the best Japanese restaurant I have tried so far. The nigiri is not a traditional Japanese nigiri. They present it with molecular gastronomy. My most memorable dish there is the monk fish liver sashimi and kobe beef. The monk fish liver is the definition of umami. It's very creamy, and just umami. Kobe beef is good. hahaha.. In Austin, I had the best steak ever. Cote du beouf Qui. Franklin BBQ is also spot on. In Seattle, it will be Walrus and the Carpenter. In my opinion, they are the best seafood restaurant! In Chicago,  Fat Rice for their pork belly tamarindo, Girl and the Goat for their pigs face (I had this dish 6 times. 4 was great but 2 times wasn't that good, they need to work on their consistency), Avec with their bacon wrap medjool dates stuffed with chorizo, Publican for their porchetta with raisins and pine nuts (menu changes very often). Juno Sushi, the uni on top of mirugai with truffle oil and salt is above and beyond good. The list could go on hahaha..


F.S. - I think it depends on what you're looking for, and what factors you take into account in
defining "the best". Food isn't like math which most of the time has a clear-cut answer.
My personal favorite, you can never go wrong with Asian Noodle House. It has a great selection of dishes, and are all very affordable. Noodles in the Pot has an amazing Pad Woon Sen with Beef, the best Penang Crispy Noodles, and their Pad See Eiw is palatable. Rickshaw Republic has great Indonesian dishes (and they're the only Indonesian restaurant in Chicago!), and Carnivale offers a great ambiance and experience.

The most memorable steakhouse I've tried in the US is Peter Luger in New York. They have the juiciest, tastiest, fattest bacon I've ever had. Period.







Q: In your opinion, what makes food and eating experience enjoyable? 

Connie - I just read an article about mindful eating last week and tried to practice it since. The instruction is to think absolutely only about the food you're eating, while eating it. Think about the smell, flavor, and how it's made. I think it brought my appreciation towards food to a whole new level. Even a raw tomato taste very delicious when you eat it mindfully. Besides that, the company we have at the time has a big impact on the overall experience. When you're able to discuss how good the food is with your friends, the experience is just so awesome! But don't be afraid to eat in a restaurant alone! I often do this, and I enjoy it a lot. You can't just depend on others' availability to enjoy good food! Also, I think when you cook with love the food somehow taste better. Just like the home-cooked food prepared by your parents, it's very simple but yet you'll remember is for the rest of your life (at least to me).

F.S. - Taste, Service, Location, Hygiene, Ambiance — each plays an important role.


Q: What tips would you give to those who are looking for great food and dining experience around them?

Connie - Bizzare foods with Andrew Zimmern, The layover with Anthony Bourdain are two of my go to culinary travel advisor. Buzzfeed travel, sometimes have a very good suggestions on where to go.



F.S. - Do your homework — research, ask around, and sometimes, be adventurous. Places with bad ratings are not necessarily always bad. Sometimes these places have a few or very specific dishes that are really amazing, like the Briyani from Hyderabad House.



Life is short, so live it to the fullest. And yes, one of my mottoes: "Most people eat to live, but I live to eat."

Follow F.S. through his Twitter


Now do you feel hungry and feeling like hitting one of the restaurants mentioned? Me too! Hope you learned a lot from this post and learn to appreciate food more.

Love,

Catherine. Connie. F.S.