Food trends

How many times have you seen a Dubai chocolate variant? or saw a dot cake on your feed? Does it feel like food moves like fast fashion rather than an intentional decision? The more we take time to pause and realize what we eat, we notice how we can either eat and discover great foods or simply consume what we the culture wants to feed you.

I remember going to Los Angeles a lot when I was a teen (I had an obsession with youtubers from LA and wanted to get a glimpse of that) I remember having a list of a bunch of trendy restaurants I wanted to try. Now in hindsight I saw how much social media was steering that, I tried practically every viral restaurant and nothing left a profound memory on how it tasted or even the experience. I was aimlessly eating a bunch of nonsense, getting difficult reservations and spending money on overpriced theatrics.

Today, when I look for a new restaurant to try, I look for the quality. Do they have a unique dish im eager to try? Is it a cuisine I have never tried before? I remember discovering Korean food in New York City. It quite literally became an obsession very quickly. Cold noodles, Bbq, so many sides, stews, and veggies I had never seen before. The use of sweet and salty. Mexican food was so drastically different but somehow they both harmonized in comfort and coziness. I found myself going to K-town so often and just eating at restaurants where old Korean grandmas who I could barely communicate with would serve me the most delectable dishes.

I do enjoy here and there a trendy dessert but I often tell others to not visit the same restaurants so many times, to open up and discover new things.

so next time you see a restaurant you wouldn’t usually walk into, and its packed. Go try it out, form an opinion and build your palate! You wont regret it and it will evolve your home cooking in ways you wont expect. You will fin yourself reaching for new ingredients at the grocery store and your creativity will bring you to make delicious new dishes.

Below are some photos of dishes that I found to be exciting, memorable, and delicious.

Above is a rice hot pot with a seared beef over it, I enjoyed this at Atomix in New York. 2 Michelin starred Restaurant in flatiron.

Above is at Semma in the west village of NYC, the Gunpowder dosa. Semma was ranked the #1 best restaurant in 2025 according to The New York Times. Not my #1 but still delicious.

Above is Isodi in the west village probably one of my most frequently visited restaurants. The lasagna and lemon pasta are so so so good. The service is always top notch and they nail their northern Italian dishes.

The cold noodles to refresh after having the crispy Korean fried chicken at Coqodoq. By Simon Kim, famous restauranteur in NYC. One of Jean Georges former chefs now runs the kitchen behind this popular place. Sister restaurant to COTE, the only Michelin starred Korean bbq in the world, and well deserved.

Ceres Pizza. My co-workers actually brought me here long before it became viral. Now I believe they only sell whole pies. But it was once a quiet, delicious pizza joint with crispy thin pizzas. Opened up by 2 former Eleven Madison park chefs (aka nyc kitchen royalty).

A tofu dish we served at Jean Georges for the 6 course vegetarian menu. I used to spend 2 hours on the broth alone. Mixing a whole array of mushrooms and steaming my face to the funky smell of kombu and charred onions. One day a NYT food critic came in , tried this dish, raved about it and we started selling more tofu than we had ever before. To be fair, it was delicious.

The famous vodka egg at JG. We did not sell as much of these as I thought we would, but it consisted of soft scrambled eggs inside the obviously sanitized shell, a soft whip infused with vodka and topped with caviar. Such a rich and delicious bite.

Another bite from Atomix, I wish I could remember what it consisted of but I just remember it being so tasty.

My favorite dessert shop in NYC, Lyseè in Flatiron just a walk away from Cosme and Cote. The pastry chef here Eunjii Lee is the Korean female version of Cedric Grolet I would say. Her Babka and corn entremet are my favorite in the whole world. Also her desserts are French at their core but with Korean influences in flavors.

THE Cedric Grolet in Paris. Fully deserves all the hype he gets. Just be prepared to spend 10-20 euros on one pastry and wishing they had some sort of Disney fast pass to skip the line.