news: Happy 11 years to hungryintaipei

MY BLOG TURNS ELEVEN TODAY. Keeping my blog alive all these years has been like raising a child-- I've spent many sleepless nights trying to put it to bed, I've run out of memory on my phone with the countless photos, I've spent more money than I've expected, I'm proud of its growth and I've learned so much from the process, about myself and the world. 

So it's fitting that this year I got my first trophy award for the blog. I've gotten voted best blog in Taipei over the years, but this was the first time holding something tangible and golden and engraved with my name!! And a golden xiao long bao, no less!! 

Thanks Netflix, Netfli Asia and Netflix Taiwan for recognizing my love for food. I do love it! I'm OBSESSED! 

When I first got an email from @netflixasia, I wondered, what did they want to help promote their new season of Chef's Table? No commitment, just some goodies for you, they said. Sure, why not, I thought. I was a long time fan of @chefstablenetflix and an even longer fan of @Netflix. When they first launched, I would eagerly organize my DVD queue and await the thin, flat red DVD envelopes in the mail, rip them open like Christmas presents even though I already knew what was inside. I was always amazed that once I sent off the dvd, there another one would promptly arrive a few days later. Then they started to stream movies, then had must binge watch TV House of Cards and Orange is the New Black, both of which I binged.

And for years, I said, when is someone going to do a @Netflix for Asia? And they finally did it themselves- @Netflixtw, @Netflixasia, @netflixhg.. And through a creative marketing campaign, a group of people across Asia are getting recognized for their passion, vision & love of food with individualized golden trophies, but also connecting with each other through photos and #mychefstable. When my photos made the top 9 of #mychefstable, I browsed and admired and drooled over the passion of so many other people posting gorgeous photos of foods, foreign and familiar. 

I feel that same way watching @Gaggan talk about his failed restaurants and journey before executing his vision after an internship at El Bulli to share Indian food in such a striking way, or chef @grant_achatz talk about his obstacles before @alinearestaurant or watching an episode from Season 1 about @nnakarestaurant's chef Nakayama, which launched her modern kaiseki restaurant in LA into even more recognition. It's inspiring knowing that chefs of the world's best restaurants succeeded because they persisted, even when had doubts.

I doubt I'll be the lucky one to travel the world to dine and photograph all the restaurants in season 2, as AMAZING as that would be, but I'll have this xiao long bao trophy to remind me to keep working on #hungryintaipei to share the stories behind the food in #Taipei #🇹🇼 even when I have doubts. 

It's hard to keep writing sometimes when I used to get more feedback and comments and know who was "out there" reading, and now it's old fashioned to be blogging, much less commenting on blogs. Now it's quicker and more interactive to be on Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, and it's hard to not get caught up in the "likes" game- why do my photos not get as many likes as the next account or whatnot. I do get a lot of kind emails and comments from readers and I want you to know that's what keeps me posting and writing and sharing! I'm happy Taipei has been getting lots of love around the world, and I know I've played a small part in that by creating a resource for people visiting and living here. I still have lots of ideas and goals for hungryintaipei- just need more hours in the day! As always, thanks for being hungry in taipei with me!