Literally.starving

Literally.starving đź“ŤNYC | I share stories about people, food and culture.
(4)

27, Food Ethnographer - Based in NYC
Sharing stories through people, culture, and food
TikTok: 1M+
Instagram: 100K+
Email: [email protected]

I spent January traveling over 1,000 miles across the South. From the heat of Houston to the soul of NOLA and the vibran...
02/13/2026

I spent January traveling over 1,000 miles across the South. From the heat of Houston to the soul of NOLA and the vibrant energy of Miami. My mission: to find the dishes that are redefining “American” cuisine right now.

After dozens of kitchens and even more conversations with chefs, these 12 discoveries stood out. They aren’t just meals; they’re the inspiration for what’s coming next in my book.

Save this post for your next Southern road trip these spots are redefining the game and you don’t want to miss them.

From a racoon fried chicken joint in Omaha Nebraska to a parsnip pie in Fargo North Dakota. Here are some of the most un...
01/15/2026

From a racoon fried chicken joint in Omaha Nebraska to a parsnip pie in Fargo North Dakota. Here are some of the most unique and interesting dishes I found during my cookbook research trip from Montana to Nashville in December! Need some help picking what to feature in the cookbook! Which one can’t you wait to try?

1/ Racoon Fried Chicken in Nebraska
2/ Pho Spiced Cookie by in Oklahoma CIty,
3/ Parsnip Pie at .fargo in North Dakota
4/ Al Pastor Lentil Quesadilla at in Sioux Fall, South Dakota
5/ Crab Rangoon Croissants at in Nashville, Tennessee
6/ Pandan Cinnamon Bun at in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
7/ Ramen Korean Corn Dog at Paris Bahn Mi in Des Moines, Iowa
8/ Chai Latte Cheesecake at in Des Moines, Iowa
9/ Chicken Teriyaki Calzone at Ace’s in Superior Montana
10/ Katsu Chopped Salad at , in Nashville, Tennessee
11/ Collard Green Tuna Melt at in Nashville Tennessee
12/ Chicken Pot Pie Empanadas at in Nashville Tennessee

I’ve been a nomad eating my way through all fifty states for a year now. Here are some of my favorite and most interesti...
12/08/2025

I’ve been a nomad eating my way through all fifty states for a year now. Here are some of my favorite and most interesting bites in November. After visiting a little over 30 states here’s what I can say about American food - it’s dynamic and ever-changing. The food belongs to nobody and everybody. We see lobster bao buns in Maine, baklava pancakes in Boston, and silky quiches in Rhode Island. The food reflects the complicated and interesting lives of those who cook it. I came back to NYC to celebrate Thanksgiving with my friends and family and recipe tested a few things like a banh mi grilled cheese I had on the road. I officially got an extension for the cookbook meaning the new deadline is May 2026! I’ve got 20 more states to visit until then and a lot more to eat so if you’ve read this far - thank you and keep following the journey!

1/ Banh Mi Grilled Cheese!
2/ Spicy Thai Corn Salad from .nyc
3/ A juicy rotisserie chicken from
4/ Recipe testing a plantain pancake with dulce de leche drizzle and whip cream
5/ The famous lobster bao bun from
6/ An atypical bibimbap with za’aatar tofu, whipped deviled eggs, husk cherries, kimchi, and slaw at
7/ Coconut crab toast at
8/ Guava pulled pork at
9/ Baklava pancake from .lunch
10/ A soufflé egg take on the traditional quiche from in Providence, Rhode Island
11/ Back to NYC for the Macy’s day parade at my friend Derek’s balcony before moves out!
12/ Thanksgiving at my friend Rachel’s house in Spokane, Washington!
13/ Went back to NYC for the thanksgiving parade at my friend Derek’s apartment before he moved out!

Stumbled onto the longest table project when I was in Chinatown. It’s a community event that brings people together for ...
11/03/2025

Stumbled onto the longest table project when I was in Chinatown. It’s a community event that brings people together for a shared meal. It’s a pretty cool metaphor for how food brings people and ideas together. In honor of that spirit, here are some of my favorite bites and things I’ve seen during my travels in October!

Sharing some of my favorite snaps from September!
10/08/2025

Sharing some of my favorite snaps from September!

Some of my favorite foods in July! Life update: headed back to NYC to recipe test in preparation to deliver the manuscri...
08/08/2025

Some of my favorite foods in July!

Life update: headed back to NYC to recipe test in preparation to deliver the manuscript in November! It’s been a crazy 6 month journey traveling across the US. But I’m glad to be back in the city with some of my favorite foods.

Favorite Bites I had on May! 1/ Not Pad Thai from 2/ Sorghum Butter from 3/ Basil Wings from .mpls 4/ Duck Breast fro...
05/31/2025

Favorite Bites I had on May!

1/ Not Pad Thai from
2/ Sorghum Butter from
3/ Basil Wings from .mpls
4/ Duck Breast from
5/ Mushroom Soup from
6/ Hmong Sausage from
7/ Lamb Carpaccio from
8/ Mac & Cheese from
9/ These carrots from
10/ Crème brûlée Sweet Potato Curry from

Can’t wait to share with y’all again my adventures!

I can’t believe we are already in May! Where did the time go! I spent the first part of April exploring the food scene i...
04/30/2025

I can’t believe we are already in May! Where did the time go! I spent the first part of April exploring the food scene in Detroit and Chicago and met some incredible chefs along the way for the cookbook. I met some incredible chefs—each with a story, each with a dish that told me something about where they’re from and what they care about. When I turned in my first outline, the feedback wasn’t great. My editor felt I was missing the mark and asked me to go back to the drawing board.

So I hit a wall. Classic writer’s block. To reset, I booked a last-minute trip to Morocco with my cousins. We rode camels through the Sahara, drank mint tea with every meal, and ate everything to the point that I got food poisoning. I felt that the food was largely pretty standard across the country (tagines, couscous, and breads) compared to the culinary diversity in the United States. It made me realize truly how diverse the US foodway is.

When I got back to Chicago, I started asking what American food means to them. Unsurprisingly, a lot of people told me hamburgers, hotdogs, and pizza. While this is true, I’ve been able to see really interesting adaptations of these dishes across my travels. For example, Japadogs in LA - a tempura fried hotdog and Matzo pizza in NYC by baking a matzo cracker with pizza toppings. Navajo tacos in Arizona. So now I’m rethinking the cookbook. What if it focused on these reimagined classics? Food that’s familiar but transformed—through culture, memory, or migration. Is that American? New American? Something else entirely? What do you think American food is today? I’d love to hear your take—help a brother out.

1/ Menudo Ramen from
2/ Me and Chef Ji Hye Kim of
3/ Found Anthony Bourdain at Polonia a traditional polish restaurant in Detroit
4/ Chicken Pot Pie from
5/ Chicago dogs are the superior form of hotdog will debate anyone who disagrees
6/ Lovely seafood shop in Casablanca
7/ Camel riding in Sahara desert
8/ Couscous in Marrakesh at Dar L’hssira
9/ Common bread types found in Morocco - can you name them all?
10/ Met chef and her husband at

1/ Masa Pancakes from !2/ the crew at showing me how to make masa flavored goodies! 3/ got to visit the google Austin o...
04/02/2025

1/ Masa Pancakes from !

2/ the crew at showing me how to make masa flavored goodies!

3/ got to visit the google Austin office and saw some good friends!

4/ Menudo Ramen at ! It was surprisingly well balanced and a great example of cultures coming together

5/ became a beekeeper for a day with got stung by a bee.

6/ Revisited one of my favorite taco spots at Las Trancas with my friend .chefs

7/ One of the best Khao Man Gai’s I’ve ever had from !

8/ learned how to make some wood fire pizza with

9/ this tres leche cake is everything

10/ met his awesome human and his story of Discada!

“So, tell me about yourself?”1/ My name is Yiming. I just turned 30 and I’m a content creator that tells stories about p...
03/19/2025

“So, tell me about yourself?”

1/ My name is Yiming. I just turned 30 and I’m a content creator that tells stories about people, culture, and food. Traveling across the 50 states this year - learning about myself along the way. 

2/ I’m not a chef, but I grew up in the back of a Chinese restaurant - slinging dishes and rolling egg rolls. Mom and dad were awesome cooks and I never went hungry. 

3/ First in the fam to graduate from college at the University of Virginia (Wahoowa). Studied history and business, but still had no idea what I wanted to do. 

4/ Said yolo after graduating and lived and worked in a bunch of different places like Cape Town and Kuala Lumpur. 

5/ Went into tech to pay off the student loans - spent 6 years at Google Austin + NYC.

6/ Started a TikTok account 2022 where I cooked food for strangers in NYC and told their story. That’s where I met all of you! 

7/ Currently on a journey to travel across all 50 states to write a cookbook that offers a current perspective on American cooking today. I want to explore the evolving story of American food and the people that make it and the places that shape it. Thanks for reading and follow along for more!

Caption: Started traveling to write this cookbook about home cooking across the 50 states! Sold everything gave up my ap...
03/09/2025

Caption: Started traveling to write this cookbook about home cooking across the 50 states! Sold everything gave up my apartment in NYC and living the nomadic life! The first state of my journey is Hawaii! I got to meet some pretty incredible home cooks and chefs along the way. Also got to celebrate my 30th birthday with some of my closest friends who decided to fly in. Flew back to the mainland in LA visited some friends and I’m now currently in Arizona working with some chefs and stayed on the Navajo nation! Be well and follow along the journey :)!

I celebrated my 30th birthday in Hawaii with some of my close friends. Some thoughts about my 20s as I stare into the su...
02/11/2025

I celebrated my 30th birthday in Hawaii with some of my close friends. Some thoughts about my 20s as I stare into the sunset:

It’s okay not to know what you want. Life is about figuring that s**t out.
The way you figure it out is you gotta stop thinking and start doing. 
The only way to know is by experiencing.
But, it takes a lot of courage and energy to try something new. So be kind to yourself.
If things don’t work out - that’s okay sometimes it’s not meant to be, but you gotta move on and learn from the experience. 
What did you like about it? What did you hate about it.
Be patient - things take time. 
Take that wisdom and start again. 
You’ll get to exactly where you need to be. 
Just be honest with yourself.

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