This is a pretty big statement, considering it’s coming from one of San Francisco Bay area’s beloved food blogger, Tim Cheung. Tim, better known by his Instagram handle, @bayarea.foodies, has been a food blogger for five years. What type of food does he love? Boba tea, pho, tacos, ramen, and chicken wings. But food blogging for him isn’t just about the way the food tastes or the photography. They say that food brings people together, and this has been the case for Tim. Sharing, in the form of food with friends, or through his IG, keeps him motivated, and adds an extra kick to food blogging itself.
How did he get into food blogging? Tim, who used to be on track to becoming a computer programmer before his food blogging took off, has been a long time fan of food bloggers like Mikey Chen and Mark Wiens. He says that the way they interact with food is captivating, and is partially the reason why he first got into food blogging.
But he also initially started by seeking out the local food scene of San Francisco. Tim began looking for more of the local restaurants, and wanted to especially focus on minority owned places, precisely because there wasn’t a lot of knowledge about them. When he started sharing on his IG, he quickly gained a following. He soon saw that people within the Bay Area Foodies community were responding to his posts of these local food places.
That’s when he realized that sharing about the hidden gems of the Bay area wasn’t just an excuse for him to eat his way through San Francisco. He saw that people had a real need and desire to know about the little places of the Bay area. That need has helped shape his goal of getting the local food restaurant business, all those mom-and-pop joints, out there, known, and beloved.
Cue his food blog, full of pho, boba, and tacos. His IG feed (pun intended) has played part in inspiring others to start their own food blogs. The food scene has exploded, and Tim says that many people have thanked him for his content – for sharing his food passion with fellow Bay Area Foodies.
But Tim doesn’t just share hidden gems and food through his content. Tim also loves to share food with other food bloggers. For him, collaborating with and building relationships with these other people who are just as passionate about food – and blogging about it – has been key. It helps keep each other motivated, and it may very well make the food taste better.
The sharing experience also has played key in discovering new places. Before the COVID-19 lockdown, Tim would plan out weekly food crawls, sometimes even twice a week. It would be him and other food bloggers trying out often overlooked places, and feeding off of each other’s passion, sometimes checking out five places in a single day.
To begin sharing and loving food with Tim, check out his IG. Even if it’s virtually, food draws people together, and Tim has become an expert at sharing.
Laila Azzahra is a professional writer and blogger that loves to write about technology, business, entertainment, science, and health.