2013 Follow Me Foodie Favourites & Yearblog
Follow Me Foodie Favourites, BEST of, Memories & Recap of 2013!
2013 was actually the first time since starting Follow Me Foodie in July 2009 that I’ve managed to ease up on the blog and not stress out about not working through the holidays. I used to feel really guilty about it and there is still a lot of self-pressure, but I don’t want to lose the enjoyment of blogging and life outside of it. The benefits of working for yourself is working on your own time, but that also just means working all the time. The idea of the 4 hour work week is still quite foreign to me especially since I’ve really blurred the lines between work, passion and pleasure. A bit taboo for many, but I can’t imagine it any other way.
Wow. 2013 flew by and the last quarter of it was intense with traveling. This year Follow Me Foodie included Follow Me Foodie to Toronto, Follow Me Foodie to Lummi Island (twice), Follow Me Foodie to San Francisco (twice), Follow Me Foodie to Tofino, Follow Me Foodie to Seattle, Follow Me Foodie to Whistler, Follow Me Foodie to Calgary, Follow Me Foodie to the Yukon Territories, Follow Me Foodie to Hong Kong (Round 3), Follow Me Foodie to Japan (Tokyo and Kyoto), and Follow Me Foodie to Mexico (Mexico City and Oaxaca) (Mexico posts will launch soon). I never anticipated any of this happening, but am very grateful of the opportunities to explore food internationally. Just like I said in Follow Me Foodie Favourites, BEST of, Memories & Recap of 2012, the more I travel, the more I try, the more I read, the more I learn, and the more I know I’ll never know everything about food.
This “Follow Me Foodie” adventure is addicting and often delicious, however it’s gone beyond finding the so-called “best dish” in every city, it’s the learning experience and journey getting there I’ve enjoyed most. Of course, there are still those epic moments when I come across a dish I can’t forget, and those deserve to be highlighted, so that’s what I’m doing.
Welcome to my Follow Me Foodie Favourites & Best of 2013! This is a recap and yearbook/yearblog of the BEST Follow Me Foodie Food/Moments in 2013.
NOTE: It’s not necessarily “THE BEST“ (read my rant on “the best” here). Food is personal and I can only discover so much in a year. “The best” is relative to what I have tried, which is definitely not everything. These are just some worth mentioning. It’s more of a 2013 recap/summary and all experiences are from 2013 only. I’ll say “the best” just because I’m weak and want to align with every other “best of 2013″ list out there.
“The Best of” Follow Me Foodie Adventures/Moments/Posts of 2013
Follow Me Foodie travels in 2013 was amazing and I’m grateful for every trip! As much as I love exploring food in my home city (Vancouver), you can’t learn it all in one place. The relationship between food and culture is fascinating and it’s one of the most important things when understanding a dish. Trying food from other countries helps build the palate and I get the most education when I’m at the source. It is one of the biggest rewards and I always feel like a fish out of water every time I leave a place. There is always so much more to learn and discover and I would revisit every place I went to this year.
The “Follow Me Foodie to X” travel and food pieces are some of my personal highlights and favourite moments, but here some other posts readers enjoyed most. (Based on hits, tweets, likes and online buzz).
Top 15 Most Popular Posts of 2013
1. Top 10 Food Trends for 2013
2. 10 Food Trends I Want to See Die in 2013
3. Happy Chinese New Year – About Chinese food & symbolism
4. “The Best Food”, The Best Chef”, “The Best Restaurant”… The best thing I ever ate…
5. San Francisco, CA – State Bird Provisions (America’s Best New Restaurant)
6. Follow Me Foodie to Sushi 101
7. Top 10 “Must Try” Items from Vancouver Food Trucks & Carts
8. What is the definition of ‘local’?
9. Looking for “authentic” food or authenticity in food
10. The Rebel Within – Egg Baked Inside a Bacon & Cheese Muffin Recipe
11. Diner en Blanc Vancouver (White Party of the Year) Recap
12. The obsession with salted caramel… and the alternatives!
13. 10 Holiday Cookies in Vancouver
14. Follow Me Foodie: Why Mijune Pak writes about negative experiences
15. Chef Hamid’s Persian Tasting Menu at Diva at the Met
Top 10 FMF Highlights of 2013
1. BC Spot Prawn Fishing with Dr. David Suzuki & Organic Ocean
2. 2nd Annual First Harvest Dinner Recap at The Willows Inn Restaurant
3. Mijune Pak: Today’s Notable Young Entrepreneur
4. Personal Branding Workshop with Mijune of Follow Me Foodie!
5. Follow Me Foodie: Thoughts on winning “Best Food Blogger in the City”
6. Some cool people I met this year…
7. Cathay Pacific’s Noodles of Asia Contest! (Mijune judges with Martin Yan and Sang Yoon)
8. Mijune Speaks about The Art of Food Writing at The North Shore Writers Festival!
9. Mijune of Follow Me Foodie Joins The Westender (WE Vancouver) Newspaper!
10. Follow Me Foodie is named “Must Follow 2013″ at The Social Media Awards
See interviews for: Alumni Interview – Mijune Pak – Founder, Food blogger, Traveller – FollowMeFoodie.Com and Follow Me Foodie in YHM Magazine
See my posts for:
Top 24 Most Memorable/BEST SAVOURY DISHES in Vancouver
Top 24 Most Memorable/BEST Desserts & Baked Goods in Vancouver
