About Noms, Not Bombs

Hi there! Thank you for visiting Noms, Not Bombs. I appreciate the support and hope that you picked up a few suggestions for new, tasty spots to get your "nom" on.

Courtesy LA Times

So, who exactly am I? Although I neither officially study the culinary arts nor work in the restaurant industry, I'd venture that you and I are here for the same reason--a love of and appreciation for food. Delicious food that stays with you long after you've finished your meal can be found not only in Michelin star-endowed restaurants but also on street carts and in unassuming strip malls. Memorable meals are everywhere, and this Hawai'i transplant and proud Trojan loves seeking them out.

I have not always, however, planned my days around what I eat. For starters, I have always been a picky eater, knowing that I hate certain foods (i.e. fish, eggs, tofu) and assuming that I hate many more. In addition, dinner in my house most often involved me, a TV tray and whatever was in the fridge. While eating out on weekends, it was easy to default to Japanese, Chinese or Korean rather than challenge my tastebuds. Finally, once high school and its stressors rolled around, so did a complicated relationship with food. For the first 20 years of my life, food was simply not an important part of it. In college, however, I met J, my partner in gastronomical crime who encouraged me to bust out of my culinary shell. Because of LA's ethnic diversity (and J's prodding), I was able to try Persian, Singaporean and Peruvian cuisines (to name a few) for the first time and sample food from famous chefs and hole-in-the-wall restaurants and realized that I loved it all.

Noms, Not Bombs is my effort to document the good and the bad of my gastronomical adventures for myself and for you. Since I started the blog in January 2010, I've eaten some wonderful food and made some even more wonderful friends and can't wait to see what the future of Noms, Not Bombs holds!