Meet Melanie Yu | Woman in Tech, Food Blogger, & Artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Melanie Yu and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Melanie, what habits do you feel play an important role in your life?
I write almost everything down either in my Notes app or on a physical post-it note. Tasks I need to do, deadlines to remember, hangouts with friends, recipes I create, or even just notes from a meeting I just had. Doing this has allowed me to build my own version of the method of loci (the memory palace technique!), and has helped me to better organize my thoughts and juggle various aspects of my different courses of work.

Every week, I also take time to self-reflect on what I could have done better and what I need to do to avoid the same challenges going forward. I make an overall plan of what I need to do each week (i.e. business collab event, meal prep, workouts, conference, etc.), and then structure my daily tasks around that general schedule. Prioritizing the must-haves is key – something I’ve learned as a product manager as well.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
My family has always generally pushed me into the direction of medicine or tech. Growing up, I wanted to be an artist, an actress, a journalist, a pediatrician, a software engineer, an entrepreneur, and finally, a product manager! Today, I’m a senior product manager with a history of B2B tech internships and projects working at a startup in the heart of Silicon Valley. It’s been challenging every step of the way, but I’d do it all over again if I could. While I was in school, I knew the timeline I was on and goals I had to accomplish, and I could easily quantify my success through awards and grades. But when I graduated at the start of the pandemic, I realized that I for once had the chance to finally do all the things I’ve always wanted to do, and define my life how I wanted it to be without the pressure of needing to meet the exact same general societal expectation as everybody else.

I live my life by minimizing the amount of regret I would have for each choice I have to make. This led to me leaving home for NorCal, double majoring in data science and economics, living in New York, and more! Even then, there was just never enough time with all of the school and work for me to be able to fulfill the creative side of myself. I had given up art for 13 years and had to stop blogging in my sophomore year of college, and that’s why I started @foodswithyu and @drawingwithyu. I like to think that it continues to make up for some of the joy I wish I had more of during my school years, and even when I’m too busy with work nowadays, I always find time to commit to these ventures because they’re so important to me. Although they started out as hobbies, I want to see where I can take this food blog and art in the future! I’m proud of where I am today as a woman in tech, a food blogger, and artist – and I hope to continue expanding my interests, knowledge, and business further.

As someone who has always had a very Type A personality, I’ve learned to live more spontaneously and go with the flow. I’ve always had no problem saying ‘yes’ to every opportunity that came my way, but I’m still learning how to say ‘no.’ It’s okay if life is not how I planned it out in my head, and it’s okay if I’m not happy sometimes. I continue to work everyday to find ways to enjoy my career and my life more, and I also work to make sure that I can help other people learn from all of my mistakes too.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Now that I’ve moved up from LA to SF, let me walk you through a few of the actual itineraries I’ve planned out for my friends and family before! For LA – a day visiting the Broad museum in the morning, taking the Angel’s Flight Railway down to Grand Central Market for lunch, and then visiting Japantown for dessert. Take a drive up to Griffith Observatory for their views, exhibits, and tickets to one of their planetarium shows – they’re beautiful but also make for a great resting spot for that food coma! I’d visit the Getty Center, Sunset Blvd and Beverly Hills, LACMA, and at least a few of the beaches (Newport is one of my favorites). Of course, I can’t forget Universal Studios and Disneyland, but those are more of a treat to visit! For SF, the Presidio, Palace of Fine Arts, Fisherman’s Wharf and Pier 39, Fort Mason, Coit Tower, Golden Gate Bridge, Salesforce Park and Tower, as well as Polk, Hayes Valley, Valencia St are all the best spots to be for food and activities!

For food in SoCal, some must-try food spots that I often still miss now that I’m in NorCal – Porto’s, HoneyMee ice cream, Akasaka Sushi Restaurant’s Chirashi bowl, Long Xing Ji – BEST XLB I’ve ever had, Lawry’s Prime Rib, Potato Corner mall stalls, and Tokyo Central supermarket fresh-in-the-morning sushi / sashimi. If you want really authentic, amazing Asian food, Rowland and Hacienda Heights, as well as San Gabriel are the best cities for that. For food in NorCal, check out my reviews on melyu.yelp.com! I frequent the Berkeley area, South Bay, and various parts of SF. Overall, although SoCal has the best food and prices, the high-end foods (Michelin restaurants and more) are more rewarding in NorCal.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
In regards to my current successful career in tech, I have to thank my parents for providing me the opportunity to graduate from UC Berkeley, Kathryn and Kevin for being my second supportive family away from LA, and all of the amazing managers I’ve had along the way (Dan, Connie, Garrick, Alex!) I especially want to thank my amazing sister Simone and my loving boyfriend Kyle, who have always been my #1 supporters (and part-time photographers) for whatever endeavor I’ve pursued for as long as I’ve known them.

I started taking pictures of food all the way back in 2014 but didn’t start posting my content until 2021 on @foodswithyu! While my friends inspired me to finally start posting the food content I’ve been creating for years, words can’t express how much I’ve also appreciated all of the new friends I’ve met along the way as I’ve launched this new path into food and art outside of my typical 9-5. Aaron, Joy, Jenny, Dom, Sherry, Shane, David – they as well as many others have all contributed to teaching me how to be a part of this awesome community of creators / influencers, and helped me build the foundation of what I’m continuing to add onto today.

As I continue to work toward my goal of creating impactful edible content for @foodswithyu and someday hosting my own art gallery with @drawingwithyu, I’m focused on having fun with and meeting as many new people to learn from as possible. A huge thank you to Sarah and Michelle, for being SO supportive and my earliest art fans!

Website: https://melanieyu.me/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/melanieyuuu/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yumelanie/

Yelp: https://melyu.yelp.com/

Other: My other Instagram accounts: @foodswithyu: https://www.instagram.com/foodswithyu @drawingwithyu: https://www.instagram.com/drawingwithyu

Image Credits
Photographer credit to Joel Rojas for my graduation photos at UC Berkeley.