Meet Steven Truong | Orange County Food Enthusiast / Foodie

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

Hi Steven, have there been any changes in how you think about work-life balance?
When I started my Instagram account @steviethefoodie, I started it for fun having no plans to become a part of a network of other foodies who share the same interests and some who have become personal friends, so I felt like I had good work-life balance since I had a 9-5 job Monday to Friday and then take photos of what I ate whenever I went out to eat usually on Friday nights and over the weekends. Taking photos of my food didn’t feel like work and I posted several times a week in my spare time. However, as I started to build my following with other foodies who wanted to collaborate and restaurants reaching out to me to try out their food and drinks, it became a little more like “work” (but fun) because it occupied most of my time during the weekends attending events and making time to edit photos and schedule time-sensitive posts. Over time, I progressed to thinking that I want to make this still an enjoyable interest of mine, so I learned that it’s okay to take a break from doing collaborations or attending food media events, and to post when I want to. This helps me to maintain a better work-life balance where I’m not doing my foodie activities 100% when I’m not working my day job.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I’m not sure how to term my journey as an Instagram foodie but I’d like to believe it is in the creative field/space. I think what sets me apart from others is that I like to post what I actually like to eat and drink when I go out. I try not to think too hard about what people want to see me eat or drink; I want to share where and what I like, and sometimes they can be unpopular or not the most aesthetic place to take photos. My Instagram also reflects my Asian American experience having been raised in Orange County my whole life and the diverse options within Asian cuisine (and boba) in Orange County that continues to evolve. If anyone were to ask me what’s different about my account, I’d say it’s what I like–boba, Korean barbecue, Vietnamese food, and new Asian restaurants and shops that introduce the latest trends and/or something new to the world of local, or even national, cuisine.

Although I don’t do this as my 9-5 job, I would say that I got to where I am today by not being afraid to start this journey. I remember after doing my first post, I thought to myself, there’s no going back now; just continue to enjoy this journey and see how far it goes. I will say honestly, it isn’t hard to start a food Instagram account if you go out to eat all the time. One extra step is to just document every time you go out to eat, and so you’ll have to get used to always taking photos of your food and drinks when you’re out and about! However, I think it’s also important to be true to yourself because I think it will pay off to be genuine and have your unique voice. I think this is more important than becoming famous and you won’t feel like it’s work if you post content that you enjoy.

In addition, it’s more fun to not do this alone, so find your peers (make friends!) who can go through the journey with you.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
You can’t go to Orange County and not go to Disneyland, so I would take them to Disneyland to have a full day there because there’s so much to do there, but in terms of food, they have to get the churros, the fried chicken at Plaza Inn, and some Dole Whip! After the fireworks at Disneyland, or World of Color at California Adventure Park, at the end of the night, I’d take them to a cool tiki bar in downtown Anaheim called Strong Water for fun drinks, late-night snacks, and the vibes there. In addition, I’m not the best in coordinating activities that make sense geographically, but I’d want to show them Huntington Beach in the morning to run/exercise/surf or in the evening for a bonfire, an epic big brunch at Urth Caffe in Orange, my favorite non-all-you-can-eat Korean barbecue place, Baekjeong in Irvine, and boba at Orobae or OMOMO after KBBQ (these two boba spots are near Baekjeong but they’re both crazy busy and depending on how busy they are, we’d decide which one to go to. Plus, I’d suggest Orobae if they’re into milk teas, or OMOMO for fruit teas). Also, you can’t not have soju after KBBQ too, so I’d suggest going to Garden Grove to Past Memories or Soju Belly or if they’re into singing, we could just stay in Irvine after boba and go to Plush Karaoke at Diamond Jamboree to sing our hearts out.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I would like to give a shoutout to Audrey and Linh, the girls behind @bobabitchess, whom I first met in 2017 when I started my journey as an Instagram foodie and soon after became good friends. Although we were all new to this journey, they were there to support and help me when needed, and we would always have fun when we get together. In addition, I’d like to also give a shoutout to close family and personal friends (there are too many for me to name them all) who have supported me from the beginning and encouraged me to continue sharing more content.

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

Image Credits
(These are all my photos – @steviethefoodie)