With most countries doing the #StayAtHome challenge, eating out has been a no-go. After a month of quarantine, I’ve been having food cravings like a pregnant woman and it got me thinking what would be the first meal a person would have with their family members after quarantine.
So I decided to find out and I reached out to some of my food blogging friends. I asked them as a food blogger where you would want to take your extended family for a meal after the lockdown, what you would order and why that particular restaurant and meal. And, this is what they said!
Rochelle Stivers from Living Smart Girl
My name is Rochelle Stivers and I’m a mother, a nurse, passionate blogger, aspiring nutritionist and a “stay at home chef”
First of all, I never thought I would ever be in a situation where i would actually have to say that sentence out loud: My first meal out of quarantine. Just, wow.
Aaaanyways, this lockdown has given me an entirely new appreciation for fresh food. Right now, I would give anything for some good sushi. We have the best Asian fusion restaurant called Wild Ginger that happens to be really close to us. I have been daydreaming about their tuna sashimi for days now.
My daughter has eaten there since she was a little baby. She loves the people who work there. They have larger than life fish tanks, which really entertains her. Yeah, we even have our favorite booth. Next to the fish tank of course. When I picture us enjoying a family meal together, it is always here. My husband is smiling over a hot bowl of Pad Thai, my daughter on her knees in the booth pointing out her favorite fish, dripping soup down her chin, and trying with all her might to get the edamame out of the pods.
As soon as this lockdown is over, this is where you will find us. Just camping out. Bellies full, and smiles wide.
You can follow her on twitter @livingsmartgirl
Felicia Austin from Simply Meal
A Navy veteran as well as a Navy spouse, I have been meal planning and doing freezer meal workshops for myself and a few friends over the years but just started to turn it into a career. I hope to educate everyone on how easy it is to meal plan and give you some helpful money-saving tips along the way! This is my passion and my ultimate goal in life.
Living in Japan there are so many restaurants, even in our little town of Iwakuni. I have made it my mission to try all of the restaurants in my town before we leave here. I think I’m about halfway done hehe. That is one thing that this virus has put a damper on for our family.
We love to explore and experience all the food we can while we are here. The one place I know we will be going to as SOON as this quarantine is lifted is a Hawaiian place called Lanai cafe. My favorite dish which is their taco rice is only available on weekdays but they don’t do takeout! I have been craving them for about a month now. I seriously don’t know what I’m going to do when we have to leave here and I don’t have my taco rice anymore. We’ve tried numerous taco rice’s and none of them come close to Lanai Cafe’s taco rice.
Our family meals consist of that dish and either their salmon Benedict or passion fruit pancakes! This lockdown needs to be lifted soon so we can get back to our food!
Follow Felicia on Twitter and find out if she makes to Lanai Cafe!!
Kay & Luke from Flawless Food
We are Luke & Kay, we started our blog Flawless Food in 2019 with a passion for food & cooking. We are always found in the kitchen, wanted a way to share with others all our creations.
The first, of many, family meal we will be enjoying with the close family after lockdown is over, is our amazing Fish Chowder Bread Boat. Prawns, squid rings, mussels, cod, salmon & haddock cooked in a creamy sauce with red potatoes, sweetcorn, and fresh parsley, giving the dish a splash of color.
All served up in a giant Tiger Loaf bread, cut a rectangle from the top to hollow out the inside of the loaf to make a bowl (do not cut through to the bottom) ready to pour the delicious Chowder inside, cut up the leftover bread and use to dip in the fishy creamy sauce!
It can also be served into a small crusty bun each, saves on washing up everybody’s bowl afterward! The perfect seafood sharing recipe after quarantine is over! Can’t wait for us all to tuck in, a firm family favorite!
Highly recommended from us all at Flawless Food, hope you enjoy!
You can follow Kay & Luke on twitter @flawlessfooduk
Nart N. from Cooking with Nart
I’m a Thai based in Bangkok who loves to cook Thai and Thai inspired dishes and grow my own food.
When the lockdown is over my family and is definitely going to go to this place called BBQ Plaza for a meal to celebrate. BBQ Plaza is a chain restaurant here in Thailand and you can find them in most shopping malls.
The food there is basically BBQ but it’s really good. There’s a grill in the middle of every table and you order your meats and vegetables to cook by yourself. We love their special dipping sauce and they also offer many good side dishes. My whole family loves this restaurant because it’s healthy enough and there’s something for everyone. Plus it is so much fun when you do BBQ the Asian style.
I can’t wait for the quarantine to be over so we can all go out and eat together again!
Enjoy Nart’s delicious dishes on instagram
Jere Cassidy from One Hot Oven
From learning to cook on a farm in Indiana to culinary school in California, my passion for food is never ending. Turning on my oven to bake something for friends and family is my happy place, and I am glad to be here at One Hot Oven sharing both sweet and savory recipes with all my baking friend
From learning to cook on a farm in Indiana to culinary school in California, my passion for food is never-ending. Turning on my oven to bake something for friends and family is my happy place, and I am glad to be here at One Hot Oven sharing both sweet and savory recipes with all my baking friends.
My family is already planning our first meal when we get the all-clear to go out. Our favorite restaurant is a hole in the wall Thai place that is a neighborhood gem. Unfortunately, they have not been doing take-out so we are patiently waiting for them to open and start making our favorite dishes.
We are all great cooks in my family, but we just can’t make good Thai food. We are dreaming of their Red Chicken Curry, Mango Curry Salmon, Coconut Noodle Soup and of course our favorite dessert Sweet Sticky Rice with Fresh Mango. Just writing this makes me realize how much I have missed all flavors and spices that make Thai food so good.
Since we have all been deprived of our favorite dishes I am sure there will be lines out the door once they open, and I personally can’t wait. There is nothing better than a small family-owned restaurant that is successful and has such a loyal following as this place does.
You can follow Jere on instagram @OneHotOven
Raquel Osborne from Meals and Mile Markers
Raquel is the writer at Meals and Mile Markers, a food and travel blog. She loves to cook at home and eat her way around the world
I have been eating pretty well while in quarantine, so I’m not craving high-quality food. Instead, I cannot wait to eat Taco Bell for the first time since before isolation. I know a lot of people are still ordering food from major chains and their local restaurants. However, there are very few restaurants that deliver to my house and McDonald’s is the only open restaurant near my regular grocery store. So I haven’t ordered food in over a month at this point.
Every DoorDash commercial that I see gives me cravings for food I don’t even like. However, my heart (almost) breaks a little with every Taco Bell commercial that I see. The second this ban gets lifted, I’ll…probably wait a few days to venture out into the world. But once the rush of people who can’t wait to get out of the house dies down, I’m heading straight to Taco Bell with my husband. We may even plan it out so that we can get there slightly before 11 AM to order both breakfast and lunch!
The best thing to eat at Taco Bell for breakfast is the California Crunchwrap with Cinnabon Delights on the side. However, their single best menu item is the Black Bean Quesarito. If you need some other items to help fill you up, any item on the value menu is a good bet!
When Raquel is not eyeing Taco Bell commercials, you can find her on twitter @meal_milemarker
And that just leaves me...
My wife and I love Thai food (kids not so much) but we would head straight to Chung Wah’s. It’s technically a Chinese restaurant chain in Bangalore, but they also serve authentic dishes from Singapore, Malaysia, Korea, Vietnam, and Thailand. And, their Thai food is to die for!
There would be a variety of starters but the main course would be Chicken Thai Green Curry or Thai Green Curry with Beef served with Sticky Rice. Hmmm…
I know its nothing fancy but sometimes it’s the simple things in life that make life great! And right now we need a simple life! Hopefully, in the coming weeks, things will go back to normal and we can start living again!
Where would you go and what would you eat? Let me know in the comments below! Stay Safe everyone!
The Earthling
Thank you to all the bloggers that contributed to this sumptuous roundup!
I love this post. It put a smile on my face instantly 🙂 Thanks for putting this together!
Hi Rochelle,
I am so glad you liked it! Thanks so much for contributing. The Tuna Sashimi looks delicious!
Fantastic post, it gives you a feeling that there is a light at the end of the tunnel and we are all looking forward to having good times and eating out with family and friends again in the future 🙂
Yeah with the doom & gloom going around, we need some positive vibes sent out into the world!
Great work Tarun!
Thanks Nart!
Once our life returns to normal and IF it does, my first meal at a restaurant would be a delicious Indian breakfast, followed by Thai green curry for lunch and end the day with a Happy meal from McDonalds. Till then it’s stay home, stay safe.
Good article Tarun.
wow! candida! sounds like you can’t wait for quarantine to get over! lol
Great post, delicious foods and some of my favorite bloggers! Can’t wait for quarantine to end, I’ve got my eye on the fish chowder in a tiger bloomer for first family get together. As an American in England, clam chowder is one of the things I miss most. Excited to make this beaut!