This post was updated July 23 at 5:19 p.m.

For Ingrid Teng, every bite taken becomes a cherished memory.

In the midst of the pandemic, the rising fourth-year cognitive science student started @ingrideats_ to document her culinary adventures. Originally intending only to share her content with close friends, Teng’s social media page now features various kinds of cuisines, ranging from fine dining to mom-and-pop shops to food trucks, in order to cater to her audience of nearly 3,500 followers, she said. Within each post, Teng usually recounts the experience through a variety of factors, including atmosphere, price and quality of food.

“I would do a brief three- to five-sentence summary of what I thought about the food – what I liked, what I didn’t like,” Teng said. “I usually just write out whatever I come up with at the top of my head. I try not to spend too much time dwelling on captions.”

Instead, the food blogger said she focuses more on the experience itself, adding that she derives immense joy in reminiscing about her past culinary escapades. Her food diary provides the opportunity to relive the distinctive ambience and backdrop surrounding each dining setting, which she relishes greatly, Teng said.

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At times, Teng said, part of the excitement of the eating experience comes from doing so with friends. Valerie Doan, a rising fourth-year neuroscience student, said that during the summer the pair first met, she and Teng explored a variety of different restaurants in Los Angeles, discovering a mutual enthusiasm for trying new places. But Teng’s friends not only accompany her to restaurants – they also often seek her recommendations, a question which Teng said she responds to happily.

Although Teng’s account has provided her the chance to build relationships and establish connections, it was actually the COVID-19 lockdown period that marked the inception of Teng’s gastronomic journey, said rising fourth-year communication student Jenny Vu. Vu, who met Teng through her own “foodstagram” account, said she perceives the pandemic era as a transformative influence on Teng’s and other food enthusiasts’ development of love for good eats. As restaurants imposed capacity restrictions for customers, Vu said, Teng found a community of food fans in the form of social media, using it as an avenue for self-expression.

“Everyone’s super supportive of each other,” Vu said. “It’s a form of love.”

The virtual food community effectively provides a space to uplift and encourage its members, Vu said. Through it, Teng said she experiences a profound sense of camaraderie, especially because it enables her to share something she loves with others. Despite the seeming simplicity – and sometimes, absurdity – of a “camera-eats-first” mentality, the community serves as a platform where like-minded individuals can bond and share appreciation for the culinary arts, she said.

“I remember this one time last year when I was invited to a Japanese restaurant in Westwood,” Teng said. “When all the food came out, all of the other foodies who were sitting around us whipped out their phones and started taking pictures and filming, and I thought to myself, ‘Wow, we all look really ridiculous trying to get the best angles and trying to get the best shots of food.’ But without us, people won’t be seeing aesthetic pictures or videos on their Instagram feed.”

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Among the wide array of food accounts across Instagram, Teng’s account is inimitable in its trendiness, Vu said, with a detailed inclusion of ingredients in any given dish and widespread coverage of global eateries. Doan added that Teng’s posts take unlikely factors such as smell into consideration when reviewing food. The comprehensiveness evident in each post has even inspired Vu on occasion to try some of the places that Teng features, such as The Huntington’s Rose Garden Tea Room, Vu said.

As her account gains traction online, Teng said she has received partnership offers from numerous restaurants and snack brands. One of her Instagram Story Highlights, entitled “PR/Invites,” showcases a range of dishes, drinks and other assortments of culinary delights she has worked with. Despite the increasing amount of collaboration opportunities, Teng said that at the end of the day, the food blog is a hobby – one that she runs for leisure.

“For the most part, it’s just the fun and enjoyment that I derive from running my food account that matters the most to me,” Teng said. “I’m always going to be blogging about food, no matter where I go. … My passion for food – it’s consistent.”