Today we’d like to introduce you to Yisha Zhao.
Yisha, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I’ve always loved food, ever since I was very young – I’ve always been the kid with an insatiable appetite, always looking for the next tasty snack or meal – so looking for good food wherever I go became a natural part of my daily life. However, it wasn’t until I started traveling a lot for work that I began to document the food that I ate, and the places that I explored.
It started as a personal diary of sorts but as my collection grew, I had more and more friends and acquaintances ask for recommendations for places to eat and things to do in the areas where I had visited. I found Instagram to be a great medium for food and travel inspiration and wanted to share my experiences as well to hopefully inspire others to try something new, or go visit a place they’ve never been to before. Shefliesfromdallas showcases local food and experiences from all over the world, but always starting from Dallas, which is the main focus on my page.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I have faced some challenges in building up Shefliesfromdallas. Since I am also working full-time and building my career professionally, finding the time to go out and try out new restaurants or go to hosted events, and then documenting everything, can be very challenging. I have to make sure my time is managed properly so that not only can I excel in my professional life, but also growing Shefliesfromdallas.
Another challenge that I had to tackle was not only photography but being able to write engaging content. My background is in the Sciences so I did not have any prior experience with photography or creative writing. I had to learn “on the job”, or so they say, on how to capture a good photo from various angles, and with different lighting. I also had to learn how to not sound like I was writing a dissertation or work e-mail when my captions expanded past one liner.
I love that I could not only grow my brand but also grow my skills as I continue to create content on Shefliesfromdallas. The Instagram community is amazing with so many talented creators out there and I am truly thankful for all of the connections that I have made and have learned from while building and sharing with others.
Please tell us about your work.
I focus primarily on food, and secondarily on travel/experiences, and I love to bring focus to local places and restaurants that people normally do not hear about or to showcase authentic Asian cuisine that you might not know about if you are not heavily influenced by the Asian community. While my page is not focused on noodle dishes, I do eat a lot of them, and thus, have many posts on great noodle dishes from all around Dallas and the world. You will be hard pressed to go through my page and not see a noodle dish every few posts or so, especially with my signature noodle pull. I think food is the best way to begin bringing awareness to other cultures and by showcasing all my favorite foods from the Asian community, I’m hoping that it will encourage others out there to try some of the dishes that I talk about now that I have provided detailed descriptions of what it is and how to eat it.
Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
My favorite memory from childhood is making dumplings with my family. During the Lunar New Year, it was a tradition for the entire family to gather around and make dumplings. Everyone would have a station, whether that was working with the dough, making the wrappers, or filling and sealing them, we all had our jobs and worked together seamlessly to make hundreds of dumplings. My family not only passed down the recipe for the best dumplings in the world, but they also passed down tradition and culture which solidified the deep connection I have with my heritage.
Contact Info:
- Website: shefliesfromdallas.com
- Email: shefliesfromdallas@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shefliesfromdallas/
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