In life there are delicious meals that you remember for the flavor. Then there are significant meals you remember for the experience, setting, and purpose. Over the years, I’ve shared my most meaningful meals (check out 2021 and 2024... two of my favorites), and I relish in the nostalgia reading back over them invokes. That’s the beauty of this blog. Perhaps it’s given you, my reader, some tasty recommendations and useful tips. But for me, it’s a digital log of my experiences.
2025 was a wild ride, and The Frugal Foodies was put on the back burner for most of it. I didn’t write nearly as much as I have in previous years. Partly because of work, partly because I minimized my online time in favor of reading and hiking– two hobbies I did a lot of over the last 365 days– but mostly because of a lack of inspiration. However, reflecting on my best and most significant meals is a non-negotiable I’ve forbidden myself from skipping….
So let’s dive into my 4 most significant meals of 2025!
4. Pad Thai in the Bangkok Airport
On paper, the planned travel itinerary was excellent. A 1pm flight from Chiang Mai to the Don Mueang International Airport. A free shuttle transfer to BKK. Another free transfer to our hotel to get us there in time for one final Thai night market feast. An 11am flight to Tokyo the next morning.
Nature had other ideas.
Mid-air, an earthquake with a 7.7 magnitude occurred in Myanmar, and the effects shook all the way down to Bangkok. The Chatuchak building collapsed, and the city totally shut down in case there was aftershock. Malls and offices closed, meaning tens of thousands of people were now out on the street. All train lines stopped, meaning all of said people were either on the road or in need of Grabs (the Uber of Thailand) and taxis to get home. Major roads transformed into parking lots.
The queue to get a taxi was over 100 people deep with a, “Maybe 4 hours?” wait time. Over a hundred more travelers waited on the sidewalk, desperately trying to get a Grab. The people manning the transfer buses between airports had no idea when the buses would be running. And of course the MRT was down.
AKA, there was no way out.
After 3 hours of bouncing around in limbo at the airport, we decided food was in order. We went to the food court and got two huge plates of Pad Thai. It was delicious. But more importantly, it was a clear moment of recognizing how gosh darn lucky and privileged I am. If Bangkok was in total chaos, I can’t even begin to fathom the utter destruction in Myanmar. I was stuck in an airport. Hundreds of thousands of people had their lives totally crash down.
The pad thai was a meal signifying just how fortunate I am in life, which is something I strive to never take for granted.
I was so stressed I didn’t even take a photo. If you know me… that’s saying something!
3. Lillikoi Mai Thai from Monkeypod Kitchen in Honolulu
One of my most significant eats of 2025 was actually a cocktail. Hey… it’s my list! I make the rules! Jeremy and I had an overnight in Honolulu, and we snagged a table during happy hour at Monkeypod Kitchen in Waikiki. It’s not the usual type of spot The Frugal Foodies would go to— very trendy and right on one of the most famous beaches in the world, which usually means high prices. But our favorite tiki bar was closed, and we caught wind that Monkeypod made a mean Mai Tai.
I’m not a fruity cocktail gal. But this cocktail will go down in the books of one of the best cocktails I’ve ever had.
It featured silver and dark rum, lime, a house made macadamia nut syrup, curacao, and a honey-lilikoi foam. The combination of the caramel and vanilla notes from the rum with the nuttiness from the macademias and punch of citrus from the lime and lilikoi was mind boggling.
A great cocktail, insane setting, and meaningful conversation made it one of those experiences that I want to put into a bottle and keep forever.
2. Korean BBQ in Korea
The world seems huge, but every now and then you have an experience that makes you think, “Maybe it’s not so big after all…”. I had one such moment in Sokcho, Korea. My brother and sister-in-law are stationed outside of Seoul. And Jeremy and I just so happened to get contracted to a ship that was docking a few hours from where they lived. Jeremy and I have been together for seven years, and finally my husband met my brother.
What’s the best way to get to know someone? A shared meal of course!
John and Bernie took us to a Korean BBQ feast, and it was unbelievable. Not only were there numerous types of meat, but dozens of little side dishes with everything from kimchi to garlic cloves to chili crab. Pairing different sides with different meats lead to a huge range of flavor possibilities. And I must say it helped tremendously to have two pros show us the robes. Having an epic dining experience in a little town in Korea with my husband, brother, and sister in law was surreal. Which is why it’s one of my most significant eats of 2025.
1. Simple Breakfast Set, Nepal
“Need” is a word that’s easy to confuse with “want” when you live in a developed, Western country. I “need” a shower, I “need” another cup of coffee, I “need” a break. Trekking for 10 days through the Himalayas taught me that I don’t need nearly as much as I think I do.
Our journey was through the Annapurna Sanctuary region of Nepal to Annapurna base camp. The region is incredibly remote and dauntingly mountainous, meaning very minimal resources. I showered twice over the 10 days, rarely had phone service, and no matter how fatigued my body felt, the only option was to suck it up and push through.
The meal that epitomizes the trip was what I ate for breakfast every single day: the simple breakfast set.
Each tea house had some iteration of the simple breakfast set that included a bread of sorts, a couple eggs, potatoes, and an instant coffee. As the name implies, this breakfast was simple. But it was enough to fuel climbing up and down mountains in high altitude conditions for hours. (Read about what the rest of the food was like HERE).
My social media feed is dominated by how to “optimize” your life through certain sleeping routines, diet choices, and daily habits. Trekking through a remote region of Nepal meant I had to eat was available, sleep in the conditions that existed, and push through every day because there was no other option. And I thrived. Humans have evolved to withstand challenging conditions, and we don’t need as much as we think we do. The simple breakfast set epitomized this for me, and was my most significant meal of the year.
Cheers to another year of meaningful eats! I have a feeling 2026 will have a lot more in store…
Missed my top eats of 2025? Catch them HERE!
