One of the things I missed the most while living in Australia and Sweden was the food. Not just the type of food (definitely a strong bias towards asian food), but certain qualities of the food experience. The sheer availability of food in Singapore, the price point for an average meal and the variety you can get is something you never fully appreciate until you’ve lived abroad for some time.
There are some downsides to living in a food paradise though. The tyranny of choice is ever present. Don’t even get me started on the anything-ish group dynamics usually involved in Singapore, even when it’s just Martha and me, deciding where to eat isn’t always a straightforward process… especially when we choose explore instead of exploit.
It’s easy to point to technical factors like price, cuisine, ratings as reasons to go for or reject a choice. If there are too many choices, it becomes debilitating, whereas if there are too little choices, it becomes fomo-ish. Google Maps even has a personal match based on your history. But I feel like there are times where I know I like a presented option but I just don’t feel like going for it.
It lead me to wonder why our current mood isn’t really taken into account when trying to decide the universe of recommendations. It seems almost like another technical dimension to take into account, that is also user specific, e.g. “You are feeling lethargic, so I will show you nearby options that are cheap, convenient to order and healthy (or maybe oily?😏) that you have enjoyed at other lethargic times.
A quick google for “food recommendations based on mood” shows that I’m not the only one with this idea, though much of the focus seems to be more around food that changes your mood rather than food that suits your mood.
Something to think about. To be continued 🍖