I decided to go to the DeKalb Market Hall with my boyfriend. As we walked around we tried to figure out where it was actually located. We then saw that it was down stairs in the cellar. We entered the elevator going down to the cellar. Once the doors open I was shocked by the view of everything. People walking with different cuisines, multiple amounts or vendors selling different types of foods from their cultures. The environment was more than welcoming, neon signs hug up almost everywhere. The aroma of different cultures. People interacting with one another. This hall felt like a small underground community. I walked around and saw four major cultures cuisines that caught my attention. Mexican selling homemade tacos. Asian selling noodles and pan-seared dumplings with chives and pork. Jamaican selling jerk chicken. That was not the only thing, they made you feel like you were in the island, they were playing reggae music while you relaxed and ate. Arepas a Colombian cuisine that’s popular in their homeland.
I chose to go with the Asian cuisine. I ordered pan-seared pork dumplings with a regular bubble milk tea. The price range was right in my budget, paid no less than $10.00. When I ordered there was not one person on line. They placed my order in and I waited less than 5 mins and my food was ready. I ripped open my package of chopsticks and opened up the container where my dumplings were waiting for me in, I noticed the proportion of them. There was 5 medium sized dumplings hot to the touch and giving off a wonderful aroma. I was full after eating the dumpling. Can’t believe that those bite-sized dumplings were so packed with flavor. It danced on my taste buds after every bite. I loved every second of the food. One thing struck my mind on the menu while I was browsing. Sliced beef in sesame chili sauce. This was interesting to me because I’ve never heard of something like that, especially on a menu.
The experience of entering the food hall and browsing around both the vendors and the menus was amazing. I got to see different cuisines made by different cultures. Smelled different combinations of foods and got a better description of what a food hall is. I would love to recommend the DeKalb Food Hall to everyone who wants to try different foods and stand outside their comfort zones. But one hint of advice, be ready to spend lots of money and be lot on what to eat. There are so much different things to eat, it makes it really hard to figure out what you really want or craving for.