Let me ask you something kinda ridiculous but weirdly fascinating—can you actually taste food without eating it? Like, really taste it, not just smell it or stare at it like a sad broke college student outside a fancy bakery.
I mean, can you feel that sambal sting or that juicy burst of lime just by… being near it?
Now before you roll your eyes and go, “Girl, get outta here with that nonsense”, lemme tell you something that happened to me.
I was at this warung in Yogyakarta, waiting for my ceker mercon order (yes, I’m obsessed, don’t judge me). And while the ibu was busy torching those little claws with her spicy voodoo, the aroma hit me like a long-lost lover.
My tongue literally twitched. Saliva—immediate. My brain? Screaming “YESSSSSS” like it already knew what was coming.
But here’s the twist. I hadn’t even taken a bite yet. Still, it felt like I had.
Wild, right?
Turns out, our senses are messy little collaborators. Smell, sight, memory—they gang up on your brain like kids in a group project where taste is just chilling and taking all the credit.
Neuroscience even says most of what we think is “taste” is actually smell. That’s why when you’re flu-sick, even bakso tastes like cardboard sadness.
And don’t even get me started on the emotional side. Ever cried just sniffing something that reminds you of your grandma’s cooking? Or had a sudden flashback to that one summer where you ate Indomie under the stars with your ex? (Ugh, Kevin. Still hate you, but damn, you knew how to make mie goreng hit differently.)
We do taste without eating. It’s memory. It’s anticipation. It’s raw, sensual energy. Food is foreplay.
I’ve literally stood in my kitchen sniffing hot rice and sambal matah, eyes closed, whispering “oh dear lord its so good”, before a single grain even touched my tongue. And if you’re nodding right now, you know exactly what I mean.
Food is such a powerful thing in our lives—it’s tied to comfort, identity, even lust. You don’t need to chew to taste it sometimes. The scent, the sight, the vibe is enough to start a whole damn symphony in your head.
But of course, nothing beats the real bite. The crunch. The burn. The flavor bomb exploding in your mouth like, “YES, this is living.” But if you’re broke, on a diet, or just trapped in a boring office meeting scrolling through food porn on TikTok—don’t worry. Your senses are already halfway feeding you.
Still, let’s be real. I’m not about to turn into some “breatharian” claiming I can live off aroma and good vibes. Please. I’m Indonesian. We fight wars over sambal.
But what I am saying is—food is bigger than your tongue. It’s memory. It’s feeling. It’s culture. It’s you.
So next time you walk by that nasi goreng abang-abang at midnight and feel a pang in your chest? That’s not just hunger.
That’s your soul remembering joy.
Now tell me—what dish hits you like that before you even touch it?
Loved this! It’s crazy how our brains fill in the blanks just from smell—makes me wonder if that’s why I can ‘taste’ my mom’s lasagna just from a whiff of oregano.