EP278: A Taiwanese Friend in the US — Konica Big mini HG BM-300 35mm f3.5 with Kodak UltraMax 400

Roll 278

Film: Kodak UltraMax 400
Developed & scanned by DEP Lab 2025/8/5
Camera: Konica Big mini HG BM-300 35mm f3.5

-

I have a friend who studied in Chicago, and after finishing school, decided to stay and work there. He now runs a Taiwanese restaurant called Hello Jasmine, known in Chinese as 好初台灣.

Chicago is not an easy place to get to from Taiwan. Flights are limited and expensive, and perhaps because of that, you do not often see familiar Asian faces there. I first learned about my friend opening his restaurant through the news. At the time, the report was discussing rising costs in the US and how businesses were adapting.

After arriving in the US, we quickly realized just how expensive eating out can be. It felt like everything cost about five times more than in Taiwan. A bottle of water you would expect to cost 20 NTD might be sold for 100. A breakfast you would expect to cost 80 might be 400. Because of that, we were always careful when choosing where to eat.

My friend’s restaurant, located in Lincoln Park, is Hello Jasmine. Walking into the space and seeing familiar things from Taiwan was unexpectedly emotional. What stood out even more was that the food did not just recreate the flavors of Taiwan, in some cases, it even surpassed them. Everything was genuinely good, including the drinks.

-

 

#1
Taking the bus in Chicago is actually quite enjoyable. It gives you time to slowly observe the city. One interesting detail is that the stop signal is triggered by pulling a physical cord, visible near the window on the right side of the frame. It feels very different from the button system used in Taiwan.

 

#2
My Taiwanese friend in the US. We came to visit his restaurant that day.

 

#3
Inside the restaurant.

 

#4
Being able to drink bubble tea abroad that surpasses what you can find back home is genuinely surprising.

 

#5
Various Taiwanese snacks, fried tofu, popcorn chicken, chicken cutlet, everything was good.

 

#6
The sign placed at the entrance.

 

#7
Stomach in. I was holding it in.

 

#8
A reference point for food prices in Chicago.

 

#9
Near the restaurant.

 

#10
Hello Jasmine, Lincoln Park location. I was really glad we made time for this visit.

 

#11
After the meal, we took an Uber to a nearby zoo.

 

#12
A small record of the signage.

 

#13
Inside the zoo. This was the camera for the day. Having visited many zoos before, I did not feel the need to photograph the animals this time. They tend to look the same in photos anyway. Instead, I took a few photos of myself, something I do less often.

 

#14
A donation bench inside the zoo.

 

#15
A sleeping lion.

 

#16
A small animal passing by. Very amusing.

 

#17
After the zoo, we took another Uber to an indoor play space called ClimbZone Chicago. It is a climbing-focused environment with a variety of walls and challenges, just like what you see in the photo.

 

#18
ClimbZone also has indoor high-rope elements. I am not entirely sure what the proper term is. There is something similar at Shang Shun World in Miaoli, Taiwan, though we have never been there.

 

#19
I did not expect Nerf to have arcade machines.

This is the full set from this roll, shot with the Konica Big mini HG BM-300 and Kodak UltraMax 400. Thank you for viewing.

 

(Three rolls left in the Chicago series. Keep going.)