Talking food with Ricky Ly is like enrolling in a masterclass on local flavor—one that somehow feels less like a lecture and more like catching up with an old friend over a shared plate of something delicious. Despite being a decade (or so) apart in age, it took all of about 30 seconds for us to start bantering about favorite bites, long-gone restaurants, new openings, and the food blogs that shaped our early Internet years. Different timelines, same language. Food will do that.

Ricky grew up in the aisles of an Asian grocery store in South Florida, where bok choy and tofu shared shelf space with gossip, laughter, and the unspoken comfort of home. His father ran the shop, but the community filled it—immigrants lingering longer than necessary, swapping news from back home and figuring out America together. That early understanding of food as both sustenance and connection quietly set the tone for everything that followed.

His first memories of Orlando weren’t just theme-park spectacle or the primal joy of a turkey leg. They were rooted in Mills 50. After family trips to Disney, they’d head into what was then Little Saigon for dinner: a heaping rice platter with grilled pork chops and egg, tomatoes bright against the plate, followed by banh mi wrapped to go and a stop at Dong A Supermarket. “That was my first real experience with Vietnamese restaurant food outside of home,” Ricky says. “It stuck with me.”

By high school, he already sensed the pull of the neighborhood. “It’s just a very special place,” Ricky says. “Not just for Orlando, but for all of Florida.” Mills 50, he explains, reflects something bigger than cuisine. It’s the American story—immigrants from Vietnam, China, Japan, the Philippines, Korea, and beyond sharing culture, adapting traditions, and pushing them forward together.

That perspective carried Ricky to the University of Central Florida, where he launched TastyChomps in 2008. What began as a simple food blog grew into a multimedia platform with more than 100,000 followers across Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok. Along the way, Ricky authored The Food Lover’s Guide to Orlando, appeared on Netflix’s “Somebody Feed Phil”, and became one of the city’s most trusted chroniclers of its dining scene.

Orlando’s culinary landscape, he says, has changed dramatically over the past 20 years. Talent, technology, and media have intertwined, turning once-overlooked neighborhoods into destinations. Hand-pulled noodles, Filipino bakeries, house-made hot dogs, and Michelin Guide–recognized restaurants now coexist, signaling a city fully in its food era.

Ricky’s own story mirrors that evolution. Born in Florida to Vietnamese refugee parents—his mother surviving weeks at sea before resettling in the U.S.—he understands food as identity and resilience. Today, he serves on the boards of Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida and WorldOrlando, using his platform to uplift both restaurants and the people behind them.

Through his blog and monthly Local Flavors column, Ricky invites readers to explore Orlando’s hidden gems and hear directly from chefs, owners, and makers shaping the city right now. “Together,” he says, “we get to celebrate all the different flavors that make Orlando what it is.”

One tasty chomp at a time.