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#Sadfood: Netizens find joy in ‘uninstagrammable’ food
Speaking to The Jakarta Post, the owner of Instagram account @_sadfood says he is trying to capture the common experience of having a bad food day.
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The Instagram account, @_sadfood, invites “anyone who wants to report a disappointment” about their sad breakfast, lunch or dinner to share their experience. (JP/File)
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t a time when political conversations are dominating social media, with the general election just around the corner, social media users in Greater Jakarta are finding a little respite in one Instagram account that regularly posts the city’s least ‘instagrammable’ food.
The Instagram account, @_sadfood, invites “anyone who wants to report a disappointment” about their sad breakfast, lunch or dinner to share their experience through the account.
“Why is the food on trains so sad?”, one contributor to the account comments on a black pepper beef dish ordered aboard a train of railway operator PT Kereta Api Indonesia.
The picture shows the beef inside a small plastic bag and what appears to be a ridiculously small amount of salad.
“THEY LOOK SO SAD!” the account says.
Twenty-three-year-old student Winner Wijaya and his brother Rayner have been running the account since November 2017, but it only gained widespread popularity on Thursday after a Twitter user posted screenshots of their posts.
As of Saturday, the account has 70,000 followers.
Speaking to The Jakarta Post, Winner said he was only trying to capture the common experience of having a bad food day.
He is no stranger to such an experience, one time having to pay Rp 50,000 (US$3.5) for an extremely bland porridge at the airport. A portion of porridge at a hawker center, which is usually way tastier, costs less than Rp 15,000.
However, Winner said that “sad food” was not the same as “bad food”.
“Sad food is actually different from bad food that we usually judge by the taste, which is relative. Sad food is when you find your food not properly cooked or not well presented, while the seller charges a ridiculous price.”
Running an Instagram account that is almost used like a Yelp review is not without risks, or perks. Winner claimed that some food sellers and restaurant owners had filed complaints and even threatened them.
“Some food companies invited us to eat free, but I declined the offer to maintain my independence. It was an exciting and surprising experience for us.”
He added: “Most companies try to improve their products for consumer satisfaction […] Consumers should be allowed to be upset if they get sad food.” (ggq)
