"If You Can't Eat Mala Xiang Guo, You Might Not Be a Match"... U.S. Singles Turn to 'Spicy Food Blind Dates'

In-Person Dating Events Gain Popularity as Singles Tire of Dating Apps
Three 30-Minute Conversations; Three Matches Among 32 Participants

Singles in New York City who are tired of dating apps are turning to an unusual kind of blind date, where they get to know potential partners over spicy food. Unlike traditional speed dating, where participants meet many people in a short time, this format encourages natural conversation around shared interests such as food preferences and lifestyles.

Single participants take part in a “Spiciest Supper Club” dating event at the Mala Project, a Chinese restaurant in New York. Four participants, two men and two women, sit at each table and talk for 30 minutes before rotating tables three times to meet different people. Gothamist

According to New York local outlet Gothamist on October 15 (local time), the Spiciest Supper Club recently held an event at Chinese restaurant Mara Project, where participants met potential partners over mala dishes.

Participants sat at tables of four and talked for 30 minutes before moving to another table. They repeated the process three times in total, switching conversation partners each time. Cards with personal questions were also placed on the tables to help participants get to know each other better.

Julie Ju, a co-founder of the event, said that sharing a meal is “an important part of identity, especially for Asian people,” and explained that she wanted to incorporate the intimate atmosphere created by food into matchmaking.

"If You Can't Handle the Spice, You Might Not Be a Match"... Getting to Know Someone Through Food Preferences

There was a reason for choosing mala dishes. As participants select ingredients together and decide how spicy to make their food, they can naturally learn about each other's preferences.

Promotional video for Spiciest Supper Club's matchmaking event. Instagram screenshot: @thespiciestsupperclub

Leilani Chan, who helps run the event, said, “It's fun to find out how much spice the other person can handle,” adding, “If they struggle even with mild spice, you might think, 'Maybe we're really not a good match.'”

While traditional speed dating focuses on meeting as many people as possible in a short time, this event gives participants longer to talk with each person, focusing on improving the “quality of the connection.”

A total of 32 people attended the event, and three pairs mutually chose each other. The outlet reported that quite a few participants also exchanged Instagram accounts at the event, even though they were not officially matched.

"He Lied About His Height by 10 cm on His Profile"... New York Singles Tired of Dating Apps

Dating fatigue is behind the rise in these in-person matchmaking events. Maggie Wang said that someone she recently met through a dating app had listed their height as 4 inches, or about 10 cm, taller than it actually was, prompting her to try a new way of meeting people.

A promotional post for a singles event hosted by The Spiciest Supper Club. It reads, “Hot people aren’t on Hinge (an online dating app).” Instagram screenshot: @thespiciestsupperclub.

Gothamist reported that small, in-person dating events based on shared interests and aimed at young people have been on the rise in New York. Unlike traditional speed dating, where participants simply meet many people quickly, these events are designed to help people build relationships naturally around common interests or activities.

According to event platform Eventbrite, the number of events held in the first half of this year that used the term “meet-cute,” meaning an accidental encounter, in their titles or descriptions rose 117% from the previous year.

Picking Up Trash on a Blind Date... The Rise of Interest-Based Meetups

In addition to “spicy food matchmaking,” a variety of other dating events are emerging in New York. Take2 is an event where participants meet the same people twice. To prevent participants from judging one another based only on first impressions, it does not reveal their full names; the second meeting gives them a more relaxed opportunity to get to know each other.

Take2 (left) and Astoria Trash Club (right) on their blind date. Screenshots from the Take2 and Astoria Trash Club websites.

Local environmental organization Astoria Trash Club holds events where single participants aged 21 and over pick up litter on the streets together and chat naturally.

Other events combine shared interests and lifestyles, including meetups where participants meet while listening to a lecture, live music performances for singles, bookstore blind dates, alcohol-free quiz gatherings, and parties for singles with dogs.

Experts advised singles who are tired of dating apps to “avoid judging potential partners based on overly specific criteria from the outset and instead take the time to discover the different sides of a person in real-life interactions.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.