Meet Dr. Chanika Symister, MD | Houston Foodie & Funfluencer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Dr. Chanika Symister, MD and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Dr. Chanika, what led you to pursuing a creative path professionally?
I have always considered myself an “out of the box” thinker. I like to look at tasks as a challenge of ‘me vs me’ where each goal completed would supercede the next. Growing up, social media was not as big as it is today. I always loved the idea of expressing myself for persons to know about my personality through the visuals that I post, audio that I select and captions that I make. I can never forget when Hi5 was a thing and I thought my page was the best one on the world wide web! lol My friends and family always say that you can feel my enthusiam through a story that I tell. How I look at it is, life is like vapor and if I can bring my audience happiness, insight or knowledge through the content that I post, then I’ve succeeded in my goals as a creator.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
One of rules that I follow in my career and life is that I should never measure my successes with someone else’s ruler. Although my background is heavily based in STEM and Medicine, I am a big creative at heart. I believe that this trait allows me to be more relatable and well rounded. No, it was not easy to be where I am today and I still have more obstacles to face within my career, but perserverance and patience are the keys to overcoming these challenges.
When it comes to my brand, neekXkitchen, I want persons to come for the food but stay for the fun! My page is my escape from the rigors of healthcare to showcase some of my other passions.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
If my friends came to Houston, were are definitely going to Happy Hour! I am a big advocate of fun on a budget! Some of my fave Happy Hour spots are Japaneiro’s, Bar 5015, Bar Louie, General Public just to name a few! We have to get brunch at Traveler’s Table and Latin Bites, have Texas BBQ from Ray’s BBQ shack and dinner at Casa do Brasil. To hang out, we will be going to Davenport, Urban Social, The Savoy or stroll around Sugarland Town Center. I would encourage them to visit the Waterwall, museums, Smither park, Discovery green and the grafitti building. My Houston activity and restaurant list is much more expansive than this and I hate that I can’t list many more of my favorites!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Most of the goals that I have accomplished in recent years were due to the support of my closest friends and immediate family. I graduated from Medical school last year after a tumultuous process of getting there. One of my biggest supporters was my mentor, Dr. Sir Prince Ramsey. He encouraged me in every endeavor that I brought to him. He was the main reason I was motivated to continue with my studies. I was able to work under his tutorage and gain more confidence in my abilities to care for patients! We weren’t only a serious bunch! I always brought my social media shenanigans to the office and spoke about making a food page to showcase the foods we had, what I made at home or restaurants we visited. He would have loved to see the content that I was able to produce today.

Instagram: @neekXkitchen

Image Credits
Profile photo shot by @ifeomastudios on IG