Al dente — those are the first words that come to mind when I asked this question. Culinarily, al dente is great, describing a consistency of retaining a firm bite despite being boiled. Pasta is such an easy go-to meal and has such a range from “easy, homecooked mode” to “pricey, fancy mode”. To many, al dente is also the just-right texture.
But to me, al dente has always been the “right” answer to share with people in small talk. Instead, if we were two people with a rising friendship, snacking on Korean Fried Chicken with beer at 3am, you may get the following answers instead.