Shane P. Liao (he/him)
Taiwanese American

“So what’s interesting is that I grew up next to a Night Market. Like literally, I’d walk right outside the door and there’s a night market right there. It’s one of the original night markets in Taiwan. It’s in TaoYuan which is next to the airport. Growing up, I would run around the night market all the time. I was basically a night market child. You can almost say where we lived was kind of like a… I wouldn’t say it was like the slums, but it was poorly developed. That’s why people’s livelihoods depend on going to different cities to work and the food around the area is very cheap because of the night market. When I was small, I lived with my grandparents. When my parents were working late, I would eat with my grandparents. When they weren’t, they would take me to the night market to eat. Taiwanese people don’t really make breakfast. We always eat out for breakfast because it’s really cheap. There’s always different breakfast shops around and there’s this one right next to me that I always went to. They’re still around after all this time. The owner seems like he did not age one bit at all and it is crazy. It’s been 28 years. My breakfast combo is chocolate toast and milk tea. That’s my classic combo. I moved to the US when I was 8 and things kind of changed. I was living in LA at the time and LA has a lot of Taiwanese food around. It didn’t really feel like Taiwan was gone.

We often frequented Tawainese restaurants because it just suits our taste more. Over time we started to experience all the other things that American culture had to offer - a lot of other different countries’ food. Had pho for the first time when I was like 10. Had soft tofu stew, japanese ramen, pancakes - everything kind of became a blend of Asian American culture. It’s all because of different kinds of foods and I picked this restaurant to represent my identity and a Tawainese American one at that. Taiwanese Sausage Fried Rice, it’s a classic Taiwanese dish. Hakka Stir Fry. Classic Taiwanese dish. Lu Rou Fan. Classic Taiwanese dish. The way they’re made - they’re elevated, but the nostalgia is still there.”

Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month 2023

I wanted to set forth and commit to an ongoing project in honor of a month that celebrates my heritage and culture.

The term “Asian American” represents an identity. It doesn’t mean that an individual has to be born in America. I believe that a place where someone resides can truly shape them. Home doesn’t need to be one specific place, but can come from many. One underlying factor to that is cuisine. The food and drinks of one’s culture make them feel as they’re at home.

The conversations that were had partially took place in locations with a meal that they chose.

Meghan Ng (she/her)
Hong Kong Chinese American

“We’re Brooklyn born and raised in a non-Asian community, predominantly white neighborhood - Bergen Beach. We weren't as white washed if it wasn’t for our grandma living with us and raising us because she didn’t speak English. We lived off of TVB. Heh. That was a lot of fun. I feel content with the person I am today. I’m very proud of my Asian identity and am currently trying to amplify my voice to make sure we are properly represented. I want to prove to everyone we are prominent and deserving of a spot in the entertainment industry. There are so many talented people out here. Let us never hold back and continue to show them what we can bring to the table.”

Courtney Ng (she/her)
Hong Kong Chinese American

“Grandma really helped shape us the most. During Gwo Nin (过年), Chinese New Year and all that stuff, she was the one that was the glue that held the family together when it came to having family gatherings and events. Without that, I feel like we wouldn’t be as close as we are today. I remember as a kid, I used to help her with cooking. It used to be very festive, but I think that over the years and after she has passed, we’ve done a lot less. I really want to do a little bit more. We were never put into Chinese school, so I kind of took it upon myself. You know when kids hate Chinese school because they’re forced to do it? I just really wanted to do it. Even being in an area that was really white and I wanted to be white so bad at some point, but I was still very connected to my Asian culture. I don’t know how because it wasn’t forced upon me. It was grandma, and I really appreciated it from a young age. I love and am proud of my identity, with the joys and enrichment my culture brings into my adult life. While we currently bask in an age of Asian and Asian American voice and representation, I hope to see more visibility for the Asian diaspora. It makes me hopeful in being able to nurture this cultural love and pride in my future children.”

Bo Belza (he/him)
Filipino Chinese American

“I grew up in Jersey City. I’ve been here 18 years and we moved to Union Township. This was like the 1 thing I got a lot growing up called ensaymada. It’s baked bread with tons of sugar and cheese. It’s really good. Also this thing called bicho-bicho. It’s long bread with powdered sugar on it. There’s a lot of sweet stuff in this store. This used to be the place my parents used to go to every week, every Sunday after church. This has been around for so long. I think even when my parents moved here.

I’m also Chinese but I never knew anything of my Chinese heritage. My grandpa, on my mom’s side, was full Chinese, but he moved and lived in the Philippines. We’ve never celebrated Chinese New Year in my life, which is kind of sad. I have a tattoo actually with a quarter part of it having Chinese characters, and the other with the Filipino sun. I have 2 Filipino tattoos. This is 1 of them. And this one means passion in Tagalog, which is actually also an ambigram.

My dad is 1 of 11, and my mom 1 of 4 or 5. On my dad’s side, all of his siblings came in waves, maybe because it’s easier that way. My dad came when my grandma did. By the time I was born, everyone was here. We all grew up together – it was a big family. We saw each other every weekend. My grandma’s house was the hub. We would go there all the time. I went to school down the block so she would walk me to school. My cousins would live 2 blocks away. Eventually, we moved into her house. Now that house is gone. There was a fire next door, so it got torn down. Now it’s a newly furbished modern building. It looks nothing like it used to.

When you asked me what makes me feel most Filipino American, it was hard to figure that out. I never tied the 2 together growing up here. It was more so I connected to food and culture. Growing up, name brands were a really big thing. We’d go to the outlets to buy Ralph Lauren, Tommy Hilfiger, Nautica. That was the thing to wear. I had all those clothes, but I didn’t like wearing them as a kid. This hoodie I just bought though since I needed a new one. I haven’t worn Polo in a while and I’ve been wanting to get a piece from there.“

Momo Khan (they/them)
Bengali/Bangladeshi American

“Since I’m not religious (like most Bengalis), I connect mostly to my culture through food, clothing, or music. For South Asia, I feel like being whatever religion your region is part of is pretty big - Ramadan, Eid, pray 5 times a day if you’re Muslim. I don’t do any of that. So you’re pretty shunned or outcast by the greater Bengali community.

Skinny peppers, Kacha Morich (কাঁচা মরিচ). Kacha meaning skinny, Morich meaning pepper. It is integral to every single Bengali dish. Indians cook creamier richer dishes, but Bengali cooking is dry, fried, and you always start with skinny chilis. No matter what, in college or even now, I’ll chop and toss them in - as a garnish or as I saute. I'll be making salt and pepper fried pork, and I’m like I’m going to go out and get some skinny chilis.

I pretty much rejected all the values and beliefs my parents tried to instill on me. I’m not only estranged to my parents, but also my relatives because they’re also in the same vein, where like men… BTW, I don’t even identify as a man, which I’m obviously not going to bring up with them. But they’re like “Men should not have piercings or else they’ll go to hell.” I mean not even just the religious views, but the traditional views. They’re not that well educated and they have some interesting beliefs around success and money. For a while I did have fun teasing them at functions. I would ask “Why can’t men kiss other men?” And the uncles would be like “You just can’t, it’s not right.” I’m just like “Why? Why can’t you get a piercing? What’s wrong with my piercing or my long hair? You don’t love me anymore? You raised me ever since I was a kid.”

I am proud to be Bengali and my heritage. I also had a lot of Bengali friends and was in school clubs. Now as an adult, I still chill with them. I don’t need my family to be proud to be Bengali American. I’m sure if I was closer to my family, I would feel more pride, but it’s not necessary for me to enjoy my culture and partake in it. I still know the language, the food, the clothes, and the history of my country.”

Tonie Nguyen (They/Them)
Vietnamese American

(Trigger warning: Sexual Assault)

“I really came to terms with my identity in university. Moving to Boston (from Manhattan Beach, LA) for school, going to a private New England university, it was just a whole different level that I’ve never really experienced. There was old money, white folks who come from a long line of wealth and are very entrenched in that. It really pushed me to explore my identity. I went there because I wanted to only have white friends, and I did. Then during my sophomore year of college, one of my white friends sexually assaulted me. That accidentally pushed me to a new friend group because it got messy and people were taking sides. I was like ‘Whoa, I never explored this side of my identity. Let’s join the Vietnamese Student Association.’ Specifically, there was a trans person who was leading VSA at the time. He really helped me. I’d never seen a queer Vietnamese person before in my life. Vietnamese people are usually quite traditional, so it really inspired me to join. At first I wanted to shit talk my parents, but he helped me see how you can have a relationship with your parents, a proximity to whiteness, all these things, and can work through it all. It doesn’t have to be one or the other. Your parents make mistakes and they inflict trauma, but you can still choose to be the good kid and build a relationship with them.

To me, being Vietnamese American is learning how to maintain the resilience our parents had coming here with nothing and building a life, while also letting go of the fear they held from war trauma. On one hand, my parents are the strongest people I know who achieved everything they wanted, but the trade off is that they’re constantly living in fear. ‘Oh we’re going to run out of money. Why would you follow your dream to be a musician? No. You should be stable and just do it as a hobby.’ How do I maintain that resilience while moving to a thrive mindset. I’m going to thrive, live, make deliberate choices, and take risks. How do I do that, while staying true to my upbringing.”