A Cafe On Its Mission

New Haven now feels like the United Nations of Food and Coffee. Today I visited this Arabic and Middle East coffee shop called Havenly (25 Temple St.), which is like a social enterprise for women refugees. How meaningful!

I used to work for the Big Tech, which were all proud to focus more on the “mission” than just monetisation. When I walked into the coffee shop, I saw its mission statement written on the wall — to build the community power of refugees and immigrant women through job training, education, and civic engagement.

Now that sounds like a real and ambitious mission. Don’t look down a small coffee shop. As John F. Kennedy once famously said: “One person can make a difference and everyone should try.”

Well done, New Haven!

P.S. If you want to find the best baklava in Connecticut, this is the place.

Havenly
25 Temple St, New Haven, CT 06510

Hotdog for Bulldog

If you are a big fan of hotdogs, then you can’t miss the famous “Bulldog Hotdogs” located right at the heart of the “Shops at Yale'“ on Broadway Street. The restaurant name tells it all — it’s all about hotdogs. You can choose a small size or a full size set, which means a very long bread with a lot of meat and that can guarantee you feel very full.

The restaurant is a family business. I just learned from the son boss that his mom passed away during the pandemic years and now he had to step up and keep the business running. I bought two hotdogs to show my support to local small business. A lot of cheese! It’s just delicious and it will be perfect for your afternoon tea snacks.

Bulldog Hotdogs
56 Broadway, New Haven, CT 06511

Cuban Restaurant in New Haven

Pretend I were in Cuba But in fact I’m still in New Haven

I always feel #WhatGeorgeEats is more than just food; it’s also about leaning. Food can be a great source of learning, about a country’s history, culture, and its people. Today we had some traditional dishes at one of the most famous Cuban restaurants in New Haven. It turns out Cuban cuisine has a lot to do with chicken, especially fried chicken.

Soul de Cuba Cafe
283 Crown St, New Haven, CT 06511

從熊貓曲奇說起

因為工作關係，三年疫情之後，我又開啟了「飛行模式」，特別是往返中美之間，朋友戲言，我可能最近一段時間搭飛機多過搭港鐵。

每次出國，我都有一個習慣，就是提前買一些本地小禮物，到了美國，見到新老朋友都可以隨手送上一份。按我自己的經驗，外國友人通常喜歡一些「禮輕情意重」的小禮物，你如果真的送的禮物太貴了，對方反而會尷尬，尤其很多企業都對送禮有一定規定，超過金額，雙方都會麻煩。

幾年前我開始送外國朋友香港生產的「熊貓曲奇」，主要有兩個廠商生產，都是香港的老字號，各有各的「熊貓曲奇」設計。國家之間關係再差，人與人之間的交流並不一定受影響。人嘛，畢竟還是講感情的，尤其認識很久的老朋友，坐下來喝杯咖啡，什麼都可以談。

最近去哈佛大學演講，其間拜訪幾位教授，有一位老教授差不多都要八十歲了，十多年前來過香港，這次我也帶來一盒「熊貓曲奇」給他，他接過禮物，興奮不已，趕忙和我聊起往事，原來當年他來香港時候就買過一盒，曲奇什麼味道，他說早就忘記了，但是那個熊貓造型的鐵盒子至今還留着，如今又可以多一盒，還是新款設計，老先生開心得不得了。

「中美之間，當年有乒乓外交，後來還有熊貓外交，無論如何，兩國人民對熊貓的喜愛可以說是完全一致的，看到熊貓就覺得很開心。」老先生一邊打開曲奇，一邊和我聊起美國人對熊貓的喜愛。聽說內地有一個「熊貓電視頻道」，還在Facebook等社群媒體上開了專頁，結果在美國也收穫不少粉絲，也算是民間和文化外交的一個成功案例。

說到「外交」，普通人會覺得「外交」和大部分人沒有什麼關係。

事實上，「外交」也可以從你我做起。比如出門在外，每個人其實都會無形之中成為你的國家的「大使」，你覺得你只代表你，但是出門在外，很多時候你代表的遠不只是你自己那麼簡單。

也正因此，從前些年開始，中國的外交部已經聯合通訊供應商，給國民通過短訊提醒的方式，讓大家在抵達外國時就能收到一些當地的文明習俗的提醒，我覺得這是一個很好的辦法。

再者，大國與大國之間的「外交」當然屬於非常高深的議題，涉及政治、經濟，甚至還有軍事層面。但是公民與公民之間也可以進行較為簡單的「公共外交」（public diplomacy），比如從你挑選一份小禮物開始，出國隨手送一份給友人，順便說好中國故事、香港故事，不如就從熊貓開始講……

事實上，美國一直都很重視「公共外交」的發展，美國國務院還特別設有「公共外交」的部門，也會任命一些「公共外交大使」，分布於文化體育等不同領域，同時也會通過一些專門的交流項目讓外國訪客入住美國普通家庭，也讓很多美國家庭都有機會參與到外交工作之中去。

無論是一盒「熊貓曲奇」，還是在國外注重入鄉隨俗，人與人的連結是國與國關係的基礎，更是建立互信的基礎，把一些基本的事情做好了，「上層建築」也會受益於此，除了職業外交官，就算你我普通人，也可以為國家形象盡一份心力。

（原文首發於2023年4月24日香港《大公報》B2版）

Shake Shack in New Haven

Last night we were too tired to go anywhere seriously for food after a 16 hours long haul flight from Hong Kong to New York and then another few hours to New Haven by car. So we dropped by the same old Shake Shack we went about ten years ago when we first visited Yale and New Haven.

The Shake Shack shop today still stands firm on Chapel Street in downtown New Haven, sending a clear message to all its guests — yes, I survived during the pandemic (because many other shops on the same street were already closed and empty now).

The story of Shake Shack is also a story about globalisation. Ten years ago, Shake Shack only operated in the US. People came to the US for Shake Shack (and Blue Bottles, etc) and many Chinese and Hong Kong celebrities liked to take selfies with Shake Shack burgers to prove they were abroad.

Not any more!

Today Shake Shack already has dozens shops in Mainland China, and of course in Hong Kong too. It was treated by the local more as a sort of ”high-end version of McDonald’s.”

I might be biased. How come I feel Shake Shack burgers tasted much better in New Haven than in Hong Kong? Or perhaps it is true because more fresh ingredients like beef and vegetables we got here in the US? Hmm…

And inflation is another issue. It’s a global phenomenon. Don’t let me start. The prices were much higher than about ten years ago. I know, even McDonald’s these days.

Shake Shack New Haven
986 Chapel St, New Haven, CT 06510