Foodies: bridging connections through food

MVHS food fanatics speak on exploring connections to culture through food

Jami Lim and Katrina Lin • September 27, 2024

MVHS Class of 2024 alum Michelle Zheng photographs her food while traveling to share with her followers, including this meat bun from Raohe Street Market in Taipei. Photo by Michelle Zheng | Used with permission

As the Bay Area consists of a plethora of foods and cuisines, at MVHS, there is a community of foodies deepening their passion for food. We interviewed four self-identified foodies about their experiences with food. Click HERE to get a glimpse into their food experiences.

As part of her hobby, Zheng runs her foodie Instagram with various photos of the dishes she tries, such as this photo of shaved ice during her trip to Taiwan. Photo by Michelle Zheng | Used with permission

MVHS '24 Michelle Zheng

As a child, MVHS ‘24 alum Michelle Zheng would gather around a television with her family every Sunday night, binging a classic Chinese show while sharing a meal. Zheng looks back on these moments as the spark for her love of food, which has since grown.

“I think food has always been this idea of bonding with my family,” Zheng said. “No matter how busy my parents were over the weekdays, we would have our family gathering on Sundays. I had this connection that food kind of brings people together, and naturally, started having this interest of wanting to try different foods. That's kind of when this hobby of looking for new restaurants, trying it out with my family and friends essentially started.”

While the dishes her family ate for dinner varied, Zheng says they always ended the night with a simple bowl of porridge garnished with green beans and various nuts while deep in discussion about the show. This traditional style of porridge is a type of Chinese cuisine that Zheng would go on to explore in depth.

“I think it's really interesting that even though China is one country and most people consider it one cuisine, each place is so different from each other that it’s essentially another culture,” Zheng said. “I want to try as many Chinese cuisines as I can and understand how each cuisine differentiates from each other. I'm really interested in going to a lot of different places outside of the U.S., building a food profile and just trying different things.”

Zheng’s food experiences are documented on her Instagram food account, @yumifoodz, which she started in 2018 and now has over 100 posts featuring photos of food along with captions detailing the item names and locations. Zheng says she initially started posting food photos as a way for herself to easily refer back to specific restaurants or foods. The account has since become a form of expression for Zheng to share this life-long interest and reach a broader audience.

“I realized that with this food account, a lot of people would tell me, ‘Now, if I really wanted to come to the Bay Area and look for food, then I can actually go on your account and look for it,” Zheng said. “So, I think it unintentionally went that way.”

One of Zheng’s most memorable food experiences was when she and her friend group opted out of attending their senior prom to share a unique dining experience in Capitola, a beach town about an hour drive away from Cupertino. Shadowbrook, a restaurant situated next to the Soquel Creek, requires guests to take a trolley car up a hill to its building. Zheng fondly looks back on this memory as one of the highlights of her food journey.

“We didn’t want to be stuck on this boat for four hours. We wanted to just go to a beach and then eat at a really nice restaurant,” Zheng said. “It wasn't really the food that was memorable, but the atmosphere that was created. Food brings together relationships and tightens people's friendships. I think this was a really good example of it, because although we didn't go to prom, we were just sitting at a table talking about our future and our lives. We created such a memorable memory where I feel like 10 years later, it would be great if we could gather again at this restaurant.”

Kumaran fuels her passion for food by baking sweets such as chocolate macarons for her friends. Photo by Anushka Kumaran | Used with permission (Anushka Kumaran)

Anushka Kumaran (12)

Senior Anushka Kumaran attributes her passion for food to memories of watching Food Network with her mom while eating home-cooked meals. Kumaran’s connection with her mom comes from their love language of preparing food together, a familial tradition that she closely ties to her feminine relatives back in India.

“My mom was the first person in my entire family to go to college,” Kumaran said. “So when we go back to India, most of the women in my family cook. Cooking just gives women a lot of power and is used as a love language to express their thoughts and feelings.”

Kumaran says she has since adopted the same love language, regularly cooking meals and baking desserts at home to give to her family and friends. Kumaran’s love for food extends beyond a regular necessity, as she actively explores her vegetarian diet in different cuisines. She explains that despite most cuisines having fewer vegetarian options, finding suitable dishes has never been challenging for her.

“A lot of people think it's hard to be vegetarian, but I've been vegetarian my whole life, so I’ve never noticed it,” Kumaran said. “Honestly, I feel like with enough spices and flavor, you can make vegetables taste just as good as meat.”

Kumaran says that while most cuisines accommodate different eating habits, certain restaurants still lack vegetarian options. After a recent trip to Europe, Kumaran noticed that because European menus are mostly composed of starches and meats, many dishes were unsuitable for typical vegetarian diets. However, Kumaran notes that restaurants are taking a turn with plant-based meats, which has made it possible to try new cultural dishes.

“Those dishes are good to explore too, because oftentimes being vegetarian restricts you to certain cuisines.” Kumaran said. “I think everyone should venture out and try new cuisines.”

Jivika Gulrajani (11)

Beginning as a simple activity during the pandemic, junior Jivika Gulranjani sparked her interest in food by attempting to cook dishes from different cuisines. Gulranjani says that despite cooking typically being viewed as a household chore, she enjoys the task as a way to connect with her friends and family.

“It's nice when someone eats something you make and then says ‘it feels like home,’” Gulranjani said. “I think it's great making things for people because it's the best way to show you care.”

Aside from cooking dishes for her loved ones, Gulranjani pursues her hobby of food because of its connection to personal stories. Gulranjani recalls being wide-eyed in fascination as her Cambodian middle school teacher, whose parents were refugees from the Khmer region, would tell the class stories about her family history and the recipes tied to them. One memorable story was when her teacher’s grandparents left their daughter with a recipe for laap khmer, a spicy vegetable dish they hoped would remind her of home. Gulranjani explains that because of the oppressive regime within Cambodia, meat was considered a luxury item that many lower-class citizens didn’t have access to. However, laap khmer has since taken on a different symbolic meaning that Gulranjani says drew her to food.

“I thought that was cool because food has become a symbol of their resilience and their perseverance,” Gulranjani said. “In general, I just really like stories like that, because every time you eat [the food], you're reminded of what your ancestors may have gone through and you have that feeling of home and that connection.”

When Gulranjani moved to the Bay Area after living in a predominantly white area, she noticed cultural differences among her new classmates regarding sharing traditional foods. She enjoys listening to the distinct stories that are connected to each meal, savoring the unique connections her friend’s have with their homeland.

“I thought it was cute that [my friends’ parents] had something to pass on beyond heirlooms,” Gulranjani said. “This was something that could last through generations because recipes can’t go away. Food is one of the things that exemplified the diversity in this region when I first moved here.”

Ryan Liu (12)

Ever since senior Ryan Liu began noticing cognitive decline with his grandparents due to old age, Liu has made an effort to find meaningful opportunities to bond with them. Liu soon discovered that food is a way for him to connect with his grandparents while inheriting a part of their heritage to pass on to future generations.

“A lot of the ways I connect with my grandparents from my mom’s side is that they share their old recipes with me because that’s how they connect,” Liu said. “My grandma gives me and teaches me all the recipes that she makes. That's how they connected with their kids, so I think it's just nice that because they're losing their memory too, they can share with me what is special to them.”

Aside from strengthening familial connections, Liu experiments with food on his own as a pastime. Having both Chinese and Japanese ancestry and dabbling in each cuisine, Liu is often experimenting with various cuisines at once. He has found that he particularly enjoys the fusion of cuisines and the unique experience when different flavor profiles are present.

“My favorite cuisines are probably either Japanese or Mexican even though they're very different,” Liu said. “In the different kinds of flavor combinations I go through, Japanese foods just feel a little lighter sometimes, and then Mexican foods have a lot of good spices as well. My family, we just cook every kind of cuisine.”

Over the summer, Liu and his sister were able to spend time with his grandparents, which Liu says was naturally spent in the kitchen. He looks back at these moments fondly as he says what he gained from the experience went beyond food.

“It's just really fun because my grandparents bicker, so it's very funny to watch them mess with each other while we're cooking,” Liu said. “And when we're cooking, it's not always just about what we're making. They're giving me general advice and it’s just time to talk to them. They're slowly losing their memories, so those little moments are the best thing I can do for them to give them some things to remember, and then they know that they're passing down something too.”

About the Contributors

Jami Lim, Editor-in-Chief

Jami is currently a senior and Editor-in-Chief for El Estoque. In her free time, she loves to rewatch her favorite movies, take photos of her friends, and attempt to keep up with her thousands of hobbies.

Katrina Lin, Staff Writer

Katrina is currently a senior and staff writer for El Estoque. She enjoys binge watching TV shows and movies, taking photos of everything, and eating sour candy.