Hey there, !

I went to this place called OZTOOK in Balwyn over the break.

Based on the name, can you guess what kind of cuisine it does?

I'll give you a moment.

...

Wait lemme help - here are some of the things on its menu:

• Jalapeno Relish Burger

• Hawaiian Burger

• Beef Bulgogi Burger

• Chicken Schnitzel Burger

• Veggie Rice Bowl

• Chicken Burrito

• Spicy Pork Quesadilla

Any guesses? No?

Well, it's a Korean place. (Note: I assume all the random stuff is just to have a broader appeal in the Balwyn market (????? isn't it full of Asians?), but we didn't try any of them so can't confirm if they're good or not.)

Don't judge based on the menu, but it's got some REALLY GOOD Korean food (that I failed to mention above) - fried chicken, tteokbokki, seafood pancake, bulgogi - all the banchan you want - it was a FEAST. The quantities were great, the quality was insanely good, and yep, you guessed it...

It was filled with Koreans.

I don't know if that's racist to assume a Korean place is good because there are a lot of Koreans there, but correlation is close enough to causation in this instance for me to use it as a marker of quality.

And anyway, the Korean food was some of the best I've had in Melbourne. So the correlation holds!

BTW, don't think that 'entree' means it'll be a smaller size - every dish we got was pretty much a main size; the japchae was massive, and the tteokbokki (stir-fried rice cake) was so filling.

Anyway, apart from me trying to become a hopecore influencer and convince you to go eat at a local mom 'n' pop restaurant, the correlation of Koreans / good Korean restaurant got us at the table thinking that perhaps we, as people of Chinese descent, should be eating at more Chinese restaurants as a symbol of its quality.

Like, we can all agree that small businesses (and restaurants) are vital to our communities, as I mentioned in last week's post. Most of them are small mom and pop shops that are just out here trying to survive.

So, if we want to raise up the ones that are doing things authentically, or are of good quality, then we should be trying to make them popular, right?

Combine that with my earlier point that though correlation does not equal causation, people are correlating [person of particular ethnic race eating at this store] with [good restaurant]...

So if we're [people of a particular ethnic race], and we know where the best food is, there's at least some moral imperative for us to help others out, and put in the time every week to go and visibly eat at these places so that others who pass by or think they should eat at this place, so that they can conclude by our very presence they're gonna get something good to eat.

Which in turn helps those small businesses and then helps the community and then helps THE WORLD. Yay for hopecore! ✨

Also classic Friends reference:

Rachel: So who wants to get some dinner with me later? I really wanna try that new Italian restaurant. Supposed to be really good. Saw a lot of Chinese people eating in there.

Monica: What are you talking about?

Rachel: Remember you said some restaurant must be really good because you saw all these Chinese people eating in there?

Monica: That's because it was a Chinese restaurant.

There are probably a hundred holes in this argument but if you bring any of them up you're racist so tread carefully <3

Chat soon :)

(P.S. If you've got any feedback for the newsletter, just hit the reply button!)

✔️Real Life Recommendations

1. K.Ho Contemporary Chinese Cuisine - should probably put my money where my mouth is and recommend a Chinese place then, right? I really like the food here, and specifically organised the family CNY dinner here because they make some great food. Good selection of fresh seafood, very homely, often quite busy (with Chinese people dw) and a variety of dishes that are all bangin'. Recommended!

2. Phoenix Soars - they've franchised a bunch around the place now but this one is the OG and has the best roast meats that I have had. They've got the normal (soy chicken, char siu, roast pork, roast duck) but they also have this saucy honey/pepper/lime pork ribs roast meat that is so freakin' delicious. Lunch there is usually just a roast meats + noodle soup and that's enough for me. Check it out!

🚌 Adventures on the Information Super-Highway

1. The Physics and Economics of Moving 44 Tonnes at 56mph - specialists who can break these things down in a simple to understand way are great. Problem being that they're so specialised in their own world that they think:

   A driver doing 56.3 instead of 55.8 covers an extra 5 miles across a 10-hour shift. For a driver paid by the mile, or on a delivery schedule measured in minutes, that overtake is rational. The five minutes of inconvenience to you saves them meaningful time and money over the course of a day.

   IT'S NOT 5 MINUTES OF INCONVENIENCE IT'S A TRAFFIC JAM ON THE M3 FOR AN EXTRA 30 MINUTES IN THE MORNING. But yeah. Economics amirite.

2. Gen Alpha and Gen Z: Evolving Masculinity - my favourite finding from this study:

   Across all age groups, joyful fatherhood was the single most requested portrayal of masculinity, with nearly 60% of young people specifically asking to see more fathers who openly show love and enjoy parenting.

3. Women's Sizing - pudding.cool - they're the masters of data storytelling. This one was super fascinating!